Creating and Testing a New Computer Vision System for Detecting Dental Problems in Orthodontic Patients.

Aim: The research project focuses on the creation and assessment of an innovative computer vision system designed to identify dental irregularities in individuals undergoing orthodontic treatment. Materials and Methods: To establish the computer vision system, a comprehensive dataset of dental images was collected, encompassing various orthodontic cases. The system's algorithm was trained to recognize patterns indicative of common dental anomalies, such as malocclusions, spacing issues, and misalignments. Rigorous testing and refinement of the algorithm were conducted to enhance its accuracy and reliability. Results: The validation of the system was carried out using the dental records and images of the 40 patients. The computer vision system's performance was evaluated against assessments made by experienced orthodontists. The results demonstrated a commendable level of concurrence between the system's automated detections and the orthodontists' evaluations, suggesting its potential as a valuable diagnostic tool. Conclusion: In conclusion, the development and validation of this novel computer vision system exhibit promising outcomes in its ability to automatically detect dental anomalies in orthodontic patients.

Stress Distribution on Prepared Tooth With Shoulder and Radial Shoulder Margin to Receive Crowns of Three Different Materials: A Finite Element Analysis.

Aim and background This study aims to determine the stress distribution on the prepared tooth at the margins with shoulder and radial shoulder finish lines when an occlusal load of 300N was applied to ceramic, zirconia, and polyether ether ketone (PEEK) crowns. Materials and methods Six models of mandibular first molar teeth were fabricated. The tooth models were subdivided into two groups with shoulder and radial shoulder margins, respectively (n = 18). The teeth were restored with three different prosthetic crown materials (ceramic, zirconia, and PEEK). To simulate the typical forces experienced by a prosthetic crown material in a lower posterior tooth during chewing and biting, an occlusal load of 300N was applied to each of the samples, and the maximum principal stress (Pmax) and von Mises stress were calculated, respectively. These samples were then compared and evaluated to determine the material best suited as a prosthetic crown material of choice for a lower posterior tooth. Results Among the materials used, the maximum principal stress value was the least in PEEK crowns. The von Mises stress value was highest for the zirconia crown with shoulder margin and was least for the PEEK crown with a similar margin. Conclusion PEEK as a crown material was found to be a better choice for lower posterior teeth as there was the least maximum principal stress at the margin, irrespective of either shoulder or radial shoulder finish line used.

Designing potential siRNA molecules for silencing the gene of the nucleocapsid protein of Nipah virus: A computational investigation.

Nipah virus (NiV), a zoonotic virus, engenders severe infections with noticeable complications and deaths in humans and animals. Since its emergence, it is frightening, this virus has been causing regular outbreaks in various countries, particularly in Bangladesh, India, and Malaysia. Unfortunately, no efficient vaccine or drug is available now to combat this baneful virus. NiV employs its nucleocapsid protein for genetic material packaging, which is crucial for viral replication inside the host cells. The small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) can play a central role in inhibiting the expression of disease-causing viral genes by hybridization and subsequent inactivation of the complementary target viral mRNAs through the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway. Therefore, potential siRNAs as molecular therapeutics against the nucleocapsid protein gene of NiV were designed in this study. First, ten prospective siRNAs were identified using the conserved nucleocapsid gene sequences among all available NiV strains collected from various countries. After that, off-target binding, GC (guanine-cytosine) content, secondary structure, binding affinity with the target, melting temperature, efficacy analysis, and binding capacity with the human argonaute protein 2 (AGO2) of these siRNAs were evaluated to predict their suitability. These designed siRNA molecules bear promise in silencing the NiV gene encoding the nucleocapsid protein and thus can alleviate the severity of this dangerous virus. Further in vivo experiments are recommended before using these designed siRNAs as alternative and effective molecular therapeutic agents against NiV.

Identification of potential inhibitory analogs of metastasis tumor antigens (MTAs) using bioactive compounds: revealing therapeutic option to prevent malignancy.

The deeper understanding of metastasis phenomenon and detection of drug targets could be a potential approach to minimize cancer mortality. In this study, attempts were taken to unmask novel therapeutics to prevent metastasis and cancer progression. Initially, we explored the physiochemical, structural and functional insights of three metastasis tumor antigens (MTAs) and evaluated some plant-based bioactive compounds as potent MTA inhibitors. From 50 plant metabolites screened, isoflavone, gingerol, citronellal and asiatic acid showed maximum binding affinity with all three MTA proteins. The ADME analysis detected no undesirable toxicity that could reduce the drug likeness properties of top plant metabolites. Moreover, molecular dynamics studies revealed that the complexes were stable and showed minimum fluctuation at molecular level. We further performed ligand-based virtual screening to identify similar drug molecules using a large collection of 376,342 compounds from DrugBank. The results suggested that several structural analogs (e.g., tramadol, nabumetone, DGLA and hydrocortisone) may act as agonist to block the MTA proteins and inhibit cancer progression at early stage. The study could be useful to develop effective medications against cancer metastasis in future. Due to encouraging results, we highly recommend further in vitro and in vivo trials for the experimental validation of the findings.

Screening and druggability analysis of some plant metabolites against SARS-CoV-2: An integrative computational approach.

The sudden outbreak of novel coronavirus has caused a global concern due to its infection rate and mortality. Despite extensive research, there are still no specific drugs or vaccines to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection. Hence, this study was designed to evaluate some plant-based active compounds for drug candidacy against SARS-CoV-2 by using virtual screening methods and various computational analyses. A total of 27 plant metabolites were screened against SARS-CoV-2 main protease proteins (MPP), Nsp9 RNA binding protein, spike receptor binding domain, spike ecto-domain and HR2 domain using a molecular docking approach. Four metabolites, i.e., asiatic acid, avicularin, guajaverin, and withaferin showed maximum binding affinity with all key proteins in terms of lowest global binding energy. The crucial binding sites and drug surface hotspots were unravelled for each viral protein. The top candidates were further employed for ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) analysis to investigate their drug profiles. Results suggest that none of the compounds render any undesirable consequences that could reduce their drug likeness properties. The analysis of toxicity pattern revealed no significant tumorigenic, mutagenic, irritating, or reproductive effects by the compounds. However, withaferin was comparatively toxic among the top four candidates with considerable cytotoxicity and immunotoxicity. Most of the target class by top drug candidates belonged to enzyme groups (e.g. oxidoreductases hydrolases, phosphatases). Moreover, results of drug similarity prediction revealed two approved structural analogs of Asiatic acid i.e. Hydrocortisone (DB00741) (previously used for SARS-CoV-1 and MERS) and Dinoprost-tromethamine (DB01160) from DrugBank. In addition, two other biologically active compounds, Mupirocin (DB00410) and Simvastatin (DB00641) could be an option for the treatment of viral infections. The study may pave the way to develop effective medications and preventive measure against SARS-CoV-2. Due to the encouraging results, we highly recommend further in vivo trials for the experimental validation of our findings.