Effects of Rinsing Water Temperature and Preheated Composites on Microleakage of Composite Restorations with Two Bonding Agents

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of rinsing water temperature and preheated composites on microleakage of class V restorations with two different bonding agents. Materials and Methods: Eighty class V cavities were prepared in the buccal and lingual surfaces of 40 molars. Single Bond and Prime and Bond NT bonding agents were used. The teeth were divided into four groups of 10. G1: After acid etching, cavities were rinsed with 23˚C water and filled with 23˚C composite resin. G2: Rinsing water and composite resin had 55˚C temperature. G3: Rinsing water had 55˚C and composite resin had 23˚C temperature. G4: Rinsing water had 23˚C and composite resin had 55˚C temperature. The specimens were immersed in 0.5% basic fuchsine dye. Microleakage scores were analysed with the Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U, and Wilcoxon tests. Results: There were significant differences in microleakage of specimens prepared with Single Bond and Prime and Bond NT only in group 1 (P<0.05). There were no significant differences between the microleakage of groups rinsed with different water temperatures (P>0.05). There were significant differences between the unheated and preheated composite groups (P<0.05). Conclusion: Preheating of composite is a valuable method to increase its adaptability and decrease microleakage of composite restorations.

Spatial exploration, dendrometric characteristics and prediction models of wood production in a stand of Acacia schaffneri in Durango, Mexico

Degraded vegetation is the result of a process that affects structural and functional characteristics. Tree species from the Acacia genus are very important to the ecosystem in semi-arid lands due to their participation in the recovery of highly degraded areas. One of the most important species among this genus is A. schaffneri. The status of a forest stand is determined according to its structure, including height, stratum and density. Remote sensing is a valuable method for estimating volumetric stocks and associated changes in forest populations over established periods of time. The objective of this research was to estimate wood volume of A. schaffneri using remote sensing, and to complement that information with the results obtained from an estimation method based on forest measurements. The results obtained showed that the crown area was the dendrometric variable that can be used in a wood volume prediction model. In the exploratory analysis between dendrometric variables and remote sensing showed low and negative associations were observed in the four stations analyzed. There are conservation problems due to anthropogenic activities, among which stands out the intensive grazing that results in a decrease of the natural regeneration capacity of Acacia schaffneri.

Comparison of Intramedullary Magnetic Nail, Monolateral External Distractor, and Spatial External Fixator in Femur Lengthening in Adolescents with Congenital Diseases

The aim of this study is to evaluate the course of the treatment and clinical and functional outcomes of femur lengthening in adolescents with congenital disorders by the application of different surgical methods. This retrospective study comprised 35 patients (39 procedures). A total of 11 patients underwent femur lengthening with the use of the intramedullary magnetic nail (IMN) Precise 2 (NuVasive, San Diego, CA, USA), 7 patients (11 procedures) with the use of the monolateral external distractor Modular Rail System (MRS) (Smith and Nephew, Memphis, TN, USA), and 17 with the use of the computer-assisted external fixator Taylor Spatial Frame (TSF) (Smith and Nephew, Memphis, TN, USA). The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) congenital femoral length deficiency without any axial deformities and (2), independently of the finally applied treatment, the technical possibility of use of each of the analyzed methods. The distraction index did not differ significantly between the groups (p = 0.89). The median lengthening index was the lowest in the IMN group (24.3 d/cm; IQR 21.8–33.1) and statistically different in comparison to the MRS (44.2 d/cm; IQR 42–50.9; p < 0.001) and the TSF groups (48.4 d/cm; IQR 38.6–63.5; p < 0.001). Similarly, the consolidation index in the IMN group (12.9 d/cm; IQR 10.7–21.3) was statistically lower than that in the MRS (32.9 d/cm; IQR 30.2–37.6; p < 0.001) and the TSF (36.9 d/cm; IQR 26.6–51.5; p < 0.001) groups. This study indicates that IMN is a more valuable method of treatment for femoral length discrepancy without axial deformity than MRS and TSF in complication rate and indexes of lengthening and consolidation.

Present state of 3D printing from glass

This paper deals with the issue of additive technologies using glass. At the beginning, our research dealt with a review of the current state and specification of potentially interesting methods and solutions. At present, this technology is being actively developed and studied in glass research. However, as the project started at the Department of Glass Producing Machines and Robotics, the following text will be more focused on the existing 3D printing machinery and basic technological approaches. Although “additive manufacturing” in the sense of adding materials has been used in glass manufacturing since the beginning of the production of glass by humans, the term additive manufacturing nowadays refers to 3D printing. Currently, there are several approaches to 3D printing of glass that have various outstanding advantages, but also several serious limitations. The resulting products very often have a high degree of shrinkage and rounding (after sintering), and specific shape structures (after the application in layers), but they generally have a large number of defects (especially bubbles or crystallization issues). Some technologies do not lead to the production of transparent glass and, therefore, its optical properties are significantly restricted. So far, the additive manufacturing of glass do not produce goods that are price competitive to goods produced by conventional glass-making technologies. If 3D glass printing is to be successful as an industrial and/or highly aesthetically valuable method, then it must bring new and otherwise unachievable features and properties, as with 3D printing of plastic, metal, or ceramics. Nowadays, these technologies promise to be such a tool and are beginning to attract more and more interest.

Phenotype-tissue expression and exploration (PTEE) resource facilitates the choice of tissue for RNA-seq-based clinical genetics studies

Background RNA-seq emerges as a valuable method for clinical genetics. The transcriptome is “dynamic” and tissue-specific, but typically the probed tissues to analyze (TA) are different from the tissue of interest (TI) based on pathophysiology. Results We developed Phenotype-Tissue Expression and Exploration (PTEE), a tool to facilitate the decision about the most suitable TA for RNA-seq. We integrated phenotype-annotated genes, used 54 tissues from GTEx to perform correlation analyses and identify expressed genes and transcripts between TAs and TIs. We identified skeletal muscle as the most appropriate TA to inquire for cardiac arrhythmia genes and skin as a good proxy to study neurodevelopmental disorders. We also explored RNA-seq limitations and show that on-off switching of gene expression during ontogenesis or circadian rhythm can cause blind spots for RNA-seq-based analyses. Conclusions PTEE aids the identification of tissues suitable for RNA-seq for a given pathology to increase the success rate of diagnosis and gene discovery. PTEE is freely available at https://bioinf.eva.mpg.de/PTEE/

Intra-Subject and Inter-Subject Movement Variability Quantified with Muscle Synergies in Upper-Limb Reaching Movements

Quantifying movement variability is a crucial aspect for clinical and laboratory investigations in several contexts. However, very few studies have assessed, in detail, the intra-subject variability across movements and the inter-subject variability. Muscle synergies are a valuable method that can be used to assess such variability. In this study, we assess, in detail, intra-subject and inter-subject variability in a scenario based on a comprehensive dataset, including multiple repetitions of multi-directional reaching movements. The results show that muscle synergies are a valuable tool for quantifying variability at the muscle level and reveal that intra-subject variability is lower than inter-subject variability in synergy modules and related temporal coefficients, and both intra-subject and inter-subject similarity are higher than random synergy matching, confirming shared underlying control structures. The study deepens the available knowledge on muscle synergy-based motor function assessment and rehabilitation applications, discussing their applicability to real scenarios.

Fingerprint construction through genotyping by sequencing for applied breeding in Brassica rapa

This study evaluated genotyping by sequencing (GBS) protocol for fingerprinting Brassica rapa and the data derived were more reliable than the re-sequencing data of B. rapa. Of the 10 enzyme solutions used to analyze the numbers of genotypes and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in B. rapa, five solutions showed better results, namely: A (HaeIII, 450–500 bp), E (RsaI+HaeIII, 500–550 bp), F (RsaI+HaeIII, 500–600 bp), G (RsaI+HaeIII, ‘All’ fragment), and J (RsaI+EcoRV-HF®, ‘All’ fragment). The five enzyme solutions showed less than 40% similarity in different individuals from various samples, and 90% similarity in between two individuals from one sample. The E enzyme solution was most suitable for fingerprinting B. rapa revealing well-distributed SNPs in the whole genome. Of the 82 highly inbred lines and 18 F1 lines of B. rapa sequenced by GBS in E enzyme solution, known parents of 10 F1 lines were verified and male parents were discovered for 8 F1 lines that had only known female parents. This study provided a valuable method for screening parents for F1 lines in B. rapa for applied breeding through efficient evaluation of GBS with varied library construction strategies.

XRF Imaging (MA-XRF) as a Valuable Method in the Analysis of Nonhomogeneous Structures of Grisaille Paint Layers

Stained glass paint layers made with vitreous paints can be a challenging subject for analyses. Their heterogenic structure requires proper experimental methodology in order to obtain valuable data. The main goal of this paper is to present the advantages of macro-XRF scanning (MA-XRF) in the non-destructive investigation of historical grisaille paint layers on the basis of research conducted on seven stained glass panels from the Dominican Monastery in Kraków, the Diocesan Museum in Kielce and the National Museum in Poznań (Poland). The obtained results showed the capabilities of MA-XRF scanning in technology recognition, the legibility of damaged fragments of painted depictions, as well as with distinguishing the elemental composition between vitreous paints in different colours. Additionally, SEM-EDS measurements are presented so as to acquire quantitative results and additional information concerning light elements.

PHYTOCHEMICAL PROFILING OF OXALIS CORNICULATA LEAF EXTRACT

Elucidation of the phytochemical composition of plant extract is an essential step in developing novel therapeutic agents from medicinal plants. Mass spectrometry, coupled with chromatographic separations (GC/MS), is increasingly applied to analyze plant extracts as this technique has proved to be a valuable method for the analysis of nonpolar volatile components and alkaloids. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) is being used for the identication of characteristic functional groups present in the plant extract. The absorption spectrum provides information about the structure of the molecules present in the phytoextract. FTIR analysis revealed the presence of phenols, alkane, alkene, carboxylic acid, aromatic compounds, alcohol, and bromo alkane compounds in methanolic leaf extract of Oxalis corniculata and GC/MS analysis provide different peaks determining the presence of twenty three phytochemical compounds.