Background. Dental implantation has become a standard procedure with high success rates, relying on achieving osseointegration between the implant surface and surrounding bone tissue. Polyether ether ketone (PEEK) is a promising alternative to traditional dental implant materials like titanium, but its osseointegration capabilities are limited due to its hydrophobic nature and reduced surface roughness. Objective. The aim of the study is to increase the surface roughness and hydrophilicity of PEEK by treating the surface with piranha solution and then coating the surface with epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) by electrospraying technique. Materials and Methods. The study includes four groups intended to investigate the effect of piranha treatment and EGCG coating: a control group of PEEK discs with no treatment (C), PEEK samples treated with piranha solution (P), a group of PEEK samples coated with EGCG (E), and a group of PEEK samples treated with piranha solution and coated with EGCG (PE). Surface roughness, wettability, and microhardness were assessed through statistical analysis. Results. Piranha treatment increased surface roughness, while EGCG coating moderated it, resulting in an intermediate roughness in the PE group. EGCG significantly improved wettability, as indicated by the reduced contact angle. Microhardness increased by about 20% in EGCG-coated groups compared to noncoated groups. Statistical analysis confirmed significant differences between groups in all tests. Conclusion. This study demonstrates the potential of EGCG coating to enhance the surface properties of PEEK as dental implants. The combined piranha and EGCG modification approach shows promise for improved osseointegration, although further vivo research is necessary. Surface modification techniques hold the key to optimizing biomaterial performance, bridging the gap between laboratory findings and clinical implementation in dental implantology.
The thermal performance of indirect expansion solar assisted heat pump, IX-SAHP, was investigated experimentally under Iraqi climate. An Indirect-Solar Assisted Heat Pump system was designed, built, instrumented and tested. Experimental tests were conducted by varying the controlling parameters to investigate their effects on the thermal performance of the IX-SAHP such as cooling water flow rate, heating water flow rate, ambient temperature and solar radiation intensity. The investigation covered values of cooling water flow rate of (2, 3, 4, 5 l/min) and heating water flow rate of (2, 3, 4, 5 l/min) under meteorological condition of Baghdad from November 2014 to January 2015.
The results indicated that the performance of the IX-
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The research aims to achieve defining the concept of environmental quality and associated costs. Studying the impact of environmental quality costs on the performance of economic units. Measuring the relationship between environmental quality and environmental performance of the units. Where the research problem is represented in the weak awareness of some economic units of the importance of environmental quality costs and their impact on evaluating environmental performance, and this leads to neglecting environmental considerations and not improving environmental performance effectively, which negatively affects the en
... Show MoreWhen the number of confirmed coronavirus disease cases rose in Iraq in the middle of February 2021, the Iraqi government performed a closure approach to constrain mobility and factory operations and enforce social distancing. In this research, the concentrations of air components (PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3)), which represent herein the degree of air quality index, were recorded, drawn and evaluated over central (Baghdad, the capital), northern (Kirkuk Province) and southern (Basra Province) Iraq before and during the closure. The experimental duration of this research was 6 months (from 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2021), which
... Show MoreBackground: This in vitro study evaluated the fracture resistance of weakened endodontically treated premolars with class II MOD cavities restored with different composite restorations (Low-shrinkage Filtek P90, nanohybrid Filtek Z250 XT and SDR bulk fill). The type and mode of fracture were also assessed for all the experimental groups. Materials and Method: Fifty human adult maxillary premolar teeth were selected for this study. Standardized extensive class II MOD cavities with endodontic treatment were prepared for all teeth, except those that were saved as intact control. The teeth were divided into five groups of ten teeth each (n=10): (Group 1) intact control group, (Group 2) unrestored teeth with endodontic treatment, (Group 3) resto
... Show MorePhotovoltaic (PV) devices are widely used renewable energy resources and have been increasingly manufactured by many firms and trademarks. This condition makes the selection of right product difficult and requires the development of a fast, accurate and easy setup that can be implemented to test available samples and select the cost effective, efficient, and reliable product for implementation. An automated test setup for PV panels using LabVIEW and several microcontroller-based embedded systems were designed, tested, and implemented. This PV testing system was fully automated, where the only human intervention required was the instalment of PV panel and set up of required testing conditions. The designed and implemented system was
... Show MoreBackground: Hypertension is a chronic medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is elevated, it's classified as either primary (essential) hypertension or secondary hypertension, and it increases the risk of ischemic heart disease, peripheral vascular disease and other cardiovascular diseases. Several classes of medications collectively referred to as antihypertensive drugs like beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, renin inhibitors and statins (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor. Statin medication may have some beneficial effects when subjects have dental plaque or signs of periodontitis as gingival bleeding. The purpose of this study were to as
... Show Moreadvancing age. The risk of cardiovascular disease in adults is lowest with systolic BP <120 mm Hg and diastolic BP < 80 mm Hg and increases progressively with higher systolic and diastolic blood pressures. Acupuncture (from the Latin word acus, “needle”, and pungere, meaning “prick”) is a technique in which the practitioner inserts fine needles into specific points on the patient’s body. Accupuncture could be used as a nonpharmacological way of controlling high readings of blood pressure among cases with essential hypertension. This study aimed to investigate the effects of acupuncture on essential hypertension.
Patients and Methods: 51 hypertensive patients of both genders and 30 normotensive control subjects were inv
The synthesis and properties of two new series of compounds having 1,3-Oxazepineand 1,3-thiazole rings connected through azo linkage are reported. These compounds weresynthesized by the reaction of phthalic anhydride with Schiff bases. The molecular structuresof these compounds were verified by elemental analysis, FTIR and 1HNMR spectroscopy.The mesomorphic behaviors of these compounds were studied by optical polarizedmicroscopy (OPM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). All compounds of the twoseries show liquid crystalline properties. The influence of the central oxazepine and thiazolerings and the terminal substituents on the type and temperature range of the mesomorphousproperties of these compounds has been elucidated