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 research aims to diagnose the shortcomings and weaknesses in applying the dimensions of the quality of work life and the extent of their impact on employees’ attitudes and behaviors, and thus their relationship to enhancing their core competencies. The scientific value of the research stems from highlighting the importance of the dimensions of the quality of professional life in improving the productive efficiency of workers in the public sector and raising the level of organizational performance. Because the quality of working life plays an important role in enhancing the core competencies of employees in the public sector, it can also be an incentive or a disincentive for any employee by adapting to the economic and social condit
... Show MoreBackground: Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that mostly involves the spine and sacroiliac joints. It is associated with a decreased quality of life. Biological medicines such as infliximab and its biosimilar are the mainstay treatments for active ankylosing spondylitis.
Objective: The study objective was to conduct a pharmacoeconomic study comparing the cost-effectiveness of the reference infliximab with its biosimilar in ankylosing spondylitis patients visiting public hospitals.
Subjects and Method: This is a two-center pharmacoeconomic study performed at two large teaching governmental hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq, which s
... Show MoreIn this work the effect of choosing tri-circular tube section had been addressed to minimize the end effector’s error, a comparison had been made between the tri-tube section and the traditional square cross section for a robot arm, the study shows that for the same weight of square section and tri-tube section the error may be reduced by about 33%.
A program had been built up by the use of MathCAD software to calculate the minimum weight of a square section robot arm that could with stand a given pay load and gives a minimum deflection. The second part of the program makes an optimization process for the dimension of the cross section and gives the dimensions of the tri-circular tube cross section that have the same weight of
... Show MoreAs cities across the world grow and the mobility of populations increases, there has also been a corresponding increase in the number of vehicles on roads. The result of this has been a proliferation of challenges for authorities with regard to road traffic management. A consequence of this has been congestion of traffic, more accidents, and pollution. Accidents are a still major cause of death, despite the development of sophisticated systems for traffic management and other technologies linked with vehicles. Hence, it is necessary that a common system for accident management is developed. For instance, traffic congestion in most urban areas can be alleviated by the real-time planning of routes. However, the designing of an efficie
... Show MoreSolving problems via artificial intelligence techniques has widely prevailed in different aspects. Implementing artificial intelligence optimization algorithms for NP-hard problems is still challenging. In this manuscript, we work on implementing the Naked Mole-Rat Algorithm (NMRA) to solve the n-queens problems and overcome the challenge of applying NMRA to a discrete space set. An improvement of NMRA is applied using the aspect of local search in the Variable Neighborhood Search algorithm (VNS) with 2-opt and 3-opt. Introducing the Naked Mole Rat algorithm based on variable neighborhood search (NMRAVNS) to solve N-queens problems with different sizes. Finding the best solution or set of solutions within a plausible amount of t
... Show MoreEstablishing coverage of the target sensing field and extending the network’s lifetime, together known as Coverage-lifetime is the key issue in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Recent studies realize the important role of nature-inspired algorithms in handling coverage-lifetime problem with different optimization aspects. One of the main formulations is to define coverage-lifetime problem as a disjoint set covers problem. In this paper, we propose an evolutionary algorithm for solving coverage-lifetime problem as a disjoint set covers function. The main interest in this paper is to reflect both models of sensing: Boolean and probabilistic. Moreover, a heuristic operator is proposed as a local refinement operator to improve the quality
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