Shrinkage stress and mechanical properties of photoactivated composite resin using the argon ion laser

The objective of this study was to verify the influence of photoactivation with the argon ion laser on shrinkage stress (SS), followed by evaluation of Vickers microhardness (VM), percentage of maximum hardness (PMH), flexural strength (FS), and flexural modulus (FM) of a composite resin. The study groups were: L1-laser at 200 mW for 10 seconds; L2-laser at 200 mW for 20 seconds; L3-laser at 250 mW for 10 seconds; L4-laser at 250 mW for 20 seconds; H-halogen light at 275 mW for 20 seconds. Data were analyzed by ANOVA/Tukey`s test (alpha=5%). The values of SS (MPa) were statistically lower for the group L3 (1.3)c, followed by groups L1 (2.7)b, L4 (3.4)a, b, L2 (3.7)a, and H (4.5)a. There was no difference in the values of VM when the same time of photoactivation was used, with respective values being L1=70.1a, L2=78.1b, L3=69.9a, L4=78.1b and H=79.9b. All groups showed a PMH of at least 80%. Only the group L1 showed differences in FS (MPa) and FM (GPa), the respective values of 86.2 and 5.4 being lower. Therefore, the use of argon ion laser had influenced the composite resin polymerization. The L3 group presented adequate mechanical properties and minimum SS, reducing the clinical working time for photoactivation of restorations with the tested resin by 50%.CAPESFAPESP[04/14119-0

Phase I-II Trial of Weekly Bicalutamide in Men with Elevated Prostate-Specific Antigen and Negative Prostate Biopsies

Background: Men with elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and negative prostate biopsies are at risk for prostate cancer. The antiandrogen bicalutamide has a prolonged half-life, thus potentially allowing an intermittent administration to retain activity while reducing toxicity. We conducted a phase I-II trial of weekly bicalutamide in men with PSA >4 ng/mL and negative biopsies. Methods: Eighty subjects were nonrandomly assigned to a three-arm trial to either bicalutamide 50 mg/wk (n = 26) or 100 mg/wk (n = 28) or no treatment (n = 26) for 6 months. Blood samples were obtained at 0, 3, and 6 months, and prostate biopsies were repeated after 6 months. The outcome measures were 6-month changes of tissue Ki-67 (primary end point), high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HG-PIN), proliferative inflammatory atrophy, circulating PSA, and sex hormones. Results: Ki-67 expression was higher in HG-PIN than in normal tissue (10% versus 3%; P < 0.01) but was not modulated by bicalutamide in normal luminal cells. A trend toward an improvement of HG-PIN status was found in treated subjects (26% improved, 60% had no change, 15% worsened) as compared with the no-treatment arm (4% improved, 83% had no change, 13% worsened; P = 0.07). Proliferative inflammatory atrophy prevalence was not reduced by bicalutamide. Bicalutamide reduced PSA by 50% in both arms and raised testosterone and estradiol levels. Asymptomatic breast swelling was noted in 40% of the treated cases. Conclusions: A weekly administration of bicalutamide seems to be reasonably safe and shows an encouraging signal of activity on HG-PIN prevalence, supporting further studies of this schedule in men at high risk despite the negative primary end-point findings on Ki-67

Micro-hardness evaluation of a micro-hybrid composite resin light cured with halogen light, light-emitting diode and argon ion laser

This in vitro study aimed to determine whether the micro-hardness of a composite resin is modified by the light units or by the thickness of the increment. Composite resin disks were divided into 15 groups (n = 5), according to the factors under study: composite resin thickness (0 mm, 1 mm, 2 mm , 3 mm and 4 mm) and light units. The light activation was performed with halogen light (HL) (40 s, 500 mW/cm(2)), argon ion laser (AL) (30 s, 600 mW/cm(2)) or light-emitting diode (LED) (30 s, 400 mW/cm(2)). Vickers micro-hardness tests were performed after 1 week and were carried out on the top surface (0 mm-control) and at different depths of the samples. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey tests (P a parts per thousand currency signaEuro parts per thousand 0.05) revealed no statistically significant difference among the light units for the groups of 0 mm and 1 mm thickness. At 2 mm depth, the AL was not statistically different from the HL, but the latter showed higher micro-hardness values than the LED. In groups with 3 mm and 4 mm thickness, the HL also showed higher micro-hardness values than the groups activated by the AL and the LED. Only the HL presented satisfactory polymerization with 3 mm of thickness. With a 4 mm increment no light unit was able to promote satisfactory polymerization.Sao Paulo Research Foundation/FAPESP[99/08433-4]Sao Paulo Research Foundation/FAPESP[99/11408-1

Phase I-II Trial of Weekly Bicalutamide in Men with Elevated Prostate-Specific Antigen and Negative Prostate Biopsies.

BACKGROUND: Men with elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and negative prostate biopsies are at risk for prostate cancer. The antiandrogen bicalutamide has a prolonged half-life, thus potentially allowing an intermittent administration to retain activity while reducing toxicity. We conducted a phase I-II trial of weekly bicalutamide in men with PSA >4 ng/mL and negative biopsies. METHODS: Eighty subjects were nonrandomly assigned to a three-arm trial to either bicalutamide 50 mg/wk (n = 26) or 100 mg/wk (n = 28) or no treatment (n = 26) for 6 months. Blood samples were obtained at 0, 3, and 6 months, and prostate biopsies were repeated after 6 months. The outcome measures were 6-month changes of tissue Ki-67 (primary end point), high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HG-PIN), proliferative inflammatory atrophy, circulating PSA, and sex hormones. RESULTS: Ki-67 expression was higher in HG-PIN than in normal tissue (10% versus 3%; P < 0.01) but was not modulated by bicalutamide in normal luminal cells. A trend toward an improvement of HG-PIN status was found in treated subjects (26% improved, 60% had no change, 15% worsened) as compared with the no-treatment arm (4% improved, 83% had no change, 13% worsened; P = 0.07). Proliferative inflammatory atrophy prevalence was not reduced by bicalutamide. Bicalutamide reduced PSA by 50% in both arms and raised testosterone and estradiol levels. Asymptomatic breast swelling was noted in 40% of the treated cases. CONCLUSIONS: A weekly administration of bicalutamide seems to be reasonably safe and shows an encouraging signal of activity on HG-PIN prevalence, supporting further studies of this schedule in men at high risk despite the negative primary end-point findings on Ki-67

Aspectos da morfologia radiográfica do esqueleto, tórax e abdome do quati (Nasua nasua Linnaeus, 1766)

Treze quatis (Nasua nasua) oriundos do Parque Zoológico da Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso foram contidos quimicamente e submetidos a diversos procedimentos radiográficos. Foram realizadas radiografias dos membros torácicos, membros pélvicos, tórax, abdome, pescoço e crânio. As imagens obtidas foram comparadas com peça anatômica e com imagens radiográficas de caninos. Foram realizadas descrições da morfologia radiográfica de vísceras e de estruturas esqueléticas e disponibilizadas imagens das principais projeções radiográficas da espécie. As principais diferenças entre a morfologia radiográfica dos membros de quatis e de caninos ficaram limitadas às mãos e aos pés. Os quatis apresentaram 5 dígitos bem desenvolvidos com os metacarpos e os metatarsos levemente mais curtos do que os dígitos correspondentes. Essa espécie apresentou 7 vértebras cervicais, 15 torácicas, 5 vértebras lombares e 3 sacrais (fusionadas). Os seios frontais mostraram-se mais amplos, com extensão cranial entre o osso maxilar e o nasal, e numerosos septos bem evidentes. A dentição observada foi I 3/3, C1/1, P4/4, M2/2 = 40 e as principais vísceras torácicas e abdominais apresentaram aspectos anatômico e radiográfico similares às descritas para caninos

Microdureza de resina composta fotopolimerizável: a cor da matriz experimental pode alterar os resultados dos testes? Microhardness of photopolymerized composite resin: can the color of the experimental matrix change the results of the tests?

O grau de polimerização das resinas compostas, avaliado principalmente pela microdureza vem sendo estudado relacionado com inúmeros fatores. Algumas pesquisas in vitro fazem uso de matrizes como base para a confecção de corpos-de-prova e não dentes naturais. Para as resinas fotopolimerizáveis, a intensidade de luz que atinge o material exerce influência direta no seu grau de polimerização. A cor e/ou transparência dessas matrizes não deveriam induzir a diferenças nos resultados finais de microdureza. Com essa preocupação, este trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar o efeito de duas matrizes de polipropileno utilizadas para testes com resina composta. Uma delas era branca e outra preta. A resina foi inserida e polimerizada em incremento único de 3 mm e em 3 incrementos de 1 mm cada e sua dureza medida a 3 mm de profundidade. Analisando os resultados pode-se concluir que houve diferença estatisticamente significante entre as duas cores, sendo que a microdureza foi menor com a matriz preta. A técnica de inserção e polimerização em incremento único induziu a menor grau de polimerização que a técnica incremental em ambas as matrizes (p < 0,01). Pôde-se obter com esses resultados, que ao utilizar matrizes pretas para confecção de corpos-de-prova de resina composta fotopolimerizável, os valores obtidos, principalmente relacionados com profundidade de polimerização, demonstram o menor grau possível de polimerização, e que depende exclusivamente das propriedades da resina.<br>The polymerizing degree of composite resins, mainly evaluated through their microhardness, has been studied in relation to many factors. Some in vitro researches use matrices as basis for manufacturing test specimens instead of, natural teeth. For photopolymerized resins, the light intensity that reaches the material directly influences its polymerization degree. The color, as well as the transparency of the resins, should not induce differences on the final microhardness results. With this awareness in mind, this work had the aim of evaluating the effect of two polypropylene resins used in tests of composite resins. One of them was white and the other was black. The resin was applied and polymerized in a single portion of 3 mm, and in 3 increments of 1 mm each, and the hardness index was measured at 3 mm of depth. After analyzing the results, a great difference was noticed between both colors, being the microhardness smaller in the black one. The single portion polymerization and applying techniques resulted in a smaller polymerization degree for both matrices (p < 0.01). We could notice that, when using black matrices for manufacturing test specimens of photopolymerized composite resin, the values obtained, mainly in relation to the depth of polymerization, showed the smallest possible degree of polymerization, and they also showed that it depends only on the resin properties

Dentine bond strength of a composite resin polymerized with conventional light and argon laser Resistência de união à dentina de resina composta polimerizada com luz halógena e laser de argônio

The use of argon laser (488 nm) has been suggested as a new alternative for polymerizing adhesive materials. This study aimed to evaluate the tensile bond strength of a microfilled composite (A110, 3M) inserted by incremental technique (3 increments of 1 mm) and by single increment (3 mm) polymerized by argon laser for 10, 20 and 30 seconds and halogen light for 40 seconds. Eighty (8 groups of 10 teeth) freshly extracted bovine teeth were stored in a freezer in distilled water for one week. The crowns were cross-sectioned from the roots. Pulpectomy was performed and the pulp chambers were sealed with wax. The buccal surfaces of the teeth were ground with wet sandpaper (grains: 120, 400, and 600) to expose the surface dentin, and the teeth were then included in acrylic resin. A metal device was used to fix each sample and a black propylene matrix25 (3 mm high with an internal millimetric delimitation) was used to insert the material according to the groups studied. The polymerization intervals were of 10, 20 and 30 seconds for the laser polymerization and 40 seconds for the conventional polymerization. Tensile tests were performed by a Universal Testing Machine 4442 (Instron) at a speed of 0.5 mm/min and 500 N load. According to the methodology used, the incremental technique increased bond strength values. There was no difference between the studied polymerization techniques when resin was filled in 3 increments.<br>O uso do laser de argônio (488 nm) tem sido sugerido como uma nova alternativa para polimerização de materiais adesivos. Este estudo tem o objetivo de avaliar a resistência adesiva de uma resina composta microparticulada (A110, 3M) inserida pela técnica incremental (3 incrementos de 1 mm) e de incremento único (3 mm) polimerizada com laser de argônio por 10, 20 e 30 segundos e com luz halógena por 40 segundos. Oitenta (8 grupos com 10 dentes) dentes bovinos recém-extraídos foram armazenados em geladeira, em água destilada, por uma semana. As coroas foram separadas das raízes. Foi realizada a pulpectomia, e as coroas foram seladas com cera. As faces vestibulares foram desgastadas com seqüência de lixas (120, 400 e 600) para expor a dentina superficial, e os dentes foram incluídos em resina acrílica. Foi utilizada uma mesa metálica para fixar cada espécime com a matriz de polipropileno preta (3 mm de altura com delimitação interna milimetrada) e inserir a resina de acordo com os grupos estudados. Os tempos de polimerização foram de 10, 20 e 30 segundos para a polimerização com laser e de 40 segundos para a polimerização convencional. Os testes de resistência adesiva foram realizados com a máquina universal de ensaios 4442 (Instron) com velocidade de 0,5 mm/min e carga de 500 N. De acordo com a metodologia usada, a técnica incremental aumentou os valores de resistência adesiva. Não houve diferença entre as técnicas de polimerização usadas quando a resina foi inserida em 3 incrementos