Background: The daily cleaning routine of the silicone maxillofacial prostheses by the patient may cause some alteration in the materials properties. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of different disinfection procedures on some properties of silicon dioxide reinforced Cosmesil M511 HTV maxillofacial silicone. Materials and Methods: One hundred and sixty (160) specimens were prepared by mixing 5% SiO2 nano particles and 0.5% intrinsic cream color into the silicone polymer according to manufacturer's instructions. Specimens were divided into 4 groups according to the performed test (tear strength, surface hardness, surface roughness and color) with 40 specimens each. Each group was further subdivided according to the disinfection procedure conducted (control, microwave exposure, neutral soap and 4% chlorhexidine gluconate). Measurements for tear strength were done using universal testing machine. Surface hardness test was carried out with a Shore A Durometer. Surface roughness was analyzed with a portable digital Profilometer. Color change was established with a Spectrophotometer. After the initial testing, all specimens were submitted to disinfection procedure 3 times a week for 60 days. Measurements were repeated and data were statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Fisher's LSD or Games-Howell test. Results: Spectrophotometer results showed non-significant decrease in the light absorbance of all experimental groups after disinfection, indicating a strong integration between the nano filler and the polymeric chains, which was not broken during the disinfection procedure. Highly-significant increase in Shore A hardness was recorded, while the decrease in surface roughness was highly significant in all experimental groups. Tear strength reduced significantly after disinfection in all experimental groups. Conclusion: Disinfection seemed to cause different amount of alteration in all of the tested properties of silicone. High color stability is expected in this type of maxillofacial silicone after disinfection.Although microwave exposure had increased the hardness of the material, it is considered a satisfactory disinfection procedure since it caused the least effect on the tear strength and surface roughness of the material. Therefore, microwave exposure is recommended for the disinfection of maxillofacial silicone prostheses.
The present study experimentally and numerically investigated the impact behavior of composite reinforced concrete (RC) beams with the pultruded I-GFRP and I-steel beams. Eight specimens of two groups were cast in different configurations. The first group consisted of four specimens and was tested under static load to provide reference results for the second group. The four specimens in the second group were tested first under impact loading and then static loading to determine the residual static strengths of the impacted specimens. The test variables considered the type of encased I-section (steel and GFRP), presence of shear connectors, and drop height during impact tests. A mass of 42.5 kg was dropped on the top surface at the m
... Show MoreThis study aims to compare the response of reinforced concrete (RC) T-beams strengthened with carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite with that of non-strengthened control beams when subjected to monotonic two-point loading until failure for flexural once and shear again. The experimental programme tested eight RC T-beams, which included two reference beams without strengthening and six strengthened beams. The eight beams were divided into two main groups according to strengthening (flexural and shear). Experimental analysis was performed to study the effect of the CFRP laminate width in the flexural group and the spacing of CFRP U-wrap sheets in the shear group on the ultimate load capacity, load-strain relationship, and l
... Show MoreA total of 258 voluntary blood donors (males 101; females 157) in the age range of 18-52 yr among males and 18-55 yr among females were examined for Toxoplasma gondii antibodies (IgG), and (IgM) by immunological technique (Enzyme linked Immunosorbant Assay) during the period from March 2009 to April 2010. This study covered a wide range of factors including immunological, age ,sex , place of residence and symptoms that may have a possible relationship with toxoplasmosis. Results presented in this study showed clearly that 38 (14.7%) of individuals participated in this study having IgG Toxoplasma Ab, among those 10 samples (9.9%) were males and 28 samples (17.8%) were females. Moreover, we found the prevalence of IgM seropositivity in th
... Show MoreA series of experiments were conducted for the first time in Iraq to evaluate the efficiency of five plant leaves extracts (Ibicella lutea, Nerium oleander, Clerodendron inerme, Allium cepa and Eucalyptus spp.) in treating the common carp (Cyprinus carpio) infected with monogenetic trematodes of genera Dactylogyrus. Five different concentrations of such extracts were used to bathe fishes for 5,10,15,20 and 25 minutes. A concentration of 15% A. cepa for 25 minutes of bath exposure was affective in trematode eradication. Extracts of both Eucalyptus and N. oleander at a concentration of 10% each were also affective for ten minutes exposure. Extracts of C. inerme had no any effect on such parasites. On the otherhand, extracts of 1. hitea caused
... Show MoreThe Antimicrobial activity of Probiotic Bifidobacterium sp and Prebiotics : chicory roots ( Hot water extract ) and Inulin ( 10 % ) against some Pathogenic bacteria (Esherichia coli , Proteus mirabilis , Klebsiella sp , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Serratia marcescens was studied . The combination of Probiotic and Prebiotics (Synbiotic) (Bifidobacterium sp + chicory ) and (Bifidobacterium sp + Inulin ) also tested for their antimicrobial activity against Pathogenic bacteria . Results showed that Bifidobacterium sp had good antimicrobial activity against all the Pathogenic bacteria tested , followed by chicory and inulin . The synergistic inhibitory effect of Synbiotic (Bifidobacterium sp + chicory ) and ( Bifidobacterium sp + inuli
... Show MoreOver the past few decades, the health benefits are under threat as many commonly used antibiotics have become less and less effective against certain illnesses not only because many of them produce toxic reactions but also due to the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria. The clinical use of a combination of antibiotic therapy for Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections is probably more effective than monotherapy. The present study aims to estimate the antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of Conocarpus erectus leaves extracts against multi-drug resistant P. aeruginosa isolated from different hospitals in Baghdad city. One hundred fifty different clinical specimens were collected from patients from September 2021 to January 2022. All samples were
... Show MoreThe present paper is an experimental study to improve the productivity of the conventional solar still. This done by modifying conventional still in a way that the distilled basin is larger than distillation basin, thus providing an increase in the condensation surface and speeding up the condensation process. Moreover, increase in the dimensions of the distilled base helps coupling reflective panels to the distilled base to reflect incident solar radiation to the distillation basin. For this purpose , two solar stills were made, one conventional designand another made according to the proposed design. The two solar stills were tested during the period from February to July 2009 under varying weather conditions of Basra, Iraq (latitude o
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