Background: Imaging techniques play a very important role in the specialty of endodontic. The ultrasonographic technique is non-expensive procedure, safe, and reproducible. The aim of the study was to determine the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of ultrasound and color Doppler ultrasonography in evaluation of periapical lesions (cyst, granuloma, mixed lesion “cyst within graulomas mass”, and abscess. Subject, Material and method: The sample consists of prospective study for 64 Iraqi participants who attended Karbalaa Specialized Center for Dentistry (males & females). Those patients were diagnosed clinically and radiographically as having periapical lesions of dental origin. They were examined by real time ultrasound and color Doppler ultrasonography with echographic predilection about the type of the lesion based on three parameters measured by ultrasound including: content, outline, and the vascularity. The echographic diagnosis was compared to the final histopathological and /or surgical findings obtained from the periapical surgeries. Results: The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of ultrasound diagnosis were respectively as follow: for periapical cyst, they were 92.3%, 96.1%, and 95.3%. While for periapical granulomam, they were 87.0%, 92.7%, and 90.6%. For mixed lesions, they were 66.7%, 98.4%, and 96.9% and lastly for periapical abscess, they were 92.0%, 97.4%, and 95.3%. The ultrasound diagnosis in our study had an overall agreement of 89% between ultrasound diagnosis and final diagnosis based on histopathological and/ or surgical findings. Conclusion: Ultrasound is a non- invasive, low cost, and complementary method for examination and diagnosis of periapical lesions and there is correlation of ultrasonographic findings with histopathological and /or surgical findings for final diagnosis.
Hydrogels are hydrophilic biocompatible polymers that can be used as a drug delivery material in different medical branches, including vital pulp therapy. The aim of this study is to characterize the physical and biological properties of the newly developed formula as a candidate direct pulp-capping material. The hydrogel composite was prepared from natural and synthetic origins (polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), hyaluronic acid (HA), and sodium alginate (SA)) with the incorporation of bioactive Moringa. Different formulas of hydrogel containing different concentrations were evaluated for physicochemical (FTIR, XRD, SEM, degradation, and swelling), mechanical (viscosity, folding endurance, film thickness), and biological (antioxidant, antibacterial,
... Show MoreTo promote sustainable steel-concrete composite structures, it is essential to develop special shear connectors that facilitate accelerated construction and deconstruction. A lockbolt demountable shear connector (LBDSC) was recently proposed. While the LBDSC has been evaluated using horizontal and vertical (standard) push-out tests, it is essential to further assess the disassembly mechanism and the positive flexural performance of prefabricated demountable composite beams (PDCBs) under both serviceability and ultimate limit states. Two full-scale test specimens of PDCBs with LBDSC were designed with partial shear connections and assessed using a three or four-point load beam setup under both cyclic and static monotonic loading conditions.
... Show MoreMetasurface polarizers are essential optical components in modern integrated optics and play a vital role in many optical applications including Quantum Key Distribution systems in quantum cryptography. However, inverse design of metasurface polarizers with high efficiency depends on the proper prediction of structural dimensions based on required optical response. Deep learning neural networks can efficiently help in the inverse design process, minimizing both time and simulation resources requirements, while better results can be achieved compared to traditional optimization methods. Hereby, utilizing the COMSOL Multiphysics Surrogate model and deep neural networks to design a metasurface grating structure with high extinction rat
... Show MoreBackground: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of in vitro long-term simulation of oral conditions on the bond strength of PEEK CAD/CAM lingual retainers.
Material and methods: The sample consisted of 12 PEEK CAD/CAM retainers each composed of 2 centrally perforated 3x4mm pads joined by a connector. They were treated by 98% sulfuric acid for 1 minute and then conditioned with Single Bond Universal and bonded to the lingual surface of premolar teeth by 3M Transbond TM System. Half of the retainers were artificially aged using a 30-day water storage and 5000 thermocycling protocol before bond strength testing to compare with the non-aged specimens.
Results: The artificially aged retainers showed a marginally
... Show MoreTransmission lines are generally subjected to faults, so it is advantageous to determine these faults as quickly as possible. This study uses an Artificial Neural Network technique to locate a fault as soon as it happens on the Doukan-Erbil of 132kv double Transmission lines network. CYME 7.1-Programming/Simulink utilized simulation to model the suggested network. A multilayer perceptron feed-forward artificial neural network with a back propagation learning algorithm is used for the intelligence locator's training, testing, assessment, and validation. Voltages and currents were applied as inputs during the neural network's training. The pre-fault and post-fault values determined the scaled values. The neural network's p
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