Objective. The objective of this study was to evaluate the regression of temporomandibular pain as a result of intra-articular injections of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to patients with ...temporomandibular joint dysfunction previously subjected to prosthetic treatment. Materials and Methods. The baseline study material consisted of 10 patients, both males and females, aged 28 to 53 years, previously treated due to painful temporomandibular joint dysfunction using occlusal splints. All patients were carried out to a specialist functional assessment of the dysfunction using the Polish version of the RDC/TMD questionnaire axis I and II. Intra-articular injections were preceded by a preparation of PRP. The injection sites were determined by the method used during arthroscopic surgical procedures. Following aspiration, 0.5 mL of plasma was injected into each temporomandibular joint. Results. The comparison of the intensity of pain during all examinations suggests a beneficial effect of the procedure being performed as the mean VAS score was 6.5 at examination I, 2.8 at examination II, and 0.6 at examination III. Conclusion. Application of the intra-articular injections of platelet-rich plasma into the temporomandibular joints has a positive impact on the reduction of the intensity of pain experienced by patients treated for temporomandibular joint dysfunction.
In this study, 3D porous bioactive composite scaffolds were produced and evaluated for their physico-chemical and biological properties. Polymer poly-L-lactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) matrix scaffolds ...were modified with sol-gel-derived bioactive glasses (SBGs) of CaO-SiO2-P2O5 systems. We hypothesized that SBG incorporation into PLGA matrix would improve the chemical and biological activity of composite materials as well as their mechanical properties. We applied two bioactive glasses, designated as S2 or A2, differing in the content of SiO2 and CaO (i.e. 80 mol% SiO2, 16 mol% CaO for S2 and 40 mol% SiO2, 52 mol% CaO for A2). The composites were characterized for their porosity, bioactivity, microstructure and mechanical properties. The osteoinductive properties of these composites were evaluated in human bone marrow stromal cell (hBMSC) cultures grown in either standard growth medium or treated with recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) or dexamethasone (Dex). After incubation in simulated body fluid, calcium phosphate precipitates formed inside the pores of both A2-PLGA and S2-PLGA scaffolds. The compressive strength of the latter was increased slightly compared to PLGA. Both composites promoted superior hBMSC attachment to the material surface and stimulated the expression of several osteogenic markers in hBMSC compared to cells grown on unmodified PLGA. There were also marked differences in the response of hBMSC to composite scaffolds, depending on chemical compositions of the scaffolds and culture treatments. Compared to silica-rich S2-PLGA, hBMSC grown on calcium-rich A2-PLGA were overall less responsive to rhBMP-2 or Dex and the osteoinductive properties of these A2-PLGA scaffolds seemed partially dependent on their ability to induce BMP signaling in untreated hBMSC. Thus, beyond the ability of currently studied composites to enhance hBMSC osteogenesis, it may become possible to modulate the osteogenic response of hBMSC, depending on the chemistry of SBGs incorporated into polymer matrix.
Chronic oral and facial pain syndromes are an indication for intervention of physicians of numerous medical specialties, while the complex nature of these complaints warrants interdisciplinary ...diagnostic and therapeutic approach. Oftentimes, lack of proper differentiation of pain associated with pathological changes of the surrounding tissues, neurogenic pain, vascular pain, or radiating pain from idiopathic facial pain leads to improper treatment. The objective of the paper is to provide detailed characterization of pain developing in the natural history of trigeminal neuralgia and temporomandibular joint dysfunction, with particular focus on similarities accounting for the difficulties in diagnosis and treatment as well as on differences between both types of pain. It might seem that trigeminal neuralgia can be easily differentiated from temporomandibular joint dysfunction due to the acute, piercing, and stabbing nature of neuralgic pain occurring at a single facial location to spread along the course of the nerve on one side, sometimes a dozen or so times a day, without forewarning periods. Both forms differ significantly in the character and intensity of pain. The exact analysis of the nature, intensity, and duration of pain may be crucial for the differential diagnostics of the disorders of our interest.
This work is a subsequent step to study the feasibility of fast neutron fluency measurements using two different complementary methods.
Np-237 samples and planar silicon detectors were mounted very ...close to each other on different sections of a subcritical assembly irradiated with the proton beam of 0,66 GeV (the Quinta assembly at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, Russia) to provide both samples with the same neutron fluency. We have processed the experimental data of irradiated Np-237 actinide samples and silicon detectors directly placed on two sections of the QUINTA setup without a lead shield-reflector.
Applying the try and error method we have found found that the neutron energy for which the ratio of the fission cross section to the capture cross section of the actinide Np-237 from the nuclear data base is equal to the measured ratio of the fissioned and captured actinide isotopes. The retrieved distinct fission and capture cross sections for the distinct neutron energy from the nuclear data base describe the average values.
The considered above experimental and earlier obtained data have been shown that the higher is the average neutron energy the smaller is the difference of the neutron fluency measurement between the two methods. This effect has been expected since the silicon detector method efficiently measures the fast neutrons of the energy higher than about 170 keV while the actinide method covers a wider energy range.
Np-237 samples were irradiated with spallation neutrons produced at the ADS setup QUINTA. Six experiments were carried out at the JINR, in Dubna – one in carbon (C6+), three in deuteron, and two in ...proton beams. The energy in carbon was 24 GeV, in deuteron – 2, 4 and 8 GeV, respectively, and 660 MeV in the proton beam. In five cases the sample was located in a side window in a lead shield. In one case (660 MeV proton beam) two samples were located on the top of the QUINTA setup, one – on the top of section 2, and the second one – on the top of section 4. The transmutation study method was based on gamma-ray spectrometry. During the analysis of the spectra several fission products and one actinide were identified. Fission product activities yielded the number of fissions. The actinide (Np-238), a result of neutron capture by Np-237, yielded the number of captures.
The main goal of this work was to find out if and how the transmutation rate depended on the accelerator beam and sample location during the irradiation.
Abstract
This report presents a concept of constructing a detector
dedicated for detection of muons observed during measurements
carried out at the MPD (Multi-Purpose Detector) detector that is
...currently under construction at the NICA facility, Russia, Dubna. It
has been proposed to design and build an additional detector that
will complement the current MPD set and increase its measurement
capabilities. The main goal of this project is to provide
information from cosmic muons that pass the MPD detector in both
in-beam and off-beam experiments. Hence, the detector is called the
MPD COsmic Ray Detector (MCORD).The conceptual design of MCORD is
proposed by a Polish consortium NICA-PL comprising several Polish
scientific institutions.
The data from cosmic ray muons could be used as a trigger for
calibration of other detection systems comprising the MPD
detector. Large surface covered by the MCORD offers also possibility
for efficient registration of muons generated in expanding
atmospheric showers induced by distant sources. Moreover, beyond
some energy threshold, observation of muons originating from decays
of collision products will also be possible. In this report examples
of the MCORD functionality as a part of the MPD detector are
presented.
The MCORD is designed as a universal, fast triggering system built
as a modular reconfigurable construction. The detection system will
be based on plastic scintillators equipped with wavelength shifting
fibers, and silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) will be used for
scintillation readout. The online analysis of received signals will
be performed using digital FPGA modules. Due to the modular design,
the same system (its small part) can be used for both laboratory
testing of other MPD sub-detectors, and the calibration of these
detectors after placing them inside the MPD in off-beam mode. The
full detector will support these systems as an additional trigger,
calibrator, and muon identifier during the normal operation of the
MPD detector with the beam. Thanks to its unique construction, it
will expand the possibilities of collecting scientific data of the
MPD detector with astrophysical observations.
The publication will show the assumptions of the mechanical
structure and electronic systems of the planned detector. The
installation site of the detector as part of the MPD detector will
be described in detail. In the following, the results of simulations
made in preparation for this project will be presented. In
particular, simulations with the CORSIKA code present angular
distributions of particles in cosmic showers in the Dubna city
region. Since muons dominate the cosmic ray showers, the MPD
detector response to expected cosmic muon flux was also
simulated. The results provide information about the muon cut-off
thresholds depending on the MPD detector composition during the
installation campaign. Simulations of muon events that could be used
for MPD subsystems calibration were also performed. The results
shown for various configuration of MCORD detector modules will
enable the estimation of the time necessary to perform such tests in
the future.
Simulations with UrQMD model shows the muon abundances due to
beam-beam collisions. Approximately 90% of muons are created from
pions, whereas the number of muons that reach the MCORD detector is
10 times greater than the number of pions. The MPD detector response
was also simulated under the influence of a stream of various
particles, especially muons. It shows energy dependence of muon
transmission coefficient for MPD with and without ECal
assembled. Assuming requirement for muon transmission above 95%,
the muon cut-off thresholds are 1.6 GeV and 2.0 GeV, respectively.
MCORD detector performance evaluation is also reported. In the case
when we used scintillators with one fiber with a diameter of 1 mm,
the time resolution of about 1.0 ns was recorded, which corresponds
to the positional accuracy (σ
x
) of 7.1 cm. The results of
laboratory tests show that application of a 2 mm diameter WLS fiber
instead of the previously used 1 mm diameter fiber improves the
time resolution to 0.80 ns.
Am-241 sample was irradiated in spallation neutrons produced in ADS setup QUINTA at the JINR in Dubna. The energy was 660 MeV in the proton beam. The incineration study method was based on gamma-ray ...spectrometry. During the analysis of the spectra, several fission products were identified. Fission product activities yielded the number of fissions. Nevertheless, the lines are assumed to belong to the neutron capture product covered by parasitic Np-238 decay lines. The Np-238 lines as a result of neutron capture by Np-237 made impossible to determine the number of captures in Am-241.
The international collaboration Energy and Transmutation of Radioactive Waste (E&T RAW) performed intensive studies of several simple accelerator-driven system (ADS) setups consisting of lead, ...uranium and graphite which were irradiated by relativistic proton and deuteron beams in the past years at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia. The most recent setup called Quinta, consisting of natural uranium target-blanket and lead shielding, was irradiated by deuteron beams in the energy range between 1 and 8 GeV in three accelerator runs at JINR Nuclotron in 2011 and 2012 with yttrium samples among others inserted inside the setup to measure the neutron flux in various places. Suitable activation detectors serve as one of possible tools for monitoring of proton and deuteron beams and for measurements of neutron field distribution in ADS studies. Yttrium is one of such suitable materials for monitoring of high energy neutrons. Various threshold reactions can be observed in yttrium samples. The yields of isotopes produced in the samples were determined using the activation method. Monte Carlo simulations of the reaction rates leading to production of different isotopes were performed in the MCNPX transport code and compared with the experimental results obtained from the yttrium samples.
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