Introduction: Carrier-based gutta-percha is an effective method of root canal obturation creating a 3-dimensional filling; however, retrieval of the plastic carrier is relatively difficult, particularly with smaller sizes. The purpose of this study was to develop composite carriers consisting of polyethylene (PE), hydroxyapatite (HA), and strontium oxide (SrO) for carrier-based root canal obturation. Methods: Composite fibers of HA, PE, and SrO were fabricated in the shape of a carrier for delivering gutta-percha (GP) using a melt-extrusion process. The fibers were characterized using infrared spectroscopy and the thermal properties determined using differential scanning calorimetry. The elastic modulus and tensile strength tests were determined using a universal testing machine. The radiographic appearance was established using digital periapical radiographs. Results: The composite core carrier exhibited a melting point of 111°C to 112°C, which would facilitate removal by heat application. The elastic modulus and the tensile strength were found to be lower than those of Thermafil carriers (Dentsply Tulsa Dental, Tulsa, OK). The preliminary radiographic evaluation showed that the novel composite core carrier is sufficiently radiopaque and can be distinguished from gutta-percha. Conclusions: The PE-HA-SrO composites were successfully melt processed into composite core carriers for delivering gutta-percha into the root canal space.
The control of prostheses and their complexities is one of the greatest challenges limiting wide amputees’ use of upper limb prostheses. The main challenges include the difficulty of extracting signals for controlling the prostheses, limited number of degrees of freedom (DoF), and cost-prohibitive for complex controlling systems. In this study, a real-time hybrid control system, based on electromyography (EMG) and voice commands (VC) is designed to render the prosthesis more dexterous with the ability to accomplish amputee’s daily activities proficiently. The voice and EMG systems were combined in three proposed hybrid strategies, each strategy had different number of movements depending on the combination protocol between voic
... Show MoreDandruff and seborrheic dermatitis (SD) are common skin disorders affecting the scalp and extending to other body sites in the case of SD. They are associated with pruritus and scaling, causing an esthetical disturbance in the population affected. Treatment of such conditions involves using a variety of drugs for long terms, thus optimizing drug formulation is essential to improve therapeutic efficacy and patient compliance. Conventional topical formulations like shampoos and creams have been widely used but their use is associated with disadvantages. To overcome such effects, novel topical nanotechnology-based formulations are currently under investigation. In the following article, we highlight recently published formulatio
... Show MoreThe rapid development of telemedicine services and the requirements for exchanging medical information between physicians, consultants, and health institutions have made the protection of patients’ information an important priority for any future e-health system. The protection of medical information, including the cover (i.e. medical image), has a specificity that slightly differs from the requirements for protecting other information. It is necessary to preserve the cover greatly due to its importance on the reception side as medical staff use this information to provide a diagnosis to save a patient's life. If the cover is tampered with, this leads to failure in achieving the goal of telemedicine. Therefore, this work provides an in
... Show MoreFuzzy logic is used to solve the load flow and contingency analysis problems, so decreasing computing time and its the best selection instead of the traditional methods. The proposed method is very accurate with outstanding computation time, which made the fuzzy load flow (FLF) suitable for real time application for small- as well as large-scale power systems. In addition that, the FLF efficiently able to solve load flow problem of ill-conditioned power systems and contingency analysis. The FLF method using Gaussian membership function requires less number of iterations and less computing time than that required in the FLF method using triangular membership function. Using sparsity technique for the input Ybus sparse matrix data gi
... Show MoreThis paper proposes a new encryption method. It combines two cipher algorithms, i.e., DES and AES, to generate hybrid keys. This combination strengthens the proposed W-method by generating high randomized keys. Two points can represent the reliability of any encryption technique. Firstly, is the key generation; therefore, our approach merges 64 bits of DES with 64 bits of AES to produce 128 bits as a root key for all remaining keys that are 15. This complexity increases the level of the ciphering process. Moreover, it shifts the operation one bit only to the right. Secondly is the nature of the encryption process. It includes two keys and mixes one round of DES with one round of AES to reduce the performance time. The W-method deals with
... Show MoreIn this paper a new method is proposed to perform the N-Radon orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), which are equivalent to 4-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), 16-QAM, 64-QAM, 256-QAM, ... etc. in spectral efficiency. This non conventional method is proposed in order to reduce the constellation energy and increase spectral efficiency. The proposed method gives a significant improvement in Bit Error Rate performance, and keeps bandwidth efficiency and spectrum shape as good as conventional Fast Fourier Transform based OFDM. The new structure was tested and compared with conventional OFDM for Additive White Gaussian Noise, flat, and multi-path selective fading channels. Simulation tests were generated for different channels
... Show MoreContinuous turbidimetric analysis (CTA) for a distinctive analytical application by employing a homemade analyser (NAG Dual & Solo 0-180°) which contained two consecutive detection zones (measuring cells 1 & 2) is described. The analyser works based on light-emitting diodes as a light source and a set of solar cells as a light detector for turbidity measurements without needing further fibres or lenses. Formation of a turbid precipitated product with yellow colour due to the reaction between the warfarin and the precipitation reagent (Potassium dichromate) is what the developed method is based on. The CTA method was applied to determine the warfarin in pure form and pharmaceu
Continuous turbidimetric analysis (CTA) for a distinctive analytical application by employing a homemade analyser (NAG Dual & Solo 0-180°) which contained two consecutive detection zones (measuring cells 1 & 2) is described. The analyser works based on light-emitting diodes as a light source and a set of solar cells as a light detector for turbidity measurements without needing further fibres or lenses. Formation of a turbid precipitated product with yellow colour due to the reaction between the warfarin and the precipitation reagent (Potassium dichromate) is what the developed method is based on. The CTA method was applied to determine the warfarin in pure form and pharmaceu
Unconfined Compressive Strength is considered the most important parameter of rock strength properties affecting the rock failure criteria. Various research have developed rock strength for specific lithology to estimate high-accuracy value without a core. Previous analyses did not account for the formation's numerous lithologies and interbedded layers. The main aim of the present study is to select the suitable correlation to predict the UCS for hole depth of formation without separating the lithology. Furthermore, the second aim is to detect an adequate input parameter among set wireline to determine the UCS by using data of three wells along ten formations (Tanuma, Khasib, Mishrif, Rumaila, Ahmady, Maudud, Nahr Um
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