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Abstract Background Environmental and genetic factors associated with canine impaction have been extensively researched, whereas the bone characteristics in the impaction area have not been thoroughly studied. Accordingly, the objective of this investigation was to provide a skeletal assessment in terms of bone density, bone microstructure, bone volume, and palatal volume in subjects with unilaterally impacted maxillary canines. Methods A retrospective design has been employed to address the aim of this study, where the initial pre-treatment cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans of 30 patients with unilateral maxillary canine impaction were assessed. The obtained patients’ data were equally divided according to the location of the impaction into 2 groups, one with buccally impacted canines, and another with palatal impactions, with the contra-lateral sides in both groups serving as the controls. Skeletal measurements such as bone density (BD), bone microstructure in terms of fractal dimension (FD), maxillary bone volume (MBV), and palatal volume (PV) were evaluated from the acquired CBCTs in both groups and compared to the controls. Results With buccal impactions, significantly greater BD and FD have been reported (p

Abstract Background Posttreatment changes after orthodontic treatment are challenging. One of the main reasons for such a phenomenon is the lack of patient compliance with removable retainers especially in the maxillary arch, due to palatal coverage, deterioration of speech, decreased masticatory efficiency, and loss of retainers. Fixed retainers have been introduced to overcome patient compliance and provide longer stable results. However, teeth still show movements when a six-unit fixed retainer is in place. Thus, in this study, an eight-unit fixed retainer was evaluated in an attempt to eliminate unwanted movements. The aim of this research was to assess short-term positional changes associated with an eight-unit extended maxillary fixed retainer. Materials and methods A single-arm clinical trial was conducted to address the aim of the study. This research was approved by the institutional review board of the Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University (IORG:0008839, No-0479–8/2022). The registration date of this study was 5/06/2023. Twenty-eight patients (19.8 ± 4.5 years) who had finished the active orthodontic phase and started retention had an eight-unit extended maxillary fixed retainer that was bonded to the palatal surface of the maxillary incisors, canines, and the first premolars or the second premolars. Pre-retention and one-year post-retention intra-oral scans were made to produce STL files that were superimposed to determine the amount of tooth change. Additionally, analysis of digital casts and lateral cephalometric radiographs was performed. Results Statistically significant changes in all planes and the rotation of teeth after one year of retention were found. The upper right lateral incisor exhibited the most evident change in the vertical plane, while the upper right central incisor exhibited the greatest change overall. Minimal changes in the cast measurements were observed. Lateral cephalometric measurements showed minimal changes after one year of retention, and these changes were not statistically significant except in the interincisal angle and the angle between the upper incisor and the line connecting the A-point to the pogonion. Conclusion Increasing the extension of maxillary fixed retainers did not eliminate unwanted tooth movement in the first year of retention.

Background: A commercially significant species in the aquaculture sector globally, particularly in Egypt, is Litopenaeus vannamei. Aim: The experiment's objective was to ascertain how Sanolife PRO-F impacted the growth, water quality, immunological response, and intestinal morphometry of Litopenaeus vannamei. Methods: In the current investigation, which lasted 12 weeks, Sanolife PRO-F was administered to shrimp post-larvae at diet doses of 0 (control), 1 (group one), 2 (group two), and 3 (group three) g/kg diet, respectively. Each experimental group had three repetitions. Results: In the current study, shrimp fed on probiotic-treated diets showed a considerable improvement in growth performance measures and survival rate, and the nonspecific immune response was also enhanced. Shrimp fed probiotic diets had longer and more intestinal villi overall. Shrimp fed on the G2 and G3 diets showed no appreciable differences in growth or intestinal morphology. With the G2 and G3 diet, the water had lower concentrations of nitrite and ammonia. Conclusion: The study's findings indicate that Sanolife PRO-F treatment at 2-3 g/kg feed promotes the growth of shrimp, immunological response, gut health and function, and water quality. [Open Vet J 2024; 14(1.000): 144 -153 ]

Children with cochlear implants (CI) have unique physical, psychological, and behavioral needs compared to typically developing children, thus they go through a rehabilitation process for education and activity purposes in a rehabilitation center (RC). The provision of specialized support for children with CI reflects a nation's commitment to inclusivity and care for all segments of society. This study investigates the research gab of the needs of children with CI (aged 1–6) to identify the fundamental design requirements in order to develop an architectural design checklist for their classrooms. Through literature review and comparisons with standard preschool designs for typically developed children, the research identifies key design elements affecting these children's learning and integration. This study establishes a framework for optimizing RC's classroom design for children with CI. Following a methodological discussion addressing pertinent research considerations, a comprehensive user experience questionnaire was conducted. The questionnaire included participants from various stakeholder groups: parents, educators, medical professionals (psychiatrists and doctors), and design experts (architectural and acoustic engineers). The findings inform the identification of essential design elements encompassing layout, materials selection, ventilation strategies, lighting systems, acoustic control measures, and color palettes. Following analysis, the research concludes with a design checklist outlining optimal ranges (100 % = sub-optimum, 50 % = optimum, 0 % = over design) for each element, including furniture layout, color schemes, materials, classroom shape, lighting, and ventilation. This checklist ensures RC classrooms effectively cater to the specific needs of children with CI.

While chitosan is widely used in aquaculture feed, chitosan nanoparticles (CNPs) offer potential advantages due to their enhanced absorption. This study investigated the safe use of CNP levels in Nile tilapia feed, evaluating its impact on growth, immunity, and disease resistance. Five experimental diets were formulated and supplemented with zero chitosan (served as a control group), 1g/kg of chitosan (CS), and 1, 3, and 5 g/kg of CNPs. Each diet was randomly assigned to three replicate groups of 45 fish per group (15 fish/tank) with an average weight of (42.10 ± 0.05g, mean ± S.E.) twice daily (09:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.) to apparent satiation for two months. At the end of the feeding trial, fish fed 5 g/ kg of CNPs had the highest growth performance. However, no significant variations (p > 0.05) in somatic index were seen between the experimental groups. All chitosan and CNP-enriched groups exhibited improved intestinal morphology compared to the control group, characterized by increased villus length and width, reduced necrosis of intestinal tips, and better overall tissue integrity, with the CNP 3g and 5g groups demonstrating the most favorable intestinal structure. The CNP-treated groups (3, 5 g/kg) had significantly higher blood indices and serum globulin. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were lower in the CNP-treated groups compared to the chitosan macromolecule group. There was a substantial rise in glutathione (GSH), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), phagocytic index, and respiratory burst activity in the 5 g/kg CNP-treated group. The dietary addition of 5 g/kg of CNPs raised mRNA expression for TLR-2, MUC-2, and IGF-1, but there was no significant difference in HSP70 expression across treatments. After the experimental challenge with Aeromonas veronii biovar sobria, the groups that received 3 and 5 g/kg of CNPs exhibited the lowest mortality rates. Overall, the results suggest that including 5g/kg of CNPs in fish food is safe and effective for enhancing their health and growth, making it a promising addition to aquaculture feed.

Growth rates and health status of fish have been positively affected by adding dietary brown algae Padina pavonica as a meal. The present study aims to investigate the effects of P. pavonica on growth performance, hematology, biochemistry, and kidney and liver status of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). The diets of Nile tilapia, with an initial weight of 4.58 ± 0.03 g, were enriched with 2.0, 4.0, 6.0 and 8.0 g/kg of P. pavonica concentrations for 45 days. This study was performed under two different conditions, i.e., experimental environment (A) and farming environment (B). At the end of the trial, the parameters of growth performance showed a significant difference between groups in experimental environment. However, they showed no significant difference in farming environment. The highest growth recorded with higher concentrations of P. pavonica diets (8.0 g/kg) as compared to their control in farming environment. In terms of hematological and biochemical parameters, this study revealed that there were highly significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) between the treated and control groups, with higher concentrations of algal meals (8.0 g/kg), in both farming and experimental environments.

Abstract Background The aim of the study was to evaluate the cephalometric and dentoalveolar characteristics of maxillary lateral incisor agenesis patients, and to compare the findings to a matched control group without tooth agenesis, excluding third molars, from the same population. Methods The pre-orthodontic records of 72 non-growing patients, who were treated at the Orthodontic Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University, were used to address the aim of this retrospective study. Patients having unilateral or bilateral maxillary lateral incisor agenesis, with no history of previous orthodontic treatment, congenital craniofacial malformations, facial trauma, or surgeries were divided into two test groups based on the pattern of maxillary lateral incisors agenesis (group I: unilateral (UMLIA), group II: bilateral (BMLIA)). A control group (group III (CTRL)) having a complete set of permanent dentition (excluding third molars), and having no dental anomalies was age-matched with the test groups. Measurements were performed on the pre-orthodontic lateral cephalometric radiographs and the pre-orthodontic digital dental casts. The measured variables were compared between the groups using one-way ANOVA and Kruskal Wallis tests according to the normality of the variable. In case of significant results, both tests were followed by multiple pairwise comparisons using Bonferroni adjusted significance level. Significance level was set at P

Abstract Background Preventive measures are essential during the length of orthodontic treatment to reduce the risk of decalcification and white spot lesions formation. With the evolution of procedures that enable coating of the orthodontic brackets using nanoparticles known for their good antibacterial activity, coating the brackets with nanoparticles of silver, zinc oxide and combination of silver and zinc oxide to evaluate their antibacterial effect in comparison to a control group without coating was carried out in this study. Methods Four groups of 12 brackets each were included in the study. The coating procedure was carried out using physical vapor deposition. The antibacterial activity was tested on Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus Acidophilus using colony forming count. The antibacterial activity was evaluated immediately after coating and later after 3 months. Results Brackets coated with combination of silver and zinc oxide nanoparticles had the highest ability on reduction of both Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus Acidophilus count followed by silver nanoparticles and then zinc oxide nanoparticles. No significant difference was found between the first and second antibacterial tests. Conclusion The silver/zinc oxide nanoparticles coated brackets had the highest antibacterial effect in comparison to silver nanoparticles and zinc oxide nanoparticles individually coated brackets on Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus acidophilus, and all types of coatings showed enhanced antibacterial effect in comparison to the uncoated bracket. Coating of orthodontic brackets could be further assessed in clinical application to prevent decalcification.

Introduction: Aortitis defined as the inflammation of the aortic wall can be due to various diseases including giant cell arteritis (GCA). Aortic involvement in GCA, reported since 1940, is rarely described. The main objective of this study was to analyse the epidemiological, clinical, radiological and evolutionary characteristics of patients with inflammatory aortitis in a cohort of patients diagnosed with GCA. We conducted a review of the literature to study the clinical and paraclinical aspects of this entity and to describe a diagnostic and therapeutic approach to inflammatory aortitis in GCA. Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive study of 109 patients with giant cell arteritis fulfilling the diagnostic criteria established by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), conducted over a period of 25 years (1996-2020) in the internal medicine department in Hedi Chaker University Hospital, Sfax, Tunisia. The diagnosis of inflammatory aortitis was made on the basis of aortic tomography. Results: Five patients out of 109 (4.5%) had an aorta authenticated by aortic tomography. They were 2 men and 3 women with an average age of 64.2 years. The aortitis was revealed by non-specific systemic signs in all cases, namely fever, a biological inflammatory syndrome and abdominal pain in 1 patient. Clinical examination revealed a vascular murmur in one patient. A biological inflammatory syndrome (BIS) was present in all cases. Aortic involvement was discovered at the time of diagnosis of GCA in all cases. It was detected by thoracoabdominal aortic tomography in all cases and aortic MRI in one case. It involved the thoracoabdominal aorta in 4 cases and the abdominal aorta in one case. Treatment was based on high-dose corticosteroid therapy combined with an antiplatelet agent in the five patients. The evolution was marked by the achievement of apyrexia and regression of the BIS in all cases. A radiological check-up was carried out in only one patient, initially showing a stable appearance and then partial regression of the thoracoabdominal aorta at 6 and 18 months respectively. Conclusion: Inflammatory involvement of the aorta in giant cell arteritis. remains a serious and potentially life-threatening complication in the case of aneurysm rupture or aortic dissection. Initially, the diagnosis may be difficult due to the non-specific clinical presentation. Systematic screening for this condition by aortic tomography is increasingly recommended. Prompt intensive drug treatment based mainly on corticosteroids may reduce short and long-term morbidity.

The dynamics of a vertical two-dimensional air jet under acoustic excitations at a low Reynolds number are investigated experimentally. The perturbation is introduced by means of a loudspeaker located in a settling chamber before the nozzle exit. The experiments are operated at Strouhal number St ranging from 0 to 1 and for different pulsation amplitudes. A laser plan is used to visualize the flow and the hot-wire anemometry for more specific measures of the mean and fluctuation velocity. The discussion is focused on the influence of two parameters governing the flow: the Strouhal number St and pulsing amplitude. The main results show that the flow consisting of the vortex propagating downstream a nozzle exit is strongly affected by the excitation. Indeed, the introduction of an external perturbation introduces a more rapid degeneration of the potential core with the appearance of vortices near the nozzle as the pulsation amplitude increases. These vortices are amplified and become larger than the nozzle width which induces the enhancing of the entrainment and mixing effects of the shear layers. Another very important phenomenon is observed: the excitation has led to the formation of a switching from the asymmetric mode (sinuous mode) to the symmetric mode (varicose mode).

Biogenic copper nanoparticles (Cu NPs) were synthesized using the aqueous crude extract of mangrove leaves, Avicennia marina (CE). GC-MS metabolite profiling of CE showed that their carbohydrates are mainly composed of D-mannose (29.21%), D-fructose, (18.51%), L-sorbose (12.91%), D-galactose (5.47%) and D-Talose (5.21%). Ultra-fine nanoparticles of 11.60 ±4.65 nm comprising Cu2O and Cu(OH)2 species were obtained with a carbohydrate and phenolic content of 35.6±3.2% and 3.13±0.05 mgGA/g, respectively. The impact of the biogenic Cu NPs on wheat seedling growth was dose-dependent. Upon treatment with 0.06 mg/mL of Cu NPs, the growth was promoted by 172.78 ± 23.11 and 215.94 ± 37.76% for wheat root and shoot, respectively. However, the lowest relative growth % of 81.94 ± 11.70 and 72.46 ± 18.78% were recorded for wheat root and shoot, respectively when applying 0.43 mg/mL of Cu NPs. At this concentration, peroxidase activity (POX) of the germinated wheat seeds also decreased, while ascorbic acid oxidase (AAO) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activities increased. Higher uptake of copper was observed in the root relative to the shoot implying the accumulation of the nanoparticles in the former. The uptake was also higher than that of the commercial Cu NPs, which showed an insignificant effect on the seedling growth. By treating the wheat leaves in foliar application with 0.06 mg/mL of Cu NPs, their contents of Chlorophyll a, Chlorophyll b, and total chlorophyll were enhanced after 21 days of application. Meanwhile, the high concentration (0.43 mg/mL) of Cu NPs was the most effective in reducing the leaf content of chlorophyll (a, b, and total) after the same time of application. The findings of this study manifest the potential of utilizing controlled doses of the prepared biogenic Cu NPs for inhibition or stimulation of seedling growth.

Abstract Background This study was conducted to evaluate the efficiency of resin infiltration to improve the color of white spot lesions (WSLs) and to estimate the effect of different numbers of etching and resin infiltrant applications on the color change of WSLs with various depths. Ninety-six sound extracted premolars were subjected to acid attack inducing different depths of WSLs. Using a DIAGNOdent, teeth were divided into four main groups according to the depth of the WSLs: shallow enamel, deep enamel, shallow dentine, and deep dentine without cavitation. Then each of the main groups was subdivided into four groups: six teeth each with different protocols of resin infiltration as follows: 1 etching + 1 infiltrant application (EA), 1 etching + 2 infiltrant applications (EAA), 2 etchings + 1 infiltrant application (EEA), 2 etchings + 2 infiltrant applications (EEAA). Spectrophotometric analysis was measured at baseline (T0), after inducing the WSLs (T1), and following resin infiltration application (T2) for each group. Results In shallow enamel, EA produced the least mean color difference (1.62 ± 0.85), with high significant difference (P

Abstract Background Prediction of the treatment outcome of various orthodontic procedures is an essential part of treatment planning. Using skeletal anchorage for intrusion of posterior teeth is a relatively novel procedure for the treatment of anterior open bite in long-faced subjects. Methods Data were analyzed from lateral cephalometric radiographs of a cohort of 28 open bite adult subjects treated with intrusion of the maxillary posterior segment with zygomatic miniplate anchorage. Mean ratios and regression equations were calculated for selected variables before and after intrusion. Results Relative to molar intrusion, there was approximately 100% vertical change of the hard and soft tissue mention and 80% horizontal change of the hard and soft tissue pogonion. The overbite deepened two folds with 60% increase in overjet. The lower lip moved forward about 80% of the molar intrusion. Hard tissue pogonion and mention showed the strongest correlations with molar intrusion. There was a general agreement between regression equations and mean ratios at 3 mm molar intrusion. Conclusions This study attempted to provide the clinician with a tool to predict the changes in key treatment variables following skeletally anchored maxillary molar intrusion and autorotation of the mandible.

In this paper a CFD investigation on the interaction between an offset jet and an oblique wall jet using two-dimensional steady RANS equations is performed. This combination is denoted WOJ (Wall Offset jets). Several turbulence models such as the standard k-ω, SST k-ω, standard k-ε, RNG k-ε and realizable k-ε models are tested in the present study. A parametric study is performed to highlight the wall inclination effect on the WOJ flow maximum velocity decay as well as the shear layers spreading. Comparison between combined wall and offset jet (WOJ) and single offset jet (SOJ) flows is also established. Results show that increasing the wall inclination improves the combined wall and offset jets flow spreading. Furthermore, the outer shear layers spreading, is better than the inner shear layers one. Comparing to the combined wall and offset jet flow (WOJ), a better spreading is found in the case of single offset jet flow (SOJ).

Copper nanoparticles were synthesized via a bioreduction using sulfated polysaccharides (SPs) extracted from Avicennia marina mangrove leaves and their phytotoxicity effect on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings was assessed. As analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), SPs extract constituted mainly 49.3% glucose, 24.6% galactose and 20.5% glucouronic acid by mol. A nanoformulation of ultrafine Cu2O/Cu(OH)2 nanoparticles coated with SPs (Cu NPs) was prepared with an average particle size of 2.11 ± 0.64 nm and a slightly negatively-charged zeta potential of 11 ± 0.46 mV. Applying high concentrations of Cu NPs on wheat seeds inhibited the respective shoot and root relative growth percentages, yielding 13.22 ± 9.91 and 36.72 ± 18.51% at 0.06 mg/mL of the nanoformulation. Comparable values were obtained when the seeds were subjected to 0.06 mg/L of SPs extract applied in the free form. In a foliar application, 0.06 mg/mL of Cu NPs reduced the respective total chlorophyll and carotenoids contents by 17.4% and 24.3% relative to the control while the treatment with SPs reduced them by slightly higher values of 27.9% and 32.6%, respectively, after 14 days of application. Therefore, Cu NPs show a comparable inhibition effect to that of the free SPs extract but offer the additional advantages of nanoformulations. In soil applications, however, Cu NPs stimulated the growth of wheat seedlings in contrary to SPs and increased the total chlorophyll and carotenoids by 49.76% and 70%, respectively. This gives an additional merit to the nanoformulation that can potentially be used as an effective biostimulant in soil.

Human trophoblast invasion and differentiation are essential for successful pregnancy outcome. The molecular mechanisms, however, are poorly understood. Interleukin (IL)-11, a cytokine, regulates endometrial epithelial cell adhesion. Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is one of the key cytokines in the embryo implantation regulation. The present study aimed to assess the levels of LIF, IL-11, and IL-11 α receptor gene expression in the endometrium of women undergoing IVF and correlate their levels with the IVF pregnancy outcome. Also, the study aimed to detect any mutation in these three genes among IVF pregnant and non-pregnant women versus control menstrual blood of fertile women. Endometrial tissue biopsies were taken from 15 women undergoing IVF on the day of oocyte retrieval. The quantitative expression of IL-11, IL-11Rα, and LIF genes was assessed by real-time PCR and PCR products were sequenced. Menstrual blood from 10 fertile women was used as control to compare the DNA sequence versus DNA sequence of the studied genes in endometrial biopsies. LH, FSH, and E2 were assessed for enrolled patients by ELISA. Endometrial thickness was also assessed by pelvic ultrasonography. No significant difference was detected between quantitative expression of the three studied genes and pregnancy IVF outcome. Although DNA sequence changes were found in IL-11 and LIF genes of women with negative pregnancy IVF outcome compared to women with positive pregnancy IVF outcome, no DNA sequence changes were detected for IL-11Rα. Other studied parameters (e.g., age, LH, FSH, E2, and endometrial thickness) showed no significant differences or correlation of quantitative expression of the three studied involved genes. Data suggested that there were no significant differences between quantitative expression of IL-11, IL-11Rα, and LIF genes and the IVF pregnancy outcome. The present study may reveal that changes in IL-11 and LIF genes sequence may contribute in pregnancy IVF outcome.

Female Oreochromis niloticus were exposed to 1/10 LC50 (0.21ppm) of butachlor herbicide for 6 weeks. Weekly specimens were taken for fecundity estimation. Also hormonal and enzymatic levels were determined in addition histopathological alterations in ovaries and liver were detected. Butachlor exerted drastic effects on absolute and relative fecundity. Sex hormones (testosterone "T" and estradiol "E2") dropped significantly. The high significantly decline in Total Ripen Egg Number was assisted by the coagulative necrosis and oocytic atrasia in ovaries. In addition, thrombus formation and hepatoadenocarcinoma were pronounced in the liver and resulted in the significant drop in ALT and total protein levels. So, it is recommended to apply the biological control of pests in substitution to herbicids in rice fields.

Two new flavonol glycosides, myricetin 4'-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (1) and quercetin 3'-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (2), together with a novel biflavonol compound, speciin (3), as well as eleven phenolic metabolites, namely myricitrin (4), europetin 3-O-α-L-1C4-rhamnopyranoside (5), quercitrin (6), hyperin (7), rhamnetin 3-O-β-galacto-pyranoside (8), caffeic acid (9), caffeic acid methyl ester (10), chlorogenic acid (11), chlorogenic acid methyl ester (12), gallic acid (13) and gallic acid methyl ester (14), were identified from the 80 % methanol extract of the aerial parts (leaves and stems) of Oenothera speciosa Nutt. (Onagraceae). In addition myricetin (15), quercetin (16) and ellagic acid (17) were identified from the chloroform extract. The structures were established depending on their chemical and physical analyses (UV, HR-ESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR). It was found that 80 % aqueous methanol extract of O. speciosa is non-toxic to mice up to 5 g kg-1b.wt. The investigated extract exhibited significant antihyperglycaemic and anti-inflammatory activities in a dose dependant manner. Also, the 80 % methanol extract, myricitrin(4) and hyperin(7) showed potent antioxidant activity in vitro using 1,1-diphenyl 2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical assay.