Comparison of accuracy of single crowns generated from digital and conventional impressions: An in vivo controlled trial

Aim With the advances of digital technology, intraoral digital impression (DI) technique has become a major trend in prosthodontics with respect to traditional impression (TI) techniques; despite that, very few data are available concerning its accuracy. Thus, the purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of DI versus TI considering both marginal and internal gap (MG, IG, respectively) in cobalt-chromium (Co-Cr) single crowns manufactured by mean of computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technology. Material and methods Thirty posterior teeth were considered for this study. For each abutment tooth, sixty and thirty copings were produced with the aid of TI and DI, respectively. Thirty of the sixty copings of the TI-group were then randomly selected to be veneered and cemented onto existing abutments. The space existing between the internal surface of the coping and the abutment tooth was evaluated onto an in vitro replica; the MG and IG were measured by Scanning Electron Microscope. The data were analysed by the Wilcoxon test (1-tailed). Results The mean MG was 75.04 μm (SD = 13.12) and 55.01 μm (SD = 7.01) for the TI group and DI group, respectively. As regards the mean IGs, the values recorded were of 78.36 μm (SD = 19.66) for the TI-group and 59.20 μm (SD=3.33) for the DI-group. A statistically significant difference was found between the two groups (p-value = 0.001). Conclusions Copings manufactured from DI showed better MGs and IGs with respect to copings produced from TI. However, both approaches produced clinically acceptable results

Integrated geophysical and aerial sensing methods for archaeology: A case history in the Punic site of Villamar (Sardinia, Italy)

In this paper, the authors present a recent integrated survey carried out on an archaeological urban site, generally free of buildings, except some temporary structures related to excavated areas where multi-chamber tombs were found. The two methods used to investigate this site were thermal infrared and ground penetrating radar (GPR). The thermography was carried out with the sensor mounted under a helium balloon simultaneously with a photographic camera. In order to have a synthetic view of the surface thermal behavior, a simplified version of the existing night thermal gradient algorithm was applied. By this approach, we have a wide extension of thermal maps due to the balloon oscillation, because we are able to compute the maps despite collecting few acquisition samples. By the integration of GPR and the thermal imaging, we can evaluate the depth of the thermal influence of possible archaeological targets, such as buried Punic tombs or walls belonging to the succeeding medieval buildings, which have been subsequently destroyed. The thermal anomalies present correspondences to the radar time slices obtained from 30 to 50 cm. Furthermore, by superimposing historical aerial pictures on the GPR and thermal imaging data, we can identify these anomalies as the foundations of the destroyed building

SERS of cells: What can we learn from cell lysates?

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a promising and emerging technique to analyze the cellular environment. We developed an alternative, rapid and label-free SERS-based method to get information about the cellular environment by analyzing cells lysates, thus avoiding the need to incorporate nanoparticles into cells. Upon sonicating and filtrating cells, we obtained lysates which, mixed with Au or Ag nanoparticles, yield stable and repeatable SERS spectra, whose overall profile depends on the metal used as substrate, but not on the buffer used for the lysis process. Bands appearing in these spectra were shown to arise mostly from the cytosol and were assigned to adenine, guanine, adenosine and reduced glutathione (GSH). Spectral differences among various cell types also demonstrated that this approach is suitable for cell type identification

Alternativas de diseño para mejorar el desempeño ambiental de plazas urbanas de Mendoza (Argentina). Evaluación mediante simulación con ENVI-met 3.1

This investigation aims to determine the potential of each of the structures that make up the urban squares: forest large size, grass areas and sealed surfaces in isolated way. For this purpose, the environmental performance of three urban squares constituted at 100% by each structure was evaluated. Numerical simulations with ENVI-met 3.1 were performed for its thermal and radiative characterization. The results show that the coverage of the square with forest large size to 100% improves the conditions of habitability during the day and presents the lower temperatures during the night, with differences of up to 3.5°C in relation to the worst configuration (sealed surface 100%). It is essential that the urban squares contain sealed structures to meet their functional requirements. Nevertheless, based in this study, urban squares should prioritize forest large size groups in their designs and decrease the presence of sealed structures to get better performance from the environmental standpoint.Este trabajo tiene como objetivo determinar el potencial de las estructuras que componen las plazas verdes urbanas: arbolado de gran porte, áreas de césped y superficies selladas de forma aislada. Con este fin se evaluó el comportamiento ambiental de una plaza compuesta al 100% por cada estructura. Para la caracterización térmica y radiativa se realizaron simulaciones con ENVI-met 3.1. Los resultados muestran que la cobertura de la plaza con arbolado de gran porte al 100% mejora las condiciones de habitabilidad durante el día y presenta las menores temperaturas durante la noche, con diferencias de hasta 3.50°C respecto de la peor configuración (superficie sellada 100%). Si bien es imprescindible que las plazas contengan estructuras selladas para dar respuesta a sus requerimientos funcionales, desde el punto de vista ambiental, las plazas debieran priorizar en sus diseños grupos de árboles de gran porte y disminuir la presencia de estructuras selladas

Trial sequential meta-analysis of laparoscopic versus open pancreaticoduodenectomy: is it the time to stop the randomization?

Background: The advantages of LPD compared with OPD remain debatable. The study aimed to compare the laparoscopic (LPD) versus open (OPD) for pancreaticoduodenectomy. Methods: A meta-analysis of randomized studies (RCTs) comparing LPD and OPD was made. The results were reported as relative risk (RRs) or mean differences (MDs). The trial sequential analysis was used to test the type I and type II errors defining the required information size (RIS). The primary outcome was mortality, major morbidity, and postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF). R1 resection, post-pancreatectomy hemorrhage, delayed gastric emptying, biliary fistula, reoperation, readmission, operative time (OT), lymph nodes harvested, and length of stay (LOS) were also studied. Results: Four RCTs, counting 818 patients, were found. The RRs for mortality, major morbidity, and POPF were 1.16, 1.04, and 0.86, without significant differences. The RISs were 35,672, 16,548, and 8206. To confirm this equivalence, at least 34,854, 15,730, and 7338 should be randomized. OT was significantly longer in LPD than OPD, with an MD of 63.22. The LOS was significantly shorter in LPD than in OPD, with − 1.76 days. The RISs were 1297 and 1273, excluding a false-positive result. No significant differences were observed for the remaining endpoints, and RISs suggested that more than 3000 patients should be randomized to confirm the equivalence. Conclusion: The equivalence of LPD and OPD for mortality, major morbidity, and POPF is affected by type II error. The RISs to demonstrate a superiority of one of the two techniques seem unrealistic to obtain

Induced pluripotent stem cells for therapy personalization in pediatric patients: Focus on drug-induced adverse events

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are major clinical problems, particularly in special populations such as pediatric patients. Indeed, ADRs may be caused by a plethora of different drugs leading, in some cases, to hospitalization, disability or even death. In addition, pediatric patients may respond differently to drugs with respect to adults and may be prone to developing different kinds of ADRs, leading, in some cases, to more severe consequences. To improve the comprehension, and thus the prevention, of ADRs, the set-up of sensitive and personalized assays is urgently needed. Important progress is represented by the possibility of setting up groundbreaking patient-specific assays. This goal has been powerfully achieved using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Due to their genetic and physiological species-specific differences and their ability to be differentiated ideally into all tissues of the human body, this model may be accurate in predicting drug toxicity, especially when this toxicity is related to individual genetic differences. This review is an up-to-date summary of the employment of iPSCs as a model to study ADRs, with particular attention to drugs used in the pediatric field. We especially focused on the intestinal, hepatic, pancreatic, renal, cardiac, and neuronal levels, also discussing progress in organoids creation. The latter are three-dimensional in vitro culture systems derived from pluripotent or adult stem cells simulating the architecture and functionality of native organs such as the intestine, liver, pancreas, kidney, heart, and brain. Based on the existing knowledge, these models are powerful and promising tools in multiple clinical applications including toxicity screening, disease modeling, personalized and regenerative medicine

Synthesis, characterization, crystal structures and in vitro antistaphylococcal activity of organotin(IV) derivatives with 5,7-disubstituted-1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine

New organotin(IV) complexes of 5,7-ditertbutyl-1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine (dbtp) and 5,7-diphenyl- 1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine (dptp) with 1:1 and/or 1:2 stoichiometry were synthesized and investigated by X-ray diffraction, FT-IR and 119Sn Mössbauer in the solid state and by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy, in so- lution. Moreover, the crystal and molecular structures of Et2SnCl2(dbtp)2 and Ph2SnCl2(EtOH)2(dptp)2 are reported. The complexes contain hexacoordinated tin atoms: in Et2SnCl2(dbtp)2 two 5,7-ditertbutyl-1,2,4- triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine molecules coordinate classically the tin atom through N(3) atom and the coordina- tion around the tin atom shows a skew trapezoidal structure with axial ethyl groups. In Ph2SnCl2(EtOH)2 (dptp)2 two ethanol molecules coordinate tin through the oxygen atom and the 5,7-diphenyl-1,2,4-triazolo [1,5-a]pyrimidine molecules are not directly bound to the metal center but strictly H-bonded, through N (3), to the \OH group of the ethanol moieties; Ph2SnCl2(EtOH)2(dptp)2 has an all-trans structure and the C–Sn–C fragment is linear. On the basis of Mössbauer data, the 1:2 diorganotin(IV) complexes are advanced to have the same structure of Et2SnCl2(dbtp)2, while Me2SnCl2(dptp)2 to have a regular all-trans octahedral structure. A distorted cis-R2 trigonal bipyramidal structure is assigned to 1:1 diorganotin(IV) complexes. The in vitro antibacterial activities of the synthesized complexes have been tested against a group of reference pathogen micro-organisms and some of them resulted active with MIC values of 5 μg/mL, most of all against staphylococcal strains, which shows their inhibitory effect

Quality control of automatically defined cancer cases by the automated registration system of the Venetian Tumour Registry

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Condiciones térmicas y beneficios ambientales de distintas configuraciones de plazas urbanas en zonas áridas

El presente trabajo evalúa las consecuencias de las decisiones de diseño implementadas en las plazas de Mendoza en las últimas décadas y su influencia sobre el comportamiento térmico del espacio. Dentro de cada plaza se han evaluado distintas estructuras de verde y sellado (prado, bosque, centro sellado). Los espacios fueron monitoreados durante el verano 2012-2013.Los resultados muestran que el comportamiento térmico de las estructuras evaluadas depende en gran medida de su condición de acceso al sol y su visión de bóveda celeste. Durante el día (periodo del calentamiento) la estructura más eficiente es la que bloquea la radiación solar mejorando la habitabilidad del espacio. En torno a la noche (periodo de enfriamiento) la estructura más eficiente es la que posee mayor apertura de bóveda celeste y predomina la condición verde de su ámbito. Finalmente desde el punto de vista térmico el patrón de diseño actual debilita los beneficios ambientales de las plazas insertas en ciudades de zonas áridas.This paper evaluates the consequences of design trends that have suffered the Mendoza city’s squares in recent decades and the influence of these design decisions on its thermal behavior. Within each square were evaluated different structures green and sealed (meadow, forest, center sealing). The spaces were monitored during summer 2012-2013. The results show the thermal behavior of the evaluated structures depends largely on his condition access to the sun and its view of sky. During the day (heating period) the structure that blocks solar radiation is the most efficient and improves habitability of the space. Around the night (cooling period) the more open structure, in which green areas are predominant, results the most efficient one. Finally, is observed that current design pattern weakens the environmental benefits of the squares inserted in arid cities.Asociación Argentina de Energías Renovables y Medio Ambiente (ASADES