Do ozonated water and boric acid affect the bond strength to dentin in different adhesive systems?

AIM: The aim of this in vitro study was to compare the effects of the application of three different cavity disinfecting agents to dentin on the micro-shear bond strength (µ-SBS) of one self-etch and two universal adhesive systems. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In total, 120 caries-free human permanent molar teeth were used in this study. Mid-coronal dentin surfaces were revealed by cutting occlusal enamel and a standard smear layer was obtained by using 600-800-1200 grid silicon carbide abrasive papers. Specimens were randomly assigned to four groups according to the disinfectant used: Group 1: Control (no disinfectant); Group 2: 2% chlorhexidine based (Consepsis); Group 3: 10 ppm ozonated water (TeknO3zone); Group 4: 5% boric acid (Handmade). Each group was divided into three subgroups according to the type of adhesive (Clearfil SE Bond, OptiBond XTR, and Tokuyama Universal). Specimens were bonded using either Clearfil SE Bond, OptiBond XTR or Tokuyama Universal, which were employed according to the manufacturer's instructions. Resin composite microcylinders were bonded using Tygon® tubes for µ-SBS testing. After specimens were stored for 24 h, at 37°C in distilled water, µ-SBS test was measured with a universal test machine (LF Plus, Lloyd, Instrument). µ-SBS results were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's tests. RESULTS: When the mean microshear bond strength values of the control group were compared, the difference between the subgroups was not significant (P < 0.05). When the mean microshear bond strength values of the chx, ozonated water, and boric acid were compared, the difference between Clearfil SE Bond and Tokuyama Universal was significant (P < 0.05) and the difference between the other groups was not significant (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Ozonated water and boric acid may be as an alternative to other materials used as cavity disinfectants.

Relationship of epicardial fat tissue thickness with oxidant biomarkers in chronic kidney disease.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: IMA and MPO are elevated in serum in case of end-stage renal disease. Epicardial fat tissue thickness has been considered an indicator for cardiovascular diseases recently. The present study was aimed to examine the relationship of epicardial fat tissue thickness (EFTT) with IMA and MPO levels in patients with CKD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Predialysis CKD patients admitted to the Nephrology outpatient clinic, patients on haemodialysis and healthy volunteers were included, 111 patients were in the study. EFTT measurement was performed with the transthoracic view using an ECHO device. RESULTS: The analysis conducted among the groups in terms of IMA, MPO levels, and EFTT revealed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001). It was determined to be the lowest in the healthy volunteers, slightly increased in the pre-dialysis group whereas it was quite high in the haemodialysis group. According to the correlation test performed, we observed that IMA, MPO levels, and EFTT were found to be highly correlated to progression of CKD. CONCLUSION: We believe that we have introduced three novel follow-up parameters, such as: IMA, MPO, EFTT to literature for the follow-up of CKD. As the levels of IMA MPO and EFTT increase, the severity of CKD increases (Tab. 4, Fig. 1, Ref. 25).

Detection of left atrial dysfunction with speckle tracking echocardiography.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the SYNTAX (Synergy Between PCI With Taxus and Cardiac Surgery) score and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) measured with an invasive method and with speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE). METHODS: The study included 124 patients who underwent cardiac catheterization. LVEDP values and coronary images were obtained for all patients. SYNTAX scores were calculated and separated into three tertiles (SYNTAX = 0, SYNTAX < 22, and SYNTAX > 22). Standard echocardiography and STE were performed on all the patients. Peak LA strain (LAs strain) in ventricular end-systole and LA strain during LA contraction (LAa strain) values were obtained with STE. RESULTS: In univariate analysis, a strong correlation was observed between the SYNTAX score and LAs strain and a moderate correlation with LAa strain. A moderate correlation was also found between both LAs strain and LAa strain and LVEDP. In multiple regression analysis, LAs strain and LVEDP were observed to be independent predictors of SYNTAX score. CONCLUSION: LAs strain and LVEDP were observed to be independent predictors of SYNTAX scores. The relationship between LAs strain, LVEDP, and SYNTAX score could be useful in clinical practice.

The effects of treatment in patients with childhood asthma on the elastic properties of the aorta

Introduction: The study aimed to investigate the effects of treatment in patients with childhood asthma on the elastic properties of the aorta and cardiovascular risk.Methods: The study was performed in 66 paediatric patients diagnosed with bronchial asthma (BA). All patients were administered the ß2 agonist, salbutamol, for seven days, followed by one month of montelukast and six months of inhaled steroid treatment. All patients underwent conventional transthoracic echocardiographic imaging before and after treatment. Aortic elasticity parameters were considered to be the markers of aortic function.Results: Aortic elasticity parameters, including aortic strain (15.2 ± 4.8 and 18.8 ± 9.5%, p = 0.043), aortic distensibility (7.26 ± 4.71 and 9.53±3.50 cm2/dyn, p = 0.010) and aortic stiffness index (3.2 ± 0.6 and 2.8 ± 0.5, p = 0.045 showed significant post-treatment improvement when compared to pre-treatment values. Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) was also observed to improve after treatment (1.81 ± 0.38 and 1.98 ± 0.43, p = 0.049). Conclusion: The study demonstrated that when provided at appropriate doses, medications used in BA may result in an improvement in aortic stiffness

The role of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio as a predictor of diastolic dysfunction in hypertensive patients.

OBJECTIVE: Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a novel parameter for cardiovascular research area. The higher values of NLR have been found to be associated with worse clinical outcomes in atherosclerotic heart disease, heart failure, heart valve disease and other various cardiovascular disorders. Although the relationship between NLR and almost all cardiovascular disorders have been investigated, the association between NLR and diastolic dysfunction remains unclear. We herein evaluated the association between NLR and diastolic dysfunction. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study population consisted of 41 hypertensive patients with any grade of diastolic dysfunction and 41 hypertensive patients without diastolic dysfunction determined by echocardiographic evaluation constituted the control group. RESULTS: Mean NLR value was found to be 2.07 ± 0.82 in the diastolic dysfunction group while the control group had a mean value of 1.69 ± 0.60 (p = 0.020). The patients with diastolic dysfunction had significantly higher values of NLR. When grades of diastolic dysfunction were evaluated, NLR was 1.80 ± 0.82, 2.32 ± 0.73 and 2.75 ± 0.45 in patients with grade 1, grade 2 and grade 3 diastolic dysfunction, respectively. The patients with higher grade of diastolic dysfunction had higher values of NLR (p = 0.001). None of the other hematologic parameters differed significantly in patients with diastolic dysfunction when compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with diastolic dysfunction had higher values of NLR compared to subjects without diastolic dysfunction. Furthermore higher grades of diastolic dysfunction were associated with higher levels of NLR. Further studies are needed to search the possible use of NLR as a marker for prognostic stratification in diastolic dysfunction which is associated with worse cardiovascular outcomes.

Evaluation of nutritional parameters of hemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND: This study was performed to investigate nutritional parameters of hemodialysis patients by using anthropometric and biochemical measurements. METHODS: Data from the last 6 months of 22 adult hemodialysis patients with a mean age of 61 ± 14 years were analyzed retrospectively. Dialysis vintage, normalized protein catabolic rate (nPCR), serum biochemical parameters, mid arm muscle circumference (MAMC) were determined as mean and standard deviation. Correlations between the variables were computed by coefficient p of Pearson. RESULTS: We found significant positive correlations: age of patients versus C-reactive protein, MAMC versus LDL-Cholesterol, MAMC versus body mass index, albumin versus hemoglobin. There were also significant negative correlations: age versus serum creatinine, age versus albumin, age versus intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), dialysis vintage versus MAMC. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, age seem to be negatively associated with iPTH and albumin. As dialysis vintage increases, muscle mass seems to decrease.

Allografting for Bosutinib, Imatinib, Nilotinib, Dasatinib, and Interferon Resistant Chronic Myeloid Leukemia without ABL Kinase Mutation.

The current treatment of chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) consists of oral tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). However, high-risk CML may present with an aggressive course which may result in blastic crisis or a "difficult-to-manage" state with available treatments. The aim of this paper is to report a patient with complicated CML resistant to treatment and progressed despite the administration of bosutinib, imatinib mesylate, nilotinib, dasatinib, interferon alpha 2a, cytotoxic chemotherapy, and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The striking point of this case story is that no Abl kinase domain mutation against TKIs has been detected during this very complicated disease course of CML. Meanwhile, challenging cases will always be present despite the hope and progress in CML in the TKI era.

Treatment challenges in pediatric stroke patients.

Aim. In this study we presented our experience of 18 years on the etiology, risk factors, prophylactic and acute treatment, the effect of treatment to recurrence rate of patients with stroke. Methods. The population included 108 patients who had been treated for stroke at Pediatric Neurology Department of Ankara University with the diagnosis of arterial ischemic stroke and sinovenous thrombosis between January 1992 and August 2010. Forty-one girls (38%) and 67 boys (62%) with mean symptom age 3.1 ± 4.04 years, (0-18 years old) were followed up with a mean period of 4.9 ± 3.78 years (0-17 years). Results. 30 patients had no risk factors, 34 patients had only one risk factor and 44 patients had multiple risk factors. Recurrence was seen in three patients. There was no any statistical correlation between the recurrence of stroke and the existence of risk factors (P = .961). Seventeen patients received prophylactic treatment; 2 of them without any risk factors, 3 had one risk factor, 12 patients, who constituted the majority of our patients, had multiple risk factors (P = .024). Conclusion. With this study we showed that the right prophylaxis for right patients reduces the rate of recurrence.

The effects of IL-2, IL-6 and IL-10 levels on prognosis in patients with aggressive Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL).

The aim of this study was to investigate serum levels of IL-2, IL-6 and IL-10 in the pretreatment period and to determine if high IL-2, IL-6, IL-10 levels correlate with the outcome in patients with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) in the post treatment period. Forty-three patients with the diagnosis of aggressive NHL were included in our study. In all cases initial treatment consisted of CHOP. Patients who failed initial therapy and relapsed from CR were treated with the ESHAP regimen or autologous bone marrow transplantation. The median follow-up duration was 127 weeks (20-228 weeks). There was a negative relationship between the failure-free survival and IL-2 levels (p<0.01). IL-2 levels were negatively correlated with overall survival (p<0.02). There was no relationship between the failure-free survival and IL-6 and IL-10 levels. IL-6 and IL-10 levels did not affect overall survival. In conclusion, in patients with lymphoma, the immune system tries to control the progression of tumor thus leading to high IL-2 levels.