OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the effects of a single twisted file (TF) instrument in three different operation modes on the preparation of curved root canals in human molars and to explore a new possible method in canal shaping in the clinic setting. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 105 selected root canals with an angle of curvature ranging from 20° to 35° were...

Metal-free carbon-based electrocatalysts for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are sufficiently active in Co(II)/Co(III) electrolytes but are not satisfactory in the most commonly used iodide/triiodide (I(-)/I3 (-)) electrolytes. Thus, developing active and stable metal-free electrocatalysts in both electrolytes is one of the most important issues in DSSC research. We report the synthesis of e...

The effect of different irrigation quantities on the growth, marketable yield, crop quality (antioxidant activity, mineral and total phenolic content) and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) of spinach grown in a semi-arid region of high altitude (1795 m a.s.l.) was determined. Plants were irrigated with three different irrigation quantities which determined considering 100 (I1), 85 (I2) and...

BACKGROUND Two pertussis toxin sensitive G(i) proteins, G(i2) and G(i3), are expressed in cardiomyocytes and upregulated in heart failure. It has been proposed that the highly homologous G(i) isoforms are functionally distinct. To test for isoform-specific functions of G(i) proteins, we examined their role in the regulation of cardiac L-type voltage-dependent calcium channels (L-VDCC). METHOD...

Toads (Rhinella arenarum) received training with a novel incentive procedure involving access to solutions of different NaCl concentrations. In Experiment 1, instrumental behavior and weight variation data confirmed that such solutions yield incentive values ranging from appetitive (deionized water, DW, leading to weight gain), to neutral (300 mM slightly hypertonic solution, leading to no net ...

B. Wang, Z. G. Yang, X. F. Zhang, Y. T. Wang, C. P. Nie, Q. Liu, State Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallurgy, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, China Z. G. Yang, Special Steel Plant, Laiwu Iron & Steel Co. Ltd., Laiwu, China B. Wang, H. B. Dong, Department of Engineering, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK In the current study, a 260 mm × 300 mm bloom mould was investig...

OBJECTIVE To retrospectively determine the optimal b value of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) for predicting the presence of localized prostate cancer, and to evaluate the utility of DWI under different b values in differentiating between cancers and benign prostatic tissues. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eighty patients with suspected prostate cancer underwent MRI including DWI at 3T, followed by r...

Platelet-activating factor (1-O-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycerolphosphocholine; PAF) induces leukocyte accumulation and activation at sites of inflammation via the activation of a specific cell surface receptor (PAFR). PAFR couples to both pertussis toxin-sensitive and pertussis toxin-insensitive G proteins to activate leukocytes. To define the role(s) of G(i) and G(q) in PAF-induced leukocyte respon...

Combined QM/MM calculations of an activesite of Cytochrome P450cam have been performed, before and after a binding process of Cytochrome P450cam to Putidaredoxin. The calculations have been carried out for two coordination spheres of the heme active-site of Cytochrome P450cam, namely a 5-coordinated, and a 6coordinated system of this protein having a water molecule as a 6th ligand. An experimen...