Recent advances in three-dimensional ultrasound virtual cystoscopy in modeling and local staging for urothelial carcinoma with histopathological correlation: a cohort prospective study.

Background: Bladder urothelial carcinoma is an alarming urologic malignancy. Complex factors like modelling and local staging can affect treatment strategy. However, local staging, particularly the muscle invasion status, significantly influences decisions regarding treatment strategies. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the novel advances of three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound (US) imaging to assess local staging in comparison with conventional cystoscopy. Methods: Forty-three patients with painless haematuria and conventional cystoscopy findings of bladder mass underwent 3D US virtual cystoscopy. All specimens from conventional cystoscopy were processed histologically. Results: Out of 43 participants, 18 (41.9%) patients proved to have invasive urothelial carcinoma by histopathology. The 3D US had a sensitivity of 97.5% and a specificity of 100%; however conventional cystoscopy was accurate in only 53.5% of the studied cases. Furthermore, in the case of malignant ulcers, mural extension into both the submucosal and the muscle layers was more readily appreciated in multiplanar images. Conclusion: 3D US updates are promising for use in bladder tumour modelling and local staging; however, they can be of value in evaluating mural and extramural tumour extent and have proven accuracy.

Fracture load of ultrathin occlusal veneers: Effect of thickness and surface conditioning.

OBJECTIVE: This in-vitro study is planned to analyze the effect of different thicknesses of ceramic occlusal veneers and different surface treatments on fracture resistance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 48 sound mandibular molars are anatomically prepared from the occlusal surface with two different thicknesses (1.0 and 0.5 mm). CAD/CAM zirconia-reinforced glass ceramic blocks (Vita Suprinity) are used for fabricating occlusal veneers. The teeth are randomly divided into two primary groups A and B (n=24) according to occlusal veneer thickness. Each group is subdivided according to surface conditioning into three equal subgroups (n=8)-subgroup HF: etching with hydrofluoric acid and ceramic primer application; subgroup APF: etching with acidulated phosphate fluoride and ceramic primer application; subgroup EP: conditioning with etch and prime only. Dual-cure adhesive resin cement (Multilink Automix) is utilized to adhesively bond the veneers. All specimens are subjected to 240,000 cycles of dynamic load aging prior to the fracture resistance test. The fracture resistance is measured in Newton (N). The Failure mode patterns are analyzed and categorized using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results are analyzed using a two-way ANOVA with Bonferroni's Post-Hoc test, followed by a one-way ANOVA for each factor. That is in addition to one-way ANOVA for surface treatment under each thickness, each followed by Bonferroni's Post-Hoc test. Then, a T-test is used to compare the two thicknesses under each surface treatment. All tests are set at 0.05 significance level. RESULTS: The two-way ANOVA test revealed that restoration thickness and surface treatment both significantly affect the fracture resistance values (p<0.05). The highest fracture resistance mean (2672±216N) is obtained from HF at 1.0 mm thickness, while the lowest mean (2104±299N) is obtained from APF at 0.5 mm thickness. CONCLUSION: All test groups, regardless of thickness, demonstrated fracture resistance values that exceeded both normal and parafunctional bite forces. The veneers that bonded after hydrofluoric acid etching followed by ceramic primer application showed more favourable fracture patterns.

Influence of thickness and surface conditioning on fracture resistance of occlusal veneer.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the current study was to assess the impact of restoration thickness, surface conditioning and the interaction between them on the fracture resistance of CAD/CAM fabricated lithium disilicate occlusal veneers. METHODS: A total of 42 maxillary molars were prepared to receive CAD/CAM fabricated lithium disilicate occlusal veneer either with 0.5 mm (n = 21) or 1 mm (n = 21) thickness. Each main group was divided into 3 subgroups (n = 7), according to surface treatment, HF acid (HF-1, HF-0.5), acidulated phosphate fluoride (APF-1, APF-0.5) and Monobond etch & prime (MON-1, MON-0.5). Multilinik N (Ivoclar-Vivadent) adhesive resin cement was used for bonding according to the manufacturer instructions. One hour after bonding, specimens were stored in water bath for 75 days followed by cyclic loading fatigue for 240,000 cycles to simulate clinical situation. Finally, specimens were fractured under compressive load in (N) using a universal testing machine. Two and one-way ANOVA and Post Hoc Tukey test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The means ± SD (N) fracture load for each group were calculated. MON-1 group showed the highest fracture load (1644.7 ± 155.3) followed by HF-1 group (1514.6 ± 212.5). Meanwhile, APF-0.5 showed the lowest fracture load (962 ± 249.6). CONCLUSION: CAD/CAM fabricated lithium disilicate occlusal veneers can be used with a thickness of 0.5 mm instead of conventional crowns. Monobond etch & prime is recommended as a surface treatment for CAD/CAM fabricated lithium disilicate occlusal veneer due to biological hazards of Hydrofluoric acid.

Safe natural bio-pigment production by Monascus purpureus using mixed carbon sources with cytotoxicity evaluation on root tips of Allium cepa L.

By increasing the undesirable side effects of synthetic food pigments on human health, using safe natural food pigment become an urgent issue. Incorporate corn starch with oils conducted a high impact on red pigment production by Monascus purpureus. Fortification the medium with sesame oil raised the pigment production by 80% and the dry mass by 63% compared with free oil medium. Response surface methodology maximizes the production with 114.6% (12.8 A500) using medium constituents (g/l); Sesame oil 5; Corn starch 30; Yeast extract 1.5; KH2PO4 2.5 and MgSO4.7H2O 0.1. After evaluating red pigment stability in three common food components, citric acid showed a great effect on residual stability percentage compared with ascorbic and salicylic acid which decrease slightly the residual stability percentage at light and dark conditions. The mitotic index of red pigment was lower than the negative control at all tested concentrations. Different types of mitotic chromosomal abnormalities e.g. lagging chromosome, chromosomal bridge, chromosome and chromatin fragments, outside chromosome, chromosomal stickiness and micro nuclei were recorded. Insignificant increase in total mitotic aberrations percentage in all tested root tips treated with all concentrations of red pigment (1.23, 1.58, 1.63, 2.32 and 2.40%) compared with negative control (0.91%). There was a significant increase in total aberrations percentage after treatment with all concentrations (10, 15, 20 and 25%) of positive control (2.93, 3.00, 3.55 and 6.53 respectively) except (5%) which was insignificant (2.71%). From the previous data, this red pigment can be used as an alternative safe pigment in the food industry.

Effect of Process Parameters on Flow Length and Flash Formation in Injection Moulding of High Aspect Ratio Polymeric Micro Features.

This paper reports an investigation of the effects of process parameters on the quality characteristics of polymeric parts produced by micro injection moulding (µIM) with two different materials. Four injection moulding process parameters (injection velocity, holding pressure, melt temperature and mould temperature) were investigated using Polypropylene (PP) and Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS). Three key characteristics of the mouldings were evaluated with respect to process settings and the material employed: part mass, flow length and flash formation. The experimentation employs a test part with four micro fingers with different aspect ratios (from 21 up to 150) and was carried out according to the Design of Experiments (DOE) statistical technique. The results show that holding pressure and injection velocity are the most influential parameters on part mass with a direct effect for both materials. Both parameters have a similar effect on flow length for both PP and ABS at all aspect ratios and have higher effects as the feature thickness decreased below 300 µm. The study shows that for the investigated materials the injection speed and packing pressure were the most influential parameters for increasing the amount of flash formation, with relative effects consistent for both materials. Higher melt and mould temperatures settings were less influential parameters for increasing the flash amount when moulding with both materials. Of the two investigated materials, PP was the one exhibiting more flash formation as compared with ABS, when corresponding injection moulding parameters settings for both materials were considered.