Effects of local cooling rate and processing variables on leucite in dental porcelain

PURPOSE: This research determined whether there is a measurable effect of local geometry factors on leucite content of dental porcelain in fixed partial dentures (FPD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four-unit FPD frameworks (n = 36) were fabricated using a nickel-chromium alloy (Rexillium III). Body porcelain (Crystar, shade A2) was applied in one increment and subjected to two simulated body firings, followed by a simulated glaze firing to achieve a thickness of 1.5 to 2.0 mm. The completed FPD specimens were randomly assigned to three groups of 12 specimens each: (1) simulated post-soldering, (2) multiple firing, and (3) control. The FPDs from each test group were sectioned into individual units: canine retainer, premolar pontic, molar pontic, and molar retainer. The porcelain was removed from each unit, and the leucite content was measured via quantitative x-ray diffraction. RESULTS: Porcelain cracking indicated that the soldering simulation had successfully reproduced conditions in the dental laboratory that result in porcelain cracking during soldering. The leucite content was not significantly different between the retainer and pontic units for either the soldering simulation or control FPDs, although the canine retainer units did have a slightly lower leucite content than the pooled values of the other units. Comparison of the pooled data for the three groups indicated statistically significant differences among the leucite contents. CONCLUSION: Compared to the control, the simulated post-soldering procedure produced a significant increase in leucite, and the multiple firing group exhibited a significant decrease in leucite. Increases in leucite weight fraction during post-soldering operations-and the larger thermally induced stresses that accompany these leucite increases-are responsible for the cracking that occurs.     

Risk Factors for Postpartum Emergency Department Visits in an Urban Population

Maternal and Child Health Journal - Objectives To identify risk factors associated with urban postpartum emergency department utilization. Methods This case–control study included 100 matched...     

Test‐retest reliability of the default mode network in a multi‐centric fMRI study of healthy elderly: Effects of data‐driven physiological noise correction techniques

Understanding how to reduce the influence of physiological noise in resting state fMRI data is important for the interpretation of functional brain connectivity. Limited data is currently available to assess the performance of physiological noise correction techniques, in particular when evaluating longitudinal changes in the default mode network (DMN) of healthy elderly participants. In this 3T harmonized multisite fMRI study, we investigated how different retrospective physiological noise correction (rPNC) methods influence the within‐site test‐retest reliability and the across‐site reproducibility consistency of DMN‐derived measurements across 13 MRI sites. Elderly participants were scanned twice at least a week apart (five participants per site). The rPNC methods were: none (NPC), Tissue‐based regression, PESTICA and FSL‐FIX. The DMN at the single subject level was robustly identified using ICA methods in all rPNC conditions. The methods significantly affected the mean z‐scores and, albeit less markedly, the cluster‐size in the DMN; in particular, FSL‐FIX tended to increase the DMN z‐scores compared to others. Within‐site test‐retest reliability was consistent across sites, with no differences across rPNC methods. The absolute percent errors were in the range of 5–11% for DMN z‐scores and cluster‐size reliability. DMN pattern overlap was in the range 60–65%. In particular, no rPNC method showed a significant reliability improvement relative to NPC. However, FSL‐FIX and Tissue‐based physiological correction methods showed both similar and significant improvements of reproducibility consistency across the consortium (ICC = 0.67) for the DMN z‐scores relative to NPC. Overall these findings support the use of rPNC methods like tissue‐based or FSL‐FIX to characterize multisite longitudinal changes of intrinsic functional connectivity. Hum Brain Mapp 37:2114–2132, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Prevalence of haptic feedback in robot-mediated surgery: a systematic review of literature

With the successful uptake and inclusion of robotic systems in minimally invasive surgery and with the increasing application of robotic surgery (RS) in numerous surgical specialities worldwide, there is now a need to develop and enhance the technology further. One such improvement is the implementation and amalgamation of haptic feedback technology into RS which will permit the operating surgeon on the console to receive haptic information on the type of tissue being operated on. The main advantage of using this is to allow the operating surgeon to feel and control the amount of force applied to different tissues during surgery thus minimising the risk of tissue damage due to both the direct and indirect effects of excessive tissue force or tension being applied during RS. We performed a two-rater systematic review to identify the latest developments and potential avenues of improving technology in the application and implementation of haptic feedback technology to the operating surgeon on the console during RS. This review provides a summary of technological enhancements in RS, considering different stages of work, from proof of concept to cadaver tissue testing, surgery in animals, and finally real implementation in surgical practice. We identify that at the time of this review, while there is a unanimous agreement regarding need for haptic and tactile feedback, there are no solutions or products available that address this need. There is a scope and need for new developments in haptic augmentation for robot-mediated surgery with the aim of improving patient care and robotic surgical technology further.