Histomicrobiologic aspects of the root canal system and periapical lesions in dogs' teeth after rotary instrumentation and intracanal dressing with Ca(OH)2 pastes

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the distribution of microorganisms in the root canal system (RCS) and periapical lesions of dogs' teeth after rotary instrumentation and placement of different calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2]-based intracanal dressings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Chronic periapical lesions were experimentally induced in 80 premolar roots of four dogs. Instrumentation was undertaken using the ProFile rotary system and irrigation with 5.25% sodium hypochlorite. The following Ca(OH) 2-based pastes were applied for 21 days: group 1 - Calen (n=18); group 2 - Calen+CPMC (n=20); group 3 - Ca(OH)2 p.a. + anaesthetic solution (n=16) and group 4 - Ca(OH)2 p.a.+ 2% chlorhexidine digluconate (n=18). Eight root canals without endodontic treatment constituted the control group. Histological sections were obtained and stained with Brown & Brenn staining technique to evaluate the presence of microorganisms in the main root canal, ramifications of the apical delta and secondary canals, apical cementoplasts, dentinal tubules, areas of cemental resorption and periapical lesions. The results were analyzed statistically by the Mann-Whitney U test (p<0.05). RESULTS: The control group showed the highest prevalence of microorganisms in all sites evaluated. Gram-positive cocci, bacilli and filaments were the most frequent morphotypes. Similar microbial distribution patterns in the RCS and areas of cementum resorption were observed in all groups (p>0.05). The percentage of RCS sites containing microorganisms in groups 1, 2, 3, 4 and control were: 67.6%, 62.5%, 78.2%, 62.0% and 87.6%, respectively. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the histomicrobiological analysis showed that the rotary instrumentation and the different calcium hydroxide pastes employed did not effectively eliminate the infection from the RCS and periapical lesions. However, several bacteria seen in the histological sections were probably dead or were inactivated by the biomechanical preparation and calcium hydroxide-based intracanal dressing.

The effect of CpG-ODN on antigen presenting cells of the foal

Background: Cytosine-phosphate-guanosine oligodeoxynucleotide (CpG-ODN) has been used successfully to induce immune responses against viral and intracellular organisms in mammals. The main objective of this study was to test the effect of CpG-ODN on antigen presenting cells of young foals. Methods: Peripheral blood monocytes of foals (n = 7) were isolated in the first day of life and monthly thereafter up to 3 months of life. Adult horse (n = 7) monocytes were isolated and tested once for comparison. Isolated monocytes were stimulated with IL-4 and GM-CSF (to obtain dendritic cells, DC) or not stimulated (to obtain macrophages). Macrophages and DCs were stimulated for 14-16 hours with either CpG-ODN, LPS or not stimulated. The stimulated and non-stimulated cells were tested for cell surface markers (CD86 and MHC class II) using flow cytometry, mRNA expression of cytokines (IL-12, IFNα, IL-10) and TLR-9 using real time quantitative RT-PCR, and for the activation of the transcription factor NF-κB p65 using a chemiluminescence assay. Results: The median fluorescence of the MHC class II molecule in non-stimulated foal macrophages and DCs at birth were 12.5 times and 11.2 times inferior, respectively, than adult horse cells (p = 0.009). That difference subsided at 3 months of life (p = 0.3). The expression of the CD86 co-stimulatory molecule was comparable in adult horse and foal macrophages and DCs, independent of treatment. CpG-ODN stimulation induced IL-12p40 (53 times) and IFNα (23 times) mRNA expression in CpG-ODN-treated adult horse DCs (p = 0.078), but not macrophages, in comparison to non-stimulated cells. In contrast, foal APCs did not respond to CpG-ODN stimulation with increased cytokine mRNA expression up to 3 months of age. TLR-9 mRNA expression and NF-kB activation (NF-kB p65) in foal DCs and macrophages were comparable (p > 0.05) to adult horse cells. Conclusion: CpG-ODN treatment did not induce specific maturation and cytokine expression in foal macrophages and DCs. Nevertheless, adult horse DCs, but not macrophages, increased their expression of IL-12 and IFNα cytokines upon CpG-ODN stimulation. Importantly, foals presented an age-dependent limitation in the expression of MHC class II in macrophages and DCs, independent of treatment. © 2007 Flaminio et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Periapical tissue healing after post space preparation with or without use of a protection plug and root canal exposure to the oral environment. Study in dogs

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of coronal leakage on the healing of dogs' periapical tissues after root canal filling, post space preparation and protection or not with a temporary sealer plug. Forty root canals of dogs' teeth were instrumented and filled by the lateral condensation technique with gutta-percha points and Endomethasone or CRCS sealers. After post space preparation, the remaining filling material was protected or not with a plug of temporary Coltosol sealer and exposed to the oral environment for 90 days. Thereafter, the animals were sacrificed and the specimens were removed and prepared for histomorphological and histobacteriological analysis. The findings revealed 35% of microbial leakage in the groups without plugs and 15% of leakage in the groups with plugs. Statistical analysis showed that the use of a Coltosol plug improved significantly the histomorphological results regardless of the type of root canal sealer (p=0.05) and that CRCS and Endomethasone sealers showed similar results (p>0.05).

Influence of brush type as a carrier of adhesive solutions and paper points as an adhesive-excess remover on the resin bond to root dentin

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of the brush type as a earner of priming adhesive solutions and the use of paper points as a remover of the excess of these solutions on the push-out bond strength of resin cement to bovine root dentin. The null hypotheses were that brush type and the use of paper points do not affect the bond strength. Materials and Methods: The canals of 80 single-root bovine roots (16 mm in length) were prepared at 12 mm using the preparation drill (FRC Postec Plus, Ivoclar). Half of each root was embedded in acrylic resin and the specimens were divided into 8 groups, considering the factors brush type (4 levels) and paper point (2 levels) (n = 10): Gr 1: small microbrush (Cavi-Tip, SDI); Gr 2: Microbrush (Dentsply); Gr 3: Endobrush (Bisco); Gr 4: conventional brush (Bisco); Gr 5: Cavi-Tip (SDI) + paper points; Gr 6: Microbrush (Dentsply) + paper points; Gr 7: Endobrush (Bisco) + paper points; Gr 8: conventional brush (Bisco) + paper points. The root dentin was treated with a multistep total-etch adhesive system (All Bond 2). The adhesive system was applied using each microbrush, with and without using paper points. One fiber post was molded with addition silicon and 80 posts were made of resin cement (Duolink), The resin posts were luted (Duolink resin cement), and the specimens were stored for 24 h in water at 37°C. Each specimen was cut into 4 disk-shaped samples (1.8 mm in thickness), which were submitted to the push-out test. Results: The brush type (p < 0.0001) (small microbrush > microbrush = endobrush = conventional brush) and the use of paper points (p = 0.0001) (with > without) influenced the bond strength significantly (two-way ANOVA). The null hypotheses were rejected. Conclusion: The smallest brush (Cavi-Tip) and the use of paper points significantly improved the resin bond to bovine root dentin.

Resin bonding to root canal dentin: Effect of the application of an experimental hydrophobic resin coating after an all-in-one adhesive

Aim: Based on the hypothesis the application of a low-viscosity hydrophobic resin coating improves the bond of all-in-one adhesive, the purpose of the study was to evaluate the bond strength of four adhesive systems to bovine root dentin using the push-out test method. Methods and Materials: The root canals of 32 bovine roots (16 mm) were prepared to a length of 12 mm using a FRC Postec Plus preparation drill. The specimens were allocated into four groups according to the adhesive system used: (Group 1) All-in-one Xeno III; (Group 2) All-in-one Xeno III+ScotchBond Multi-Purpose Plus Adhesive; (Group 3) Simplified Etch & Rinse One Step Plus; and (Group 4) Multi-Bottle Etch & Rinse All-Bond 2. A fiber-reinforced composite retention post was reproduced using an additional silicon impression and fabricated with DuoLink resin cement. The root specimens were treated with the selected adhesive systems, and the resin posts were luted in the canals with DuoLink resin cement. Each root specimen was cross sectioned into four samples (±1.8 mm in thickness), and the post sections were pushed-out to determine the bond strength to dentin. Results: Group 2 (2.9±1.2) was statistically higher than Group 1 (1.1±0.5) and Group 3 (1.1±0.5). Groups 1 and 3 showed no statistically significant difference while Group 4 (2.0±0.7) presented similar values (p>0.05) to Groups 1, 2, and 3 [(one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)] and Tukey test, α=0.05). Conclusion: The hypothesis was accepted since the application of the additional layer of a low-viscosity bonding resin improved the bond of the all-in-one adhesive. Further studies must be conducted to evaluate the long-term bond.

Root surface treatment with vitamin C in tooth replantation: microscopic study in rats

AIM: Late tooth replantation is a worthy procedure, especially in growing patients, being the best option for tooth avulsion. This study evaluated the effects of root surface treatment with 2% acidulated phosphate sodium fluoride and effervescent vitamin C (Redoxon) in late replantation. METHODS: Twenty rat teeth (Rattus norvegicus, albinus, Wistar) were extracted and left on a table for 6 h. Then, the dental papilla and enamel organ were sectioned and the pulp was removed through the apex. After removal of the periodontal ligament with a blade, the animals were divided into 2 groups: Group I teeth were immersed in 2% acidulated phosphate sodium fluoride solution for 10 min and obturated with Ca(OH)(2) paste. Group II teeth were immersed in effervescent vitamin C solution (Redoxon 2 g) for 10 min and obturated as for Group I. After these procedures, teeth were replanted and animals were killed after 60 days. RESULTS: The study revealed a larger amount of replacement resorption in Group I and larger amount of ankylosis in Group II, with statistically significant difference and absence of inflammatory resorption. CONCLUSION: The substances used for root surface treatment were unable to prevent replacement resorption and ankylosis, which are expected when the periodontal ligament has been lost.

Histopathological evaluation of different methods of experimental induction of periapical periodontitis

This study evaluated histopathologically different methods of experimental induction of periapical periodontitis. The radiographic and microbiological evaluations have been performed in a previous investigation. Fifty-seven root canals from dogs' teeth were assigned to 4 groups. In GI (n=14) and GII (n=14), the root canals were exposed to oral environment for 180 days; in GIII (n=14) and GIV (n=15) the root canals were exposed for 7 days and then the access cavities were restored and remained sealed for 53 days. The root apices of GI and GIII were perforated, whilst those of GII and GIV remained intact. After induction of periapical periodontitis, the dogs were euthanized. Serial sections were obtained and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Data of the histopathological evaluation were submitted to Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn's tests at 5% significance level. The inflammatory periapical reaction and resorption of mineralized tissues were less intense in GII than in the other groups (p<0.05). There was no histopathological difference among the experimentally induced periapical lesions in the teeth with coronal sealing. On the other hand, when coronal sealing was not performed, greater intensity of induced periapical periodontitis was observed in the teeth with apical perforation.

How the delphi and AHP methods are aiding to define the critical success factors priorities in a digital factory project implementation

Digital factory is a concept that offers a collaborative approach to enhance product and production engineering processes through simulation. Products, processes and resources are modeled to be used to develop and test the product conception and manufacturing processes, before their use in the real factory. The purpose of this paper is to present the steps to identify the Critical Success Factors (CSF) priorities in a digital factory project implementation in a Brazilian company and how the Delphi and AHP Methods are aiding to identify these CSF priorities. Copyright © 2008 SAE International.

Capacidade de carga real (ccr) da caverna de santana, parque estadual turístico do alto ribeira (Petar) - sp, e indicações para o seu manejo turístico

The tourist use of Santana cave provides a row of environmental damages, compromising partially the pristine conditions. Among the measures adopted to avoid this situation, this issue presents a contribution for the physical limits to tourist visitation and the indications for speleotouristic management. It was used the Cifuentes Carrying Capacity method and some basic principles of Visitors Impact Management Framework - VIM. The results show a Real Carrying Capacity (CCR) about 120 visits daily on the cave. The discussions raise a few hypotheses about the alteration in the method used and the temporal frequency between visitors groups, suggesting a provisional CCR of 117 and 135 visitors daily, respectively, during the week and in the weekends and holidays. The conclusions appoint the necessity of a conceptual revision in the Carrying Capacity methods, mainly about its adaptation for tourist management in caves. In the case studied, it is suggested the immediate beginning of environmental monitoring of the cave, to verify the plausibility from proposed visitation limits and the possible contributions for to mitigate the environmental impacts from speleotourism.

Structural real time control using fluid magnetorheologic damper

In the last decades there was a great development in the study of control systems to attenuate the harmful effect of natural events in great structures, as buildings and bridges. Magnetorheological fluid (MR), that is an intelligent material, has been considered in many proposals of project for these controllers. This work presents the controller design using feedback of states through LMI (Linear Matrix Inequalities) approach. The experimental test were carried out in a structure with two degrees of freedom with a connected shock absorber MR. Experimental tests were realized in order to specify the features of this semi-active controller. In this case, there exist states that are not measurable, so the feedback of the states involves the project of an estimator. The coupling of the MR damper causes a variation in dynamics properties, so an identification methods, based on experimental input/output signal was used to compare with the numerical application. The identification method of Prediction Error Methods - (PEM) was used to find the physical characteristics of the system through realization in modal space of states. This proposal allows the project of a semi-active control, where the main characteristic is the possibility of the variation of the damping coefficient.

Comparison of resin push-out strength to root dentin of bovine- and human-teeth

Aim : To compare the push-out strength of bovine- and human-root dentin and, thus, evaluate the suitability of bovine-root dentin to substitute human-root dentin for bond strength testing. Materials and Methods : Ten single-rooted human-teeth and ten bovine incisors were prepared using a #3 bur of a fiber post system (12 mm long). The posts were duplicated with resin cement (Duolink). The root canals were treated with All Bond 2 adhesive system and the resin posts were cemented using Duolink. The specimens were cut perpendicular to their long axis, yielding disc-specimens with 1.5 mm thickness, which were submitted to a push-out test (1 mm/min). Ten bond strength values per group (n = 10) were used for statistical analysis (Student t test, a =.05). Results : Statistically significant differences were found for the bond strength values between bovine- (4.1 1.3 MPa) and human-root dentin (8.6 5.7 MPa) (P =.0001). Conclusion : The push-out strengths of bovine- and human-root dentin were statistically different.

Antimicrobial analysis of chlorhexidine gel and intracanal medicaments against microorganisms inoculated in root canals

The aim of this paper was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of 2% chlorhexidine gel (CLX) associated with various intracanal medicaments against Candida albicans and Enterococcus faecalis inoculated in root canals. Thirty six human single-rooted teeth were contaminated with C.albicans and E.faecalis. The canals were instrumented using 2% CLX gel and were divided into three groups according to the intracanal medicaments (ICM) used. Group 1: calcium hydroxide paste [Ca(OH)], Group 2: 2% chlorhexidine gel (CLX) and Group 3: 2% CLX gel + Ca(OH). The root canal collections were performed after 21 days of contamination (control collection), after instrumentation (1st collection), after 14 days of intracanal medicament (2nd collection) and 7 days after medicament removal (3rd collection). The microbiological samples were plated in culture media and incubated for 48 hours. The results were submitted to Kruskal-Wallis test (P ≤ 0.05). It was verified that the instrumentation with CLX reduced the number of CFU/ml significantly when compared with the confirmation collection (control). However, the use of the ICM was only capable to eliminate completely the microorganisms in the root canals without difference statistics between them. Although the use of 2% chlorherixidine gel reduces the number of microorganisms significantly, only the ICM calcium hydroxide and calcium hydroxide associated with chlorhexidine are able to eliminate these microorganisms completely.

Cementation of fiber post: influence of the cement insertion techniques on the bond strength of the fiber post-root dentin and the quality of the cement layer.

The aim of this study was to assess the influence of resin cement insertion methods on the bond strength of a fiber post to root dentin and quality of the cement layer. Forty bovine single-roots (length =16 mm) were randomly allocated into four groups, according to the cement insertion methods (N.=10): Gr1- Lentulo drill #40, Gr2- Centrix syringe, Gr3- Explorer #5, Gr4- fiber post. The root canals were prepared at 12 mm, using preparation bur # 3 of a cylinder quartz-FRC post (Aesthet post-plus, Bisco). The fiber posts were cemented using a multi-step etch-and-rinse adhesive system (All Bond 2®, Bisco) and a dual-cured resin cement (Duolink, Bisco). Each root was cut into seven samples: four samples of 1.8 mm thickness for push-out testing, and three with 0.5 mm for cement layer quality analyzing. One-way ANOVA was used for the push-out test values and the One-Way Kruskal-Wallis (P<0.05) and Dunn (10%) tests for the cement layer analyzes. ANOVA showed that the cement layer quality was affected by the cement insertion methods (P=0.0044): Gr1 (3.8 ± 1.3a), Gr2 (3.2 ± 1.3a), Gr3 (5.2 ± 1.5a,b) and Gr4 (5.2 ± 1.5b) (Dunn test), whereas the bond strength (MPa) was not affected by cement insertion methods: G1 (4.2 ± 1.3), G2 (3.2 ± 1.8), G3 (4.5 ± 0.9), G4 (3.1 ± 1.3). The fiber posts should be cemented with the assistance of the lentulo drill or centrix syringe to promote the best cement layer results.

Decentralized AC power flow for real-time multi-TSO power system operation

This paper adjusts decentralized OPF optimization to the AC power flow problem in power systems with interconnected areas operated by diferent transmission system operators (TSO). The proposed methodology allows finding the operation point of a particular area without explicit knowledge of network data of the other interconnected areas, being only necessary to exchange border information related to the tie-lines between areas. The methodology is based on the decomposition of the first-order optimality conditions of the AC power flow, which is formulated as a nonlinear programming problem. To allow better visualization of the concept of independent operation of each TSO, an artificial neural network have been used for computing border information of the interconnected TSOs. A multi-area Power Flow tool can be seen as a basic building block able to address a large number of problems under a multi-TSO competitive market philosophy. The IEEE RTS-96 power system is used in order to show the operation and effectiveness of the decentralized AC Power Flow. ©2010 IEEE.

Adhesion between fiber post and root dentin: evaluation of post surface conditioning for bond strength improvement.

The aim of this paper was to evaluate two surface conditioning methods associated with the application of adhesive on the post surface for improving the bond to resin cement. Sixty single-rooted bovine teeth were sectioned at 16 mm in length, prepared (9 mm depth), embedded in a PVC cylinder using acrylic resin, and allocated into 3 groups (N.=20) according to post surface treatment: cleaning with ethanol (control group); etching with hydrogen peroxide; etching with hydrofluoric acid. Ten posts for each group were silanized and other 10 posts were silanized and received an adhesive agent. The posts were cemented with self-adhesive resin cement (RelyX U100 resin cement). All teeth were sectioned perpendicularly to the long axis (2 mm thickness per slice), submitted to push out bond strength testing and the type of failure was recorded. The obtained data were submitted to two-way ANOVA and Turkey's test, with the level of significance set at 5%. Neither the hydrofluoric acid or hydrogen peroxide post surface treatment, nor the adhesive application, had an influence on bond strength values. The main type of failure was adhesive between cement and dentin. Etching and the application of an adhesive on the post surface did not presented a significant influence on the bond strength results for the fiber post resin cement-root dentin assembly. The cement appears to adhere very well to the fiber post surface rather than the dentin surface.