Effect of Resin Luting Systems and Alumina Particle Air Abrasion on Bond Strength to Zirconia.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different primer/resin luting agent combinations and alumina air abrasion on the adhesion to zirconia. Eighty blocks (4×4×3 mm) of Lava Frame Zirconia (3M ESPE) were produced and randomly assigned into eight groups (n=10) according to two zirconia surface treatments (untreated or air abrasion with 50-µm alumina particles) and four luting systems (SU: Scotchbond Universal/RelyX Unicem 2; ZP: Z-Prime Plus/Duo-link Universal; MB: Monobond Plus/Variolink II; and AP: Alloy Primer/ED Primer II/Panavia F 2.0). After the conditioning and primer applications, resin luting agents were manipulated and applied on the zirconia, using a matrix, to form a cylinder (2 mm in diameter×2 mm high), followed by photoactivation for 40 seconds. After that, the specimens were stored in distilled water (37 °C) for 120 days and then submitted to shear bond strength testing, followed by failure mode evaluation under an optical microscope (30×). A two-way analysis of variance and Tukey test (α=0.05) were used for data analysis. Alumina air abrasion (Al) promoted higher bond values for the three luting systems, except for SU, which showed the best results without air abrasion, while with air abrasion, Al-SU, Al-ZP, and Al-MB presented higher values compared to Al-AP. We concluded that the alumina air abrasion of zirconia surfaces seemed to be dispensable for the SU group, while air abrasion (topographical alterations) enhanced the adhesion of the ZP, MB, and AP groups.

Endometrial polyps: MR imaging features and distinction from endometrial carcinoma.

PURPOSE: To determine the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging characteristics of endometrial polyps and the accuracy of MR imaging in distinguishing endometrial polyps from endometrial carcinomas in a case-control study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cross-referencing pathology records with MR studies from two institutions disclosed 35 patients with surgically proved endometrial polyp or carcinoma after controlling for tumor size. All MR examinations were performed at 1.5 T with T2-weighted fast spin-echo sequences in multiple planes. Three independent readers blinded to histologic diagnoses and clinical data scored each image for the presence of several defined findings. RESULTS: A central fibrous core (low signal intensity on T2-weighted images) and intratumoral cysts (high signal intensity on T2-weighted images) were seen more frequently in endometrial polyps than in carcinomas; myometrial invasion and necrosis showed high predictive value for carcinomas. The readers' responses showed a mean sensitivity of 79%, specificity of 89%, accuracy of 86%, positive predictive value of 82%, and negative predictive value of 88% for diagnosis of carcinoma. The mean area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the three readers was 0.87 for the diagnosis of carcinoma. CONCLUSION: MR images can help to distinguish most polyps from endometrial carcinomas on the basis of morphologic features. Accuracy does not appear to be sufficient to obviate biopsy, partly because carcinomas and polyps frequently coexist.

MR imaging of plantar fasciitis: edema, tears, and occult marrow abnormalities correlated with outcome.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate various MR imaging signs of plantar fasciitis and to determine if a difference in these findings exists between clinically typical and atypical patients with chronic symptoms resistant to conservative treatment. CONCLUSION: We found signs on MR imaging that, to our knowledge, have not been described in the scientific literature for patients with plantar fasciitis. These signs included occult marrow edema and fascial tears. Patients with these manifestations seemed to respond to treatment in a manner similar to that of patients in whom MR imaging revealed more benign findings.

Bilateral perisylvian syndrome not related to malformations: report of two cases.

In this case report we present the neuroimaging findings and clinical features of two patients with a bilateral perisylvian syndrome not related to malformations, but probably to ischemic etiology. Evaluations including history, general and neurologic examinations, electroencephalograms, and imaging data were reviewed as recent literature about the subject.