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Background: The placement of ligatures in the cervical area of rat molars is considered as a predictable model to induce periodontitis. Objectives: The present explorative study aimed to compare the efficacy of metal wires (MWs), without or with sandblasting, versus silk ligatures (SLs) in inducing periodontal bone loss in rats. Materials and Methods: Twenty‐four Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups of eight rats that received three different types of ligatures (MW, sandblasted wire [SMW], and SL) around their first right mandibular molar, while the contralateral tooth was left without the ligature and served as a control. Bone loss was assessed by measuring the distance from the cementoenamel junction (CEJ) to the bone crest at the distal aspect of the first molar on central mesiodistal sections generated from micro‐CT scans taken 24 and 35 days after ligature placement. Results: In the SL group, only in two rats the ligatures were retained until the end of the 24‐day period; in all other animals, the ligatures were lost at some time point. In the SMW, the ligatures were retained only for the 24‐day period. In the MW group, no ligatures were lost. Irrespective of the group or experimental period, the difference in the crestal bone level between ligated and control teeth was in most cases z < 0.20 mm, that is, in 19 out of 25 pairs of teeth. In a few cases, the bone crest was more apically located at the control teeth compared to the ligated ones (four cases each, during both 24‐ and 35‐day experimental periods). Conclusions: Bone loss was minimal during the experimental period, with no significant differences between the test and control teeth, or among the three types of ligatures. MWs, not even roughened, do not seem to be a better alternative to SLs for inducing bone loss in the experimental periodontitis model in the rat. This assumption, however, has to be confirmed in a larger, well‐powered study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents calculations and analysis of phase equilibria in magnesium alloys of the Mg–Al–Mn–Ca system with additional alloying of Zr and La. An assessment of the influence of the degree, deformation rate, and extrusion temperature on the composition, structure, and mechanical properties of the material has been evaluated. The impact of heat treatment of deformed samples on the complex of strength and plastic properties has been investigated.

Averting incidents of patient self-harm is an ongoing challenge in acute inpatient mental health settings. Novel technologies that do not require continuous human visual monitoring and that maintain patient privacy may support staff in managing patient safety and intervening proactively to prevent self-harm incidents. To assess the effect of implementing a contact-free vision-based patient monitoring and management (VBPMM) system on the rate of bedroom self-harm incidents. A mixed methods non-randomized controlled before-and-after evaluation was conducted over 24 months on one female and one male acute inpatient mental health ward with the VBPMM system. The rates of bedroom self-harm, and of bedroom ligatures specifically, before and after implementation were investigated using quantitative methods. Qualitative methods were also used to explore the perceived effectiveness of the system and its acceptability. A −44% relative percentage change in bedroom self-harm incidents and a −48% relative percentage change in bedroom ligatures incidents were observed in the observational wards with the VBPMM system. Staff and patient responses gave insights into system acceptability and the ways in which these reductions may have been achieved. The results indicate that using the VBPMM system helped staff to reduce self-harm incidents, including ligatures, in bedrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of fixed orthodontic appliance favours the plaque accumulation and a compromise in oral hygiene. There are various methods in practice to minimize the white spot lesions (WSL) incidence, but which depend on the patients' compliance. It is prudent to introduce materials and methods which rely less on patient. The purpose of our study is to introduce a new silver nanoparticle (AgNPs) coating onto elastomeric ligatures and to assess its antimicrobial property and durability of the silver nanoparticles coating on the elastomeric ring. Out of a total sample of 69 clear elastomeric ligatures, 44 of them are equally allocated (n=22) to each of the two groups, Group A-test group (AgNPs coated) and Group-B-control (Non coated) for antimicrobial testing and rest for durability testing. The test group elastomeric modules coated with AgNPs were prepared from Agaricus bisporus extract and silver nitrate solution and tested for antimicrobial testing against Streptococcus mutans. Remaining test sample was utilised for determination of silver ion release(mg/L) when coated elastomeric rings are placed in artificial saliva and analyzed after T1 - 24 hours, T2 - 48 hours, T3 - 2 weeks, T4 - 4 weeks using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The results showed a mean inhibition zone of 2.57 + 0.17 mm for antimicrobial activity for test group which is clinically significant compared to the control group which showed no inhibition zone. Friedman test was used to compare the silver release at 4 different time periods T1, T2, T3, and T4 and Wilcoxon rank test for pairwise comparison. The amount of silver ion accumulation into artificial saliva increased continuously as time elapsed and silver ion release is statistically significant between the measured time points (p = 0.001). The AgNPs coated elastomeric modules has definite antimicrobial activity compared non coated elastomeric modules. The durability of the coating was shorter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Background The placement of ligatures in the cervical area of rat molars is considered as a predictable model to induce periodontitis. Objectives The present explorative study aimed to compare the efficacy of metal wires (MWs), without or with sandblasting, versus silk ligatures (SLs) in inducing periodontal bone loss in rats. Materials and Methods Twenty‐four Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups of eight rats that received three different types of ligatures (MW, sandblasted wire [SMW], and SL) around their first right mandibular molar, while the contralateral tooth was left without the ligature and served as a control. Bone loss was assessed by measuring the distance from the cementoenamel junction (CEJ) to the bone crest at the distal aspect of the first molar on central mesiodistal sections generated from micro‐CT scans taken 24 and 35 days after ligature placement. Results In the SL group, only in two rats the ligatures were retained until the end of the 24‐day period; in all other animals, the ligatures were lost at some time point. In the SMW, the ligatures were retained only for the 24‐day period. In the MW group, no ligatures were lost. Irrespective of the group or experimental period, the difference in the crestal bone level between ligated and control teeth was in most cases z

Despite numerous studies on ion release from orthodontic appliances, no clear conclusions can be drawn due to complex interrelations of multiple factors. Therefore, as the first part of a comprehensive investigation of cytotoxicity of eluted ions, the objective of this study was to analyze four parts of a fixed orthodontic appliance. Specifically, NiTi archwires and stainless steel (SS) brackets, bands, and ligatures were immersed in artificial saliva and studied for morphological and chemical changes after 3-, 7-, and 14-day immersion, using the SEM/EDX technique. Ion release profiles were analyzed for all eluted ions using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The results demonstrated dissimilar surface morphologies among parts of the fixed appliance, due to variations in manufacturing processes. The onset of pitting corrosion was observed for the SS brackets and bands in the as-received state. Protective oxide layers were not observed on any of the parts, but adherent layers developed on SS brackets and ligatures during immersion. Salt precipitation, mainly KCl, was also observed. ICP-MS proved to be more sensitive than SEM/EDX and exhibited results undetected by SEM/EDX. Ion release was an order-of-magnitude higher for SS bands compared to other parts, which was attributed to manufacturing procedure (welding). Ion release did not correlate with surface roughness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the results of studies on the production of composites during the processing of aluminum melt based on high‑strength alloy B95 activated dispersed particles of nitrides (AlN, Si3N4, TiN), carbides (SiC, TiC), nanostructured carbon (fullerene carbon black), nitrogen‑containing components (glycine C2H5NO2, carbamide CH4N2O). The evaluation of the strength properties of the obtained composites from the activation modes of the charge with dispersed particles and the modes of heat treatment of the material is given. The possibility of increasing the strength characteristics of the casting composite by 15–20 % due to additional mechanical activation of the charge and achieving, after heat treatment, the compressive strength of 900–1050 MPa, hardness of 150–160 NV, elastic modulus of 20–25 GPa is shown.

To compare surgical times and rates of intra-operative and post-operative complications for open ovariohysterectomy (OVH) in female rabbits using conventional ligatures or a vessel sealing device (VSD) for haemostasis. Female pet rabbits (n = 23) presented for OVH for either desexing or treatment of reproductive disorders were randomly assigned to a conventional ligatures (CL) group (n = 12) or a LigaSure 5-mm (LS5) group (n = 11). In the CL group, the ovarian pedicles were ligated with a single surgeon's knot. After transection of the ovarian pedicles, the broad ligament was manually broken down along the uterine horns to their respective cervices. In the LS5 group, both ovarian pedicles and the broad ligaments were sealed with a LigaSure Dolphin Tip VSD with 5-mm forceps. All the rabbits were hospitalised for 24 hours after surgery. Two weeks after discharge, a clinical recheck examination was performed. Incision length, overall surgical time (from initial incision to completion of intradermal suturing), OVH time (from identification of the first ovary to transection of the vaginal vault), and intra- and post-operative complications were recorded and compared between groups, using the Student's t-test for normally distributed continuous data, the Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney test for non-normally distributed continuous data and Pearson's χ 2 test for categorical data. The mean overall surgical time was 14.1 (SD 4.4) minutes. The surgery took 15.0 (SD 4.9) minutes in the CL group and 13.1 (SD 3.8) minutes in the LS5 group (p =0.10). The OVH time was shorter in the LS5 group (mean 4.2 (SD 0.9) minutes) than in the CL group (mean 6.3 (SD 1.7) minutes; p = 0.005). No intra-operative complications were encountered in the LS5 group. Haemorrhage occurred in three rabbits in the CL group. One rabbit in the LS5 group developed steatonecrosis post-operatively. There was no evidence of a difference in the proportion of rabbits that experienced intra- and post-operative complications (p = 0.25 and p = 0.94 respectively) between groups. The use of a LigaSure 5-mm VSD and conventional ligatures during open OVH were both associated with similar overall surgical times and complication rates. The OVH times were shorter in the LS5 group compared to the CL group. Use of the LigaSure 5-mm VSD allows efficient haemostasis while performing open OVH in female pet rabbits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In mensural notation, certain combinations of notes could be notated either individually or bound together as ligatures. The choice of whether or not to use a ligature provided an opportunity for composers and scribes to encode different types of musical meaning. It has long been accepted that ligatures could help to show text underlay, and scholars have also proposed that ligatures could clarify aspects of musical structure, such as melodic and rhythmic patterns, phrasing, and articulation. It is difficult to prove wide applicability of these proposals, not least because they tend to rely primarily on the evidence of practical sources. Fortunately, there is more theoretical evidence about the purpose and function of ligatures than has been heretofore recognized. While much of the evidence unsurprisingly points toward the textual significance of ligatures, a substantial amount of theory from the early fifteenth century to the midsixteenth century shows that ligatures were also important for clarifying aspects of mensural context, sometimes forcing perfection and alteration. The evidence leads us to reconsider widely held assumptions about the significance of ligatures and to look beyond text underlay as the primary meaning that may (or may not) be signified. Drawing on these insights, contextual analysis of notation can provide a clearer window into the concerns and priorities of composers and scribes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep learning has achieved magnificent success in the field of pattern recognition. In recent years Urdu character recognition system has significantly benefited from the effectiveness of the deep convolutional neural network. Majority of the research on Urdu text recognition are concentrated on formal handwritten and printed Urdu text document. In this paper, we experimented the Challenging issue of text recognition in Urdu ancient literature documents. Due to its cursiveness, complex word formation (ligatures), and context-sensitivity, and inadequate benchmark dataset, recognition of Urdu text from the literature document is very difficult to process compared to the formal Urdu text document. In this work, first, we generated a dataset by extracting the recurrent ligatures from an ancient Urdu fatawa book. Secondly, we categorized and augment the ligatures to generate batches of augmented images that improvise the training efficiency and classification accuracy. Finally, we proposed a multi-domain deep Convolutional Neural Network which integrates a spatial domain and a frequency domain CNN to learn the modular relations between features originating from the two different domain networks to train and improvise the classification accuracy. The experimental results show that the proposed network with the augmented dataset achieves an averaged accuracy of 97.8% which outperforms the other CNN models in this class. The experimental results also show that for the recognition of ancient Urdu literature, well-known benchmark datasets are not appropriate which is also verified with our prepared dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 11th century, Kashgarli Mahmut traveled around the Turkic world and recorded all kinds of assets belonging to Turks in Dîwânu Lugâti't-Türk. Dîwânu Lugâti't-Türk is the first work of Turkic dialect research science; it is the work of not only the standard language of the 11th century, but also of all Turkic dialects together with their subdialects. In this century, Kashgarli introduced and explained all the Turkic dialects in this century to the target audience of Arabs, together with their changing voices, forms and vocabulary. In order to do this, he personally applied criteria such as "hearing, seeing" which are the basis of modern dialect research; He brought together the science of Turkic materials he obtained as a result of field research under the name of Dîwânu Lugâti't-Türk. Based on these facts, it would not be wrong to state that the value of every information given by Kashgarli in Dîwânu Lugâti't-Türk and every spelling he used while writing Turkish words is more than thought. Kashgarli Mahmut preferred a special spelling in the spelling of some words written with the / ny / sound in Diwan before the 11th century. While writing the words in question in Arabic letters, he used the dots of ye on a single tooth and below the nun: as in the example. The words written with this spelling in Dîwân were read as two separate words by researches. However, the attitude of Kashgarlı in general of Dîwân and his explanations on the words in question require the spelling with the dots of nun on the single tooth and the dots of ye below it to be read as /ny/. It should not be forgotten that Dîwânu Lugâti’t-Türk is a work created as a result of field research; it is the result of this fact that a linguist like Kashgarli came across with the /ny / sound that existed in the period just before him and showed it in his work. The /ny/ sound, which existed in the Turkic inscriptions with runic letters before the 11th century, continued its existence in this century and was shown by Kashgarli in Dîwânu Lugâti't-Türk.

This paper aims to present a review of the causes, diagnostics, and effects of periimplantitis. To find relevant publications we used Google Scholar and PubMed as our databases and searched for articles from the years 20112021. Initial search results returned over 16000 articles in Google Scholar and 619 articles in PubMed, so a series of filters and criteria were used to select 28 papers used in this review. We found that periimplantitis represents an inflammation that affects both the hard and soft tissue around an implant. The most common cause of the disease is the accumulation of dental plaque around the dental implant. Periimplantitis is diagnosed by the following clinic signs and symptoms: swelling of the tissue around the implant, bleeding of the gingiva upon probing, the presence of harmful types of pathogen bacteria and bone crestal resorption (determined by radiologic evaluation). Many studies covered in this review were conducted on animals, using ligatures around the neck of the inserted implants to induce periimplantitis. Observations made while studying periimplantitis in animal trials can serve as a model for preventing, diagnosing, and treating periimplantitis in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has often been assumed that there is, or should be, a one-to-one correspondence between graphs and linguistic units in writing systems as the norm. This is not merely doubtful in terms of descriptive accuracy. Conceptualizing writing systems in such a way also has profound consequences for the application of typological categories to specific cases. In this paper we first suggest a working definition of polygraphy, also touching upon its demarcation from adjacent concepts such as ligatures and diacritics. Having demonstrated that polygraphy is in fact fundamental to a significant number of typologically diverse writing systems, we argue in favor of a typology of writing systems taking the ubiquity of polygraphy into due account, with definitions going beyond one-to-one correspondences as the default. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Peri‐implant bone level values have been used as the clinical standard of reference to describe the status of a dental implant. Reduction of marginal bone levels in association with bleeding on probing have been claimed to be a sign of pathology and an indication of treatment needs. Purpose To assess the available evidence that peri‐implant bone loss is caused by infection. Materials and methods: This article is a narrative review on the interpretation of marginal bone level changes around dental implants as a consequence of infection. Results and conclusions: There is evidence that plaque accumulation induces an inflammatory reaction in the peri‐implant soft tissues and that resumption of plaque control measures results in the reduction of the inflammation. Since plaque is always present in the oral cavity, a cause‐effect relationship between plaque accumulation and peri‐implantitis, defined as inflammation of the peri‐implant soft tissues associated with marginal bone loss has been difficult to validate and has not been proven so far. There is no evidence of the mechanisms involved in the tissue reactions resulting in the conversion from a state of an inevitable inflammation contained in the soft tissues to a state of inflammation involving the loss of peri‐implant marginal bone. There is today no consensus whether implants should be expected to be surrounded by tissues which are completely free from inflammation, or that an "immune‐driven", chronic, subclinical inflammation should be expected at the foreign body implant. The infectious origin theory appears to be mainly supported by ligature‐induced experimental peri‐implantitis investigations in animal models that suffer of several methodological problems, and therefore, provide misleading information with regards to human clinical applications in large, routine populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arabic handwriting segmentation and recognition is an area of research that has not yet been fully understood. Dealing with Arabic ligature segmentation, where the Arabic characters are connected and unconstrained naturally, is one of the fundamental problems when dealing with the Arabic script. Arabic character‐recognition techniques consider ligatures as new classes in addition to the classes of the Arabic characters. This paper introduces an enhanced technique for Arabic handwriting recognition using the deep belief network (DBN) and a new morphological algorithm for ligature segmentation. There are two main stages for the implementation of this technique. The first stage involves an enhanced technique of the Sari segmentation algorithm, where a new ligature segmentation algorithm is developed. The second stage involves the Arabic character recognition using DBNs and support vector machines (SVMs). The two stages are tested on the IFN/ENIT and HACDB databases, and the results obtained proved the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm compared with other existing systems.

There is limited information on whether metals such as aluminum (Al) can migrate from orthodontic braces to saliva and subsequently contribute to its exposure in humans. This study aimed to assess this experimentally by incubating elastomeric orthodontic ligatures in artificial saliva for 30 days and other components of orthodontic braces (brackets, arch wires, and retainers) up to 180 days. As demonstrated, significantly higher levels of Al were leached from elastomeric ligatures (mean ± SD 28.2 ± 6.8 μg compared with their stainless steel counterparts (3.6 ± 0.1 μg) during 30 days. The higher the incubation time, the greater levels of Al leaching to artificial saliva were observed with the highest levels found for CNA β arch wire (252 ± 12 μg), Ni-Ti-Al arch wire (224 ± 11 μg), ceramic brackets (199 ± 10 μg), stainless steel arch wire (108 ± 5 μg), and metallic brackets (81.0 ± 4.2 μg) after 180 days of incubation. However, considering the tolerable weekly intake (TWI) established by the European Food Safety Authority, the intraoral use of orthodontic braces considered in this study would in the worst case constitute 0.04% and 0.09% of TWI in 70-kg adults and 30-kg children, respectively. In conclusion, the orthodontic braces considered in this study have no contribution to Al exposure in humans and can be considered safe in this regard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cursive nature, Nastaliq writing style and a large number of different ligatures make ligature recognition very difficult in Urdu. In this paper, we present a segmentation-free approach to holistically recognize Urdu ligatures. We first generate a rich dataset which contains 17,010 ligatures with different orientation and different degrees of noise. Secondly, the ligatures are clustered (categorized) in order to reduce the search space and make the learning robust. Finally, we employ a deep neural network with dropout regularization to classify ligatures. The detailed experiments show that a deep neural network with dropout regularization and clustering of ligatures significantly enhances the classification accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ismar David (1910–1996) was a prolific calligrapher, type designer, graphic designer, and illustrator who also engaged in architectural design and taught calligraphy. He studied applied arts in Berlin, emigrating to Jerusalem in 1932 and to New York in 1952. From the 1930s to the 1990s, he created a wealth of unique designs, most importantly the David Hebrew typeface family. It was the first comprehensive Hebrew typeface family, comprising nine styles that include a true Hebrew italic style and a monolinear style, equivalent to a Latin sans serif. David Hebrew provides an example of how a research-based design process can help negotiate the tension between old and new, leading to an innovative, well-informed design solution. David not only excelled in his groundbreaking approach to Hebrew type design for existing glyphs, but he went a step further, expanding the character set. Drawing from the richness of the Latin typographic tradition, David created original designs for new characters that did not emerge organically from the Hebrew script, such as several currency signs and the Hebrew equivalent of an ampersand. This article presents David’s previously unpublished proposals for characters that he created from scratch, solutions that he crafted in the belief that Hebrew readers would benefit from their existence. Through a visual analysis and historical contextualization of these signs, this study retraces David’s work process. It demonstrates how David enriched the Hebrew type system by adopting useful concepts from the Latin script, and how he was able to do so while remaining faithful to Hebrew typographic traditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims. The purpose of this study was to evaluate initial force and force decay of commercially available elastomeric ligatures and elastomeric separators in active tieback state in a simulated oral environment. Materials and methods. A total of 288 elastomeric ligatures and elastomeric separators from three manufacturers (Dentaurum, RMO, 3M Unitek) were stretched to 100% and 150% of their original inner diameter. Force levels were measured initially and at 3-minute, 24-hour, and 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-week intervals. Data were analyzed by univariate analysis of variance and a post hoc Tukey test. Results. The means of initial forces of elastomeric ligatures and separators from three above-mentioned companies, when stretched to 100% of their inner diameters, were 199, 305 and 284 g, and 330, 416, 330 g; when they were stretched to 150% of their inner diameters the values were 286, 422 and 375 g, and 433, 540 and 504 g, respectively. In active tieback state, 11‒18% of the initial force of the specimens was lost within the first 3 minutes and 29‒63% of the force decay occurred in the first 24 hours; then force decay rate decreased. 62‒81% of the initial force was lost in 4 weeks. Although force decay pattern was identical in all the products, the initial force and force decay of Dentaurum elastomeric products were less than the similar products of other companies (P

Arabic handwriting segmentation and recognition is an area of research that has not yet been fully understood. Dealing with Arabic ligature segmentation, where the Arabic characters are connected and unconstrained naturally, is one of the fundamental problems when dealing with the Arabic script. Arabic character‐recognition techniques consider ligatures as new classes in addition to the classes of the Arabic characters. This paper introduces an enhanced technique for Arabic handwriting recognition using the deep belief network (DBN) and a new morphological algorithm for ligature segmentation. There are two main stages for the implementation of this technique. The first stage involves an enhanced technique of the Sari segmentation algorithm, where a new ligature segmentation algorithm is developed. The second stage involves the Arabic character recognition using DBNs and support vector machines (SVMs). The two stages are tested on the IFN/ENIT and HACDB databases, and the results obtained proved the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm compared with other existing systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The numeral system developed in South Asian Subcontinent in third century B. C. E. as the ancestor of the Hindu Arabic, Lichhavi, Kharosthi and other different numeral systems is popular by Brahmi numeral system. Ashoka prepared the pillar to preserve the Brahmi inscription with consisting numerals. The Brahmi numerical symbols are found at Lumbini of Nepal, for example a symbol used there tells the division by eight (Athabhagiya) and conversely multiplication of eight. Ashoka pillar with different inscriptions were found at Bihar, Uttarpradesh, Delhi, Madhyapradesh of India and different parts of Nepal like Niglihawa and Lumbini. In this system numerals are written from left to right. This system was very popular in South Asian Subcontinent for a long time and it impacts to the development of other numeral systems. The aim of this paper is to explore the hierchy and the existence of symbols of Brahmi numeral on the basis of document analysis and symbols found at different manuscript and monuments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Death by hanging is asphyxiation when the body is suspended by means of a ligature. Most deaths by hanging are suicides, though occasionally they are accidental or a homicidal event. The characteristics of the hanging marks depend on the ligature used, the dynamics and on the node position with respect to the neck. When the crime scene is contaminated, the hanging mark must be checked with the type of suspension and ligatures used to establish how the hangings took place. We report on 20 cases (2013–2016) where the bodies were moved at or from the crime scene. We analysed the features of hanging marks, the tools of suspension and the ligatures employed in each case. Judicial inspections and an external examination were also carried out. Analysis of hanging marks enables the pathologist to clarify the manner of death and the type of hanging, and tools used especially where the crime scene has been contaminated and the body has been moved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the response of elastomeric ligatures in several colors for a 4 mm traction over time. METHODS: Morelli® elastomeric ligatures, were submitted to traction forces using two rods of circular cross section, until a 4 mm distance was reached, matching the approximate diameter of an upper central incisor bracket of the same manufacturer. The ligatures were kept in artificial saliva immersion at 37 ºC. Forces levels were measured immediately (0 h), 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96 hours, 1, 2, 3, 4 weeks and results were submitted to two-way repeated-measures ANOVA statistical analysis. RESULTS: The gray samples showed the higher initial values of tensile strength. The lowest values were presented by purple, light pink, green, black and red groups. The greater tensile strength instability was presented by red, black, silver, green and gray groups. The greater tensile strength stability was presented by deep pink, dark blue, blue, purple and light pink groups. CONCLUSION: Elastomeric ligatures do not present stable behavior when suffering traction forces over time and different colors display different behaviors. Deep pink, dark blue, blue, purple and light pink groups, displayed the most stable forces, suggesting that they should be used during the treatment to obtain constant forces.

Copyright of Journal of Orofacial Orthopedics/Fortschritte der Kieferorthopadie is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Much work on Arabic language optical character recognition (OCR) has been on Naskh writing style. Nastalique style, used for most of languages using Arabic script across Southern Asia, is much more challenging to process due to its compactness, cursiveness, higher context sensitivity and diagonality. This makes the Nastalique writing more complex with multiple letters horizontally overlapping each other. Due to these reasons, existing methods used for Naskh would not work for Nastalique and therefore most work on Nastalique has used non-segmentation methods. The current paper presents new approach for segmentation-based analysis for Nastalique style. The paper explains the complexity of Nastalique, why Naskh based techniques cannot work for Nastalique, and proposes a segmentation-based method for developing Nastalique OCR, deriving principles and techniques for the pre-processing and recognition. The OCR is developed for Urdu language. The system is optimized using 79,093 instances of 5249 main bodies derived from a corpus of 18 million words, giving recognition accuracy of 97.11 %. The system is then tested on document images of books with 87.44 % main body recognition accuracy. The work is extensible to other languages using Nastalique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims. The purpose of this study was to evaluate initial force and force decay of commercially available elastomeric ligatures and elastomeric separators in active tieback state in a simulated oral environment. Materials and methods. A total of 288 elastomeric ligatures and elastomeric separators from three manufacturers (Dentaurum, RMO, 3M Unitek) were stretched to 100% and 150% of their original inner diameter. Force levels were measured initially and at 3-minute, 24-hour, and 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-week intervals. Data were analyzed by univariate analysis of variance and a post hoc Tukey test. Results. The means of initial forces of elastomeric ligatures and separators from three above-mentioned companies, when stretched to 100% of their inner diameters, were 199, 305 and 284 g, and 330, 416, 330 g; when they were stretched to 150% of their inner diameters the values were 286, 422 and 375 g, and 433, 540 and 504 g, respectively. In active tieback state, 11-18% of the initial force of the specimens was lost within the first 3 minutes and 29-63% of the force decay occurred in the first 24 hours; then force decay rate decreased. 62-81% of the initial force was lost in 4 weeks. Although force decay pattern was identical in all the products, the initial force and force decay of Dentaurum elastomeric products were less than the similar products of other companies (P<0.05). Under the same conditions, the force of elastomeric separators was greater than elastomeric ligatures of the same company. Conclusion. Regarding the force pattern of elastomeric ligatures and separators and optimal force for tooth movement, many of these products can be selected for applying orthodontic forces in active tieback state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Orofacial Orthopedics/Fortschritte der Kieferorthopadie is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Conventional hemostatic technologies utilized in thyroid surgery include clamp-and-tie, clips and monopolar and bipolar diathermy. Over the last decade, there has been a major shift towards utilizing newer hemostatic technologies, most notably the electrothermal bipolar vessel sealing systems (EBVS) and the Harmonic Scalpel® (Ethicon Endosurgery, OH, USA), for thyroid surgery. Since the first report of EBVS thyroidectomy in 2003, more than 50 studies have been published evaluating EBVS utilization for thyroid surgery. In addition to providing a historical perspective and exploring the principles of EBVS technology, this review aims to evaluate the current published data regarding EBVS utilization for thyroid surgery. In particular, a focus is given to LigaSure™ (Covidien, Dublin, Ireland) technology because it has been studied most thoroughly in the literature. This review will also evaluate studies comparing the EBVS with Harmonic Scalpel technology for thyroid surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The objective of the present study was to evaluate in vitro, the influence of different ligatures, archwire material and archwire sizes on static frictional resistance. Methods: The frictional resistance was evaluated by using different ligatures Gray, Purple, Alastic, Teflon coated stainless steel ligature and 0.009"Stainless steel ligatures on 0.017"×0.025" and 0.019"×0.025" TMAand SS archwires using standard edgewise brackets with zero degree tip and torque mounted on Perspex blocks using an universal testing machine with a cross head speed of 5mm/min with unstimulated saliva as a lubricant. Results: Mean and SD values were calculated. Data was statistically analyzed using three way analysis of variance (ANOVA), pair wise comparison by Tukeys multiple post hoc test and multiple regression analysis to calculate coefficient of static friction. The results showed that irrespective of wire size and wire material combination Teflon coated SS ligatures produced the least frictional resistance while Gray elastomeric modules produced the highest with Alastic, SS ligature and purple falling in between. Multiple linear regression analysis of static friction revealed that only arch wire size has significant influence on static friction with groups and archwire composition showing negligible influence. Interpretation and conclusion: (a)Teflon coated stainless steel ligatures produced lowest frictional forces with all wire, material contributions followed by Alastic, Stainless steel, Purple and gray elastomeric modules. (b)Increase in arch wire dimension has increased the frictional resistance, whereas archwire composition has minimal effect on frictional resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: New techniques using vascular clips or ultrasonically activated shears have been suggested to shorten operation time without compromising safety. The objective of the CLIVIT Trial was to compare ligatures with vascular clips for hemostasis in elective benign thyroid surgery. Methods: This multicenter, randomized, controlled, parallel group superiority trial was conducted in 13 German surgical centers. Patients scheduled for at least subtotal resection bilaterally were intraoperatively randomized. The primary endpoint was resection time. Secondary endpoints were the amount of postoperative bleeding, reoperation due to bleeding, wound infection, temporary (reversal within 12 months) and permanent (over 1 year) recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) paralysis, length of hospital stay, and safety. Registration: ISRCTN 96901396. Results: Two hundred fifty patients were treated with ligatures and 241 with vascular clips. No differences in patients' baseline and surgical characteristics were observed. No difference was detected for mean resection time (clip 63.5 min ± 29.6, ligature 66.1 min ± 29.3, P = 0.258). Postoperative bleeding (mean 86 ml ± 93), reoperation due to bleeding (clips 4, ligature 2), wound infections (clips 4, ligature 4), postoperative hospital stay (mean 3.0 ± 1.9), and safety data also did not vary significantly. The rates of temporary and permanent RLN paralysis were 6.9 % (34/491) and 2.9 % (14/491), respectively. Not using a surgical drain (123 patients) was not associated with a higher rate of complications. Conclusion: Vascular clips did not reduce the resection time. However, a 2.9 % rate of permanent RLN paralysis is of concern. Drains in elective surgery may be of no benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the response of elastomeric ligatures in several colors for a 4 mm traction over time. Methods: Morelli® elastomeric ligatures, were submitted to traction forces using two rods of circular cross section, until a 4 mm distance was reached, matching the approximate diameter of an upper central incisor bracket of the same manufacturer. The ligatures were kept in artificial saliva immersion at 37 °C. Forces levels were measured immediately (0 h), 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96 hours, 1, 2, 3, 4 weeks and results were submitted to two-way repeated-measures ANOVA statistical analysis. Results: The gray samples showed the higher initial values of tensile strength. The lowest values were presented by purple, light pink, green, black and red groups. The greater tensile strength instability was presented by red, black, silver, green and gray groups. The greater tensile strength stability was presented by deep pink, dark blue, blue, purple and light pink groups. Conclusion: Elastomeric ligatures do not present stable behavior when suffering traction forces over time and different colors display different behaviors. Deep pink, dark blue, blue, purple and light pink groups, displayed the most stable forces, suggesting that they should be used during the treatment to obtain constant forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lines of Identity (LoI) are important elements in Existential Graphs. They can be assembled to whole networks called ''ligatures.'' They are not straightforwardly understandable: for example, in constrast to LoI, ligatures may stand for more than one object. This article elaborates the handling of ligatures. It is precisely investigated how ligatures are dealt with in the calculus and how they can be modified without changing the meaning of a graph. Finally, a sufficient criterion for reading a ligature similar to a LoI is provided, as well as an algorithm which grasps the correct meaning of an existential graph even if it contains arbitrarily complex ligatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The present study aims to compare strength, healing, and inflammation of appendiceal stumps closed by LigaSure Precise (Valleylab, Boulder, CO, USA) device, ligatures using polyglactin 910 (Vicryl, Ethicon, Edinburgh, UK) and endoclips (Ligaclip ERCA, Ethicon, OH, USA), and operation time (OT) in experimental appendectomy.Methods: Forty-eight Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into two (Group A and B). Each group was further subdivided into three subgroups (AS, AC, AL, BS, BC, BL) containing eight rats. Appendectomy was performed and stump was closed by ligatures in S, by endoclips in C and by LigaSure in L subgroups. OT was recorded. In Group A, cecum bursting pressures (BP) were determined instantly after the operation. In Group B, BP, histological evaluations, and measurements of collagen contents estimated by the tissue hydroxyproline (HPL) level were made on the seventh postoperative day. Statistical analyses were performed with Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U test. P value was considered significant at less than 0.05.Results: BPs of subgroups were comparable on postoperative immediate period and day 7. HPLs and OTs were significantly better in L subgroups. BL had the least inflammation.Conclusion: Better healing, less inflammation, shorter OT, and equal strength achieved with LigaSure device comparing with polyglactin 910 ties and endoclips in experimental appendectomy is encouraging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the effect extended exposure to disinfectant solutions has on the tensile load at failure and glass transition temperature (Tg) of orthodontic elastomeric ligatures. Materials end Methods: Elastomeric ligatures from three manufacturers: Rocky Mountain Orthodontics (RMO, Denver, Colo), American Orthodontics (AO, Sheboygan, Wis), and 3M Unitek (3M, Monrovia, Calif) were exposed to two disinfectant solutions, Vital Defense-D and Cidexplus, for up to 28 days. Unexposed ligatures were also tested. Tensile load at failure was determined by stretching the ligatures using a universal testing machine until they fractured. Glass transition temperature was determined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Results: For tensile load at failure and glass transition temperature of the ligatures, significant differences were observed among the different manufacturers and exposure times. Type of disinfectant solution was a significant factor with Tg, but not with failure load. The 3M ligatures had the highest tensile load at failure and most positive Tg followed by AO and RMO, respectively. Compared to unexposed ligatures, strength significantly decreased after one hour of disinfectant exposure. Glass transition temperature was also significantly affected with extended disinfectant exposure, but the different disinfectants changed Tg in opposite directions. Conclusion: Exposure of elastomeric ligatures to disinfectant solution for one hour or more decreases their strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To evaluate, over a 12-week period, the tensile strength (TS) and extension to TS of elastomeric ligatures (both clear and coloured) obtained from two companies. Setting Ex vivo study. Method Seven replicates of five ligatures from two orthodontic companies were tested using an ex vivo assembly which simulated a clinical situation. Results The ligatures tested had a similar TS decay pattern, with the TS gradually decreasing over the duration of the study. The Unitek ligatures exhibited a greater TS than their respective Ormco ligatures. Generally, all of the ligatures tested experienced an increase in the extension to TS over time. The pre-stretching procedure used in this study did not produce any long-term detrimental effects on the TS and extension to TS of the ligatures tested. Conclusions The results of this study confirm there are differences in TS, and extension to TS between clear and coloured elastomeric ligatures, and that some significant differences also exist between different brands of elastomeric ligatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate, clinically and histologically, the effect of Cyclosporin-A (CyA) on the progression of the periodontal breakdown in the domestic ferret, using the ligature induced periodontitis model. At the start of the experiment (day 0), silk ligatures were placed at the gingival margin level of experimental teeth. The contralateral teeth served as non-ligated control teeth. Clinical measurements included gingival index, probing pocket depth (PPD), probing attachment level (PAL) and gingival overgrowth (GO) and they were performed on days 0, 14 and 28. Cyclosporin-A, 10 mg/kg/d, was given subcutaneously from day 0 to 21, while in the last week there was a reduction of this dose to 5 mg/kg/d. Blood samples were taken on days 0, 14 and 28. On day 28 the animals were sacrificed. Histological sections were prepared for ligth microscopy. The histometric measurements performed were: (1) the distance between cemento-enamel junction and the alveolar bone crest and (2) loss of connective tissue attachment. The number of sections with root resorption areas was observed. Cell counts were taken in 4 different areas. The results showed, on days 14 and 28, a significant increase of the mean values of PPD and PAL at experimental teeth as compared to the control teeth. GO was present on experimental teeth on days 14 and 28. On day 28, the control teeth presented a very small increase in GO, mainly at the buccal sites of P4 and M1. The histometric results showed a significant loss of attachment and bone resorption in the experimental teeth. Root resorption was found in experimental teeth only. The predominant inflammatory cell in the 4 experimental areas was polymorphonuclears. The number of plasma cells and lymphocytes was also significantly higher in experimental teeth than in control teeth. The results indicate that the T-cell immunosystem may participate in defensive mechanisms against periodontal pathology in the domestic ferret. GO may be induced in ferrets under treatment with CyA and this result may be obtained quickly in sites where ligatures have been placed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]