Clinical Testing of Walking Bleach, In-Office, and Combined Bleaching of Endodontically Treated Teeth.

Objective. The causes of internal posteruptive discoloration of teeth are bleeding, necroses, infections, and endodontic filling materials. The aim of this study was to establish the results of bleaching endodontically treated teeth using walking bleach, in-office, and combined techniques, using 30% carbamide peroxide and 35% hydrogen peroxide, as well as the effect of etiological factors, and the time elapsed after endodontic treatment on the success of bleaching. Materials and Methods. The research involved 30 endodontically treated teeth in healthy patients. Retroalveolar X-rays were taken to check the quality of root canal obturation. Endodontic treatment and obturation were carried out on the discolored non-vital teeth without any previous endodontic treatment. Before bleaching, two millimeters of the filling were removed from the root canal and the very entry into the canal was protected with glass ionomer cement. The teeth were divided into three groups, depending on the bleaching technique: walking bleach technique (10 patients), in-office technique (10 patients), and combined technique (10 patients). The teeth were bleached with 30% carbamide peroxide and 35% hydrogen peroxide. The bleaching procedure was repeated in all the patients three times. The color of all teeth was determined based on the Vita Classic guide before and after bleaching. The Χ2 square and Kruskal−Wallis tests were used to identify differences in teeth bleaching results. Results. A statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) was established between bleaching success and the time elapsed after endodontic treatment. There were no statistically significant differences observed between the bleaching success and etiological factors, bleaching techniques, or bleaching agents. Conclusions. The effectiveness of non-vital tooth bleaching is affected by the time elapsed after endodontic treatment.

Improved Properties and Microbiological Safety of Novel Cottage Cheese Containing Spices.

The study focuses on developing novel cottage cheese containing spices with acceptable sensory properties, increased biological value and extended shelf life. Thirty types of cheese with added fresh or dried parsley, dill, pepper, garlic and rosemary were produced. Characterisation of phenolic compounds, antioxidant capacity and antibacterial activity of spices and cheese samples were evaluated. The cheese containing fresh pepper and fresh and dried herbs showed excellent sensory properties, with the best results obtained with fresh sweet red pepper. Dry rosemary had the highest antioxidant and antibacterial activity due to high mass fractions of caffeic and rosmarinic acids as well as high mass fractions of flavones and phenolic diterpenes. The plant extracts examined in vitro and in situ effectively reduce numbers of foodborne pathogens like Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes, and therefore have potential as natural preservatives and antioxidants.

Pollen counts in Slavonski Brod, croatia during the pollination period 2008 to 2010.

Hay fever or pollinosis is the allergic reaction of the human body to allergic pollen grains and is a seasonal phenomenon. Pollen concentrations depend on the climate, geographic features, and vegetation. Trees, grass, and weed pollinosis is frequent in Croatia, common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisifolia L.) pollinosis in particular. Continuous monitoring of pollen air concentrations can provide timely information to the general public and can help sensitised patients and their physicians to prevent or alleviate allergic reactions. This is the task of health ecology services such as our Public Health Institute of the Brod-Posavina County. This article reports pollen concentrations in Slavonski Brod measured in March 2008 to November 2008, March 2009 to October 2009, and April 2010 to October 2010 and discusses the increasing exposure to ragweed and ways to control it.

[Mineral oil drinking water pollution accident in Slavonski Brod, Croatia]. / Zagadenje pitke vode mineralnim uljima u Slavonskom Brodu.

On 21 September 2008, heavy oil penetrated the drinking water supply in Slavonski Brod, Croatia. The accident was caused by the damage of heat exchange units in hot water supply. The system was polluted until the beginning of November, when the pipeline was treated with BIS O 2700 detergent and rinsed with water. Meanwhile, water samples were taken for chemical analysis using spectrometric and titrimetric methods and for microbiological analysis using membrane filtration and total plate count. Mineral oils were determined with infrared spectroscopy. Of the 192 samples taken for mineral oil analysis, 55 were above the maximally allowed concentration (MAC). Five samples were taken for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene analysis (BTEX), but none was above MAC. Epidemiologists conducted a survey about health symptoms among the residents affected by the accident. Thirty-six complained of symptoms such as diarrhoea, stomach cramps, vomiting, rash, eye burning, chills, and gastric disorders.This is the first reported case of drinking water pollution with mineral oil in Slavonski Brod and the accident has raised a number of issues, starting from poor water supply maintenance to glitches in the management of emergencies such as this.