Resilient polymeric materials such as silicone elastomers are currently used for maxillofacial prostheses construction but the strength of these materials and their clinical performance need to be optimized with the addition of reinforcing fillers. This study investigates the effect of zirconia nanopowder addition on tear strength, tensile strength, elongation at break, Shore A hardness, surface roughness and cytotoxicity of VST-50 maxillofacial silicone. Silicone base was mixed with different amounts (1%, 2% and 3%) of zirconia nanopowder using a vacuum mixer. Silicone without filler was used as control for comparison. Scanning Electron Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy were utilized to assess the efficiency of high-shear vacuum mixing as filler dispersion method and the surface topography, respectively. Both SEM and AFM images showed that the zirconia nanopowder were distributed fairly well within the polymer. Statistically, highly significant increase in tear strength, tensile strength and hardness with non-significant decrease in elongation at break and non-significant increase in surface roughness were seen with 1% and 2% groups. Whereas with 3% group, there was significant improvement in tear strength, tensile strength and hardness but there was significant undesirable decrease in elongation and increase in roughness. Cytotoxicity test revealed that the addition of zirconia nanopowder was nontoxic to Rat Embryonic Fibroblast (REF) cells and there was non-significant change in the cell viability of all study groups after 24- and 72-hours incubation periods. In conclusion, the addition of 2% by weight nano zirconia to VST-50 maxillofacial silicone could be beneficial in enhancing its performance.
The structural, optical and electrical properties of ZnS films prepared by vacuum
evaporation technique on glass substrate at room temperature and treated at different
annealing temperatures (323, 373, 423)K of thickness (0.5)µm have been studied. The
structure of these films is determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The X-ray diffraction
studies show that the structure is polycrystalline with cubic structure, and there are strong
peaks at the direction (111).
The optical properties investigated which include the absorbance and transmittance
spectra, energy band gab, absorption coefficient, and other optical constants. The results
showed that films have direct optical transition. The optical band gab was
This work used the deposition method to synthesize nickel oxide nanoparticles. The materials mainly used in this study were nickel sulfate hexahydrate (as a precursor) and NaOH (as a precipitant). The properties of the nanopowder were characterized by XRD, FE-SEM, EDX, and VSM. The obtained results confirmed the presence of nickel oxide nanoparticles with a face-centered cubic (FCC) structure with a lattice constant (a=4.17834 Å). Scherer and Williamson-Hall equations were used to calculate the crystallite size of about (30.5-35.5) nm. The FE-SEM images showed that the particle shape had a ball-like appearance with a uniform and homogeneous distribution and confirmed that the particles were within the nanoscale. The presence of oxygen a
... Show MoreThe photo-electrochemical etching (PECE) method has been utilized to create pSi samples on n-type silicon wafers (Si). Using the etching time 12 and 22 min while maintaining the other parameters 10 mA/cm2 current density and HF acid at 75% concentration.. The capacitance and resistance variation were studied as the temperature increased and decreased for prepared samples at frequencies 10 and 20 kHz. Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the bore width, depth, and porosity % were validated. The formation of porous silicon was confirmed by x-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, the crystal size was decreased, and photoluminescence (PL) spectra revealed that the emission peaks were centered at 2q of 28.5619° and 28.7644° for et
... Show MoreThe guava plant, Psidium guajava L., serves as proof of the abundant donations of nature, providing a delicious guava fruit; this plant is rich in groups of medicinal and nutritional benefits. Guava belonging to the Myrtaceae family, many previous studies reported many phytochemical constituents in its leaves that have many pharmacological activities and medicinal properties; this study focuses on the isolation, structural elucidation and calculation concentration of flavonoids, assessment of the cytotoxic activityof hyperin from Psidium guajava leaves newly cultivated in Iraq. The isolation process involved the use of thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (PHPLC) and structural eluci
... Show MoreMarketing is one of the most important pillars on which most industrial and commercial sectors depend on evaluating their performance, improving their financial position, development and economic growth. The presence of effective marketing activities in any industrial or commercial organization (which works to meet the requirements of customers in order to ensure the integration of trading and handling rings with consumers and to ensure the growth of the marketing process regularly and not to retreat) effectively contributes to maintaining the company's position between its competitors and its customers. It is necessary to have these marketing activities in order to meet the requirements of the organization on the one hand and to
... Show MorePorosity and permeability are the most difficult properties to determine in subsurface reservoir characterization. The difficulty of estimating them arising from the fact that porosity and permeability may vary significantly over the reservoir volume, and can only be sampled at well location. Secondly, the porosity values are commonly evaluated from the well log data, which are usually available from most wells in the reservoir, but permeability values, which are generally determined from core analysis, are not usually available. The aim of this study is: First, to develop correlations between the core and the well log data which can be used to estimate permeability in uncored wells, these correlations enable to estimate reservoir permeabil
... Show More
This research aims to the possibility of evaluating the strategic performance of the State Board for Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) using a balanced scorecard of four criteria (Financial, Customers, Internal Processes, and Learning and Growth). The main challenge was that the State Board use traditional evaluation in measuring employee performance, activities, and projects. Case study and field interviews methodology has been adopted in this research with a sample consisting of the Chairman of the State Board, 6 General Managers, and 7 Department Managers who are involved in evaluating the strategic performance and deciding the suitable answers on the checklists to analyze it ac
... Show MoreThis research aims to the possibility of evaluating the strategic performance of the State Board for Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) using a balanced scorecard of four criteria (Financial, Customers, Internal Processes, and Learning and Growth). The main challenge was that the State Board use traditional evaluation in measuring employee performance, activities, and projects. Case study and field interviews methodology has been adopted in this research with a sample consisting of the Chairman of the State Board, 6 General Managers, and 7 Department Managers who are involved in evaluating the strategic performance and deciding the suitable answers on the checklists to analyze it according to the 7-points Likert scale. Data analysis re
... Show MoreBackground and Objectives: Wound healing is a complex process with overlapping phases haemostasis, inflammation, proliferation and maturation/matrix remodeling. Each phase of wound healing requires different management strategies, and inappropriate treatment can delay wound healing. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of topical application of calmodulin as a significant augmentation of the granulation tissue production process of wound healing and to express of genes CaMKK2, MaP2K6 and CXCR4 at site of wound defect, that have versatile effects on the body and they belong to Ca/camodulin related genes. Material and Methods: In this study thirty albino male rats, weighting (300-400) gram, aged (6-8) months, wil
... Show More