A single-blind randomized controlled clinical trial in patients with deep caries and symptoms of reversible pulpitis compared outcomes from a self-limiting excavation protocol using chemomechanical Carisolv gel/operating microscope (self-limiting) versus selective removal to leathery dentin using rotary burs (control). This was followed by pulp protection with mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and restoration with glass ionomer cement and resin composite, all in a single visit. The pulp sensibility and periapical health of teeth were assessed after 12 mo, in addition to the differences in bacterial tissue concentration postexcavation. Apical radiolucencies were assessed using cone beam computed tomography/periapical radiographs (CBCT/PAs) taken at baseline 0 mo (M0) and 12 mo (M12). In total, 101 restorations in 86 patients were placed and paired subsurface, and deep (postexcavation) dentin samples were obtained. DNA was extracted and bacteria-specific 16S ribosomal RNA gene quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed. No significant difference was found in bacterial copy numbers normalized to mass of dentin (“bacterial tissue concentration”) between the self-limiting (96.3% reduction) and control protocols (97.1%, P = 0.33). The probability of 12-mo success was 4 times (odds ratio [OR] = 4.33; confidence interval [CI], 1.2–15.6; P = 0.025) higher in the self-limiting protocol compared to the control (conventional excavation technique), with pulp survival rates of 73.3% and 90%, respectively ( P = 0.049). Molars had a 4 times higher probability of success compared to premolars (OR, 4.17; CI, 1.17–14.9; P = 0.028), and symptom severity did not statistically predict outcome (OR, 0.41; CI, 0.12–13.9, P = 0.153). CBCT detected significantly more periapical (PA) lesions than PA radiographs at the baseline visit ( P < 0.001). In conclusion, the self-limiting caries excavation protocol under magnification increased pulp survival rate compared to rotary bur excavation ( ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03071588).
Pharmaceuticals have been widely remaining contaminants in wastewater, and diclofenac is the most common pharmaceutical pollutant. Therefore, the removal of diclofenac from aqueous solutions using activated carbon produced by pyrocarbonic acid and microwaves was investigated in this research. Apricot seed powder and pyrophosphoric acid (45 wt%) were selected as raw material and activator respectively, and microwave irradiation technique was used to prepare the activated carbon. The raw material was impregnated in pyrophosphoric acid at 80◦C with an impregnation ratio of 1: 3 (apricot seeds to phosphoric acid), the impregnation time was 4 h, whereas the power of the microwave was 700 watts with a radiation time of 20 min. A series o
... Show MoreThe removal of turbidity from produced water by chemical coagulation/flocculation method using locally available coagulants was investigated. Aluminum sulfate (alum) is selected as a primary coagulant, while calcium hydroxide (lime) is used as a coagulant aid. The performance of these coagulants was studied through jar test by comparing turbidity removal at different coagulant/ coagulants aid ratio, coagulant dose, water pH, and sedimentation time. In addition, an attempt has been made to examine the relationship between turbidity (NTU) and total suspended solids (mg/L) on the same samples of produced water. The best conditions for turbidity removal can be obtained at 75% alum+25% lime coagulant at coagulant dose of 80 m
... Show MoreThe present work aimed to study the efficiency of nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membrane for heavy metal removal from wastewater and study the factors affecting the performance of these two membranes: feed concentrations for heavy metal ions, pressure, and flow rate. The experimental results showed, heavy metals concentration in permeate increase with raise in feed concentrations, decline with increase in flow rate. The raise of pressure, heavy metals concentration decreases for RO membrane, but for NF membrane the concentration decrease and then at high pressure increase. The rejection percentage for chromium in NF and RO is 99.7% and 99.9%, for copper is 98.4% and 99.3%, for zinc is 97.9% and 99.5%, for nickel is 97.2% and
... Show MoreThis work was conducted to study the ability of locally prepared Zeolite NaY for the reduction of sulfur compounds from Iraqi natural gas by a continuous mode adsorption unit. Zeolite Y was hydrothermally synthesized using abundant kaolin clay as aluminum precursor. Characterization was made using chemical analysis, XRD and BET surface area. Results of the adsorption experiments showed that zeolite Y is an active adsorbent for removal H2S from natural gas and other gas streams. The effect of temperature was found inversely related to the removal efficiency. Increasing bed height was found to increase the removal efficiency at constant flow rate of natural gas. The adsorption capacity was evaluated and its maximum uptake was 5.345 mg H2S/g z
... Show MoreThis paper investigated the treatment of textile wastewater polluted with aniline blue (AB) by electrocoagulation process using stainless steel mesh electrodes with a horizontal arrangement. The experimental design involved the application of the response surface methodology (RSM) to find the mathematical model, by adjusting the current density (4-20 mA/cm2), distance between electrodes (0.5-3 cm), salt concentration (50-600 mg/l), initial dye concentration (50-250 mg/l), pH value (2-12 ) and experimental time (5-20 min). The results showed that time is the most important parameter affecting the performance of the electrocoagulation system. Maximum removal efficiency (96 %) was obtained at a current density of 20 mA/cm2, distance be
... Show MoreThe current study investigated the stability and the extraction efficiency of emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) for Abamectin pesticide removal from aqueous solution. The stability was investigated in terms of droplet emulsion size distribution and emulsion breakage percent. The proposed ELM included a mixture of corn oil and kerosene (1:1) as a diluent, Span 80 (sorbitan monooleate) as a surfactant and hydrochloric acid (HCl) as a stripping agent without utilizing a carrier agent. Parameters such as homogenizer speed, surfactant concentration, emulsification time and internal to organic volume ratio (I/O) were evaluated. Results show that the lower droplet size of 0.9 µm and higher stable emulsion in terms of breakage percent of 1.12 % we
... Show MoreThis paper presents studying the performance of three types of polyethersulfone (PES) membrane for the simultaneous removal of Co2+ ions, Cd2+ ions, and Pb2+ ions from binary and ternary aqueous solutions. Co2+ ions, Cd2+ ions, and Pb2+ ions with two different initial concentrations (e.g., 10 and 50 ppm) were selected as examples of heavy metals that contaminate the groundwater as a result of geological and human activities. This study investigated the effect of types of PES membrane and metal ions concentration on the separation process. For the binary aqueous solutions, the permeation flux of the PES2 membranes was higher for the separation process of solutions containing 50 ppm of Cd2+ ions and 10 ppm of Co2+ ions (24.7 L
... Show MoreIn the present study, activated carbon supported metal oxides was prepared for thiophene removal from model fuel (Thiophene in n-hexane) using adsorptive desulfurization technique. Commercial activated carbon was loaded individually with copper oxide in the form of Cu2O/AC. A comparison of the kinetic and isotherm models of the sorption of thiophene from model fuel was made at different operating conditions including adsorbent dose, initial thiophene concentration and contact time. Various adsorption rate constants and isotherm parameters were calculated. Results indicated that the desulfurization was enhanced when copper was loaded onto activated carbon surface. The highest desulfurization percent for Cu2O/AC and o
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