Comparison of the effects of TripleGates and Gates-Glidden burs on cervical dentin thickness and root canal area by using cone beam computed tomography

The search for new instruments to promote an appropriate cervical preparation has led to the development of new rotary instruments such as TripleGates. However, to the best of the authors' knowledge, there is no study evaluating TripleGates effect on the “risk zone” of mandibular molars. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a crown-down sequence of Gates-Glidden and TripleGates burs on the remaining cervical dentin thickness and the total amount of dentin removed from the root canals during the instrumentation by using cone beam computed tomography. The number of separated instruments was also evaluated. Material and Methods: Mesial roots of 40 mandibular first molars were divided into 2 equal groups: crown-down sequence of Gates-Glidden (#3, #2, #1) and TripleGates burs. Cervical dentin thickness and canal area were measured before and after instrumentation by using cone beam computed tomography and image analysis software. Student’s t-test was used to determine significant differences at p<0.05. Results: No significant differences (p>0.05) were observed between the instruments, regarding the root canal area and dentin wall thickness. Conclusion: Both tested instruments used for cervical preparation were safe to be used in the mesial root canal of mandibular molars.

Dendritic thickness: a morphometric parameter to classify mouse retinal ganglion cells

To study the dendritic morphology of retinal ganglion cells in wild-type mice we intracellularly injected these cells with Lucifer yellow in an in vitro preparation of the retina. Subsequently, quantified values of dendritic thickness, number of branching points and level of stratification of 73 Lucifer yellow-filled ganglion cells were analyzed by statistical methods, resulting in a classification into 9 groups. The variables dendritic thickness, number of branching points per cell and level of stratification were independent of each other. Number of branching points and level of stratification were independent of eccentricity, whereas dendritic thickness was positively dependent (r = 0.37) on it. The frequency distribution of dendritic thickness tended to be multimodal, indicating the presence of at least two cell populations composed of neurons with dendritic diameters either smaller or larger than 1.8 µm ("thin" or "thick" dendrites, respectively). Three cells (4.5%) were bistratified, having thick dendrites, and the others (95.5%) were monostratified. Using k-means cluster analysis, monostratified cells with either thin or thick dendrites were further subdivided according to level of stratification and number of branching points: cells with thin dendrites were divided into 2 groups with outer stratification (0-40%) and 2 groups with inner (50-100%) stratification, whereas cells with thick dendrites were divided into one group with outer and 3 groups with inner stratification. We postulate, that one group of cells with thin dendrites resembles cat ß-cells, whereas one group of cells with thick dendrites includes cells that resemble cat a-cells.

Análise computacional do fenômeno de transferência de calor em paredes divisórias do tipo dry wall

O presente trabalho visa a fornecer uma contribuição ao estudo dos perfis formados a frio sob altas temperaturas, em conseqüência da deflagração de um incêndio. Especificamente, abordam–se assuntos inerentes ao fenômeno da transferência de calor em paredes do tipo steel frame – dry wall com ou sem isolamento térmico na cavidade. Para tanto, propõem–se modelos computacionais capazes de fornecer, com certa precisão, o valor de temperatura em qualquer ponto do sistema estudado. Dessa forma, é possível, então, traçar configurações de distribuição de temperatura (uniforme ou não–uniforme) na seção transversal dos montantes que constituem o painel, fornecendo subsídios para análise de estabilidade e pós–flambagem dos elementos estruturais em questão. As simulações numéricas de transferência de calor são efetuadas com auxílio dos programas computacionais ABAQUS e SAFIR, ambos baseados no método dos elementos finitos.