Effect of 0.4% stannous fluoride gel on Streptococci mutans in relation to elastomeric rings and steel ligatures in orthodontic patients

Background: Patients with fixed orthodontic appliances often experience an absolute increase in the number of Streptococci mutans colony-forming units (cfu). The aim of this investigation was to study the development of biofilm and S. mutans cfu in connection with stainless steel ligatures and elastomeric rings in orthodontic patients treated with and without 0.4% stannous fluoride gel (SFG). Material: Forty-seven patients were divided into 2 groups: those treated with 0.4% SFG for 4 minutes (experimental) and those without 0.4% SFG (control). In each patient, elastomeric rings were used for ligation on 1 side of the dental arch midline, and stainless steel ligatures were used on the opposite side. Saliva samples were collected before and after appliance placement. At 15 and 30 days after appliance placement, biofilm samples from the stainless steel ligatures and the elastomeric rings were collected and subjected to microbiologic procedures and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. Results: The numbers of S. mutans cfu in the saliva and biofilm were not statistically different between the teeth fitted with elastomeric rings and stainless steel ligatures, or between the experimental and control groups. SEM analysis showed biofilm formation on both ligature ties. Conclusions: Topical application of 0.4% SFG in orthodontic patients with elastomeric rings or stainless steel ligatures does not cause a significant decrease in S. mutans cfu in the saliva and biofilm. Copyright © 2005 by the American Association of Orthodontists.

Exercise training improves relaxation response and SOD-1 expression in aortic and mesenteric rings from high caloric diet-fed rats

Background. Obesity has been associated with a variety of disease such as type II diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension and atherosclerosis. Evidences have shown that exercise training promotes beneficial effects on these disorders, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to investigate whether physical preconditioning prevents the deleterious effect of high caloric diet in vascular reactivity of rat aortic and mesenteric rings. Methods. Male Wistar rats were divided into sedentary (SD); trained (TR); sedentary diet (SDD) and trained diet (TRD) groups. Run training (RT) was performed in sessions of 60 min, 5 days/week for 12 weeks (70-80% VO2max). Triglycerides, glucose, insulin and nitrite/nitrate concentrations (NOx -) were measured. Concentration- response curves to acetylcholine (ACh) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) were obtained. Expression of Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD-1) was assessed by Western blotting. Results. High caloric diet increased triglycerides concentration (SDD: 216 ± 25 mg/dl) and exercise training restored to the baseline value (TRD: 89 ± 9 mg/dl). Physical preconditioning significantly reduced insulin levels in both groups (TR: 0.54 ± 0.1 and TRD: 1.24 ± 0.3 ng/ml) as compared to sedentary animals (SD: 0.87 ± 0.1 and SDD: 2.57 ± 0.3 ng/ml). On the other hand, glucose concentration was slightly increased by high caloric diet, and RT did not modify this parameter (SD: 126 ± 6; TR: 140 ± 8; SDD: 156 ± 8 and TRD 153 ± 9 mg/dl). Neither high caloric diet nor RT modified NO x - levels (SD: 27 ± 4; TR: 28 ± 6; SDD: 27 ± 3 and TRD: 30 ± 2 μM). Functional assays showed that high caloric diet impaired the relaxing response to ACh in mesenteric (about 13%), but not in aortic rings. RT improved the relaxing responses to ACh either in aortic (28%, for TR and 16%, to TRD groups) or mesenteric rings (10%, for TR and 17%, to TRD groups) that was accompanied by up-regulation of SOD-1 expression and reduction in triglycerides levels. Conclusion. The improvement in endothelial function by physical preconditioning in mesenteric and aortic arteries from high caloric fed-rats was directly related to an increase in NO bioavailability to the smooth muscle mostly due to SOD-1 up regulation. © 2008 de Moraes et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Uprighting impacted mandibular second molars with orthodontic elastic separating rings.

A 16-year-old girl presented with complaints of recurrent spontaneous pain in the mandibular second molar region. Treatment favored use of a simple uprighting technique involving orthodontic elastic separating rings.

The Lord of the rings e a estética da finitude

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Da Camelot arturiana à Terra-média: representações da mulher em Le morte Darthur e the Lord of the rings

Pós-graduação em Letras - IBILCE

Digit systems over commutative rings

Let epsilon be a commutative ring with identity and P is an element of epsilon[x] be a polynomial. In the present paper we consider digit representations in the residue class ring epsilon[x]/(P). In particular, we are interested in the question whether each A is an element of epsilon[x]/(P) can be represented modulo P in the form e(0)+ e(1)x + ... + e(h)x(h), where the e(i) is an element of epsilon[x]/(P) are taken from a fixed finite set of digits. This general concept generalizes both canonical number systems and digit systems over finite fields. Due to the fact that we do not assume that 0 is an element of the digit set and that P need not be monic, several new phenomena occur in this context.

Construction and decoding of BCH codes over chain of commutative rings

In this paper, we present a new construction and decoding of BCH codes over certain rings. Thus, for a nonnegative integer t, let A0 ⊂ A1 ⊂···⊂ At−1 ⊂ At be a chain of unitary commutative rings, where each Ai is constructed by the direct product of appropriate Galois rings, and its projection to the fields is K0 ⊂ K1 ⊂···⊂ Kt−1 ⊂ Kt (another chain of unitary commutative rings), where each Ki is made by the direct product of corresponding residue fields of given Galois rings. Also, A∗ i and K∗ i are the groups of units of Ai and Ki, respectively. This correspondence presents a construction technique of generator polynomials of the sequence of Bose, Chaudhuri, and Hocquenghem (BCH) codes possessing entries from A∗ i and K∗ i for each i, where 0 ≤ i ≤ t. By the construction of BCH codes, we are confined to get the best code rate and error correction capability; however, the proposed contribution offers a choice to opt a worthy BCH code concerning code rate and error correction capability. In the second phase, we extend the modified Berlekamp-Massey algorithm for the above chains of unitary commutative local rings in such a way that the error will be corrected of the sequences of codewords from the sequences of BCH codes at once. This process is not much different than the original one, but it deals a sequence of codewords from the sequence of codes over the chain of Galois rings.

A note on units of finite local rings in an ascending chain

In this paper we present matrices over unitary finite commutative local rings connected through an ascending chain of containments, whose elements are units of the corresponding rings in the chain such that the McCoy ranks are the largest ones.

Linear codes over finite local rings in a chain

For a positive integer $t$, let \begin{equation*} \begin{array}{ccccccccc} (\mathcal{A}_{0},\mathcal{M}_{0}) & \subseteq & (\mathcal{A}_{1},\mathcal{M}_{1}) & \subseteq & & \subseteq & (\mathcal{A}_{t-1},\mathcal{M}_{t-1}) & \subseteq & (\mathcal{A},\mathcal{M}) \\ \cap & & \cap & & & & \cap & & \cap \\ (\mathcal{R}_{0},\mathcal{M}_{0}^{2}) & & (\mathcal{R}_{1},\mathcal{M}_{1}^{2}) & & & & (\mathcal{R}_{t-1},\mathcal{M}_{t-1}^{2}) & & (\mathcal{R},\mathcal{M}^{2}) \end{array} \end{equation*} be a chain of unitary local commutative rings $(\mathcal{A}_{i},\mathcal{M}_{i})$ with their corresponding Galois ring extensions $(\mathcal{R}_{i},\mathcal{M}_{i}^{2})$, for $i=0,1,\cdots,t$. In this paper, we have given a construction technique of the cyclic, BCH, alternant, Goppa and Srivastava codes over these rings. Though, initially in \cite{AP} it is for local ring $(\mathcal{A},\mathcal{M})$, in this paper, this new approach have given a choice in selection of most suitable code in error corrections and code rate perspectives.

A Note on Linear Codes over Semigroup Rings

In this paper, we introduced new construction techniques of BCH, alternant, Goppa, Srivastava codes through the semigroup ring B[X; 1 3Z0] instead of the polynomial ring B[X; Z0], where B is a finite commutative ring with identity, and for these constructions we improve the several results of [1]. After this, we present a decoding principle for BCH, alternant and Goppa codes which is based on modified Berlekamp-Massey algorithm. This algorithm corrects all errors up to the Hamming weight t ≤ r/2, i.e., whose minimum Hamming distance is r + 1.

Quaternion orders over quadratic integer rings from arithmetic fuchsian groups

In this paper we show that the quaternion orders OZ[ √ 2] ≃ ( √ 2, −1)Z[ √ 2] and OZ[ √ 3] ≃ (3 + 2√ 3, −1)Z[ √ 3], appearing in problems related to the coding theory [4], [3], are not maximal orders in the quaternion algebras AQ( √ 2) ≃ ( √ 2, −1)Q( √ 2) and AQ( √ 3) ≃ (3 + 2√ 3, −1)Q( √ 3), respectively. Furthermore, we identify the maximal orders containing these orders.