Lyn Hejinian's and Charles Bernstein's language poetics : a postmodern conceptual grammar

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Effect of food simulating liquids on bulk-fill composites: A dynamic analysis approach / Ahmed Hesham Ahmed Mohamed Eweis

Objective: To determine the effect of food simulating liquids on visco-elastic properties of bulk-fill restoratives using dynamic mechanical analysis. Material and Methods: Four dental composites were evaluated which included a conventional composite (Filtek Z350 [FZ]), two bulk-fill composites (Filtek Bulk-fill [FB] and Tetric N Ceram [TN]) and a bulk-fill giomer (Beautifil-Bulk Restorative [BB]). Test specimens (12 x 2 x 2mm) were fabricated using customized stainless steel molds. The specimens were light-cured, removed from their molds, finished, measured and randomly divided into six groups. The groups (n=10) were conditioned in the following mediums for 7 days at 37°C: air (control), artificial saliva (SAGF), distilled water, 0.02N citric acid, heptane, 50% ethanol-water solution. Specimens were then assessed using dynamic mechanical testing in flexural three-point bending mode and their respective mediums at 37°C and a frequency range of 0.1 to 10 Hz. The distance between the supports were fixed at 10mm and an axial load of 5N was employed. Data for elastic modulus, viscous modulus and loss tangent were subjected to ANOVA/Tukey’s tests at significance level p<0.05. Results: Significant difference in visco-elastic properties was observed between composite materials and conditioning mediums. With the exception of bulk-fill giomer restorative (BB), the highest elastic modulus was observed after conditioning in heptane. For BB, conditioning in air gave the highest elastic modulus. Excluding FB, the lowest elastic modulus was noted after exposure to ethanol. FB showed the lowest elastic modulus after conditioning in distilled water. No apparent trends were noted for viscous modulus. Excluding BB where exposure to citric acid gave the greatest values, iv loss tangent was the highest when the composites were conditioned in ethanol. For all materials, air and heptane had the lowest loss tangent values. Conclusion: The effect of food simulating liquids on the visco-elastic properties of the evaluated bulk-fill composites was material and medium dependent. The UDMA-based bulk-fill composite (FB), however, appeared to be more resistant to degradation effects of ethanol when compared to BisGMA-based conventional and bulk-fill composites

Laparoscopic versus open complete mesocolic excision for right cancer colon

Introduction. This study aims to assess and compare the pathological, oncological and perioperative surgical outcomes of CME for right colon cancer by open and laparoscopic approaches. Material and methods. This is a prospective randomized study that included all patients that underwent radical right hemicolectomy with CME for right colon cancer at the Department of General Surgery, Assiut University between January 2017 and December 2018. Follow up of the patients continued till January 2020. Patients were randomized into two groups: the first group for open CME and the second group for laparoscopic CME. Demographic, operative, pathologic and oncological parameters were analysed. Results. This study enrolled 35 patients with colon cancer that were randomly sub-grouped into the open CME group (n = 18) and laparoscopic CME group (n = 17) according to the surgical approach. Both groups had insignificant differences as regard mesocolon grading, vascular tie, circumferential safety margin, total lymph nodes and positive lymph nodes. Patients who underwent open CME had significantly shorter operative time [168.83 ± 23.50 vs. 205.17 ± 35.70 (minutes); p &lt; 0.001] and significantly higher blood loss in comparison to those underwent laparoscopic CME [353.89 ± 85.70 vs. 224.11 ± 96.51 (cc); p &lt; 0.001]. Patients underwent laparoscopic CME had significantly shorter time of passage of flatus [1.45 ± 0.23 vs. 2.34 ± 0.79 (days); p &lt; 0.001] and first bowel motion [1.92 ± 0.38 vs. 2.79 ± 0.95 (days); p = 0.01], and less postoperative pain score and shorter hospital stay in comparison to those underwent open CME. There was no significant difference between the open group and the laparoscopic group as regard mean overall survival duration [23.44 vs. 23.29 (month); p = 0.36] Conclusions. Our study supports the use of laparoscopic CME for right colonic cancer if good surgical expertise is present. It is a feasible and safe procedure with better postoperative short and long-term surgical outcomes and similar pathological and oncological outcomes if compared to the open approach

Predominance of fetal malformations among pregnant women: A multi-centric observational study

Objective: To observe the predominance of fetal anomalies in pregnant women in a multi-centric setting. Methods: This prospective observational study included 20225 pregnant women who came for antenatal care in University Hospital and fetal medicine units from 2016 to 2019. Fetal anatomical scanning was done for all participants. Results: One hundred eighty-three cases had fetal congenital anomalies, yielding a prevalence of around 0.9%. Third of cases had positive consanguinity, this increased in cases of skeletal and thoracic anomalies. The presence of past history of anomalies was evident in 8.2% mostly with skeletal and heart anomalies. History of drug intake was only verified in 1.6% of cases. Sixty-three women out of 183 (34.4%) were diagnosed to have anomalies in fetal nervous system. Conclusion: Prenatal diagnosis are recommended for early detection of congenital anomalies and counselling

Correction: Alnusairi et al. Exogenous Nitric Oxide Reinforces Photosynthetic Efficiency, Osmolyte, Mineral Uptake, Antioxidant, Expression of Stress-Responsive Genes and Ameliorates the Effects of Salinity Stress in Wheat. Plants 2021, 10, 1693

In the original publication [...

Exogenous Nitric Oxide Reinforces Photosynthetic Efficiency, Osmolyte, Mineral Uptake, Antioxidant, Expression of Stress-Responsive Genes and Ameliorates the Effects of Salinity Stress in Wheat

Salinity stress is one of the major environmental constraints responsible for a reduction in agricultural productivity. This study investigated the effect of exogenously applied nitric oxide (NO) (50 μM and 100 μM) in protecting wheat plants from NaCl-induced oxidative damage by modulating protective mechanisms, including osmolyte accumulation and the antioxidant system. Exogenously sourced NO proved effective in ameliorating the deleterious effects of salinity on the growth parameters studied. NO was beneficial in improving the photosynthetic efficiency, stomatal conductance, and chlorophyll content in normal and NaCl-treated wheat plants. Moreover, NO-treated plants maintained a greater accumulation of proline and soluble sugars, leading to higher relative water content maintenance. Exogenous-sourced NO at both concentrations up-regulated the antioxidant system for averting the NaCl-mediated oxidative damage on membranes. The activity of antioxidant enzymes increased the protection of membrane structural and functional integrity and photosynthetic efficiency. NO application imparted a marked effect on uptake of key mineral elements such as nitrogen (N), potassium (K), and calcium (Ca) with a concomitant reduction in the deleterious ions such as Na+. Greater K and reduced Na uptake in NO-treated plants lead to a considerable decline in the Na/K ratio. Enhancing of salt tolerance by NO was concomitant with an obvious down-regulation in the relative expression of SOS1, NHX1, AQP, and OSM-34, while D2-protein was up-regulated

Synthesis and Antimicrobial Activity of Some Novel Cross-Linked Chitosan Hydrogels

Four novel hydrogels based on chitosan were synthesized via a cross-linking reaction of chitosan with different concentrations of oxalyl bis 4-(2,5-dioxo-2H-pyrrol-1(5H)-yl)benzamide. Their structures were confirmed by fourier transform infrared X-ray (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction. The antimicrobial activities of the hydrogels against two crop-threatening pathogenic fungi namely: Aspergillus fumigatus (A. fumigatus, RCMBA 06002), and Aspergillus niger (A. niger, RCMBA 06106), and five bacterial species namely: Bacillis subtilis (B. subtilis, RCMBA 6005), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus, RCMBA 2004), Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumonia, RCMB 000101) as Gram positive bacteria, and Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium, RCMB 000104), and Escherichia coli (E. coli, RCMBA 5003) as Gram negative bacteria have been investigated. The prepared hydrogels showed much higher antimicrobial activities than that of the parent chitosan. The hydrogels were more potent in case of Gram-positive bacteria than Gram-negative bacteria. Increasing the degree of cross-linking in the hydrogels resulted in a weaker antimicrobial activity