Evaluation of Surface Roughness and Compressive Strength of Modified Glass Ionomer Cement with Coumarin Derivatives / Nor Ain Fatihah Azlisham...[et al.]

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of incorporation of synthesized coumarin derivatives, hydrazinyl thiosemicarbazide (HZTC), an antibacterial agent on the surface roughness and compressive strength of glass ionomer cements (GICs). Two commercial GICs, Fuji II LC and Fuji VII were used in this study and act as control groups. HZTC was incorporated into GIC during its manipulation at the weight percentage of 1% and 2%. The surface roughness and compressive strength of the samples were prepared and analysed using Profilometer and universal testing machine Shimadzu AGX-Plus respectively. The data were analysed statistically to determine the significant differences among groups using Kruskal Wallis and Man Whitney test for the surface roughness, and one-way ANOVA with post-hoc Bonferonni test for the compressive strength. Statistically, the surface roughness value of Fuji II LC was significantly increased (p<0.05) at both weight percentages while the decrease value of Fuji VII was insignificant at 1% (w/w) compared to the control GICs. The compressive strength of both Fuji II LC and Fuji VII showed significantly decreased in strength values (p<0.05) at both weight percentages compared to the control GICs. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that the incorporation of HZTC gave measurable effects on the surface roughness and compressive strength values

Citation classics on dental caries: a systematic review

Objective A systematic search was performed for the identification and analysis of the 100 most often cited articles on dental caries and to highlight the changing trends in the field of dentistry over time. Materials and Methods The search was performed without any restriction on the study design, publication year, or language using the Web of Science (WoS) group of Clarivate Analytics enabling the search through “All Databases.” Based on the citation count as available in WoS, the articles were sorted in a descending manner. Information regarding each article was then extracted, which included its authorship, counts of citation (in other databases), citation density, current citation index (2019), publication year, country of publication, journal of article, evidence level based on study design, and keywords description. Results The count of citation for each article varied in each database, that is, 175 to 2,003 in WoS, 89 to 1,981 in Scopus, and 126 to 3,492 when searched in Google Scholar. The highest number of articles (n = 10) related to dental caries were published in 2004. A total of 301 authors made valuable contributions to this field, out of which J.D. Featherstone had coauthored 6 articles. A significant negative correlation (p < 0.01) was found between the age of the article and the citation density (r =–0.545). However, a nonsignificant correlation (p = 0.952) occurred between the age of publication and the citation count (r = 0.006). Conclusion The results of this systematic review provide a critical appraisal of the context underpinning scientific developments in the field of dental caries and also highlighted trends in clinical management and research

Multi-site genetic analysis of diffusion images and voxelwise heritability analysis : a pilot project of the ENIGMA–DTI working group

The ENIGMA (Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis) Consortium was set up to analyze brain measures and genotypes from multiple sites across the world to improve the power to detect genetic variants that influence the brain. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) yields quantitative measures sensitive to brain development and degeneration, and some common genetic variants may be associated with white matter integrity or connectivity. DTI measures, such as the fractional anisotropy (FA) of water diffusion, may be useful for identifying genetic variants that influence brain microstructure. However, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) require large populations to obtain sufficient power to detect and replicate significant effects, motivating a multi-site consortium effort. As part of an ENIGMA–DTI working group, we analyzed high-resolution FA images from multiple imaging sites across North America, Australia, and Europe, to address the challenge of harmonizing imaging data collected at multiple sites. Four hundred images of healthy adults aged 18–85 from four sites were used to create a template and corresponding skeletonized FA image as a common reference space. Using twin and pedigree samples of different ethnicities, we used our common template to evaluate the heritability of tract-derived FA measures. We show that our template is reliable for integrating multiple datasets by combining results through meta-analysis and unifying the data through exploratory mega-analyses. Our results may help prioritize regions of the FA map that are consistently influenced by additive genetic factors for future genetic discovery studies. Protocols and templates are publicly available at (http://enigma.loni.ucla.edu/ongoing/dti-working-group/)

Effectiveness of Self-Assembling Peptide (P11-4) in Dental Hard Tissue Conditions: A Comprehensive Review

The limitations on the use of fluoride therapy in dental caries prevention has necessitated the development of newer preventive agents. This review focusses on the recent and significant studies on P11-4 peptide with an emphasis on different applications in dental hard tissue conditions. The self-assembling peptide P11-4 diffuses into the subsurface lesion assembles into aggregates throughout the lesion, supporting the nucleation of de novo hydroxyapatite nanocrystals, resulting in increased mineral density. P11-4 treated teeth shows more remarkable changes in the lesion area between the first and second weeks. The biomimetic remineralisation facilitated in conjunction with fluoride application is an effective and non-invasive treatment for early carious lesions. Despite, some studies have reported that the P11-4 group had the least amount of remineralised enamel microhardness and a significantly lower mean calcium/phosphate weight percentage ratio than the others. In addition, when compared to a low-viscosity resin, self-assembling peptides could neither inhibit nor mask the lesions significantly. Moreover, when it is combined with other agents, better results can be achieved, allowing more effective biomimetic remineralisation. Other applications discussed include treatment of dental erosion, tooth whitening and dentinal caries. However, the evidence on its true clinical potential in varied dental diseases still remains under-explored, which calls for future cohort studies on its in vivo efficacy