A comparative analysis of in-office vital 6% hydrogen peroxide activated charcoal tooth whitening treatment enhanced with an 810nm diode laser, compared to 35% hydrogen peroxide bleaching

Laser dental bleaching is considered to be a contemporary approach to enhancing the in-office power bleaching procedure. Objective Investigate if laser enhanced 6% Hydrogen Peroxide (HP) solution is equivalent to 35% HP solution over a two-visit power bleaching treatment protocol. In a randomised double-blinded clinical trial, 43 patients were assigned to a group that received either the laser-enhanced 6% Hydrogen Peroxide (n=21) treatment, or the standard 35% Hydrogen Peroxide (n=22) treatment, over two visits, with a one-week interval. Activated charcoal HP paste was prepared for both groups. The laser enhanced 6% HP group received a dosage of 90 J/cm² per bleaching cycle using 810nm diode laser. Tooth colour was measured at the beginning and end of each session registering parameters L*, a* and b*, and tooth sensitivity. The calculated difference between these Parameters, ∆E, was the primary data focus. The mean ∆E over the treatment duration was used to answer the research question by a t-test to evaluate group differences at 5% significance level. The analysis revealed that the null hypothesis could not be rejected and the results were inconclusive. The observations expound the idea of an absorption enhancement mechanism, rather than a free radical activation, as the technique for improving bleaching outcomes

Evaluating the Impact of Grafting on Local Tomato Production in Nebraska

Grafting has been successfully used in vegetable production for tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, and watermelon. Besides its usefulness for managing soil-borne diseases, grafting can improve nutrient uptake and yield. However, few studies have assessed the effects of grafting and soil fertility management on yield of open field-grown tomatoes in the Midwest. Therefore, the objective of this two-year research was to better document the effects of grafting heirloom and hybrid tomato cultivar onto hybrid tomato rootstocks on tomato yield and quality. The field experiments were located at the University of Nebraska Lincoln - East Campus in Lincoln, West Central Research and Extension Center in North Platte, and a farm trial at Perkarek’s Vegetable Farm near Dwight, Nebraska. Two determinant fresh market tomatoes, ‘Nebraska Wedding’ and ‘BHN-589’, were grafted onto two rootstocks, ‘Estamino’ and ‘Maxifort,’ with the non-grafted determinant market tomatoes as a control. During the second year of this study, fertilizer treatment was introduced with two N rates (0% and 100%). At the end of the growing season, ripe tomatoes were harvested on a weekly basis, and yield was determined by weighing all tomatoes from the five plants in each experimental unit. Overall, there was no consistent improvement in total yield for any of the grafting treatments, and the estimated total mean yield of BHN-589 was at least 50% more than Nebraska Wedding. Moreover, there was no interaction effect between grafting and fertilizing treatment within each location. Results from this study suggest the need for more assessment on the effect of tomato grafting under different environmental conditions

A Prototype Expert System for the Selection of Road Construction Materials

A prototype for an expert system in road construction material selection system, which is based on the outcomes of Friedman and multiple comparisons statistical methods was developed. The outcomes were acquired through questionnaires from selected pavement experts. The factors affecting pavement materials under each particular site condition were incorporated into the specific rules of the system. The system knowledge-base was extracted from the statistical testing outcomes and then rearranged and compiled prior to the development of the system. Visual Basic 6.0 was adopted as the programming tool for development of the system, while the knowledge-base of the separate system was kept in Microsoft Access 2000. The prototype expert system can be used to emulate part of the professional reasoning capabilities based on the knowledge of a pavement expert or a specialist to solve problems on materials selection. The system can help road designers to improve their professional ability to evaluate all available materials even before carrying out any laboratory tests

Characterization of Microstrip Patch Array Antenna at 28 GHz

A Microstrip patch array antenna is presented and resonates at 28 GHz. It is a well-known antenna because of its easiness to manufacture with a high gain, easy on the pocketbook, as well as it has a simple structure. The substrate is based on the Rogers Duroid RT5880 with dielectric constant r 2.2 and the height of copper Hc 0.254 mm. In fact, the Computer Simulation Technology Microwave Studio 2015 software has been used as a technique for simulating in this project. The design of the 28GHz antenna is done according to the specification of ETSI. By selecting optimum parameters of proposed, the measured return loss of proposed antenna during design frequency (28 GHz) is -52.522 dB at 28.08GHz. In addition, the value gained is high, which is 21.1 dBi and the achieved bandwidth is 1120 MHz. Hence, the target of the antenna is for the KA-Band communication which can work on 5G communication

Life within chronic care: is this a service or sentence?

Background: Understanding the meaning of one’s lived experiences improves one’s understanding of what it means to be human, in association with the social, cultural and historical context in which being a human occurs. The authors in this study describe the lived experiences of residents within a chronic care facility including the practitioner and family perspectives.Methods: A qualitative approach was employed with a single-site, descriptive, instrumental case study design. Purposive sampling was utilised to select the chronic facility. Multiple sources of evidence included narratives, semi-structured interviews with staff, residents and family members, and activity profiles of the residents augmented by an ergonomic evaluation of the facility. Content analysis using within-case analysis was implemented.Results: The greatest impact on the quality of the resident’s lived experiences emanates from the physical, organisational and social environments in which they reside. Limited resources, poor staff attitudes and routines that are enforced both on the staff of the facility and the residents appear to reduce optimal functioning within the facility. Furthermore the residents’ intrinsic motivation, presence of enforced idleness, learned helplessness and institutionalisation is often intensified and becomes characteristic of the residents lived experiences.Discussion: The lived experiences of the residents are described according to quality of life indicators that were identified during the study and supported by literature. These include the influence of the physical, social and organizational environments on the residents’ functional status, which comprises physical well-being and emotional well-being and engagement in meaningful occupations including social interaction and relationships with other individuals.Conclusions: Findings of this study may be valuable in understanding and facilitating a positive change in service delivery within chronic care centres.Keywords: chronic care, institutionalisation, lived experiences, residents, occupational deprivatio

Carbonized rice husk and cocopeat as alternative media bed for aquaponic system

The study evaluates the suitability of carbonized rice husk and cocopeat substrates as alternative media bed in aquaponics unit for cultivation of red Nile tilapia and Gynura procumbens. Area occupied by the aquaponics unit is about 4.5 m2 and it was operated under equatorial climate conditions. Various substrates namely lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LECA), cocopeat, carbonized rice husk and a mixture of cocopeat-rice husk at ratio 1:1 were prepared using polybags for growing of the longevity spinach. The resultant effects from fish cultivation and plants growth on the water qualities and nitrification efficiency of the aquaponics unit were reported. The aquaponics unit were operated for twelve weeks and the values of pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen level were measured to be within the range of 6.4-6.9, 27.7-29oC, and 5.5-7 mg·L-1, respectively. Survival rate for fish was 98% with specific growth rate (SGR) and food conversion ratio (FCR) of 6.9% per day and 1.13, respectively. Nutrient deficiency was not evident and plants showed healthy growth with harvest yield ranging between 3.6 and 3.9 kg·m-2. Results attained signified the suitability of utilizing carbonized rice husk and cocopeat as alternatives media bed compared to commercial media bed such as LECA

An overview of moisture damage performance tests on asphalt mixtures

This paper presents a review of moisture damage performance tests on asphalt mixtures. The moisture damage remains to be a detriment to the durability of the Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) pavement. Moisture damage can be defined in forms of adhesive failure between bitumen and aggregates and cohesive failure within bitumen. Aggregate mineralogy, bitumen characteristics and anti-stripping additive dominantly influence the performance of asphalt mixtures towards moisture damage alongside construction methods, climate and traffic loading. Various laboratory test methods have been developed to quantify the moisture damage performance of asphalt mixtures by resembles the action in the field, including qualitative test such as Boiling Water Test (ASTM D3625) and quantitative tests such as Modified Lottman Test (AASHTO T283). Both of these tests consist of two phases, which are conditioning and evaluation phase. This paper will review the effectiveness of the selected available tests based on various asphalt mixtures materials. Generally, this study indicates that asphalt mixtures consisted of limestone aggregates, modified bitumen and addition of anti-stripping additives will provide more resistant towards moisture damage

Histological changes of liver tissue and serobiochemical relation in does with pregnancy ketosis

Histological changes of liver in does with pregnancy ketosis were characterized. Twenty pregnant does at day 80 of pregnancy were used for this experiment. A total of 10 does were fed by grass (Napier) and goat concentrate with water ad libitum. Those 10 goats considered as healthy pregnant goat, and another 10 goats showing clinical and subclinical signs of ketosis considered as unhealthy pregnant does. Liver biopsies were performed when clinical signs appeared. Beta-Hydroxybutyrate (BHBA), free fatty acid (FFA), and glucose were dosed. Histological preparation revealed similar incidence and intensity of mild liver steatosis with lower cellular vacuolation in hepatocyte presence in healthy late pregnant does. Almost all of the pregnant does with ketosis state (n=8/10) had large amount of small lipid droplets in almost every hepatocyte over the whole liver acinus with higher number of cellular vacuolation, and related with higher BHBA and FFA levels while low in glucose level