Orthodontic Bracket Removal Using LASER-Technology—A Short Systematic Literature Review of the Past 30 Years

Background: Since fixed orthodontic treatment is widely spread and one of its inconveniences is bracket removal, as this affects enamel integrity as well as being a cause of discomfort to the patient, studies have searched for the most adequate bracket removal technique, many of them focusing on using laser-technology. Methods: Our review focused on articles published investigating methods of orthodontic bracket removal using laser technology in the last 30 years. Results: 19 relevant studies were taken into consideration after a thorough selection. Different types of laser devices, with specific settings and various testing conditions were tested and the investigators presented their pertinent conclusions. Conclusions: Most studies were performed using ceramic brackets and the best results in terms of prevention of enamel loss, temperature stability for the tooth as well as reduced chair time were obtained with Er:YAG lasers.

Effectiveness of different fiber post removal techniques and their influence on dentinal microcrack formation

Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of different fiber post removal techniques and to correlate dentinal loss with microcrack formation. Materials and methods Forty-five extracted single-rooted teeth were root canal treated and fiber posts were adhesively luted. Specimens were divided into three groups (n = 15) according to the removal technique: long-shaft round bur (EndoTracer #08, Komet, Lemgo, Germany), SonicFlex Endo (KaVo, Biberach, Germany), DT Post Removal Kit (VDW, Munich, Germany). Roots were scanned before post cementation and after post removal using micro-computed tomography. Dentin loss, residual luting material, working time, and the induction of microcracks were assessed. Statistical analysis was performed by using multiple contrast tests (max-t tests, α = 0.05). Correlations between parameters dentin loss/new microcracks and dentin loss/residual material were calculated using Kendall’s tau. Results Post removal with SonicFlex Endo resulted in the highest amount of removed dentin with significant differences to the round bur and the DT Post Removal Kit. No technique was found to completely remove the post and luting material. All techniques induced microcracks with the DT Post Removal Kit presenting the highest number of new defects. No correlation between dentin loss and new microcracks was observed. Deviations from the original root canal occurred in all groups, but no perforation was observed. Conclusions All techniques resulted in dentin loss, residual luting material, and the formation of microcracks. However, no correlation between dentin loss and the induction of microcracks was observed. Clinical relevance As all techniques resulted in microcrack formation and dentin loss, this study emphasizes the risk of iatrogenic damage due to post removal procedures.

Innovation and new technology in ureteral stents

Ureteral stent insertion is a procedure performed extensively by all urologists. Nevertheless, stent-related symptoms and stent encrustation are still common complications pushing the innovation and development of novel ureteral stents. Developments are focussing on three significant aspects: material, design, and removal technique. Various materials including silicone, polymers, and metals are frequently utilized, with or without an additional coating. The use of biodegradable materials is looking promising but these is a lack of proven clinical trials in association with this in humans. The new designs focus on the reduction of stent-related symptoms through the modification of the bladder end. The new stent removal techniques with extraction strings or novel magnetic end may exclude subsequent cystoscopic procedures. Finally, utilization of a ureteral stent tracker application helps in reminding both physicians and patients to remove the stent at the appropriate time.

Management of a malpositioned central venous catheter in the accessory hemiazygos vein

Malposition of a central venous catheter (CVC) in the accessory hemiazygos vein is an uncommon but potentially fatal complication; however, there is limited information regarding the preferred removal technique. We report a patient, a 57-year-old woman, who presented with overdose of her prescribed sedatives, who experienced this catheter complication after CVC insertion in the left internal jugular vein. The CVC was placed without resistance but routine postplacement chest X-ray showed abnormal coursing of the catheter close to the descending aorta. We used non-enhanced CT as an adjunct to safely identify the catheter position and assess for any bleeding during removal. CT images taken after retraction of the catheter tip by 10 cm showed no bleeding and we were able to remove the catheter safely. We recommend using CT as an adjunct to safely remove malpositioned catheters and reduce the risk of further complication.

Query-Based Extractive Text Summarization Using Sense-Oriented Semantic Relatedness Measure

This paper presents a query-based extractive text summarization method by using sense-oriented semantic relatedness measure. We have proposed a Word Sense Disambiguation (WSD) technique to find the exact sense of a word present in the sentence. It helps in extracting query relevance sentences while calculating the sense-oriented sentence semantic relatedness score between the query and input text sentence. The proposed method uses five unique features to make clusters of query-relevant sentences. A redundancy removal technique is also put forward to eliminate redundant sentences. We have evaluated our proposed WSD technique with other existing methods by using Senseval and SemEval datasets. Experimental evaluation and discussion signifies the better performance of proposed WSD method over current systems in terms of F-score. We compare our proposed query-based extractive text summarization method with other methods participated in Document Understanding Conference (DUC) and as well as with current methods. Evaluation and comparison state that the proposed query-based extractive text summarization method outperforms many existing methods. As an unsupervised learning algorithm, we obtained highest ROUGE (Recall-Oriented Understudy for Gisting Evaluation) score for all three DUC 2005, 2006 and 2007 datasets. Our proposed method is also quite comparable with other supervised learning based algorithms. We also observe that our query-based extractive text summarization method can recognize query relevance sentences which meet the query need.

Facilitated Tenon-Free Conjunctival Autograft Preparation and Limited Tenon Removal Technique in Pterygium Surgery

Background The main complication of primary pterygium surgery is the recurrence of the pterygium. In the present study, we aimed to compare a classical technique and facilitated tenon-free conjunctival autograft preparation and a limited tenon removal technique in pterygium surgery in terms of recurrence rate, complications, and operation duration. Material and Methods This is a retrospective, comparative, observational study. Group 1 comprised 120 eyes of 115 patients who underwent pterygium excision with a new facilitated tenon-free conjunctival-limbal autograft preparation and limited tenon removal technique between May 2017 and October 2019. Group 2 comprised 117 eyes of 113 patients who underwent pterygium excision with a conventional conjunctival-limbal autograft technique between January 2016 and May 2017. Results The mean follow-up time after surgery was 18.2 ± 5.8 months in group 1 and 19.1 ± 6.3 months in group 2 (p = 0.25). The mean operation duration was 5.54 ± 1.22 (4 – 7) minutes in group 1 and 8.23 ± 1.26 (8 – 10) minutes in group 2 (p = 0.02). Flap edema was present in 33 eyes (28.2%) in group 2 and in 11 eyes (9.16%) in group 1. Flap edema was significantly higher in group 2 (p < 0.001). At the end of the 1-year follow-up of the patients, we observed recurrence in only one (0.83%) eye in group 1 and 14 (11.96%) eyes in group 2. The recurrence rate of group 1 was significantly less than that of group 2 (p < 0.001). Conclusions The simplified technique of tenon-free conjunctival autograft preparation and limited tenon removal yielded better clinical outcomes without serious complications. Additionally, this technique shortened the surgical time and reduced surgeon-dependent factors.

Feasibility and Safety of a Simple Non-cystoscopic Double-J Tube Removal Technique in Children

Objective: Double-J tube placement is an important procedure during upper urinary tract surgery. A primary drawback is the requirement of a second double-J tube removal under a cystoscope. Therefore, a simple and feasible alternative is required to remove the double-J tube without cystoscopy. The present study reported the feasibility and safety of a simple non-cystoscopic double-J tube removal technique.Method: We retrospectively analysed children who underwent pyeloplasty and ureterovesical reimplantation between June 2015 and August 2021. A simple device (a catheter with a suture) was used to pull out the double-J tube. Patient characteristics, detailed surgical procedures, success and complication rates and reasons for failure were evaluated.Result: A total of 613 children were included. The mean age of patients was 6.2 months (3 months−14 years). Non-endoscopic methods were used to remove the double-J tube in all except 6 patients (0.9%). Of the 6 patients who required ureteroscopy or cystoscopy, 4 had retraction of the double-J tube into the ureter, and 2 (0.6%) had bladder stones. Of the 613 patients, 479 (76.0%) required one attempt, 127 (20.1%) required two attempts and 19 (3.0%) required several attempts. No serious postoperative complications occurred in all patients. The most common complications were gross haematuria (22.5%), pain urinating (17.9%), difficulty in urinating (3.6%), foreskin injury (1.7%), and penile oedema (1.3%). No urethral strictures developed during the follow-up period.Conclusion: The study results demonstrated that the modified and simple non-cystoscopic double-J tube removal technique is a safe and an effective alternative to cystoscopy in clinical practise.

THE ROLE OF MEMBRANE DISTILLATION IN REMOVAL OF MG2+ FROM DAIRY WASTEWATER

The dairy industry has become a great source of human development in terms of providing the necessary amount of energy and calories, in addition to the vitamins needed to sustain life. Iraq is one of the largest countries that are dairy-producing and it is expected that the average per capita consumption of dairy products will increase from 52 litres to more than 60 litres during the next three years, then to more than 90 litres by 2025. Dairy production needs to consume large quantities of water It needs to consume 2-6 cubic meters of water to produce one ton of milk. These large quantities of water will lead to the discharge of large amounts of wastewater, which may reach 70% of the water used. Over the years I have used various techniques and methods for treating dairy wastewater. In this study, the membrane permeation removal technique (MD) was used to find out how efficient this technique is in removing the magnesium ion from the milk laboratory wastewater. The results came with the possibility of this technique in removing a small percentage of up to 9.76% at a temperature of approximately 45 degrees Celsius, which is a small percentage compared to the concentration of the interior and the effort exerted. For this reason, it is not recommended to use this mechanism to remove magnesium from dairy wastewater.