Effect of fluoride mouth rinses on various orthodontic archwire alloys tested by modified bending test: An in vitro study

Objective: Fluorides can cause corrosion and degradation in mechanical properties of commonly used archwires by forming hydrofluoric acid HF and causing disruption of protective titanium oxide layer. Hence, the aim of this study was to assess the change in load deflection characteristics of Ni-Ti, Cu Ni-Ti, S.S, and β-Ti wires on immersing in fluoride mouth rinses of two types- Phosflur and neutral NaF mouth rinse utilizing a modified bending test and comparing it to control. Materials and Methods: Round preformed wires were immersed in 10 ml of control and test solution (Phosflur and S-Flo mouth rinse) for 1.5 hours and incubated at 37°C. Modified bending test was carried out to evaluate load-deflection characteristics of different wires using Instron. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to determine if statistically significant difference exist among the mean load values obtained at various deflections in control and test solutions. Results: There was no statistically significant reduction in load deflection characteristics of Ni-Ti, copper Ni-Ti, β-Ti, and S.S wires on immersing in Phosflur mouth rinse and neutral sodium fluoride mouth rinses as compared to control at 2.5 and 1 mm of deflection in unloading phase. Conclusion: Phosflur and a neutral sodium fluoride mouth rinse did not affect the mechanical bending properties of Ni-Ti, copper Ni-Ti, B-Ti, and SS wires in in vitro conditions

Spatial and Temporal Variability of Fog Over the Indo-Gangetic Plains, India

The aim of the paper is to analyze the characteristics of winter fog in terms of its trend and spatial-temporal variability over Indo-Gangetic plains. The study reveals that during last four and half decades (1971-2015), an alarming increasing trend in fog frequency has been observed during the winter months of December and January over the study area. The frequency of fog has increased by 118.4% during the peak winter months of December and January. It has also been observed that on an average central part of IGP has 66.29% fog days followed by west IGP with 41.94% fog days. Further, Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) decomposition and Mann-Kendall variation analysis are used to analyze the spatial and temporal patterns of winter fog. The findings have significant implications for the further research of fog over IGP and formulate robust strategies to adapt the fog variability and mitigate its effects. The decision by Delhi Government to implement odd-even scheme to restrict the use of private vehicles in order to reduce pollution and improve quality of air may result in increasing the alarming increasing trend of fog over Delhi and its surrounding areas regions of IGP

Expression of Heat Shock Protein 70 Gene and Its Correlation with Inflammatory Markers in Essential Hypertension.

OBJECTIVES:Hypertension is characterized by systemic high blood pressure and is the most common and important risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases. Studies have shown that the circulating levels of certain inflammatory markers such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interlukin-6 (IL-6), c-reactive protein (CRP), and tumor suppressor protein-53 (p53) are upregulated and are independently associated with essential hypertension. However, mechanism of increase in the levels of HSP70 protein is not clear. No such studies are reported in the blood circulation of patients with essential hypertension. In the present study, we investigated the expression of circulating HSP70 at mRNA and protein levels and its relationship with other inflammatory markers in patients with essential hypertension. MATERIALS AND METHODS:We recruited 132 patients with essential hypertension and 132 normal controls from similar socio-economic-geographical background. The expression of HSP70 at mRNA levels was determined by Real Time PCR and at protein levels by indirect Elisa and Western Blot techniques. RESULTS:We found a significantly higher expression of HSP70 gene expression (approximately 6.45 fold, P < 0.0001) in hypertensive patients as compared to healthy controls. A significant difference (P < 0.0001) in the protein expression of HSP70 was also observed in plasma of patients as compared to that of controls. CONCLUSION:Higher expression of HSP70 is positively correlated with inflammatory markers in patients with essential hypertension and this correlation could play an important role in essential hypertension

Comparative assessment of the efficacy of closed helical loop and T-loop for space closure in lingual orthodontics—a finite element study

Abstract Background Retraction in lingual orthodontics has biomechanical differences when compared to labial orthodontics, which is not yet established. Thus, we have intended to compare the biomechanical characteristics of closed helical loop and T-loop on 1 mm activation with 30° of compensatory curvatures during retraction in lingual orthodontics. Methods STb lingual brackets were indirectly bonded to maxillary typhodont model that was scanned to obtain FEM model. Closed helical loop (2 × 7 mm) and T-loop (6 × 2 × 7 mm) of 0.016″ × 0.016″ TMA wire were modeled without preactivation bends. Preactivation bends at 30° were given in the software. Boundary conditions were set. The force (F) and moment (M) of both the loops were determined on 1 mm activation, using ANSYS software. M/F ratio was also calculated for both the loops. Results T-loop exerted less force, thus increased M/F ratio as compared to closed helical loop on 1 mm activation. Conclusions When torque has to be preserved in the anterior segment during retraction in lingual orthodontics, T-loop can be preferred over closed helical loop

Correlation study between different parameters in the study subjects.

<p>Correlation study between different parameters in the study subjects.</p

qRT-PCR analysis of Heat shock protein70 gene expressions at mRNA level and indirect ELISA analysis at protein level.

<p>(A) represents the scattered plot of levels of HSP70 gene expression at mRNA level in the individual study subjects by qRT-PCR. The relative HSP70 gene expression in patients and controls is expressed in delta-CT values. Results were expressed as densitometric ratio (HSP70 to 18S rRNA gene) in patients and controls group ± SD. P < 0.001. Higher delta-CT value deflects the lower gene expression. (B) represents the scattered plot of individual data of HSP70 expression at protein level by indirect ELISA technique in the study subjects. P < 0.0001.</p

Circulatory miR-133b and miR-21 as Novel Biomarkers in Early Prediction and Diagnosis of Coronary Artery Disease

While coronary artery disease (CAD) has become a major threat worldwide, the timely biomarker-based early diagnosis of CAD remains a major unmet clinical challenge. We aimed towards assessing the level of circulatory microRNAs as candidates of novel biomarkers in patients with CAD. A total of 147 subjects were recruited which includes 78 subjects with angiographically proven CAD, 15 pre-atherosclerotic normal coronary artery (NCA) subjects and 54 healthy individuals. Quantitative real-time PCR assays were performed. MiR-133b was downregulated by 4.6 fold (p &lt; 0.0001) whereas miR-21 was upregulated by ~2 fold (p &lt; 0.0001) in plasma samples of CAD patients. Importantly, both the miRNAs showed association with disease severity as miR-133b was downregulated by 8.45 fold in acute coronary syndrome (ACS), 3.38 fold in Stable angina (SA) and 2.08 fold in NCA. MiR-21 was upregulated by 2.46 fold in ACS, 1.90 fold in SA and 1.12 fold in NCA. Moreover, miR-133b could significantly differentiate subjects with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) from Non-STEMI. Area under the curve (AUC) for miR-133b was 0.80 with &gt;75.6% sensitivity and specificity, AUC for miR-21 was 0.79 with &gt;69.4% sensitivity and specificity. Our results suggest that miR-133b and miR-21 could be possible candidates of novel biomarkers in early prediction of CAD

Plasma levels of inflammatory markers.

<p>(A) represents the scattered plot of levels of interleukin-6 in the individual study subjects. (B) represents the scattered plot of individual data of tumor necrosis factor-alpha in the study subjects. (C) represents the scattered plot of individual data of C-reactive protein in the study subjects. (D) represents the scattered plot of individual data of p53 in the study subjects.</p