BACKGROUND With the aim of developing methods that could increase the fracture resistance of structurally compromised endodontically treated teeth, this study was conducted to compare the effect of three esthetic post systems on the fracture resistance and failure modes of structurally compromised and normal roots. MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty five extracted and endodontically treated maxillar...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Upper cervical spinal canal dimension may have a role in abnormal CSF dynamics in patients with Chiari I malformation. We attempted to measure spinal canal tapering from anteroposterior spinal canal dimensions in patients with Chiari I. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-one patients with Chiari I malformation, including 12 with syringomyelia and 7 patients with IS were ident...

Discontinuation of benzodiazepine (BZD) treatment for insomnia can be a difficult task. Cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) for insomnia, combined with a supervised medication taper, can facilitate withdrawal but there is limited evidence on long-term outcome after discontinuation. The objective of this study was to examine medication-free survival time and predictors of relapse (i.e., resumed BZD...

We evaluated whether patterns in hydraulic architecture increase transport efficiency. Five patterns are identified: area-preserving branching; variable trunk versus twig sap velocity; distally decreasing leaf specific conductivity (K(L)) and conduit diameter; and a decline in leaf specific conductance (k(L)) of the entire plant with maturation. These patterns coexist in innumerable combination...

Resistance to cyclic flexural fatigue failure is an important feature of rotary nickel-titanium (NiTi) instruments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cyclic flexural fatigue failure resistance of RevoS Shaper Universal rotary NiTi files and to compare it to two other rotary NiTi files with similar size and taper, the Hero Shaper and the ProFile. Fifteen each of Revo-S Shaper Universal, ...

Overview. The GiACTA trial is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled study designed to test the ability of tocilizumab (TCZ), an interleukin (IL)-6 receptor antagonist, to maintain disease remission in patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA). Design. Approximately 100 centers will enroll 250 patients with active disease. The trial consists of a 52-week blinded treatmen...

The purpose of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the axial wall taper of prepared artificial teeth using a non-contact three-dimensional shape measuring system. A total of 54 artificial teeth prepared by pre-clinical dental students for complete cast restorations were evaluated. For quantitative analysis, five cross sections were computer-graphically placed perpendicularly to the z-axis...

In order to increase antenna placement options on crowded platforms, three methods for synthesizing conformal phased array excitations on curved surfaces were computer programmed and compared: the Alternating Projections method (AP), the Successive Projections method (SP), and the Genetic Algorithm method (GA). The comparison was based on how closely the synthesized patterns conformed to the de...

The sense of touch is represented by neural activity patterns evoked by mechanosensory input forces. The rodent whisker system is exceptional for studying the neurophysiology of touch in part because these forces can be precisely computed from video of whisker deformation. We evaluate the accuracy of a standard model of whisker bending, which assumes quasi-static dynamics and a linearly tapered...