Proximity of Roots of Posterior Teeth to Maxillary Sinus in Different Facial Biotypes.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between maxillary posterior teeth roots to maxillary sinus floor (MSF) using three-dimensional imaging and to evaluate the correlation of vertical facial biotype, gender, and age to the proximity of posterior roots to the sinus. STUDY DESIGN: Observational, Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Orthodontics, Armed Forces Institute of Dentistry, Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, from January 2021 to July 2022. METHODOLOGY: Three-dimensional CBCT scans of 100 patients aged between 13 to 43 years were evaluated and divided into three matching groups based on vertical face forms i.e. hyperdivergent, normodivergent, and hypodivergent. Root proximity to maxillary sinus was scored (0-3) for each scan. Nonparametric Wilcoxon Mann Whitney U test and Kruskal Wallis test were used to compare average tooth and patient scores to vertical face type, age, and gender. RESULTS: Out of 100 patients, 54 were males and 46 were females with 44% aged between 13-23 years, 27% between 24 to 33 years, and 29% between 34 to 43 years. Average patient and tooth scores were highest in the hyperdivergent face type (p<0.001). No statistically significant relation was found between gender and degree of root proximity to MSF (p>0.05). Age was negatively correlated to root sinus wall connection (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Patients with hyperdivergent face forms are at greater risk of root resorption and prolonged orthodontic treatment due to the closer proximity of root apices to the maxillary sinus as compared to hypodivergent and normodivergent face forms. Moreover, roots were farther from the maxillary sinus wall with advanced age. KEY WORDS: Maxillary sinus, Cone beam computed tomography, Face.

Comparative efficacy and safety profile of once-weekly Semaglutide versus once-daily Sitagliptin as an add-on to metformin in patients with type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The emergence of genetically-modified human proteins and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists have presented a promising strategy for effectively managing diabetes. Due to the scarcity of clinical trials focusing on the safety and efficacy of semaglutide as an adjunctive treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes who had inadequate glycemic control with metformin, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. This was necessary to fill the gap and provide a comprehensive assessment of semaglutide compared to sitagliptin, a commonly prescribed DPP-4 inhibitor, in this patient population. METHODS: A comprehensive and systematic search was carried out on reputable databases including PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and Elsevier's ScienceDirect to identify relevant studies that compared the efficacy of once-weekly Semaglutide with once-daily Sitagliptin in individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The analysis of the gathered data was performed utilizing the random-effects model, which considers both within-study and between-study variations. RESULTS: The meta-analysis incorporated three randomized controlled trials (RCTs), encompassing 2401 participants, with a balanced distribution across the treatment groups. The primary focus of the study revolved around evaluating changes in HbA1C, blood pressure, pulse rate, body weight, waist circumference, and BMI. The findings revealed that once-weekly Semaglutide showed substantially improved HbA1C (WMD: -0.98; 95% CI: -1.28, -0.69, p-value: < 0.0001; I2: 100%), systolic (WMD: -3.73; 95% CI: -5.42, -2.04, p-value: <0.0001; I2: 100%) and diastolic blood pressures (WMD: -0.66; 95% CI: -1.02, -0.29, p-value: 0.0005; I2: 100%), and body weight (WMD: -3.17; 95% CI: -3.84, -2.49, p-value: <0.00001; I2: 100%) compared to once-daily Sitagliptin. However, there was an observed increase in pulse rate (WMD: 3.33; 95% CI: 1.61, 5.06, p-value: <0.00001; I2: 100%) associated with Semaglutide treatment. Regarding secondary outcomes, there was an elevated risk of total adverse events and premature treatment discontinuation with Semaglutide. The risk of serious, severe, moderate, and mild adverse events did not significantly differ between the two treatments. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the administration of once-weekly Semaglutide exhibited a substantial reduction in HbA1c, average systolic blood pressure (SBP), mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP), body weight, waist circumference, body mass index (BMI), and a rise in pulse rate, as opposed to the once-daily administration of Sitagliptin.

Prevalence of non-cavitated lesions and progression, regression, and no change from age 9 to 23 years.

OBJECTIVES: Some non-cavitated caries lesions (D1 ), the initial stage of caries, progress to cavitation. This article reports participant-level and surface-level D1 prevalence and changes in status of D1 lesions through different periods from age 9 to 23. METHODS: The Iowa Fluoride Study (IFS) participants were followed longitudinally; all permanent tooth surfaces were examined clinically for caries at ages 9, 13, 17, and 23 using standardized criteria for sound (S), questionable (D0 ), non-cavitated (D1 ), cavitated (D2+ ), filled (F), or missing due to decay (M). D1 lesions at the beginning of each interval were reassessed at each follow-up age to determine transitions (to the 5 categories or no transition). RESULTS: The sample had relatively high socioeconomic status (SES), with about 52%-55% high SES, 32-35% middle SES, and 12-13% low SES. Person-level prevalences of D1 lesions were 23%, 38%, 60%, and 45% at ages 9, 13, 17, and 23, respectively. Surface-level prevalences were less than 1% at ages 9 and 13, 3% at 17, and 2% at 23. Thirteen percent of D1 s at age 9 progressed at 13, 18% progressed from 13 to 17, and 11% progressed from 17 to 23. The percentages regressing (to sound or D0 ) were 72%, 54%, and 72%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Non-cavitated lesions were more prevalent at age 17 than at ages 9, 13, and 23. The high rates of regression compared to progression or no change suggest that many non-cavitated lesions do not progress to cavitated lesions and could be reversed; therefore, surgical intervention should not be the treatment of choice for incipient lesions.

Catalytic ozonation for the removal of reactive black 5 (RB-5) dye using zeolites modified with CuMn2O4/gC3N4 in a synergic electro flocculation-catalytic ozonation process.

This study aims to investigate the decolourization efficiency of reactive black 5 (RB-5) dye by using CuMn2O4/gC3N4 coated zeolites (zeolite 4A) for the first time in a hybrid electro-flocculation-catalytic ozonation process. A comparison between various treatment options such as electro-flocculation, electro-flocculation in the presence of a catalyst, and catalytic ozonation in combination with electro-flocculation was explored. Moreover, the effect of different factors such as pH, time, catalyst dose, ozone dose, radical scavenger, and voltage has been studied in each treatment option mentioned earlier. The results indicated that the best treatment option was found to be catalytic ozonation in combination with electro-flocculation with removal efficiency (RE) of 90.31% at pH 10 after 30 min of the treatment process. The hydroxyl radical scavenger effect indicated that the synergistic catalytic process follows a radical mechanism. It is therefore concluded that CuMn2O4/gC3N4-zeolite catalysts in synergic electro-flocculation-catalytic ozonation process may be effectively used for the treatment of textile wastewaters.