Background. Occult hepatitis C virus infection (OCI) was identified as a new form of Hepatitis C virus (HCV), characterized by undetectable HCV antibodies and HCV RNA in serum, while HCV RNA is detectable in liver and peripheral blood cells only. Aim. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of OCI in Egyptian patients with lymphoproliferative disorders (LPDs) and to compare its prevalence with that of HCV in those patients. Subjects and Methods. The current study included 100 subjects, 50 of them were newly diagnosed cases having different lymphoproliferative disorders (patients group), and 50 were apparently healthy volunteers (controls group). HCV antibodies were detected by ELISA, HCV RNA was detected in serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR), and HCV genotype was detected by INNO-LiPA. Results. OCI was detected in 20% of patients group, compared to only 4% OCI in controls group. HCV was detected in 26% of patients group with a slightly higher prevalence. There was a male predominance in both HCV and OCI. All HCV positive patients were genotype 4. Conclusion. Our data revealed occurrence of occult HCV infection in Egyptian LPD patients at a prevalence of 20% compared to 26% of HCV.
Fibrosis is a common outcome of nearly all chronic diseases of liver that results in changes of its functions which requires medical attention. The current research aims to investigate the potential anti-fibrotic efficacy of Carvacrol against thioacetamide (TAA)-induced liver fibrosis in male rats using Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) as a reference anti-fibrotic product. Carvacrol (25 and 50 mg/kg) markedly declined TAA-increased serum liver enzymes; alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) as well as total bilirubin (TB) and direct bilirubin (DB) levels as well as increased levels of total protein (TP) and albumin. Carvacrol significantly reduced glutathione depletion (GSH), Nitric oxide (NOX) and malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation in liver tissue. Additionally, its anti-oxidant effect brightened up via affecting markers of stress found in the cell as nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf-2) where it still had high content and decreased Thioredoxin (Trx) level. The anti-inflammatory effect of Carvacrol was confirmed by decreasing nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) contents. Carvacrol showed anti-fibrotic effect clarified by turning down fibrosis-related markers; TGF-β1, matrix metalloproteinase-3 and 9 (MMP-3 and 9) and Autotaxin (ATX) contents. Furthermore, it decreased alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and caspase-3 immune-expression. The overall outcome of aforementioned markers results showed that Carvacrol suppresses the progression of liver fibrosis via its anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic effect and its ability in lowering Thioredoxin and Autotaxin; hence it can be categorized as a hepatoprotective natural substance.
AIM: This study aimed to evaluate the bond strength between esthetic posts and dentin at different regions of the root canal in passive mode or push-out active mode.
METHODS: Twenty extracted human bicuspid single canal teeth were used in this study. Teeth were sectioned below the cement-enamel junction. The roots of teeth were endodontically treated. Glass fibre posts (Glassix plus, Harald Nordin SA, Switzerland) and zirconia posts (Zirix, Harald Nordin) were then adhesively luted with total-etch (Variolink N, Ivoclar Vivadent, Schaan, Liechtenstein) and self-adhesive (Multilink Speed, Ivoclar Vivadent) resin cement. The roots were divided into two main groups of 10 samples each, according to the type of post used. Each group subdivided into 2 subgroups of 5 samples each, according to the type of cement used. The specimens were transversally sectioned into three slices of 2 mm thickness to perform the push-out test. The push-out tests were performed at crosshead-speed, 0.5 mm/min). Failure modes were evaluated using a scanning electron microscope at magnification (x 150).
RESULTS: The results revealed that push-out bond strengths were significantly affected by the type of luting agent and the type of post (P ≤ 0 .05). The mean push-out bond strength values for fibre post were significantly higher than those for zirconia post independent of the luting strategy used. The score values of total-etch adhesive resin cement were higher than those for self-adhesive resin cement irrespective of other variables. Regarding the effect of the root segment on push-out bond strength, results revealed that bond strength decreased from the coronal to the apical section. The cement-dentin interface found to be the weakest part of the root-cement-post unit.
CONCLUSION: Glass fibre posts revealed better results in all root third when they adhesively luted with total-etch or self-etch adhesive resin cement and provided significantly increased bond strength compared to the zirconia posts.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.