Accuracy of linear measurement using cone-beam computed tomography at different reconstruction angles

Purpose: This study was performed to evaluate the effect of changing the orientation of a reconstructed image on the accuracy of linear measurements using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and Methods: Forty-two titanium pins were inserted in seven dry sheep mandibles. The length of these pins was measured using a digital caliper with readability of 0.01 mm. Mandibles were radiographed using a CBCT device. When the CBCT images were reconstructed, the orientation of slices was adjusted to parallel (i.e., 0°), +10°, +12°, -12°, and -10° with respect to the occlusal plane. The length of the pins was measured by three radiologists, and the accuracy of these measurements was reported using descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA); p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The differences in radiographic measurements ranged from -0.64 to +0.06 at the orientation of -12°, -0.66 to -0.11 at -10°, -0.51 to +0.19 at 0°, -0.64 to +0.08 at +10°, and -0.64 to +0.1 at +12°. The mean absolute values of the errors were greater at negative orientations than at the parallel position or at positive orientations. The observers underestimated most of the variables by 0.5-0.1 mm (83.6%). In the second set of observations, the reproducibility at all orientations was greater than 0.9. Conclusion: Changing the slice orientation in the range of -12°to +12°reduced the accuracy of linear measurements obtained using CBCT. However, the error value was smaller than 0.5 mm and was, therefore, clinically acceptable. © 2014 by Korean Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology

Comparative study of Candida albicans colony count means in the saliva of healthy subjects in terms of ABO blood group antigens.

Introduction: Candida albicans is the most prevalent opportunistic fungus in the oral cavity. To date, the association of various factors with the incidence of candidiasis has been evaluated. Some studies have yielded conflicting results about the association between ABO blood group antigens and candidiasis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the mean colony counts of C. albicans in the saliva of healthy subjects and their association with ABO blood antigens. Materials and Methods: Three hundreds healthy subjects (100 with blood group A, 100 with blood group B and 100 with blood group O) were included in this cross-sectional/analytical study. The unstimulated salivary samples of all the participants were collected by spiting, which were cultured to determine the colony counts in each subject’s saliva. Data were analyzed by SPSS 16 by KruskalWallis test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Results: The subjects included 156 males and 144 females, with a mean age of 27.52 years. The mean colony counts of C. albicans in the O, A and B blood groups were 26.4, 19.84 and 21.23, respectively. The results did not show significant differences between the three blood groups in the mean colony counts of C. albicans. Conclusion: Under the limitations of this study there was no relationship between colony counts and blood types. Further studies are recommended to confirm the effect of ABO blood group (especially blood group O) on susceptibility to candidiasis

A novel method for incorporation of micron-sized SiC particles into molten pure aluminum utilizing a Co coating

Ceramic particles typically do not have sufficiently high wettability by molten metal for effective bonding during metal matrix composite fabrication. In this study, a novel method has been used to overcome this drawback. Micron-sized SiC particles were coated by a cobalt metallic layer using an electroless deposition method. A layer of cobalt on the SiC particles was produced prior to incorporation in molten pure aluminum in order to improve the injected particle bonding with the matrix. For comparison, magnesium was added to the melt in separate experiments as a wetting agent to assess which method was more effective for particle incorporation. It was found that both of these methods were more effective as regard ceramic particulate incorporation compared with samples produced with as-received SiC particles injected into the pure aluminum matrix. SEM images indicated that cobalt coating of the particles was more effective than magnesium for incorporation of fine SiC particles (below 30 lm), while totally the incorporation percentage of the particles was higher for a sample in which Mg was added as a wetting agent. In addition, microhardness tests revealed that the cobalt coating leads to the fabrication of a harder composite due to increased amount of ceramic incorporation, ceramic-matrix bonding, and possibly also to formation of Al-Co intermetallic phases

Multiparasitism of stink bug eggs: competitive interactions between Ooencyrtus pityocampae and Trissolcus agriope

Females of Trissolcus agriope (Platygastridae) avoid host (Brachynema signatum) eggs parasitized by conspecifics or Ooencyrtus pityocampae (Encyrtidae), but females of the latter species will superparasitize and multiparasitize, although they mostly attack unparasitized eggs. Females of T. agriope were more efficient in the laboratory and parasitized more hosts in 24 and 48 h. In multiparasitized hosts, O. pityocampae was a superior larval competitor and could complete also development as a facultative hyperparasitoid. When females of both species foraged together, T. agriope parasitized significantly more than O. pityocampae, about 50%in both cases, although O. pityocampae almost doubled its parasitism rate as the exposure period was lengthened from 24 h to 48 h. When O. pityocampae followed T. agriope in sequential foraging bouts, the former species successfully parasitized more hosts than the latter. The advisability of co-releases of both species to improve biological control of first generation B. signatum in Iranian pistachio orchards is discussed.Citation: Mohammadpour, M., Jalali, M. A., Michaud, J. P., Ziaaddini, M., & Hashemirad, H. (2014). Multiparasitism of stink bug eggs: Competitive interactions between Ooencyrtus pityocampae and Trissolcus agriope. Retrieved from http://krex.ksu.ed

Teratogenic effects of carbamazepine on embryonic eye development in pregnant mice

Background: Carbamazepine is an antiepileptic drug used widely for the treatment of epileptic seizures and neuropathic pain. Several malformations in humans, mainly neural tube defects, have been reported as a consequence of its use during pregnancy. The association between maternal use of carbamazepine and congenital eye malformations is not very well understood. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine this association after intraperitoneal injection of carbamazepine during the period of organogenesis in mice. Methods: Balb/c timed-pregnant mice were divided into 4 experimental and control groups. Two experimental groups received daily intraperitoneal injections of 15mg/kg (group I) or 30mg/kg (group II) of carbamazepine on gestational days 6 to 15. Two control groups received normal saline or Tween 20 (polysorbate 20). Dams underwent Cesarean section on gestational day 18 and embryos were harvested. External examination for eye malformations, routine histological processing of malformed fetuses to study eye morphology, and skeletal staining were performed. Results: The mean weight and crown-rump of the fetuses in both experimental groups were significantly reduced compared with those of the control groups. Various malformations were detected such as brachygnathia, calvarial deformity, vertebral deformity, short tail, and brachydactyly. Premature opening of one or both eyes with mild to severe exophthalmos occurred in the 2 experimental groups. Deformed lens, retinal folds with undeveloped layers, and corneal folds with absence of surface epithelium were detected in both experimental groups. Conclusions: This study, to the best of our knowledge, showed for the first time that intraperitoneal administration of carbamazepine at clinically comparable doses during organogenesis can induce several eye malformations in mice. The implication of these results needs to be considered when carbamazepine is administered during human pregnancy. © 2010 Informa UK Ltd

A case report of Enteritis Redmouth Disease in cultured rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in Kohkyloyeh va Boyerahmad Province in Iran

An unknown mortality was occurred in some ponds of a farm in an area of Kohgiloyeh-&- Boyerahmad province. Three ponds showed the highest mortality rate, about 5 to 20 dead fish were reported daily for 45 days. Afflicted fish have darkening in the skin and swimming near surface or at the floor of pond and swam unmatched with flock. Some fish showed hemorrhages around and within the oral cavity and exophthalmia occasionally. About 45 moribund rainbow trout were sampled for dissection and bacteriological examination. Kidney, liver and spleen of the fishes were examined for the detection and identification of bacteria causative agent of disease in rainbow trout. They cultivated aseptically on different media (Blood Agar, Tryptic soy Agar, TCBS Agar and MacConkey Agar). All fish have been infected and suffered septicemia. A type of gram's negative bacteria was responsible of infection and mix infection was not confirmed. The bacterium was being able to grow on Mac Conkey agar. It was a bacterium very similar with Yersinia ruckeri which induced infection. Detection was based on clinical finding and bacteriological laboratory results so using of some confirmation methods such as FAT or PCR would be recommended strongly

Ten questions concerning integrating smart buildings into the smart grid

Recent advances in information and communications technology (ICT) have initiated development of a smart electrical grid and smart buildings. Buildings consume a large portion of the total electricity production worldwide, and to fully develop a smart grid they must be integrated with that grid. Buildings can now be ‘prosumers’ on the grid (both producers and consumers), and the continued growth of distributed renewable energy generation is raising new challenges in terms of grid stability over various time scales. Buildings can contribute to grid stability by managing their overall electrical demand in response to current conditions. Facility managers must balance demand response requests by grid operators with energy needed to maintain smooth building operations. For example, maintaining thermal comfort within an occupied building requires energy and, thus an optimized solution balancing energy use with indoor environmental quality (adequate thermal comfort, lighting, etc.) is needed. Successful integration of buildings and their systems with the grid also requires interoperable data exchange. However, the adoption and integration of newer control and communication technologies into buildings can be problematic with older legacy HVAC and building control systems. Public policy and economic structures have not kept up with the technical developments that have given rise to the budding smart grid, and further developments are needed in both technical and non-technical areas

DRUJ instability after distal radius fracture: A comparison between cases with and without ulnar styloid fracture

AbstractBackgroundBecause of the importance of the DRUJ in upper extremity function and the prevalence of distal radius fractures, either with or without ulnar styloid fracture, this study was designed to assess the relationship between ulnar styloid fracture and the incidence of DRUJ instability after treatment of distal radius fractures treated with ORIF (volar plate).Methods112 patients suffering from type two and three distal radius fractures (Fernandez classification), were evaluated. Depending on the presence of ulnar styloid avulsion fracture, patients were divided into two groups: 86 cases with isolated radial fracture and 26 cases with a distal radius fracture accompanied by ulnar styloid fracture. All patients underwent distal radius fracture ORIF. CT scanning was done both immediately after surgery and 3 months post-op. DRUJ stability was examined using the modified radioulnar line method and the incidence of DRUJ instability was compared between the two groups.ResultsImmediate instability was seen in 11 patients. Three of these patients had concomitant ulnar styloid fracture and were excluded for further fixation. Three months later, another 9 cases were diagnosed with DRUJ instability, 2 of whom had concomitant ulnar styloid fracture and the other 7 suffered from isolated distal radius fracture. Chi-square test revealed no significant difference (p < 0.05). There were no cases of delayed union or non-union distal radius fracture.ConclusionOur study demonstrated that untreated stable or minimally displaced ulnar styloid fracture accompanied by distal radius fracture, has no adverse effect on DRUJ stability following ORIF of the radius

Casimir type effects for scalar fields interacting with material slabs

We study the field theoretical model of a scalar field in presence of spacial inhomogeneities in form of one and two finite width mirrors (material slabs). The interaction of the scalar field with the defect is described with position-dependent mass term. For the single layer system we develop a rigorous calculation method and derive explicitly the propagator of the theory, S-matrix elements and the Casimir self-energy of the slab. Detailed investigation of particular limits of self-energy is presented, and connection to know cases is discussed. The calculation method is found applicable to the two mirrors case as well. By means of it we derive the corresponding Casimir energy and analyze it. For particular values of the parameters of the model the obtained results recover the Lifshitz formula. We also propose a procedure to obtain unambiguously the finite Casimir \textit{self}-energy of a single slab without reference to any renormalizations. We hope that our approach can be applied to calculation of Casimir self-energies in other demanded cases (such as dielectric ball, etc.)Comment: 22 pages, 3 figures, published version, significant changes in Section 4.