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.
An evaluation of pollution level has been done for drinking water which is used in Kirkuk city by heavy metals ( As,Cd,Cu,Fe,Mn,Ni,Zn,Cr,Pb) samples were collected during wet and dry of 2016-2017 from Kirkuk unified water supplied project (WTP) which is supply the city with drinking water, as well as from water of tanks type (GST2), and also from (tap water) (Zone3). The results showed the concentration of the (As,Cd,Cu,Fe,Mn,Ni,Zn,Cr,Pb)inppbfor (WTP)are (0.5,0.6,6.45,38,4.6,2.5,6537,0.58,1.4) (0.6,0.8,6.76,46,5.5,3.5,6675,1,2.4) for (GST) (0.5,0.63,6.46,52.3,4.4,3.6,6550,0.6,2.5) (0.60,0.7,6.78,63.7,6.7,3.7,6680,1.1,2.6) and for tap water are (0.53,0.65,7.00,60.2,4.4,3.65,7200,0.8,2.7) (0.60, 0.71, 7.10, 67.6, 6.8,3.75,7320,0.9,2.75) f
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to investigate the role of prodigiosin on P. aeruginosa' s biofilm genes involved in the pathogenicity and persistency of the bacteria; Materials and methods: Gram negative bacterial isolates were taken from burn and wounds specimen obtained from some of Baghdad hospitals. Forty six isolates were identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and four isolates as Serratia marcescens by using biochemical tests and VITEK 2 compact system. Susceptibility test was performed for all P. aeruginosa isolates, the results showed that 100% were resistant to Amikacin and 98% were sensitive to Meropenem. Resistant isolates were tested for biofilm formation; the strong and moderate isolates (17) were detected by PCR for AlgD gene
... Show MoreBackground: The emergence and spread of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacilliin burn wound infections related to biofilm formation, which lend to challenge in treatment with conventional antibiotics andprompting to search for novel antimicrobial agents to control the infections.Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have wide spectrum biological properties with different mechanisms of action and less toxicity towards human cells.
Objective:The goal of this study was to evaluated the anti-bacterial and anti-biofilm activities of AgNPs alone and in combination with aminoglycoside (Amikacin) and β-lactam (Ampicillin) antibiotics against multidrug resistant Gram-negative bacilli (Pseudomonas aeruginos
... Show MoreBackground Type two diabetes (T2DM) is characterized by insufficient insulin production and secretion. Additionally, the body develops insulin resistance which affects 90–95% of diabetics. Complex cytokines, receptors, genetic pathways, and the immune system are involved in T2DM. Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is one of the inflammatory cytokines associated with Type 2 diabetes. Environmental and genetic variables, including genetic polymorphisms, can increase T2DM risk and its consequences. Single nucleotide gene polymorphisms (SNPs) are important risk factors for diabetes that can be used to find the disease early and treat it better. Objective This study aimed to determine the levels of IL-18 in the serum of Iraqi patients with Type 2 diabetes
... Show MoreThe inhibition ability of the new derivative (quinolin-2-one), namely (1-{[5-(2-Chloro-phenylazo)-2- hydroy-benzylidene]-amino}-4,7-dimethyl -6-nitro- 1H-quinolin-2-one (CPHAQ2O)) towards carbon steel corrosion in (3.5% NaCl) and (0.5M HCl) solutions were evaluated by potentiodynamic polarization at different inhibitor concentrations. Polarization curves showed that the evaluated compound acted as mixed inhibitors, and the adsorption of the evaluated inhibitor obeys the Langmuir adsorption isotherm in both salt and acid solutions. The results revealed that the percentage inhibition efficiency (%IE) in the salty solution (90.55%) is greater than that in the acidic solution (77.62%). The surface changes of the carbon steel and the film per
... Show MoreMixed Kirkuk and Sharki-Baghdad crude oils were distilled into narrow fractions. The range of these narrow fractions were 10oC, starting from IBP to 350oC. The total distillates from mixed Kirkuk and Sharki-Baghdad crude oils were 58.25 vol % and 44.65 vol %, respectively.The hydrocarbons compositions (paraffin, naphthene, aromatic) in light fractions starting from IBP to 250oC were determined by using PONA analysis method. The results show that the paraffin content decreases with increasing mid percent boiling point of the fraction, while the naphthene, and aromatic increase with the increase of mid percent boiling point of mixed Kirkuk and Sharki-Baghdad crude oils. Three groups of empirical equations were developed for the prediction
... Show MoreIn this study the as-deposited and heat treated at 423K of conductive blend graphene oxide (GO)/ poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) thin films was prepared with different PEDOT:PSS concentration (0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1)w/w on pre-cleaned glass substrate by spin coater. The XRD analysis indicate the existence of the preffered peak (001) of GO around 2θ=8.24° which is domain in all GO/ PEDOT:PSS films characterized for GO, this result approve the good quality of the PEDOT:PSS dispersion in GO, this peak shifted to the lower 2θ with increasing PEDOT:PSS concentration and after annealing process. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images and atomic force microscopy (AFM) clearly sh
... Show MoreNasiriyah oilfield is located in the southern part of Iraq. It represents one of the promising oilfields. Mishrif Formation is considered as the main oil-bearing carbonate reservoir in Nasiriyah oilfield, containing heavy oil (API 25o(. The study aimed to calculate and model the petrophysical properties and build a three dimensional geological model for Mishrif Formation, thus estimating the oil reserve accurately and detecting the optimum locations for hydrocarbon production.
Fourteen vertical oil wells were adopted for constructing the structural and petrophysical models. The available well logs data, including density, neutron, sonic, gamma ray, self-potential, caliper and resistivity logs were used to calculate the
... Show MoreThis research studies the rheological properties ( plastic viscosity, yield point and apparent viscosity) of Non-Newtonian fluids under the effect of temperature using different chemical additives, such as (xanthan gum (xc-polymer), carboxyl methyl cellulose ( High and low viscosity ) ,polyacrylamide, polyvinyl alcohol, starch, Quebracho and Chrome Lignosulfonate). The samples were prepared by mixing 22.5g of bentonite with 350 ml of water and adding the additives in four different concentrations (3, 6, 9, 13) g by using Hamilton Beach mixer. The rheological properties of prepared samples were measured by using Fan viscometer model 8-speeds. All the samples were subjected to Bingham plastic model. The temperature range studi
... Show More