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 optimum design is characterized by structural concrete components that can sustain loads well beyond the yielding stage. This is often accomplished by a fulfilled ductility index, which is greatly influenced by the arrangement of the shear reinforcement. The current study investigates the impact of the shear reinforcement arrangement on the structural response of the deep beams using a variety of parameters, including the type of shear reinforcement, the number of lacing bars, and the lacing arrangement pattern. It was found that lacing reinforcement, as opposed to vertical stirrups, enhanced the overall structural response of deep beams, as evidenced by test results showing increases in ultimate loads, yielding, and cracking of
... Show MoreThe optimum design is characterized by structural concrete components that can sustain loads well beyond the yielding stage. This is often accomplished by a fulfilled ductility index, which is greatly influenced by the arrangement of the shear reinforcement. The current study investigates the impact of the shear reinforcement arrangement on the structural response of the deep beams using a variety of parameters, including the type of shear reinforcement, the number of lacing bars, and the lacing arrangement pattern. It was found that lacing reinforcement, as opposed to vertical stirrups, enhanced the overall structural response of deep beams, as evidenced by test results showing increases in ultimate loads, yielding, and cracking of
... Show MoreHypoxic training, which in turn is one of the methods adopted in sports training methods, especially in activities that depend on the aerobic system in its performance, which includes training with a lack of oxygen by reducing its molecular pressure, since this method targets functional organs and works temporary responses during training and permanent responses After training as an adaptation to these devices as a result of training in this way, the study aimed to identify the effect of hypoxic exercises using the training mask and the extent of the change in some biochemical indicators, in addition to that to identify the effect of these exercises on the indicator of energy expenditure and )VMA) and the achievement of the effectiveness of
... Show MorePVA:PEG/MnCl2 composites have been prepared by adding (MnCl2) to the mixture of the poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) and poly ethylene glycol (PEG) with different weight percentages (0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10) wt.% by using casting method. The type of charge carriers, concentration (nH) and Hall mobility (μH) have been estimated from Hall measurements and show that the films of all concentration have a negative Hall coefficient. In D.C measurement increase temperature leads to decrease the electrical resistance. The D.C conductivity of the composites increases with the increasing of the concentration of additive particles and temperature. The activation energy decreases for all composites with increasing the concentration of the additive particles.
... Show MoreHydrophobic silica aerogels were successfully preparation by an ambient pressure drying method from sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) with different pH values (5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10). In this study, acidic HCl (1M), a basic NH4OH (1M) were selected as a catalyst to perform the surface modification in a TMCS (trimethylchlorosilane) solution. The surface chemical modification of the aerogels was assured by the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic studies. Other physical properties, such as pore volume and pore size and specific surface area were determined by Brunauer-Emmett- Teller (BET) method. The effect of pH values on the bulk density of aerogel. The sol–gel parameter pH value in the sol, have marked effects on the physical proper
... Show MoreA nano-sensor for nitrotyrosine (NT) molecule was found by studying the interactions of NT molecule with new B24N24 nanocages. It was calculated using density functionals in this case. The predicted adsorption mechanisms included physical and chemical adsorption with the adsorption energy of −2.76 to −4.60 and −11.28 to −15.65 kcal mol−1, respectively. The findings show that an NT molecule greatly increases the electrical conductivity of a nanocage by creating electronic noise. Moreover, NT adsorption in the most stable complexes significantly affects the Fermi level and the work function. This means the B24N24 nanocage can detect NT as a Φ–type sensor. The recovery time was determined to be 0.3 s. The sensitivity of pure BN na
... Show MoreA total of (25) stool samples were collected from children and adults (2- 4) years old suffering from diarrhea to isolate E. coli strains that produce heat-stable enterotoxin a (STa), and after performing microscopic examination, cultural characterization and biochemical identification only (11) isolates showed positive E. coli. STa activity was estimated by using suckling mouse assay (SMA) and from these (11) isolates only (5) showed STa activity and the one with the highest STa activity was selected for large scale production of STa, which was followed by partial purification using ion-exchange chromatography (normal phase) using DEAE sephadex A-50 column. After purification and determination of protein concentration by using the standard
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