Artificial intelligence evaluation of COVID-19 restrictions and speech therapy effects on the autistic children's behavior.

In the present study, we aimed to quantify the effects of COVID-19 restrictions and speech treatment approaches during lockdowns on autistic children using CBCL and neuro-fuzzy artificial intelligence method. In this regard, a survey including CBCL questionnaire is prepared using online forms. In total, 87 children with diagnosed Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) participated in the survey. The influences of three treatment approaches of in-person, telehealth and public services along with no-treatment condition during lockdown were the main factors of the investigation. The main output factors were internalized and externalized problems in general and their eight subcategory syndromes. We examined the reports by parents/caregivers to find correlation between treatments and CBCL listed problems. Moreover, comparison of the eight syndromes rating scores from pre-lockdown to post-lockdown periods were performed. In addition, artificial intelligence method were engaged to find the influence of speech treatment during restrictions on the level of internalizing and externalizing problems. In this regard, a fully connected adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system is employed with type and duration of treatments as input and T-scores of the syndromes are the output of the network. The results indicate that restrictions alleviate externalizing problems while intensifying internalizing problems. In addition, it is concluded that in-person speech therapy is the most effective and satisfactory approach to deal with ASD children during stay-at-home periods.

Evaluation of cytotoxicity and antibacterial activity of different pulp capping liners.

This study compares the cytotoxicity and antibacterial activity of five pulp capping liners. This in vitro study was conducted on Fuji II LC glass ionomer, Dycal, Calcimol LC, TheraCal LC, and ACTIVA BioACTIVE. For cytotoxicity, the (MTT) methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay was performed on 3 samples from each group of human dental pulp cells (HDPSCs) after 24 h of incubation. The direct contact test (DCT) for antibacterial activity, 6 samples (3 for each material, and 3 for negative control), from each liner were made to evaluate Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans), Lactobacillus casei (L. casei), and Lactobacillus acidophilus (L. acidophilus). Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Tukey's post-hoc test (alpha = 0.05). Data analysis showed that the cytotoxicity of the materials was significantly different (p < 0.001). Fuji II LC and ACTIVA BioACTIVE showed strong cytotoxicity, TheraCal LC moderate cytotoxicity, and Dycal and Calcimol LC slight cytotoxicity. The analysis also revealed a significant difference among the materials regarding antibacterial activity (p < 0.001). Tukey's test showed that the mean percentage of reduction in colony count was significant for all liners compared with the positive control (p < 0.001). The mean percentage of reduction in colony count for Dycal was significantly greater than that of Fuji II LC (p = 0.014), Calcimol LC (p = 0.003), and TheraCal LC (p = 0.001). ACTIVA BioACTIVE did not significantly differ from the other materials as regards antibacterial activity. Dycal showed significantly higher antibacterial activity than the other materials.