Background: The microhardness of a composite resin is a vital parameter that is used to determine its clinical behavior. Measuring the microhardness of a composite resin has been used as an indirect method to assess its degree of conversion and extent of polymerization. The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effect of three curing distances (0, 2, and 4 mm) on the microhardness of the top and bottom surfaces of three types of flowable bulk-fill composite resins (smart dentin replacement, Opus bulk fill flow, and Tetric N). Material and method: Sixty-three specimens from the three types of composite resins (n=21) were fabricated using Teflon mold with a 4mm depth and a 5 mm internal diameter and cured for 20 seconds. For e

The current study performed in order to detect and quantify epicatechin in two tea samples of Camellia sinensis (black and green tea) by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Extraction of epicatechin from black and green tea was done by using two different methods: maceration (cold extraction method) and decoction (hot extraction method). Qualitative and quantitative determinations of epicatechin in two tea samples were investigated. Epicatechin identification was made by utilizing preliminary chemical tests and TLC. This identification was also boosted by HPLC and then quantified epicatechin in all ethyl acetate fractions of two tea samples. This research revealed the existence of epica

Zinc Oxide nanoparticles were prepared using pulsed laser ablation process from a pure zinc metal placed inside a liquid environment. The latter is composed of acetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) of 10−3 molarity and distilled water. A Ti:Sapphire laser of 800 nm wavelength, 1 kHz pulse repetition rate, 130 fs pulse duration is used at three values of pulse energies of 0.05 mJ, 1.11 mJ and 1.15 mJ. The evaluation of the optical properties for the obtained suspension was applied through ultraviolet–visible absorption spectroscopy test (UV/VIS). The result showed peak wavelengths at 210 nm, 211 nm and 213 nm for the three used pulse energies 0.05 mJ, 1.11 mJ and 1.15 mJ respectively. This indicates a blue shift,

A rapid high performance liquid chromatography method for the determination of sphinganine (Sa) and sphingosine (So) in urine samples by employing a silica-based monolithic column is described. The samples were first extracted using ethyl acetate and derivatized using ortho-phthaldialdehyde in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol. C20 sphinganine was used as internal standard. Under the optimized conditions, separation was achieved using a mixture of methanol:water (93:7, v/v), column temperature at 30°C, flow rate of 1 mL min−1, and an injection volume of 10 μL. Good linearity was obtained for Sa and So over the concentration range 20–500 ng mL−1(correlation coefficients ≥0.9978). The detection limits were 0.45 ng mL−1 for Sa and

In this paper, membrane-based computing image segmentation, both region-based and edge-based, is proposed for medical images that involve two types of neighborhood relations between pixels. These neighborhood relations—namely, 4-adjacency and 8-adjacency of a membrane computing approach—construct a family of tissue-like P systems for segmenting actual 2D medical images in a constant number of steps; the two types of adjacency were compared using different hardware platforms. The process involves the generation of membrane-based segmentation rules for 2D medical images. The rules are written in the P-Lingua format and appended to the input image for visualization. The findings show that the neighborhood relations between pixels o

Steel fiber aluminum matrix composites were prepared by atomization technique. Different air atomization conditions were considered; which were atomization pressure and distance between sample and nozzle. Tensile stress properties were studied. XRF and XRD techniques were used to study the primary compositions and the structure of the raw materials and the atomized products. The tensile results showed that the best reported tensile strength observed for an atomization pressure equal to 4 mbar and sample to nozzle distance equal to 12 cm. Young modulus results showed that the best result occurred with an air atomization pressure equal to 8 mbar and sample to nozzle distance equal to 16cm

The current study was designed to remove Lead, Copper and Zinc from industrial wastewater using Lettuce leaves (Lactuca sativa) within three forms (fresh, dried and powdered) under some environmental factors such as pH, temperature and contact time. Current data show that Lettuce leaves are capable of removing Lead, Copper and Zinc ions at significant capacity. Furthermore, the powder of Lettuce leaves had highest capability in removing all metal ions. The highest capacity was for Lead then Copper and finally Zinc. However, some examined factors were found to have significant impacts upon bioremoval capacity of studied ions, where best biosorption capacity was found at pH 4, at temperature 50º C and contact time of 1 hour.

In order to study the effect of inoculation with mycorrhiza and fertilization with plant residues on the growth of plants, we used two factors: the first two levels of mycorrhiza inoculation, Glumus mossea (0 and 10 g.pot-1) and the second factor, four levels of plant residues (10 g.pot-1) celery plant residues, 10 g pot-1 mint residues, and 10 g pot-1 black bean seed residues. Mychorrizal treatment (10 g pot-1) increased the number of mycorrhiza spores and the infection percentage of mycorrhizal by 917.44% and 13088.23%, respectively; celery treatment (10 g.pot-1) increased the chlorophyll index in the leaves and height of the chard plant by 31.34% and 94.04%, respectively; and black seed treatment (10 g.pot-1) increased the percen

The effect of heat treatment on the optical properties of the bulk heterojunction blend nickel (II) phthalocyanine tetrasulfonic acid tetrasodium salt and Tris (8-hydroxyquinolinato) Aluminum (NiPcTs/Alq3) thin films which prepared by spin coating was described in this study. The films coated on a glass substrate with speed of 1500 rpm for 1.5 min and treated with different annealing temperature (373, 423 and 473) K. The samples characterized using UV-Vis, X ray diffraction and Fourier transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra, XRD patterns indicated the presence of amorphous and polycrystalline blend (NiPcTs/Alq3). The results of UV visible shows that the band gap increase with increasing the annealing temperature up to 373 K and decreases with