OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the tissue dissolving capacities of sodium and calcium hypochlorite [NaOCl and Ca(OCl)2] solutions applied without activation or with two irrigant activation methods.
METHODS: One hundred and eight dentin cavities were prepared. Preweighed tissue pieces were placed in these dentin cavities, and samples were divided into nine groups of twelve. In groups 1, 2, and 3, NaOCl was used with non-activation (NA), passive ultrasonic (PUA), and laser activation (LA). With the same techniques, Ca(OCl)2 was used in groups 4, 5, and 6, and distilled water was used in groups 7, 8, and 9. The weight loss of tissue samples was calculated and analyzed using Two-way ANOVA and Duncan tests.
RESULTS: Distilled water groups showed no tissue dissolution in any conditions. NaOCI and Ca(OCI)2 showed statistically similar dissolving effectiveness when used with the same technique. Activated groups dissolved significantly greater tissue than non-activated ones, the highest in LA.
CONCLUSIONS: Ca(OCI)2 can be an alternative to NaOCl; for both, the first choice of activation may be the LA.

UNASSIGNED: Early identification of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is necessary to minimize its negative effects. Ultrasound screening is useful for detecting DDH in hospitals. Awareness about community-based screening systems is low in Japan. Despite established nationwide home visiting services and child health checkups in the country, more than 10% of DDH patients are diagnosed at the age of ≥1 year. This review aimed to clarify the status of universal ultrasound screening for DDH among infants in community settings in Japan.
UNASSIGNED: The electronic databases of Igaku Chuo Zasshi, MEDLINE, CHINAL, ERIC, and APA PsycInfo were searched for articles published between 2002 and 2022. Articles were evaluated with the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance framework.
UNASSIGNED: In total, 148 articles were identified. Two articles were manually added, and 67 articles were excluded through abstract reviews, of which 20 were duplicates. Finally, 18 articles were included in the analysis. There are two types of universal ultrasound screening in community settings: municipality-led and hospital-led. Since 1992, municipality-led screening has been conducted during public infant health checkups in five municipalities. Six hospitals implemented ultrasound screening. The participation rate was around 90%. The Graf method is typically used for this purpose. The prevalence of abnormal hips was 3.6%-16.6%. Owing to limited human resources and skills in ultrasound, all studies mentioned the necessity of a universal screening system for the early detection of DDH.
UNASSIGNED: Embedding universal ultrasound screening in community health checkup systems enables collaboration between healthcare professionals and caregivers to improve health inequities and ensure early detection of DDH cases.

Introduction: Odontogenic extraoral sinus tracts are rare conditions that can be misdiagnosed as skin lesions and lead to unnecessary treatments. They are caused by dental infections spreading through bone and draining externally. Conservative nonsurgical endodontic treatment should be pursued first. However, conventional instrumentation and irrigation techniques cannot fully decontaminate root canal systems. New disinfection techniques, including ultrasonic activation of irrigation, photodynamic therapy (PDT), and lasers, have been developed as adjunctive techniques. Photobiomodulation (PBM) (also known as low-level laser therapy) has also demonstrated beneficial effects on tissue healing. Case Presentation: This report presents a case of an extraoral sinus tract associated with a necrotic mandibular molar that was treated successfully with nonsurgical endodontic therapy using ultrasonically-activated PDT, PBM, and high-intensity laser therapy (HILT). Six- and 12-month follow-ups showed resolution of the sinus tract and healing of the apical lesion radiographically. The extraoral lesion had diminished significantly. Conclusion: Combining nonsurgical endodontic treatment with PDT with ultrasonic activation, PBM, and HILT allowed successful management of an odontogenic extraoral sinus tract without surgical intervention. Using PDT combined with ultrasonic activation enhanced disinfection while PBM and HILT improved wound healing. This report demonstrates a conservative approach to treating these lesions.

Separating an endodontic instrument is one of the most frequent errors during a root canal treatment. If endodontic instruments get separated, it could hinder disinfection and prevent access to the apical portion of the root. It compromises the success of the treatment by impeding the proper debris removal from the canal. But now that techniques and tools have advanced, it is feasible to remove a separated instrument from the root canal successfully. This case report presents the management of a separated instrument, demonstrating the successful removal of the separated instrument.

Eggs are a valuable source of nutrients, but they represent a food safety risk due to the presence of microbes. In this work, three types of egg liquids (albumen, yolk and whole egg) previously contaminated with E. coli were treated with ultrasound (US) and a combination of ultrasound and low (55 °C) temperature (US+H). The US treatment parameters were 20 and 40 kHz and 180 and 300 W power and a 30, 45 or 60 min treatment time. The ultrasonic treatment alone resulted in a reduction in the microbial count of less than 1 log CFU, while the US+H treatment resulted in a reduction in CFU counts to below detectable levels in all three egg liquids. Heat treatment and ultrasound treatment had a synergistic effect on E. coli reduction. For all measurements, except for the whole egg samples treated with US, the 20 kHz treated samples showed a significantly (>90% probability level) lower bactericidal effect than the 40 kHz treated samples. PCA and aquaphotometric analysis of NIR spectra showed significant differences between the heat-treated groups\' (H and US+H) and the non-heat-treated groups\' (US and control) NIR spectra. LDA results show that heat-treated groups are distinguishable from non-heat-treated groups (for albumen 91% and for egg yolk and whole egg 100%).

This study presents the design and development of an ultrasonic sensor as a fundamental tool for characterizing the properties of fluids and biofluids. The analysis primarily focuses on measuring the electrical parameters of the system, which correlate with the density and viscosity of the solutions, in sample volumes of microliters and with high temporal resolution (up to 1 data point per second). The use of this sensor allows the fast and non-destructive evaluation of the viscosity and density of fluids deposited on its free surface. The measurements are based on obtaining the impedance versus frequency curve and the phase difference curve (between current and voltage) versus frequency. In this way, characteristic parameters of the transducer, such as the resonance frequency, phase, minimum impedance, and the quality factor of the resonant system, can characterize variations in density and viscosity in the fluid under study. The results obtained revealed the sensor\'s ability to identify two parameters sensitive to viscosity and two parameters sensitive to density. As a proof of concept, the unfolding of the bovine albumin protein was studied, resulting in a curve that reflects its unfolding kinetics in the presence of urea.

Our purpose was to test the hypothesis that ultrasonic cigarettes (u-cigarettes), which operate at relatively low temperatures, produce aerosols that are less harmful than heated-coil pod-style electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). The major chemicals in SURGE u-cigarette fluids and aerosols were quantified, their cytotoxicity and cellular effects were assessed, and a Margin of Exposure risk assessment was performed on chemicals in SURGE fluids. Four SURGE u-cigarette flavor variants (\"Blueberry Ice,\" \"Watermelon Ice,\" \"Green Mint,\" and \"Polar Mint\") were evaluated. Flavor chemicals were quantified in fluids and aerosols using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Cytotoxicity and cell dynamics were assessed using the MTT assay, live-cell imaging, and fluorescence microscopy. WS-23 (a coolant) and total flavor chemical concentrations in SURGE were similar to e-cigarettes, while SURGE nicotine concentrations (13-19 mg/mL) were lower than many fourth generation e-cigarettes. Transfer efficiencies of dominant chemicals to aerosols in SURGE ranged from 44-100%. SURGE fluids and aerosols had four dominant flavor chemicals (>1 mg/mL). Toxic aldehydes were usually higher in SURGE aerosols than in SURGE fluids. SURGE fluids and aerosols had aldehyde concentrations significantly higher than pod-style e-cigarettes. Chemical constituents, solvent ratios, and aldehydes varied among SURGE flavor variants. SURGE fluids and aerosols inhibited cell growth and mitochondrial reductases, produced attenuated and round cells, and depolymerized actin filaments, effects that depended on pod flavor, chemical constituents, and concentration. The MOEs for nicotine, WS-23, and propylene glycol were <100 based on consumption of 1-2 SURGE u-cigarettes/day. Replacing the heating coil with a sonicator did not eliminate chemicals, including aldehydes, in aerosols or diminish toxicity in comparisons between SURGE and other e-cigarette pod products. The high concentrations of nicotine, WS-23, flavor chemicals, and aldehydes and the cytotoxicity of SURGE aerosols do not support the hypothesis that aerosols from u-cigarettes are less harmful than those from e-cigarettes.

This study evaluated the setting time, pH, calcium ion release, solubility, and chemical structure of four calcium silicate sealers after ultrasonic activation (UA). Five sealers were evaluated: Sealer Plus (SP - control); Sealer Plus BC (SPBC), Bio C Sealers (BCS), Endosequence BC Sealer (EBC), and BioRoot RCS (BR). Ten groups were created based on the use or not of ultrasonic activation: SP; SP/UA; SPBC; SPBC/UA; BCS; BCS/UA; EBC; EBC/UA; BR; and BR/UA. Setting time was performed based on ISO 6876:2012 and ASTM C266-07 specifications. Solubility at 24hs, based on ISO 6876:2012. pH and calcium release were evaluated at 1, 24, 72, and 168hs. Raman spectroscopy was used to evaluate structural changes. Quantitative data were analyzed using One-Way ANOVA and Tukey post-hoc test (α=5%). Raman spectroscopy results were qualitatively analyzed. Setting times and solubility of all sealers were not affected by UA (p>0.05). The highest solubility was found for BCS, BCS/UA; and BR, BR/UA (p<0.05). After 24hs, calcium silicate sealers had higher pH than SP and SP/UA (p<0.05). BR and BR/UA had the highest pH at all time points. SP and SP/UA had stable pH at all time points. SP and SP/UA had the lowest calcium release values at all time points (p<0.05). EBC and EBC/UA calcium release significantly differ at 24,72 and 168hs (p<0.05). No chemical changes were observed during Raman spectroscopy. In conclusion, ultrasonic activation affected calcium ion release only for EndoSequence BC Sealer. Ultrasonic activation did not influence the initial and final setting time, solubility, pH, and chemical structure of any investigated sealers.

This study evaluated the effect of ultrasonic agitation on the filling capacity of ready-to-use calcium silicate-based sealer Bio-C Sealer (BCS, Angelus, Paraná, Brazil) or powder-liquid BioRoot RCS (BR, Septodont, Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, France) using curved artificial canals by micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). Additionally, flow (mm) and flow area (mm2) were evaluated for both materials. Acrylic resin main canal (60° curvature and 5 mm radius, with 3 lateral canals in the cervical, middle, and apical thirds) were prepared up to size 40/.05 (Prodesign Logic, Brazil). The agitation method was used with ultrasonic tip (US, Irrisonic, Helse, Brazil): BCS, BCS/US, BR, and BR/US. All specimens were filled using the single-cone technique. The samples were scanned by micro-CT (8,74 µm) after obturation. The percentage of filling material and voids were calculated. Flow was evaluated based on ISO 6876/2012 standards (mm) and area (mm2). The data were statistically analyzed using ANOVA and Tukey tests (α = 0.05). BR/US showed lower percentage of filling material in the lateral canals than and, BCS/US (p<0.05). BR/US resulted in a higher percentage of voids than BR in the lateral apical third (p<0.05). BCS showed higher flow than BR (p<0.05). BCS and BR presented proper filling capacity in the simulated curved canals regardless of the use of ultrasonic agitation. However, BR/US showed more voids in the apical third. BCS demonstrates higher filling ability.

UNASSIGNED: Scaling and root planing (SRP) is an inevitable primary step in non-surgical periodontal therapy. Debridement carried out with manual instruments and ultrasonics results in the removal of tooth structure. Current research revolves around laser as an efficient adjunct to SRP. This study evaluated and compared the effectiveness of root surface calculus removal between ultrasonics and Er,Cr:YSGG laser.
UNASSIGNED: Twenty-eight single-rooted teeth extracted due to periodontal disease were selected for the study. The specimens were randomly assigned to two groups (n=14). Group I underwent ultrasonic instrumentation using a piezo ultrasonic scaler, and group II was subjected to laser instrumentation using Er,Cr:YSGG laser (Waterlase). The specimens were processed, fixed, viewed under a field emission scanning electron microscope and evaluated using the remaining calculus index (RCI) and loss of tooth substance index (LTSI).
UNASSIGNED: Ultrasonics-treated specimens revealed more remaining calculus (1.57±0.65) and lost tooth substance (1.71±0.61) compared to the Er,Cr:YSGG laser-treated specimens, with significantly lower RCI (0.71±0.61) and LTSI (1.00±0.56). There was a statistically significant difference (P<0.05) in the efficacy of root surface calculus removal between the two groups.
UNASSIGNED: Compared to ultrasonics, Er,Cr:YSGG laser demonstrated superior results by causing precise removal of root surface calculus without significantly affecting tooth structure and aiding in new attachment.