An Update on Endodontic Microsurgery of Mandibular Molars: A Focused Review

Endodontic microsurgery is a highly predictable treatment option in most cases when conventional endodontic treatment is not feasible. Nevertheless, mandibular molars are still considered by clinicians to be the most difficult type of teeth, with the lowest success rate. In recent years, endodontic microsurgery has been attempted more frequently with the emergence of modern cutting-edge technologies such as dental operating microscopes, various microsurgical instruments, and biocompatible materials, and the success rate is increasing. This review describes the current state of the art in endodontic microsurgical techniques and concepts for mandibular molars. Notably, this review highlights contemporary equipment, technology, and materials.

Utilising Equipment Matrices for Information Technology in Primary Education Policy

This paper is a reflective discussion on the use of equipment matrices to determine infrastructure requirements in an education context. This position was originally presented within the wider framework of a government-funded research project to initiate national policies for implementing IT within primary schools. Equipment matrices were seen by the policymakers funding this reasearch as an appropriate method for representing the needs of a school. Equipment matrices represent a systematised and regularised understanding of the relationships between social practices and technological tools (Curriculum Materials Information Services, 1997). The users of these tools are enmeshed within the matrix through a complex combination of meanings and interaction. However, the correlation of variables within a two-dimensional matrix produces a ‘simple’ representation of the available information that is heavily abbreviated. Lost among this condensation are the needs and presence of the user, either individually or collectively. The ‘snapshot’ of information that matrices present is, however, refined by the direct inclusion of volatile information such as contemporary equipment and sofware specifications. In this paper we argue that the range of factors beyond technical specifications that influence the use and understanding of information technology are necessary elements within any consideration of IT infrastructure requirements. These, however, can only be simultaneously included in the equipment matrix representation with more expansive incorporation of multiple parameters. Simplification, we advocate, should not be the aim of the methods that determine educational infrastructure requirements but rather, in its place, is the need for sensitivity to the learners and their needs.

The Relationship of Technology Assessment and Utilization: Electromyographic Feedback Instrumentation as a Model

Biofeedback instrumentation has been a growing part of physical therapy practice for 20 years, and physical therapists have contributed to researching its efficacy in treating varying conditions. The application of biofeedback to the treatment of stroke was marked by some early difficulties with the quality of the electronics, but sophisticated contemporary equipment can do much more than was originally envisioned. The importance of relating quantified movement-based data to functional measures is projected as a high priority if appropriate reimbursement for physical therapy services with biofeedback is to continue in the future.