Contamination of Low Frictional Elastomeric Ligatures by Streptococcus mutans: A Prospective RT-PCR and AFM Study

Objective: To compare Streptococcus mutans colonization between low-friction elastomeric ligatures and to correlate microbial colonization levels with the surface roughness status.Methods: The study included 160 premolars of 10 patients. During the study period, which consisted of 4 sessions each lasting 4 weeks, the ligature types Slide™ Low-Friction Ligature (Leone, Firenze, Italy), Tough-O Energy™ (Rocky Mountain Orthodontics, Denver, USA), and Sili Ties™ (Dentsply Sirona, Surrey KT13 0NY, UK), and steel ligatures (American Orthodontics, Sheboygan, USA) as a control, were fixed to the premolar teeth by clockwise rotation among the jaw quadrants. The plaque index (PI) and gingival index (GI) were obtained before bonding (T0), 6 weeks after bonding (T1), and subsequently every 4 weeks (T2, T3, T4). Presence of S. mutans was analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction at T1, T2, T3, T4. Surface roughness was evaluated with Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) before ligation (Ra0) and after (Ra1) ligation. The paired t-test, ANOVA, repeated measures of ANOVA, and the Kruskal–Wallis test were used for the statistical analysis.Results: S. mutans colonization was significantly higher on the Slide group (P .05).Conclusion:S. mutans colonization showed variations in low-friction elastomeric ligatures independent of surface roughness. Ringshaped low-friction elastomeric ligatures were not different from the steel ligature in terms of S. mutans colonization

Congenital Agenesis of Right Internal Carotid Artery: A Report of Two Cases

Congenital unilateral agenesis of the internal carotid artery (ICA) is a rare anomaly. Due to proper sufficient collateral circulation via the circle of Willis most cases are asymptomatic, but patients can also present with ischemic or hemorrhagic cerebrovascular insults. The absence of the bony carotid canal is essential to differentiate this anomaly from chronic ICA occlusion. Awareness of this situation by clinicians and radiologists is essential because these patients have an increased incidence of various intracranial pathologies. We report two cases of this rare developmental congenital abnormality occurring in two young patients and describe the presentation, diagnosis, determined developmental causes, imaging findings, and complications

Case Report Adventitious Bursitis Overlying an Osteochondroma of the Humerus Facing the Thoracic Wall

One of the complications of osteochondromas is the development of a bursa over the cartilaginous cap. We report a 15-year-old boy with a rapidly expanded adventitious bursitis overlying an osteochondroma of the humerus facing the thoracic wall, a location not previously reported for such bursa formation. Magnetic resonance imaging readily showed adventitious bursitis overlying the osteochondroma, thereby dispelling concerns for malignant transformation

DNN-Based EV Scheduling Learning for Transactive Control Framework

This study employs deep neural networks (DNNs) to determine a suitable charging schedule for electric vehicles (EVs) while avoiding power losses in the distribution network and ensuring that voltage constraints are not violated. A network-constrained transactive control framework, including aggregators, distribution system operators (DSOs), and a price coordinator, was established to generate a data set for learning. The price coordinator played a crucial role in promoting interaction between DSOs and aggregators and promoting convergence. By repeating the process and adjusting the inputs, a data set was produced that could be utilized for learning. To assess the performance of DNN, the results were evaluated against system constraints and all samples showed satisfactory results without constraint violations, demonstrating that a well-constructed data set enables DNNs to effectively learn complex problems with guaranteed convergence in a limited time frame for transactive control problems

Evaluation of Environmental and Nutritional Aspects of Bee Pollen Samples Collected from East Black Sea Region, Turkey, via Elemental Analysis by ICP-MS

Honeybee pollens are good food sources in terms of their mineral contents and are specific to the regions they are collected. In addition, they may be used as bioindicators in the assessment of environmental pollution based on their potentially toxic element contents. In the present study, mineral element composition and potentially toxic element levels of honeybee pollen samples collected from various cities in East Black Sea Region of Turkey (18 samples) were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after microwave assisted acid digestion. The method validation was performed by using CRM (Certified Reference Material-BCR (R) 279-Sea Lettuce-Ulva lactuca) to evaluate the accuracy and precision. Elemental composition of honeybee pollens were detected within the following ranges (minimum-maximum, mg kg(-1) dry pollen); Mn (manganese): 11.579-117.349, Fe (Iron): 34.865-811.043, Zn (zinc): 17.707-56.223, Se (selenium): 0.422-0.722, Cr (chromium): 0.848-6.949, Cu (copper): 7.510-26.344, Mg (magnesium): 549.921-2149.716, Ca (calcium): 726.575-2201.837, Na (sodium): 36.518-120.283, Pb (lead): 0.005-0.622, Cd (cadmium): 0.039-1.390, Ni (nickel): 2.317-21.710, and As (arsenic): 1.331-2.248. Recommended daily allowance, target hazard quotients, hazard index, and carcinogenic risk values of the pollens were calculated with the help of these results. In considering THQ values, pollens were determined to be safe for the consumption of both genders. Based on the carcinogenic risk calculation, most of the pollens examined in this study were categorized as moderately risky. Monitoring studies can be used to identify new sources of contamination or the origin and spread of a particular element. Hence, bee pollens can also be considered as potential bioindicators of toxic metal pollution. Graphical Abstrac

Dose responses of the SiO2 used in radiation sensors in field effect transistor form

Aim: To investigate the structural changes in the SiO2 (silicon dioxide) layer, which is the sensitive region of the RadFET radiation sensors used in the medical field, and to elaborate the impacts of these modifications on electrical characteristics. Methods: Dry oxidation method was used to grow the SiO2 film on n-type Si (100) and SiO2 MOS capacitors were produced by using DC magnetron sputtering. Irradiation was carried out using a 60Co radioactive source at a dose range of 1 kGy-50 kGy. XRD (X-ray diffraction) results showed that no crystalline structure was formed in the studied dose range. Results: The results obtained from XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) showed that Si-Si oxygen deficient bonds were formed in the post-production structure, resulting in the observation of flat band voltage ( ) at negative values. Conclusions: In general, the Si-Si oxygen deficient bond content increased with increasing radiation dose, causing the C-V curve to shift towards larger negative voltage values as desired. The device sensitivity was almost constant after 25 kGy

Incidentally Detected Myocardial Cleft: Cardiac Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings

Myocardial clefts are congenital anomalies, usually localized in the basal inferior wall of the left ventricle and mid-apical segments of the interventricular septum. The patients with genetic mutations related to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy showed significant elevation in the incidence of myocardial cleft. Also there is a significant correlation between the myocardial clefts and the carriers of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy gene mutations without clinical signs . Magnetic resonance imaging allows us to diagnose the myocardial clefts of the healthy individuals as well as the patients and closely follow up for clinical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Here we present the cardiac computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging findings of a case with myocardial cleft. [Med-Science 2016; 5(1.000): 280-3

A Sudden Vision Loss Requiring Urgent Radiological Evaluation: Radiation-Induced Optic Neuropathy

An early radiological diagnosis of the Radiation-induced optic neuropathy (RION) and immediate appropriate treatment is crucial in recovery of vision loss. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the technique of choice because of its ability to detect some small lesions of the visual pathway before vision loss. Here is the report of a 63-year-old male with nasopharynx cancer whose early diagnosis of RION was made by contrast enhanced MRI. The man was treated with radiotherapy approximately three years ago and had sudden vision loss of right eye. [Med-Science 2016; 5(2.000): 666-9