Under the conditions of this ex vivo study all Ni-Ti systems maintained the canal curvature, were associated with few instrument fractures and were more rapid than a standardized manual technique. ProTaper instruments created more regular canal diameters.

No abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the influence of the root canal status on the determination of the root canal length by an electronic apex locator in vital and necrotic canals and canals with root canal filling retrieval. One hundred seven teeth with a total of 171 canals with various contents (105 vital pulp, 47 necrotic pulp, and 19 retrieval of root canal filling materials) were measured for root canal length in vivo with the AFA Apex Finder. The distance between the file tip and the radiographic apex was also determined on radiographs. In 86% of the evaluated roots, the file tip position as indicated by the Apex Finder was located within 0.5 mm of a point 1.0-mm short of the radiographic apex. The Apex Finder showed higher accuracy for determining the apical constriction in vital canals (93.9%) than in necrotic canals (76.6%), and this difference was statistically significant (p < or = 0.05). The Apex Finder indicated the point -1 mm +/- 0.5 mm in canals with retrieval of root canal filling materials in 68.4% of these cases, but because of the small number of retrieval cases, this is not comparable statistically with vital and necrotic cases. The authors concluded that the AFA Apex Finder is highly accurate in vital canals.

Abstract-The Multifunctional and Adaptive Meal Preparation Facility (MAMPF) is a versatile and adaptive kitchen system allowing even an inexperienced user to create ambitious dishes. On the hardware side, the system controls hotplates by regulating the temperature of heated regions to turn the attention to the food actually being heated instead of the hotplate. Furthermore, the user interaction with the computer system is adapted to the requirements in a kitchen. On the work flow side, MAMPF converts a recipe into a task tree which is used to guide the user through the cooking process. By knowing the recipe, based on a formal description specially developed for this system, the optimal sequence of actions can be calculated.The system is designed to support the user without limiting spontaneity or creativity and can -if necessary -be used just like any usual stove. Consequentially, the user always retains control over the system, all settings can be overwritten at any point, and the order of the tasks can be dynamically rearranged.In order to prove the correctness of this concept, a prototype has been implemented.

No abstract