Effect of Acidic Beverages on the Hardness, Elastic Modulus and Wear Resistance of Giomer and Nongiomer Bulk-fill Materials.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the effect of acidic beverages on the hardness, elastic modulus, and wear resistance of four different resin-based restorative materials. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A total of 128 specimens (10 mm diameter, 4 mm thickness) were prepared from a conventional resin composite (Filtek Z250 [Z250]), a giomer bulk-fill (Beautifil Bulk Restorative [BBR]) and two nongiomer bulk-fill materials (Tetric N-Ceram Bulk Fill [TNC] and SonicFill 2 [SF2]). Each material group was divided into four subgroups (n=8) according to the storage media: artificial saliva (control), orange juice, regular Coke, and sports drink. The experimental specimens were immersed in the solutions for 30 minutes, five times a day for 5 days and kept in artificial saliva for an hour between the immersion periods. Control specimens were stored in artificial saliva for 5 days. The nanoindentation test with a Berkovich diamond tip was used to determine the hardness and elastic modulus before and after the 5-day storage periods. Following the nanoindentation tests, the specimens were subjected to a chewing simulator for 120,000 cycles. The specimens were then scanned with a three-dimensional scanner. The wear resistance was analyzed by measuring the volume and height loss. Specimens were observed by environmental scanning electron microscopy. The statistical analyses were performed by analysis of variance, Tukey HDS test, and paired samples t-test (α=0.05). RESULTS: Z250 showed significantly higher elastic modulus in all groups (p<0.05). After erosive cycles, the greatest decrease in hardness and elastic modulus was observed for BBR. TNC showed higher wear resistance than the other resin-based materials (p<0.05). The BBR specimens immersed in acidic solutions showed higher wear rates than the artificial saliva group (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Conventional resin composite showed higher hardness and elastic modulus than bulk-fill materials when exposed to acidic beverages but comparable or lower wear resistance. Degradation due to acidic beverages most affected the mechanical properties of giomer bulk-fill.

The vaginal microbiota composition of women undergoing assisted reproduction: a prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of vaginal microbiota on pregnancy outcomes in women undergoing assisted reproduction. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study. SETTING: A university-based assisted reproductive technology (ART) centre. POPULATION: 223 women undergoing ART treatment. METHODS: Prior to embryo transfer, vaginal samples were collected from the posterior fornix. Vaginal microbiota identification was carried out using next-generation sequencing and categorised according to the V3-V4 hypervariable region in the 16S rRNA gene region. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ART clinical outcomes (implantation, clinical pregnancy rates and live birth rates). RESULTS: The live birth rate in women with community state type (CST)-I (39%) was higher than that in women with CST-III (21.5%) but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.052). The relative abundance of Lactobacillus was lower in women who failed to become pregnant (NP group) (67.71%) than in women who became pregnant (PR group) (79.72%). However, this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.06). In the NP group, the relative abundance of Streptococcus (7.81%) and Gardnerella (9.40%) was higher than that in the PR group (relative abundance of Streptococcus and Gardnerella was 2.28% and 5.56%, respectively). The abundance of Streptococcus was found to be statistically significantly different between the two study groups (P = 0.014). Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) further validated that Streptococcus had the highest contribution (LDA score >4.0) to the difference between these two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Streptococcus has the highest contribution to the distinction between the PR and NP groups. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: A relatively high abundance of Streptococcus in the vaginal microbiota may be associated with a lower ART success rate.

Investigation of in vivo radioprotective and in vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of garlic (Allum sativum).

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to assess the in vivo antioxidant potential via evaluating radioprotective effects in kidney and liver tissues of rats and in vitro antimicrobial and radical scavenger activity of garlic extract. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-two mature female Wistar rats were divided into four groups, each consisting of eight rats. Experimental groups were control group (1), GE group (2), irradiation group (3) and both GE and irradiation group (4). For the rats in two groups (group 3 and 4), irradiation was performed on a Cobalt-60 unit using a single fraction of 20 Gy. The GE was given to rats once a day during the month before irradiation and continued for five days after irradiation. The garlic cloves were peeled on crushed ice and 50 g of garlic was cut into small pieces and homogenized in 75 mL of 0.9% NaCI. The concentration of this garlic preparation was considered to be 500 mg/mL on the basis of weight of the starting material (0.5 g/mL). This extract was administered to rats by oral gavage. RESULTS: Our findings suggest that the use of garlic extract could be useful for addressing the limited therapeutic gain due to the radiation sensitivity of normal tissues adjacent to the tumour which are exposed to radiation, by strengthening the antioxidant system. In vitro and in vivo experiments seem to yield similar conclusions. CONCLUSIONS: It can be stated that garlic is may be recommended to be sufficiently included in the diets of radiotherapy patients considering its antioxidant and antimicrobial efficacy.

Molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis in Turkey.

Our objective was to determine the extent of fingerprint pattern diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from Turkey. Of the 320 patient isolates, 81 (25.3%) carried

Antifungal activity of some bis-5-methylbenzimidazole compounds.

Twenty bis-5-methylbenzimidazole compounds were evaluated for their in vitro antifungal activity against Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis. Except for three all compounds exhibited an antifungal activity against these yeasts over a range of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) between 25 and 800 mg/L.

Synthesis of some benzimidazole derivatives and their antibacterial and antifungal activities.

A number of new benzimidazole derivatives were synthesized by the reaction of benzimidazole with appropriate alkyl halides. The compounds synthesized were intensified by 1H-NMR, Fourier Transformation Infrared (FT-IR) and micro analysis. All new and related compounds studied in this work were screened for their in vitro antimicrobial activities against the standard strains: Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 29213), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) and the yeasts Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis. Eleven of the compounds were found effective to inhibit the growth of Gram-positive bacteria (E. faecalis and S. aureus) at MIC values between 12.5-400 micrograms/ml. None of the compounds exhibited antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli and P. aeruginosa) at the concentrations studied (6.25-800 micrograms/ml). All compounds (except compound 3) were significantly effective against C. tropicalis with MIC values of 6.25-400 micrograms/ml. Eight of the tested compounds showed an antifungal activity against C. albicans with a range of the MICs between 50 and 400 micrograms/ml.

Antifungal activity of rhodium, iridium, and ruthenium tripodal phosphine complexes.

Twenty-eight rhodium, iridium or ruthenium complexes were evaluated for their in vitro antifungal activities against Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis. Fourteen compounds showed an antifungal activity against C. albicans and C. tropicalis with a range of the minimum inhibitor concentrations (MICs) between 16 and 250 micrograms/mL.

Antibacterial and antifungal activities of complexes of ruthenium (II).

Twenty ruthenium (II) complexes (1-5) were evaluated for their in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activity against Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 29213), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis. Compounds 1d, 1e, 1h, 1i and 1j showed more pronounced antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria and fungi as compared to the nitrogen donor ruthenium complexes; hydrophobic substituents were significantly more effective. None of the compounds 1-5 exhibited antimicrobial activity against the Gram-negative strains Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) with the concentrations ranging between 12.5 and 800 micrograms/ml.

New derivatives of benzimidazole and their antimicrobial activity.

Azolium salts and neutral 2-aryl derivatives of benzimidazole, benzothiazole and benzoxazole were synthesized and compounds were identified by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy and microanalytical methods. In this work the salts 1 and the neutral compounds 2 were evaluated for their in vitro antimicrobial activity against standard strains: Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 29213), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), Candida albicans and Candida tropicals. The compounds 1f, 1g, 1l, 1m, 1n, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2e, 2f showed antimicrobial activity against Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 29213), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), Candida albicans and Candida tropicals, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranging between 50 to 200 mg/mL. Compounds 1f, 1g, 1l, lm, 2b, 2c showed the highest activity. Benzothiazolium and benzoxazolium salts were more active than 1,3-disubstituted benzimidazolium salts and neutral 2-substituted benzimidazole, benzothiazole and benzoxazole derivatives.

The effect of L-carnitine on insulin resistance in hemodialysed patients with chronic renal failure.

We investigated the effect of L-carnitine in seven patients, four female and three male (mean age 44.4 +/- 6.0 years) with chronic renal failure. Six patients, four female and two male (mean age 49.3 +/- 2.2 years) with chronic renal failure were given a placebo (0.9% sodium chloride) as control. After the basal data were obtained, patients received a single intravenous dose of L-carnitine (1 g) or placebo and two hours later insulin sensitivity was studied by the intravenous insulin tolerance test. No change was observed in biochemical data and K(itt) values in the placebo group. K(itt) increased significantly with carnitine (from 2.99 +/- 0.3 to 3.54 +/- 0.2%/min, p < 0.03) compared to the control group (p < 0.02). This result suggests that L-carnitine may improve the insulin resistance common among uremic patients.

Antibacterial activity of rhodium, iridium, and ruthenium tripodal phosphine complexes.

Twenty-eight rhodium, iridium, or ruthenium complexes were evaluated for their in vitro antibacterial activity against Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Pseudomonaa aeruginosa ATCC 27853. Ten compounds showed an antibacterial activity against Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213 with a range of the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) between 16 and 125 micrograms/ml. None of the compounds exhibited antimicrobial activity against the gram-negative strains E. coli ATCC 25922 or Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 29213 with a concentration range between 4 and 500 micrograms/ml.

Intravenous alfacalcidol improves insulin resistance in hemodialysis patients.

We have examined the effect of a four-week intravenous treatment with 1 alpha-hydroxyvitamin D3 on insulin sensitivity in 14 patients on chronic hemodialysis compared with 10 healthy control subjects by the insulin tolerance test. Compared to controls, the uremic patients have featured increased levels of parathyroid hormone (1085.0 +/- 822.1 vs 74.2 +/- 8.7 pg/ml, p < 0.001), insulin resistance (the rate constant for plasma glucose disappearance, K(in): 3.1 +/- 0.5 vs 4.5 +/- 0.4%/dk, p < 0.002), increased levels of insulin (30.5 +/- 7.3 vs 20.4 +/- 2.8 microIU/ml, p < 0.04) and increased levels of C-peptide (6.0 +/- 2.1 vs 3.9 +/- 12, ng/ml, p < 0.001). Following treatment with 1 alpha-hydroxyvitamin D3, levels of parathyroid hormone decreased from 1085.0 +/- 822.1 to 772.1 +/- 620.1 pg/ml (p < 0.004), the K(in) values increased significantly (from 3.1 +/- 0.5 to 4.1 +/- 0.4%/dk, p < 0.004) and reached the level near to that of controls, the insulin concentrations decreased from 30.5 +/- 7.3 to 28.7 +/- 9.2 microIU/ml (p > 0.05) and C-peptide concentrations increased from 6.0 +/- 2.1 to 7.5 +/- 2.5 ng/ml (p < 0.02). In summary, uremic patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism developed insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia. Intravenous 1 alpha-hydroxyvitamin D3 treatment has improved insulin sensitivity directly or by reducing secondary hyperparathyroidism in uremic patients on chronic hemodialysis.

Aqueous humor penetration of topically applied ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin and tobramycin.

UNLABELLED: The purpose of this study was to determine the aqueous humor concentrations of topically applied ciprofloxacin (CAS 86393-32-0), ofloxacin (CAS 82419-36-1) and tobramycin (CAS 79645-27-5). Thirty patients undergoing cataract extraction or trabeculectomy were randomly divided into three groups and each of the group received either 0.3% ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin or tobramycin topical drops preoperatively. Eyedrops were instilled for six times at a frequency of one drop every 15 minutes, beginning 90 minutes before initiation of the surgery. At the time of surgery, 0.1 ml aqueous fluid was aspirated from the anterior chamber. Concentrations of the antimicrobial agents were determined using the microbroth dilution procedure outlined by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards. Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) was used as a standard strain for determination of minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs). The mean aqueous levels of ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin were found to be 0.092 +/- 0.077 microgram/ml, 0.964 +/- 0.693 microgram/ml, respectively. Tobramycin did not reach the concentration that could be detected by applied method. CONCLUSION: The mean aqueous humor levels of ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin were more than the MICs levels for most of the ocular pathogens which may cause postoperative endophthalmitis.

Short term reduction of left ventricular mass in primary hypertrophic cardiomyopathy by octreotide injections.

Growth factors have been shown to be associated with primary hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Octreotide, a long acting somatostatin analogue, can prevent the stimulating effect of growth factors and decrease the left ventricular mass in patients with acromegaly. In the light of these results, three patients with primary hypertrophic cardiomyopathy were treated with subcutaneous octreotide (50 micrograms three times a day during the first week and 100 micrograms twice a day for the following three weeks). Initially, two patients were in New York Heart Association class II in and one was in class III. At the end of a four week treatment session all were in class I. There were significant decreases in left ventricular posterior wall thickness, interventricular septum thickness, and left ventricular mass in all three patients. Both left ventricular end diastolic and end systolic diameters had increased in all of the patients at the end of the fourth week. Two of three patients showed improved diastolic filling: their hyperdynamic systolic performance returned to normal. No side effects were observed during octreotide treatment. The considerable improvement obtained with the short term octreotide treatment in patients with primary hypertrophic cardiomyopathy seems promising.