Periodontitis is a multifactorial chronic inflammatory disease that affects tooth-supporting soft/hard tissues of the dentition. The dental plaque biofilm is considered as a primary etiological factor in susceptible patients; however, other factors contribute to progression, such as diabetes and smoking. Current management utilizes mechanical biofilm removal as the gold standard of treatment. Antibacterial agents might be indicated in certain conditions as an adjunct to this mechanical approach. However, in view of the growing concern about bacterial resistance, alternative approaches have been investigated. Currently, a range of antimicrobial agents and protocols have been used in clinical management, but these remain largely non-validated. This review aimed to evaluate the efficacy of adjunctive antibiotic use in periodontal management and to compare them to recently suggested alternatives. Evidence from in vitro, observational and clinical trial studies suggests efficacy in the use of adjunctive antimicrobials in patients with grade C periodontitis of young age or where the associated risk factors are inconsistent with the amount of bone loss present. Meanwhile, alternative approaches such as photodynamic therapy, bacteriophage therapy and probiotics showed limited supportive evidence, and more studies are warranted to validate their efficiency.
The ability of the human brain to communicate with its environment has become a reality through the use of a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI)-based mechanism. Electroencephalography (EEG) has gained popularity as a non-invasive way of brain connection. Traditionally, the devices were used in clinical settings to detect various brain diseases. However, as technology advances, companies such as Emotiv and NeuroSky are developing low-cost, easily portable EEG-based consumer-grade devices that can be used in various application domains such as gaming, education. This article discusses the parts in which the EEG has been applied and how it has proven beneficial for those with severe motor disorders, rehabilitation, and as a form of communi
... Show MoreThe research aims to design a narrow-band frequency drive amplifier (1.5GHz -1.6GHz), which is used to boost the transmitter amplifier's input signal or amplify the GPS, GlONASS signals at the L1 band.
The Power Amplifier printed circuit board (PCB) prototype was designed using InGaP HBT homogeneous technology transistor and GaAs Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor (HBT) transistor. Two models have been compared; one of the models gave 16dB gain, and the other gave 23dB when using an input power signal (-15dBm). The PCB consumes 2.4W of power and has a physical dimension of 11 x 4 cm.
A simple and rapid high performance liquid chromatographic with fluorescence detection method for the determination of the aflatoxin B1, B2, G1 and G2 in peanuts, rice and chilli was developed. The sample was extracted using acetonitrile:water (90:10, v/v%) and then purified by using ISOLUTE multimode solid phase extraction. After the pre-column derivatisation, the analytes were separated within 3.7 min using Chromolith performance RP-18e (100–4.6 mm) monolithic column. To assess the possible effects of endogenous components in the food items, matrix-matched calibration was used for the quantification and validation. The recoveries of aflatoxins that were spiked into food samples were 86.38–104.5% and RSDs were <4.4%. The method was
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This paper presents an intelligent model reference adaptive control (MRAC) utilizing a self-recurrent wavelet neural network (SRWNN) to control nonlinear systems. The proposed SRWNN is an improved version of a previously reported wavelet neural network (WNN). In particular, this improvement was achieved by adopting two modifications to the original WNN structure. These modifications include, firstly, the utilization of a specific initialization phase to improve the convergence to the optimal weight values, and secondly, the inclusion of self-feedback weights to the wavelons of the wavelet layer. Furthermore, an on-line training procedure was proposed to enhance the control per
... Show MoreRap songs often feature artists who utilize explicit language to convey feelings such as happiness, sorrow, and anger, reflecting audience expectations and trends within the music industry. This study intends to conduct a socio-pragmatic analysis of explicit, derogatory, and offensive language in the songs of the American artist Doja Cat, employing Hughes’ (1996) Swearing Word Theory, Jay’s (1996) Taboo Words Theory, Luhr’s (2002) classification of social factors for sociolinguistic examination, Salager’s (1997) categories of hedges for pragmatic assessment, and Austin’s (1965, 1989) theory of speech acts. The researchers collected the data using the AntConc corpus analysis tool. The data shows the singer’s frequent use
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