Objective. To identify features of antinuclear antibody (ANA)-HEp-2 test results that discriminate ANA-positive healthy individuals and patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs).Methods. We sequentially retrieved data on 918 healthy individuals and 153 patients with ARDs after clinical assessment. ANA-positive healthy individuals for whom data were available were reevaluated after 3.6-5.0 years. An ANA-HEp-2 test result was considered positive when a clear ANA pattern was observed at 1:80 dilution in 2 distinct commercial HEp-2 slides by 2 blinded independent observers.Results. ANAs were present in 118 healthy individuals (12.9%) and 138 patients with ARDs (90.2%). The ANA titer was higher in patients with ARDs than in healthy individuals (P < 0.001). The ANA pattern profile was distinct in the 2 groups. Nuclear homogeneous, nuclear coarse speckled, and nuclear centromeric patterns appeared exclusively in patients with ARDs. The nuclear dense fine speckled pattern occurred only in healthy individuals. The most frequent ANA pattern in both groups was the nuclear fine speckled pattern, which occurred at lower titer in healthy individuals than in patients with ARDs (P < 0.001). Antiextractable nuclear antigen was present in 1 healthy individual (anti-SSA/Ro) and in 52 patients with ARDs (37.7%). None of the 40 reevaluated healthy individuals developed ARDs, and 29 (72.5%) remained ANA positive. All healthy individuals who became ANA negative had an ANA titer of 1:80 at baseline.Conclusion. Our findings suggest that the titer, and especially the pattern, on the ANA-HEp-2 test strongly enhances our ability to discriminate ANApositive healthy individuals and patients with ARDs.

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OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the microtensile bond strength (MTBS) of non-aged and aged resin-based composites (RBC) (nanohybrid and nanofilled) after two surface conditioning methods, repaired using the composite of the same kind or a microhybrid composite. MATERIALS AND METH-ODS: Nanohybrid (Tetric EvoCeram-TE) and nanofilled (Filtek Supreme-FS) RBC blocks (5 × 5 × 6 mm) (N = 128) were fabricated and randomly divided into two groups: (a) no ageing (control group) and (b) ageing (5.000 thermocycling, 5-55°C). RBC surfaces were polished by up to 1,200-grit silicone carbide papers and conditioned with either (a) air abrasion with 30-m SiO(2) particles (CoJet Sand) for 4 s + silane coupling agent (ESPE-Sil) + adhesive resin (VisioBond) (n = 16) or (b) adhesive application only (Multilink A+B for TE; Adper ScotchBond 1XT for FS) (n = 16). In half of the groups, repair resin of the same kind with the RBC and, in the other half, a different kind of composite (microhybrid, Quadrant Anterior Shine-AS) with its corresponding adhesive (Quadrant UniBond) was used. The specimens were submitted to MTBS test (0.5 mm/min). Data were analysed using three-way ANOVA and Tukey's tests. Degree of conversion (DC) of non-aged and aged resin composites (TE, FS) (n = 3 per group) was measured by micro-Raman analyses. RESULTS: RBC type (p = 0.001) and ageing affected the MTBS results significantly (p = 0.001). Surface conditioning type did not show significant difference (p = 0.726), but less number of pre-test failures was experienced with the CoJet system compared to adhesive resin application only. Repair strength on aged TE showed significantly less (p < 0.05) MTBS than for FS. FS repaired with the same kind of RBC and adhesive resin presented the highest cohesive failures (43 %). DC was higher for TE (71 %) than for FS (58 %) before ageing. CONCLUSION: On the aged RBCs, less favourable repair strength could be expected especially for nanohybrid composite. For repair actions, RBC surface conditioning could be accomplished with either adhesive resin application only or with CoJet system, providing that the latter resulted in less pre-test failures. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Clinicians could condition the resin surface prior to repair or relayering with either CoJet system or adhesive resin application only, depending on the availability of the system. Abstract Objectives This study evaluated the microtensile bond strength (MTBS) of non-aged and aged resin-based composites (RBC) (nanohybrid and nanofilled) after two surface conditioning methods, repaired using the composite of the same kind or a microhybrid composite. Materials and methods Nanohybrid (Tetric EvoCeram-TE) and nanofilled (Filtek Supreme-FS) RBC blocks (5× 5×6 mm) (N0128) were fabricated and randomly divided into two groups: (a) no ageing (control group) and (b) ageing (5.000 thermocycling, 5-55°C). RBC surfaces were polished by up to 1,200-grit silicone carbide papers and conditioned with either (a) air abrasion with 30-μm SiO 2 particles (CoJet Sand) for 4 s ...

This study examined the average surface roughness (Ra, µm) of 2 microfilled (Durafill and Perfection), 1 hybrid (Filtek Z250) and 2 packable composite resins (Surefil and Fill Magic), before (baseline) and after eight different finishing and polishing treatments. The surface roughness was assessed using a profilometer. Ten specimens of each composite resin were randomly subjected to one of the following finishing/polishing techniques: A -carbide burs; B -fine/extrafine diamond burs; C -Sof-Lex aluminum oxide discs; DSuper-Snap aluminum oxide discs; E -rubber polishing points + fine/extrafine polishing pastes; F -diamond burs + rubber polishing points + fine/extrafine polishing pastes; G -diamond burs + Sof-Lex system; H -diamond burs + Super-Snap system. Data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA and Tukey's HSD test. Significant differences (p<0.05) were detected among both the resins and the finishing/polishing techniques. For all resins, the use of diamond burs resulted in the greatest surface roughness (Ra: 0.69 to 1.44 µm). The lowest Ra means were obtained for the specimens treated with Sof-Lex discs (Ra: 0.11 to 0.25 µm). The Ra values of Durafill were lower than those of Perfection and Filtek Z250, and these in turn had lower Ra than the packable composite resins. Overall, the smoothest surfaces were obtained with the use the complete sequence of Sof-Lex discs. In areas that could not be reached by the aluminum oxide discs, the carbide burs and the association between rubber points and polishing pastes produced satisfactory surface smoothness for the packable and hybrid composite resins, respectively.