Influence of phosphoric acid surface treatment on shear bond strength durability of resin cement to zirconia-based ceramic conditioned with different primers

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)BACKGROUND: Phosphoric acid treatment has been reported to be relevant for zirconia cleaning after contamination. However, its interaction with different primers is not well known and needs to be investigated. OBJECTIVES: To compare the shear bond strengths (SBS) of resin cement to Y-TZP after phosphoric acid pretreatment and different chemical conditioning protocols, and to test the durability of SBSs after long term storage and thermal cycling conditions. To investigate the effect of phosphoric acid 75 on the surface roughness of a yttrium-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal ceramic (Y-TZP). METHODS: Sixty bars of zirconia (30 X 5 X 2 mm) were polished and glued to acrylic tubes. Each bar received 3 different surface treatments (control, phosphoric acid and air-abrasion). The bars were randomly assigned into five groups according to different primers applied (No primer, Clearfil ceramic primer, Monobond Plus, Z-prime plus and AZ primer). After that, resin cement was mixed, injected into a mold, and light cured. The specimens were tested in shear on a universal testing machine. Half of the specimens were tested after 24 h water storage and the other half were tested after 90 days of water storage and thermocycling. Non-contact profilometer was used to assess the effect of the three surface pretreatments on surface roughness of zirconia. Mode of failure and surface roughness were evaluated with SEM. Statistical analyses were conducted with mixed-model ANOVA and chi-square tests. RESULTS: The results indicated that Monobond Plus primer showed higher SBS after phosphoric acid treatment compared to other primers used. SBS of all air abrasion groups were higher than phosphoric acid groups. Long term water storage and thermocycling led to a statistically significant decrease in SBS for all groups except Monobond Plus, Z-prime plus and AZ primer after air abrasion treatment. Surface roughness measurements showed no significant differences among the surface treatments. CONCLUSION: Monobond Plus provided the highest SBS to zirconia after phosphoric acid treatment. The findings suggest that the air abrasion is the best surface treatment after contamination of zirconia surface. Monobond Plus, Z-prime plus and AZ primer showed durable SBS after air abrasion treatment and aging process

Relationship Between Waiting Time, Anxiety and Sleep Disturbances Among Saudi Parents of Children Admitted to Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Parents of children admitted to PICU experience extreme level of anxiety. It is an extremely difficult process for parents to make a transition from parents of well-child to parents of acutely ill child. Aim: To identify the relationship between waiting time, anxiety and sleep disturbances among saudi parents of children admitted to pediatric intensive care unit. Methods: A cross sectional descriptive correlational study design was employed to conduct this study on a convienience sample of 115 adult parents of children admitted to the PICU. Participants were asked to complete three questionnaire survey including participant’s demographic background, Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and a parental sleep disturbance questionnaire. An explanation about the purpose and the nature of the study was offered for each individual potential participant. Subjects were assured about the confidentiality of the collected data and that it will be only used by the researcher for the purpose of the current study. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22. Results: More than half of the participants (62.6%) scored 12 and above reflecting considerable levels of anxiety. A very significant precentage (92.7%) of the parents reported sleep problems. Three quarters of the participants (73.2%) mentioned that sleep problems affected them negatively. There was a highly statistically significant difference between groups with different educational background in relation to anxiety, as well Unemployed participants experienced significantly higher anxiety. Conclusion: The findings of this exploratory study indicate considerable levels of anxiety and changes in sleep pattern of parents of children admitted to paediatric intensive care unit. During this period, identifying the parental needs and the causes of anxiety might contribute to parents' mental health. Keywords: PICU, Parental Anxiety, waiting time, sleep disturbances DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/71-11 Publication date: February 29th 202

A Lightweight Deep Learning-Based Model for Tomato Leaf Disease Classification

© 2023 Tech Science Press. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Tomato leaf diseases significantly impact crop production, necessitating early detection for sustainable farming. Deep Learning (DL) has recently shown excellent results in identifying and classifying tomato leaf diseases. However, current DL methods often require substantial computational resources, hindering their application on resource-constrained devices. We propose the Deep Tomato Detection Network (DTomatoDNet), a lightweight DL-based framework comprising 19 learnable layers for efficient tomato leaf disease classification to overcome this. The Convn kernels used in the proposed (DTomatoDNet) framework is 1 × 1, which reduces the number of parameters and helps in more detailed and descriptive feature extraction for classification. The proposed DTomatoDNet model is trained from scratch to determine the classification success rate. 10,000 tomato leaf images (1000 images per class) from the publicly accessible dataset, covering one healthy category and nine disease categories, are utilized in training the proposed DTomatoDNet approach. More specifically, we classified tomato leaf images into Target Spot (TS), Early Blight (EB), Late Blight (LB), Bacterial Spot (BS), Leaf Mold (LM), Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus (YLCV), Septoria Leaf Spot (SLS), Spider Mites (SM), Tomato Mosaic Virus (MV), and Tomato Healthy (H). The proposed DTomatoDNet approach obtains a classification accuracy of 99.34%, demonstrating excellent accuracy in differentiating between tomato diseases. The model could be used on mobile platforms because it is lightweight and designed with fewer layers. Tomato farmers can utilize the proposed DTomatoDNet methodology to detect disease more quickly and easily once it has been integrated into mobile platforms by developing a mobile application.Peer reviewe

Failure Rate of Single Dose Methotrexate in Managment of Ectopic Pregnancy

Background. One of the treatment modalities for ectopic pregnancy is methotrexate. The purpose of this study is to identify the failure rate of methotrexate in treating patients with ectopic pregnancy as well as the risk factors leading to treatment failure. Methods. A retrospective chart review of 225 patients who received methotrexate as a primary management option for ectopic pregnancy. Failure of single dose of methotrexate was defined as drop of BHCG level less than or equal to 14% in the seventh day after administration of methotrexate. Results. 225 patients had methotrexate. Most of the patients (151 (67%)) received methotrexate based on the following formula: f 50 mg X body surface area. Single dose of methotrexate was successful in 72% (162/225) of the patients. 28% (63/225) were labeled as failure of single dose of methotrexate because of suboptimal drop in BhCG. 63% (40/63) of failure received a second dose of methotrexate, and 37% (23/63) underwent surgical treatment. Among patient who received initial dose of methotrexate, 71% had moderate or severe pain, and 58% had ectopic mass size of more than 4 cm on ultrasound. Conclusion. Liberal use of medical treatment of ectopic pregnancy results in 71% success rate

Seropositivity and awareness of Toxoplasmosis among University students

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that is infecting about one-third of the world population. Awareness about toxoplasmosis and its transmission can help reduce its prevalence. We examined the degree of awareness about toxoplasmosis among female university students. A total of 127 samples were collected, including 44 samples from health colleges students and 83 samples from other colleges. A questionnaire was used to measure the level of awareness about Toxoplasma gondii. Serum samples were analyzed for the presence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibody using ELISA technique. Ninety-four (74%) participants were 18-20 years, 27 (21%) were 21-24 years, and 6 (5%) were above 24 years. Only 11 (9%) students eat raw meat and 21 (17%) students had a tendency to eat undercooked meat. Furthermore, only 6 (5%) students received blood transfusion and 33 (26%) students owned a cat at home. Forty-two (33%) students answered that they know about the disease. The majority of participants (n=121, 95%) used bottled water as a source of drinking water. Among the 127 samples collected, only 6 (4.7%) had IgG anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibody. There was statistically significant positive correlation between the level of awareness about toxoplasmosis and the participant's answers about previous knowledge about the disease and a statistically significant negative correlation between the level of awareness about toxoplasmosis and the student's faculty. We recommend that this study is repeated with a larger sample size and a modified questionnaire to include more detailed questions to reveal the true level of awareness

Association Between Lipid Profile and Diabetic Foot Ulcer

Diabetic foot ulcer is a serious disabling consequence of Diabetes Mellitus. They are characterized by the breakdown of skin and underlying tissues in the feet, and are a major cause of lower limb amputations. Various risk factors have been identified for the development of diabetic foot ulcers, including poor glycemic control, peripheral neuropathy, peripheral arterial disease, and impaired wound healing. it is considered that the lipid profile is one of many factors that contribute to the formation and progression of diabetic foot ulcers. To stratify the incidence of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs), biomarkers are required. The aim of this review is to assess the relationship between the risk of DFU and lipid profile in diabetic patients

Greenness assessment of chromatographic methods used for analysis of empagliflozin: a comparative study

The analytical chemistry community is attempting to incorporate green chemistry concepts in the development of analytical techniques to redefine analytical methods and dramatically modify the philosophy of analytical technique development. Each greenness assessment method has its own benefits and drawbacks, as well as its own procedures. The results of each greenness assessment method produce numerous deductions regarding the selection of a greenest chromatographic method on which the determination of a greenness assessment tool depends. The current study examined the greenness behavior of 26 reported chromatographic methods in the literature for the evaluation of the medicine empagliflozin using three evaluation methods: the national environmental methods index (NEMI), the eco-scale assessment (ESA), and the green analytical procedure index (GAPI). This comparative study discussed the value of using more than one greenness evaluation methods while evaluating. The findings showed that the NEMI was a less informative and misleading tool. However, the ESA provided reliable numerical assessments out of 100. Despite the GAPI being a complex assessment compared to the others, it provided a fully descriptive three-colored pictogram and a precise assessment. The findings recommended applying more than one greenness assessment tool to evaluate the greenness of methods prior to planning laboratory-based analytical methods to ensure an environment friendly process

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030