Force decay and elongation of orthodontic elastomeric chains exposed to different beverages common in the diet: An in vitro study.

BACKGROUND: Elastomeric chains promote controlled movements and are widely used in orthodontics. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to evaluate the force decay and elongation of orthodontic chains exposed to low-pH saliva (pH = 4) and different beverages common in the diet. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Force decay and elongation were determined in vitro at 6 time intervals over 21 days for 2 commercial elastomeric chains - Ormco (group A) and Borgatta (group B). The samples were immersed in artificial saliva (AS) at pH 4, Coca-Cola®, coffee, or beer for 15 min every day, or in AS (the control group). For the remaining time, the chains were placed into AS at 37°C. In addition, microscopic qualitative changes were recorded by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). RESULTS: The group B chains showed higher force decay and elongation at the end of the follow-up as compared to the group A chains. Exposure to beer had a greater impact on the force decay and elongation of the chains as compared to other liquids, but it was not statistically significant. The group A chains showed a more irregular surface than the group B chains, in particular, those exposed to coffee. CONCLUSIONS: Elastomeric chains suffer force decay and elongation as a function of time, mainly in the first 24 h. At the end of the follow-up, the group A chains exhibited less force decay in comparison with the group B chains. The qualitative observations showed that the chains in group A had a more irregular surface than the chains in group B.

Nanoparticle Detection on SEM Images Using a Neural Network and Semi-Synthetic Training Data.

Processing images represents a necessary step in the process of analysing the information gathered about nanoparticles after characteristic material samples have been scanned with electron microscopy, which often requires the use of image processing techniques or general purpose image manipulation software to carry out tasks such as nanoparticle detection and measurement. In recent years, the use of networks has been successfully implemented to detect and classify electron microscopy images as well as the objects within them. In this work, we present four detection models using two versions of the YOLO neural network architectures trained to detect cubical and quasi-spherical particles in SEM images; the training datasets are a mixture of real images and synthetic ones generated by a semi-arbitrary method. The resulting models were capable of detecting nanoparticles in images different than the ones used for training and identifying them in some cases as the close proximity between nanoparticles proved a challenge for the neural networks in most situations.

Anti-Inflammatory and Antibacterial Activity of the Chitosan/Chlorhexidine Gel Commercial Preparation for Postexodontia Treatment: An In Vitro Study.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to assess in vitro the antibacterial activity, cytotoxicity, and the expression of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) of Bexident post topical gel (BP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The broth dilution test was performed to analyze the antimicrobial activity of BP against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Streptococcus mutans. Minimal bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) and minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were assessed. Cytotoxic activity was performed by the MTT (tetrazolium dye) method on human gingival fibroblast (HGF), human bone cells (HBC), and human pulp cells (HPC) (from primary cell culture) and HGF-1 from American Type Culture Collection. The expression of PGE2 produced by RAW 264.7 cells was determined by ELISA utilizing an Enzyme Immuno-Assay Kit. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Shapiro-Wilks normality test and Mann-Whitney U test were performed for all data. RESULTS: The MBCs of BP for S. aureus, E. coli, and S. mutans were found at 25, 50, and 12.5%, respectively. The MICs for the same strains were found at 12.5, 25, and 3.125%. The CC50 of BP gel for HBC, HPC, and HGF, and HGF-1 were 12.5 ± 1.09, 0.37 ± 0.02, 0.35 ± 0.02, and 20.4 ± 0.02%, respectively. The levels of expression PGE2 produced by RAW 264.7 cells treated with IL-1ß exhibit an inverse dose-dependent effect on the concentrations of BP gel used. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that the BP gel has a great antibacterial effect, adequate biocompatibility, showing a decrease in the expression of PGE2 on cells with previously induced inflammation. Due to the above, its use as a healing agent after oral surgery seems to be adequate.

Reported epidemiology of cancer of the lip, oral cavity and oropharynx in Mexico.

En 2008, la Organización Mundial de la Salud reportó que el 13% de las muertes en todo el mundo estuvieron relacionadas con el cáncer. Debido a su magnitud, es un problema prioritario de salud pública del cual se requiere información epidemiológica suficiente para optimizar programas nacionales de salud. El objetivo de esta revisión de la literatura es describir los tipos de cáncer más comunes de labio, cavidad oral y orofaringe reportados en la población mexicana. Se realizó una revisión sistemática siguiendo los lineamientos PRISMA. La información disponible se compiló de las bases de datos electrónicas PubMed, Google Académico y Science Direct, así como de las bases abiertas de datos de salud nacionales. La búsqueda electrónica se realizó con las siguientes palabras clave en inglés "(oral cancer OR oral neoplasm) AND (Mexico) AND (epidemiology OR prevalence)", y sus equivalentes en español.In 2008 the World Health Organization reported that 13% of worldwide deaths were related to cancer. Due to its magnitude, this pathology has become a central public health problem. Therefore epidemiological information at national level is required to optimize health care programs. The aim of this review is to describe the most common types of cancer in lips, oral cavity, and oropharynx reported in Mexican population. A systematic review was carried out following PRISMA guidelines; information was compiled from electronic databases PubMed, Google Scholar and Science Direct, as well as from open Mexican health databases. Electronic search was performed using following Medical Subject Headings, MeSH terms "(oral cancer OR oral neoplasm) AND (Mexico) AND (epidemiology OR prevalence)" and the equivalent keywords in Spanish.

Copper nanoparticles as nanofillers in an adhesive resin system: An in vitro study.

BACKGROUND: The incorporation of an antibacterial agent into an adhesive could improve its clinical performance. Some nanoparticles (NPs), including copper nanoparticles (Cu NPs), display an antibacterial effect. Therefore, Cu NPs could act as a nanofiller when added to an adhesive. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial activity, cytotoxicity and shear bond strength (SBS) of an experimental dental adhesive with Cu NPs. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Different concentrations (0.0050 wt%, 0.0075 wt% and 0.0100 wt%) of Cu NPs were added to the adhesive. The distribution of Cu NPs in the polymer matrix was observed based on transmission electron microscope (TEM) images. The antimicrobial activity of the adhesive + Cu NPs was evaluated with the agar disk diffusion test against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans). The cytotoxicity assay was performed by means of the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) method with human pulp cells (HPC). Additionally, the SBS tests were carried out (n = 31) and the modes of fracture were registered. The vestibular and lingual surfaces of each tooth were randomly assigned to the study groups (group I - control adhesive; group II - adhesive + 0.0100 wt% Cu NPs). The samples were statistically analyzed (p ≤ 0.05). RESULTS: The adhesive + 0.0100 wt% Cu NPs showed inhibition zones against the strains under study that were similar to, or slightly smaller than, the halos produced by chlorhexidine (CHX) and specific drugs for each strain (30 µg of cefotaxime against S. mutans and S. aureus, and 1.25/3.75 µg of sulfamethoxazole/ trimethoprim against E. coli). The control adhesive was moderately cytotoxic (relative cell viability of 36.7 ±0.8%), being more cytotoxic than Cu NPs themselves (58.3 ±0.1%). A significantly higher SBS was obtained for the adhesive + 0.0100 wt% Cu NPs (6.038 ±2.95 MPa) than for the control group (3.278 ±1.75 MPa). The modes of fracture in group I were almost equally distributed between adhesive and cohesive failures whereas in group II, the failure was mainly cohesive. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that incorporating Cu NPs into an adhesive improves its SBS and provides it with antibacterial properties, without increasing its inherent cytotoxicity - 2 desirable characteristics for the dental adhesives of composites.