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.
Cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanocrystalline thin films have been prepared by chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique on commercial glass substrates at 70ºC temperature. Cadmium chloride (CdCl2) as a source of cadmium (Cd), thiourea (CS(NH2)2) as a source of sulfur and ammonia solution (NH4OH) were added to maintain the pH value of the solution at 10. The characterization of thin films was carried out through the structural and optical properties by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-VIS spectroscopy. A UV-VIS optical spectroscopy study was carried out to determine the band gap of the nanocrystalline CdS thin film and it showed a blue shift with respect to the bulk value (from 3.9 - 2.4eV). In present w
... Show MoreThis study aimed to explore the manufacture of high-fat pellets for obesity induction diets in male Wistar rats and determined its effect on lipid profiles and body mass index. It was an experimental laboratory method with a post-test randomized control group. Formulation of high-fat pellets (HFD) and physico-chemical characteristics of pellets were conducted in September 2019. This study used about 28 male Wistar white rats, two months old, and 150-200 g body weight. Rats were acclimatized for seven days, then divided into four groups: 7 rats were given a standard feed of Confeed PARS CP594 (P0), and three groups (P1, P2, P3) were given high-fat feed (HFD FII) 30 g/head/day. The result showed that the mean fat content of Formula II pell
... Show MoreA total of 200 samples (180 fecal materials and 20 organ samples) were collected from (5 different poultry farms, 10 local poultry shops, 5 houses poultry, 5 Eggs stores shops and 5hand slaughters centers) in Ibb city, Yemen, 2014. According to morphological, cultural, as well as biochemical characterization and serological tests, 59(29.5%) isolates were identified as Salmonella spp. and all Salmonella isolates were categorized by serotype, which comprised of, 37(62.71%) Salmonella Typhimurium serovar, 21(35.59%). Salmonella Enteritidis serovar and 1(1.69%) Salmonella Heidlberg serovar. Antibiotic sensitivity test was done for bacterial isolates and the results showed there were clear differences in antibiotic resistant. Antimicrobial
... Show MoreBackground: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic autoimmune illness, which is consider by three main features: Sclerotic changes in the skin and internal organs, Vasculopathy of small blood vessels, Particular autoantibodies (1). The most important autoantibodies appeared significantly in SSc patients are anti-topoisomerase I autoantibody (Scl-70), anti-centromere autoantibody (ACA), and anti-RNA polymerase III autoantibody (RNAP3) (2). Anti-centromere antibodies (ACA) are infrequent in rheumatic conditions and in healthy persons but occur commonly in limited systemic sclerosis (CREST syndrome), and rarely appeared in the diffuse form of systemic sclerosis (3). Anti-Ro/SSA and antiLa/SSB, antibodies directed against Ro/La ribonucleoprot
... Show MoreThe Research aims to investigate into reality in terms of planning and scheduling management process for sake the implementation and maintenance of irrigation and drainage projects in the Republic of Iraq, with an indication of the most important obstacles that impede the planning and scheduling management process for these projects and ways of addressing them and minimizing their effects. For the purpose of achieving the goal of the research, a sci
... Show More The Influence of annealing temperature on the optical properties of (CuInSe2) thin films was studied. Thermal evaporation in vacuum technique has been used for films deposited on glass substrates, these films were annealed in vacuum at (100C°, 200C°) for (2 hours). The optical properties were studied in the range (300-900) nm. The obtained results revealed a reduction in energy band gap with annealing temperature . optical parameters such as reflectance, refractive index, extinction coefficient, real and imaginary parts of the dielectric constant, skin depth and optical conductivity are investigated before and after annealing. It was found that all these parameters were affected by annealing temperature.
Tin dioxide doped silver oxide thin films with different x content (0, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07) have been prepared by pulse laser deposition technique (PLD) at room temperatures (RT). The effect of doping concentration on the structural and electrical properties of the films were studied. Atomic Force Measurement (AFM) measurements found that the average value of grain size for all films at RT decrease with increasing of AgO content. While an average roughness values increase with increasing x content. The electrical properties of these films were studied with different x content. The D.C conductivity for all films increases with increasing x content. Also, it found that activation energies decrease with increasing of AgO content for all films.
... Show MoreThe functional properties of the defatted powder and protein isolate of germinated mung bean seeds were studied and the estimation of the amino acids was carried out. The results showed a significant increase in the values of the amino acids leucine, lysine, phenylalanine and valine. The results of studying the functional properties of the protein isolate and defatted powder showed that there were significant differences between the sample The defatted and protein isolate, if the water absorption capacity of the defatted mung powder was 2.5% water/gm protein and the water absorption capacity of the protein isolate was 3%ml water/g protein, the fat binding capacity of the defatted powder was 0.3 ml fat/g protein and the isolate The ratio was
... Show Morerop simulation models play a pivotal role in evaluating irrigation management strategies to improve water use in agriculture. The aim of this study is to verify the validity of the Aquacrop model of maize under the surface and sprinkler irrigation systems, and a cultivation system, borders and furrows, and for two varieties of Maze (Fajr and Drakma) At two different sites in Iraq, Babylon and Al-Qadisiyah governorates. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of the Aquacrop model in simulating canopy cover (CC), biomass (B), dry yield, harvest index (HI), and water productivity (WP). The results of RMSE, R2, MAE, d, NSE, CC, Pe indicated good results and high compatibility between measured and simulated values. The highest a
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