Abstract Background: The daily usage of maxillofacial prostheses causes them to mechanically deteriorate with time. This study was aimed to evaluate the reinforcement of VST50F maxillofacial silicone by using yttrium oxide (Y2O3) nanoparticles (NPs) to resist aging and mechanical deterioration. Materials and Method: Y2O3 NPs (30–45nm) were loaded into VST50F maxillofacial silicone in two weight percentages (1 and 1.5 wt%), which were predetermined in a pilot study as the best rates for improving tear strength with minimum increase in hardness values. A total of 120 specimens were prepared and divided into the control and experimental groups (with 1 and 1.5 wt% Y2O3 addition). Each group included 40 specimens, 10 specimens for each parameter tested (i.e., tear strength, surface roughness, hardness, tensile strength and elongation percentage). Specimens were artificially aged in a weathering chamber for 150 h and then tested. Data were analyzed by ANOVA and Tukey’s honestly significant difference (HSD). Statistical significance was set to P ≤ 0.05. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were also conducted. Results and Discussion: SEM results showed that Y2O3 NPs were distributed well within the silicon matrix. FTIR results indicated that the NPs were physically dispersed within VST50F silicone without chemical interaction. After 150 h of accelerated artificial aging, adding Y2O3 NPs significantly increased the tear strength, hardness, surface roughness, and elongation percentage. Tensile strength increased non significantly. Conclusion: Adding Y2O3 NPs as fillers improved the mechanical properties of artificially aged maxillofacial silicone elastomer. Keywords: maxillofacial silicone, Y2O3, nanoparticles, fillers, artificial aging.
The research aims to clarify the COBIT5 framework for IT governance and to develop of a criterion based on Balanced Scorecard that contributes in measuring the performance of IT governance. To achieve these goals, the researchers adopted the deductive approach in the design of balanced scorecard to measure the IT governance at the Bank of Baghdad that was chosen because it relied heavily on IT.
The research has reached a number of conclusions, the most important of which is that the performance of IT department in the Bank of Baghdad falls within the good level that requires constant monitoring, the most committed items of Balanced Scorecard by the Bank were customer, internal operation, growth and finally the financial item; IT
... Show MoreThe removal of heavy metal ions from wastewater by sorptive flotation using Amberlite IR120 as a resin, and flotation column, was investigated. A combined two-stage process is proposed as an alternative of the heavy metals removal from aqueous solutions. The first stage is the sorption of heavy metals onto Amberlite IR120 followed by dispersed-air flotation. The sorption of metal ions on the resin, depending on contact time, pH, resin dosage, and initial metal concentration was studied in batch method .Various parameters such as pH, air flow rate, and surfactant concentration were investigated in the flotation stage. Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and Hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (HTAB) were used as anionic and cationic surfactant re
... Show MoreThe current research aims at testing the relationship between organizational immunity and preventing administrative and financial corruption (AFC) in Iraq. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences program (R& SPSS) was used to analyse the associated questionnaire data. The research problem has examined how to activate the functions of the organizational immune system to enable it to face organizational risks, attempt to prevent administrative and financial corruption, and access the mechanisms by which to develop organizational immunity. A sample of 161 individuals was taken who worked in the Directorate General of Education, Karbala. Also, it was concluded to a lack of memory function for organizational immunity. In a
... Show MoreThe degradation of Toluidine Blue dye in aqueous solution under UV irradiation is investigated by using photo-Fenton oxidation (UV/H2O2/Fe+). The effect of initial dye concentration, initial ferrous ion concentration, pH, initial hydrogen peroxide dosage, and irradiation time are studied. It is found put that the removal rate increases as the initial concentration of H2O2 and ferrous ion increase to optimum value ,where in we get more than 99% removal efficiency of dye at pH = 4 when the [H2O2] = 500mg / L, [Fe + 2 = 150mg / L]. Complete degradation was achieved in the relatively short time of 75 minutes. Faster decolonization is achieved at low pH, with the optimal value at pH 4 .The concentrations of degradation dye are detected by spectr
... Show MoreNet pay is one of the most important parameters used in determining initial oil in place of a reservoir. It can be delineated through the using of limiting values of the petrophysical properties of the reservoir. Those limiting values are named as the cutoff. This paper provides an insight into the application of regression line method in estimating porosity, clay volume and water saturation cutoff values in Mishrif reservoir/ Missan oil fields. The study included 29 wells distributed in seven oilfields of Halfaya, Buzurgan, Dujaila, Noor, Fauqi, Amara and Kumait.
This study is carried out by applying two types of linear regressions: Least square and Reduce Major Axis Regression.
The Mishrif formation was
... Show MoreResearchers used different methods such as image processing and machine learning techniques in addition to medical instruments such as Placido disc, Keratoscopy, Pentacam;to help diagnosing variety of diseases that affect the eye. Our paper aims to detect one of these diseases that affect the cornea, which is Keratoconus. This is done by using image processing techniques and pattern classification methods. Pentacam is the device that is used to detect the cornea’s health; it provides four maps that can distinguish the changes on the surface of the cornea which can be used for Keratoconus detection. In this study, sixteen features were extracted from the four refractive maps along with five readings from the Pentacam software. The
... Show MoreThe analysis of Iraqi light oil (light naphtha) by capillary gas chromatography- mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was performed by the injection of whole naphtha sample without use of solvents. Qualitative analysis and the identification of the hydrocarbon constituents of light naphtha was performed and comparison had been done with American light oil (light naphtha). The obtained results showed a major difference between the two-light naphtha.
Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of aromatic compounds that contain at least two rings. These compounds are found naturally in petroleum products and are considered the most prevalent pollutants in the environment. The lack of microorganism capable of degrading some PAHs led to their accumulation in the environment which usually causes major health problems as many of these compounds are known carcinogens. Xanthene is one of the small PAHs which has three rings. Many xanthene derivatives are useful dyes that are used for dyeing wood and cosmetic articles. However, several studies have illustrated that these compounds have toxic and carcinogenic effects. The first step of the bacterial degradation of xanthene is conducted by d
... Show MoreCarbon nanotubes (CNTs) were synthesized via liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as precursor using flame fragments deposition (FFD) technique. In vitro, biological activates of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) synthesized by FFD technique were investigated. The physiochemical characterizations of synthesized CNTs are similar to other synthesized CNTs and to the standard sample. Pharmaceutical application of synthesized CNTs was studied via conjugation and adsorption with different types of medicines as promote groups. The conjugation of CNTs was performed by adsorption the drugs such as sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and trimethoprim (TMP) on CNTs depending on physical properties of both bonded parts. The synthesized CNTs almost have the same performance in a
... Show More