Effects of contemporary orthodontic composites on tooth color following short-term fixed orthodontic treatment: A controlled clinical study

Background/aim: To determine the color alterations of natural teeth associated with different orthodontic composites used in comprehensive short-term treatment. Materials and methods: Twenty-two patients were treated with fixed appliances and 22 untreated subjects were also evaluated. Lower incisors were bonded with different orthodontic composites: 42 with Grengloo, 41 with Light Bond, 31 with Kurasper F, and 32 with Transbond XT. The color parameters of the Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage (CIE) were measured for each tooth with a spectrophotometer. Color assessment in relation to time, adhesive material, and their interaction was made with 2-way mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) and 1-way ANOVA for the color differences (ΔE*). Further analyses were done using Tukey’s honestly significant difference tests and paired-samples t-tests. Results: The color of teeth was affected by treatment. The mean L* and a* values increased, whereas the mean b* values decreased. Total color differences of teeth demonstrated visible color changes clinically after treatment, ranging from 1.12 to 3.34 ΔE units. However, there were no significant differences for color of enamel. Conclusion: Teeth may be discolored with fixed appliances during treatment. Moreover, contemporary orthodontic composites have similar effects of enamel discoloration. © TÜBİTAK

Dynamic lot sizing for a warm/cold process: Heuristics and insights

Cataloged from PDF version of article.We consider the dynamic lot sizing problem for a warm/cold process where the process can be kept warm at a unit variable cost for the next period if more than a prespecified quantity has been produced. Exploiting the optimal production plan structures, we develop nine rule-based forward solution heuristics. Proposed heuristics are modified counterparts of the heuristics developed previously for the classical dynamic lot sizing problem. In a numerical study, we investigate the performance of the proposed heuristics and identify operating environment characteristics where each particular heuristic is the best or among the best. Moreover, for a warm/cold process setting, our numerical studies indicate that, when used on a rolling horizon basis, a heuristic may also perform better costwise than a solution obtained using a dynamic programming approach. & 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Registration of N614, A3N615, N616, and N617 Shattercane Genetic Stocks with Cytoplasmic or Nuclear Male Sterility and Juicy or Dry Midribs

Four shattercane [Sorghum bicolor subsp. drummondii (Nees ex Steud.) de Wet ex Davidse] genetic stocks—N614 (Reg. No. GS-652, PI 665684), A3N615 (Reg. No. GS-651, PI 665683), N616 (Reg. No. GS-653, PI 665685), and N617 (Reg. No. GS-654, PI 665686)—with A3 cytoplasmic male sterility or the nuclear male sterility gene ms3 containing either juicy (dd) or dry (DD) culms were developed jointly by the USDA-ARS; the Iowa Agricultural and Home Economics Experiment Station, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Iowa State University; and the Agricultural Research Division, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska. The stocks were released in July 2011. The source material for these genetic stocks was isolated from an archetypical shattercane population found near Lincoln, NE. Release of these genetic stocks makes available shattercane lines with both A3 cytoplasmic male sterility, and ms3 genetic (nuclear) male sterility to facilitate crossing. These genetic stocks also contain juicy (dd) or dry (DD) culms, a visible genetic marker to facilitate screening progeny resulting from crosses. The genetic stocks have immediate application for basic research involving gene flow from cultivated sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] to shattercane and on the fitness of offspring resulting from such crosses

Single Item Lot Sizing Problem for a Warm/Cold Process with Immediate Lost Sales

Cataloged from PDF version of article.We consider the dynamic lot-sizing problem with finite capacity and possible lost sales for a process that could be kept warm at a unit variable cost for the next period t + 1 only if more than a threshold value Qt has been produced and would be cold, otherwise. Production with a cold process incurs a fixed positive setup cost, Kt and setup time, St, which may be positive. Setup costs and times for a warm process are negligible. We develop a dynamic programming formulation of the problem, establish theoretical results on the structure of the optimal production plan in the presence of zero and positive setup times with Wagner–Whitin-type cost structures. We also show that the solution to the dynamic lot-sizing problem with lost sales are generated from the full commitment production series improved via lost sales decisions in the presence of a warm/cold process. 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Quality control chart design under jidoka

We consider design of control charts in the presence of machine stoppages that are exogenously imposed (as under jidoka practices). Each stoppage creates an opportunity for inspection/repair at reduced cost. We first model a single machine facing opportunities arriving according to a Poisson process, develop the expressions for its operating characteristics and construct the optimization problem for economic design of a control chart. We, then, consider the multiple machine setting where individual machine stoppages may create inspection/repair opportunities for other machines. We develop exact expressions for the cases when all machines are either opportunity-takers or not. On the basis of an approximation for the all-taker case, we then propose an approximate model for the mixed case. In a numerical study, we examine the opportunity taking behavior of machines in both single and multiple machine settings and the impact of such practices on the design of an X̄ - Q C chart. Our findings indicate that incorporating inspection/repair opportunities into QC chart design may provide considerable cost savings. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 56: 465-477, 2009

Dynamic lot sizing problem for a warm/cold process

We consider a dynamic lot sizing problem with finite capacity for a process that can be kept warm until the next production period at a unit variable cost ωt only if more than a threshold value has been produced and is cold, otherwise. That is, the setup cost in period t is Kt if xt-1 < Qt-1 and kt, otherwise (0 ≤ kt ≤ Kt). We develop a dynamic programming formulation of the problem, establish theoretical results on the structure of the optimal production plan and discuss its computational complexity in the presence of Wagner-Whitin-type cost structures. Based on our stuctural results, we present an optimal polynomial-time solution algorithm for kt = 0, and also show that an optimal linear-time solution algorithm exists for a special case. Our numerical study indicates that utilizing the undertime option (i.e., keeping the process warm via reduced production rates) results in significant cost savings, which has managerial implications for capacity planning and selection

Perceived Readiness for Hospital Discharge in Adult Medical-Surgical Patients

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to identify predictors and outcomes of adult medical-surgical patients\u27 perceptions of their readiness for hospital discharge. Design: A correlational, prospective, longitudinal design with path analyses was used to explore relationships among transition theory-related variables. Setting: Midwestern tertiary medical center. Sample: 147 adult medical-surgical patients. Methods: Predictor variables included patient characteristics, hospitalization factors, and nursing practices that were measured prior to hospital discharge using a study enrollment form, the Quality of Discharge Teaching Scale, and the Care Coordination Scale. Discharge readiness was measured using the Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale administered within 4 hours prior to discharge. Outcomes were measured 3 weeks postdischarge with the Post-Discharge Coping Difficulty Scale and self-reported utilization of health services. Findings: Living alone, discharge teaching (amount of content received and nurses\u27 skill in teaching delivery), and care coordination explained 51% of readiness for discharge score variance. Patient age and discharge readiness explained 16% of variance in postdischarge coping difficulty. Greater readiness for discharge was predictive of fewer readmissions. Conclusions: Quality of the delivery of discharge teaching was the strongest predictor of discharge readiness. Study results provided support for Meleis\u27 transitions theory as a useful model for conceptualizing and investigating the discharge transition. Implications for Practice: The study results have implications for the CNS role in patient and staff education, system building for the postdischarge transition, and measurement of clinical care outcomes

Safety and Efficacy of Hospital Utilization of Tranexamic Acid in Civilian Adult Trauma Resuscitation

Introduction: Patients with trauma-induced coagulopathies may benefit from the use of antifibrinolytic agents, such as tranexamic acid (TXA). This study evaluated the safety and efficacy of TXA in civilian adults hospitalized with traumatic hemorrhagic shock.Methods: Patients who sustained blunt or penetrating trauma with signs of hemorrhagic shock from June 2014 through July 2018 were considered for TXA treatment. A retrospective control group was formed from patients seen in the same past five years who were not administered TXA and matched based on age, gender, Injury Severity Score (ISS), and mechanism of injury (blunt vs penetrating trauma). The primary outcome of this study was mortality measured at 24 hours, 48 hours, and 28 days. Secondary outcomes included total blood products transfused, hospital length of stay (LOS), intensive care unit LOS, and adverse events. We conducted three pre-specified subgroup analyses to assess outcomes of patients, including (1) those who were severely injured (ISS >15), (2) those who sustained significant blood loss (≥10 units of total blood products transfused), and (3) those who sustained blunt vs penetrating trauma.Results: Propensity matching yielded two cohorts: the hospital TXA group (n = 280) and a control group (n = 280). The hospital TXA group had statistically lower mortality at 28 days (1.1% vs 5%, odds ratio [OR] [0.21], (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.06, 0.72)) and used fewer units of blood products (median = 4 units, interquartile range (IQR) = [1, 10] vs median=7 units, IQR = [2, 12.5] for the hospital TXA and control groups, respectively, (95% CI for the difference in median, -3 to -1). There were no statistically significant differences between groups with regard to 24-hour mortality (1.1% vs 1.1%, OR = 1, 95% CI, 0.20, 5.00), 48-hour mortality (1.1% vs 1.4%, OR [0.74], 95% CI, 0.17, 3.37), hospital LOS (median= 9 days, IQR = (5, 16) vs median =12 days IQR = (6, 22.5) for the hospital TXA and control groups, respectively, 95% CI for the difference in median = (-5 to 0)), and incidence of thromboembolic events (eg, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism) during hospital stay (0.7% vs 0.7% for the hospital TXA and control group, respectively, OR [1], 95% CI, 0.14 to 7.15). We conducted subgroup analyses on patients with ISS>15, patients transfused with ≥10 units of blood products, and blunt vs penetrating trauma. The results indicated lower 28-day mortality for ISS>15 (1.8% vs 7.1%, OR [0.23], 95% CI, 0.06 to 0.81) and blunt trauma  (0.6% vs 6.3%, OR [0.09], 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.75); fewer units of blood products for penetrating trauma (median = 2 units, IQR = (1, 8) vs median = 8 units, IQR = (5, 15) for the hospital TXA and control groups, respectively, 95% CI for the difference in median = (-6 to -3)), and ISS>15 (median = 7 units, IQR = (2, 14) vs median = 8.5 units, IQR = (4, 16) for the hospital TXA and control groups, respectively, 95% CI for the difference in median, -3 to 0).Conclusion: The current study demonstrates a statistically significant reduction in mortality after TXA administration at 28 days, but not at 24 and 48 hours, in patients with traumatic hemorrhagic shock