Diagnosis and treatment outcomes from prebronchodilator spirometry performed alongside lung cancer screening in a Lung Health Check programme.

INTRODUCTION: Incorporating spirometry into low-dose CT (LDCT) screening for lung cancer may help identify people with undiagnosed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), although the downstream impacts are not well described. METHODS: Participants attending a Lung Health Check (LHC) as part of the Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial were offered spirometry alongside LDCT screening. Results were communicated to the general practitioner (GP), and those with unexplained symptomatic airflow obstruction (AO) fulfilling agreed criteria were referred to the Leeds Community Respiratory Team (CRT) for assessment and treatment. Primary care records were reviewed to determine changes to diagnostic coding and pharmacotherapy. RESULTS: Of 2391 LHC participants undergoing prebronchodilator spirometry, 201 (8.4%) fulfilled the CRT referral criteria of which 151 were invited for further assessment. Ninety seven participants were subsequently reviewed by the CRT, 46 declined assessment and 8 had already been seen by their GP at the time of CRT contact. Overall 70 participants had postbronchodilator spirometry checked, of whom 20 (29%) did not have AO. Considering the whole cohort referred to the CRT (but excluding those without AO postbronchodilation), 59 had a new GP COPD code, 56 commenced new pharmacotherapy and 5 were underwent pulmonary rehabilitation (comprising 2.5%, 2.3% and 0.2% of the 2391 participants undergoing LHC spirometry). CONCLUSIONS: Delivering spirometry alongside lung cancer screening may facilitate earlier diagnosis of COPD. However, this study highlights the importance of confirming AO by postbronchodilator spirometry prior to diagnosing and treating patients with COPD and illustrates some downstream challenges in acting on spirometry collected during an LHC.

The reparative capacity of different bioactive dental materials for direct pulp capping.

BACKGROUND: Maintaining pulp vitality is a major objective in restorative dentistry. Direct pulp capping (DPC) is considered a way to enhance pulp healing and induce reparative dentin. In the present study, 3 capping materials were used and compared in terms of promoting pulp tissue healing after mechanical exposure. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to evaluate the reparative capacity of Biodentine™ (BD), TheraCal® LC and TotalFill® as DPC materials and to assess dentin bridge formation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The experiment required 3 groups (1-week group, 1-month group and 3-months group), each consisting of 24 fresh human premolars extracted for orthodontic reasons. A cavity was prepared on the buccal surface of each tooth and the pulp tissue was penetrated to a depth of approx. 1.0 mm. After exposure, hemostasis was obtained and the pulp-capping agents BD, TheraCal LC and TotalFill were applied. A final restoration with GC Fuji IX GP Fast (GC Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) was applied to each tooth to ensure an adequate coronal seal. Tissue samples were collected at 1 week, 1 month and 3 months. The samples were demineralized, sectioned, stained, and histologically graded. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference between TheraCal LC and both BD and TotalFill in terms of pulpal inflammation during the 3 capping periods, while BD and TotalFill showed comparable results, with no statistically significant difference between their results in the 3 capping periods. CONCLUSIONS: TotalFill a newly developed pulp-capping material, offers results comparable to BD in addition to its advantageous handling properties. Although TheraCal LC contains resin ingredients, given proper curing, it seems to be a successful material for DPC and offers superior handling properties.

Synthesis, inhibition effects and quantum chemical studies of a novel coumarin derivative on the corrosion of mild steel in a hydrochloric acid solution.

BACKGROUND: The acid corrosion inhibition process of mild steel in 1 M HCl by 4-[(2-amino-1, 3, 4-thiadiazol-5-yl)methoxy]coumarin (ATC), has been investigated using weight loss technique and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). ATC was synthesized, and its chemical structure was elucidated and confirmed using spectroscopic techniques (infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy). FINDINGS: The results indicated that inhibition efficiencies were enhanced with an increase in concentration of inhibitor and decreased with a rise in temperature. The adsorption equilibrium constant (K) and standard free energy of adsorption (ΔGads) were calculated. Quantum chemical parameters such as highest occupied molecular orbital energy, lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy (EHOMO and ELUMO, respectively) and dipole moment (µ) were calculated and discussed. The results showed that the corrosion inhibition efficiency increased with an increase in both the EHOMO and µ values but with a decrease in the ELUMO value. CONCLUSIONS: Our research show that the synthesized macromolecule represents an excellent inhibitor for materials in acidic solutions. The efficiency of this macromolecule had maximum inhibition efficiency up to 96 % at 0.5 mM and diminishes with a higher temperature degree, which is revealing of chemical adsorption. An inhibitor molecule were absorbed by metal surface and follow Langmuir isotherms low and establishes an efficient macromolecule inhibitor having excellent inhibitive properties due to entity of S (sulfur) atom, N (nitrogen) atom and O (oxygen) atom.