Background: The development of orthodontic biomaterials that attract less biofilm has been a goal for decades. Adhesion and colonization of cariogenic streptococci are considered to play key roles in the development of enamel demineralization related to orthodontic materials. The aim of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the Mutans streptococci adhesion to coated orthodontic archwires (Epoxy and Teflon) and uncoated archwires (stainless steel and nickel-titanium) with respect to incubation time in the presence and absence of saliva. Material and Method: Six types of archwires stainless steel and nickel titanium with two type of coating (Epoxy, Teflon) were used in this study. Twelve specimens of each archwire were incubated in sterilized unstimulated whole saliva (for the study group) and phosphate-buffered saline (for control group) for 2 hours, then incubated with suspension of Mutans streptococci allowed to adhere for (5,90,180 minutes). Adhesion was quantitated by a microbial culture technique by treating the archwires with adhering bacteria with trypsin and enumerating the colony forming unit (CFU) counts of bacteria recovered after cultivation by using Dentocult SM kit. Results: There was significant difference among the tested archwire types in each time interval with the highest bacterial adhesion on the NiTi archwires in the absence of saliva. In the presence of saliva, the results revealed non-significant difference at 5 min. while there was significant difference at 90 min and highly significant difference at 180 min. Conclusion: The adherence of Mutans streptococci was decreased in the presence of saliva on different archwires and the extended incubation time was significantly related to increase colony forming unit of Mutans Streptococci.
Objectives The strategies of tissue-engineering led to the development of living cell-based therapies to repair lost or damaged tissues, including periodontal ligament and to construct biohybrid implant. This work aimed to isolate human periodontal ligament stem cells (hPDLSCs) and implant them on fabricated polycaprolactone (PCL) for the regeneration of natural periodontal ligament (PDL) tissues. Methods hPDLSCs were harvested from extracted human premolars, cultured, and expanded to obtain PDL cells. A PDL-specific marker (periostin) was detected using an immunofluorescent assay. Electrospinning was applied to fabricate PCL at three concentrations (13%, 16%, and 20% weight/volume) in two forms, which were examined through field emission
... Show MoreTo accommodate utilities in buildings, different sizes of openings are provided in the web of reinforced concrete deep beams, which cause reductions in the beam strength and stiffness. This paper aims to investigate experimentally and numerically the effectiveness of using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) strips, as a strengthening technique, to externally strengthen reinforced concrete continuous deep beams (RCCDBs) with large openings. The experimental work included testing three RCCDBs under five-point bending. A reference specimen was prepared without openings to explore the reductions in strength and stiffness after providing large openings. Openings were created symmetrically at the center of spans of the other specimens
... Show MoreMedication safety and effectiveness can be improved through interprofessional collaboration. The goals of this study were to measure the degree of physician–pharmacist collaboration within Iraqi governmental healthcare settings and to investigate factors influencing this collaboration.
This cross-sectional study was conducted in Al-Najaf Province using the Collaborative Working Relationship Model and Physician–Pharmacist Collaborative Instrument (PPCI). Four phar
A Wearable Robotic Knee (WRK) is a mobile device designed to assist disabled individuals in moving freely in undefined environments without external support. An advanced controller is required to track the output trajectory of a WRK device in order to resolve uncertainties that are caused by modeling errors and external disturbances. During the performance of a task, disturbances are caused by changes in the external load and dynamic work conditions, such as by holding weights while performing the task. The aim of this study is to address these issues and enhance the performance of the output trajectory tracking goal using an adaptive robust controller based on the Radial Basis Function (RBF) Neural Network (NN) system and Hamilton
... Show MoreThis work revealed the spherical aromaticity of some inorganic E4 cages and their protonated E4H+ ions (E=N, P, As, Sb, and Bi). For this purpose, we employed several evaluations like (0D-1D) nucleus independent chemical shift (NICS), multidimensional (2D-3D) off-nucleus isotropic shielding σiso(r), and natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis. The magnetic calculations involved gauge-including atomic orbitals (GIAO) with two density functionals B3LYP and WB97XD, and basis sets of Jorge-ATZP, 6-311+G(d,p), and Lanl2DZp. The Jorge-ATZP basis set showed the best consistency. Our findings disclosed non-classical aromatic characters in the above molecules, which decreased from N to Bi cages. Also, the results showed more aromaticity in E4 than E4H+
... Show MoreThe present study aims to get experimentally a deeper understanding of the efficiency of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets applied to improve the torsional behavior of L-shaped reinforced concrete spandrel beams in which their ledges were loaded in two stages under monotonic loading. An experimental program was conducted on spandrel beams considering different key parameters including the cross-sectional aspect ratio (
In low-latitude areas less than 10° in latitude angle, the solar radiation that goes into the solar still increases as the cover slope approaches the latitude angle. However, the amount of water that is condensed and then falls toward the solar-still basin is also increased in this case. Consequently, the solar yield still is significantly decreased, and the accuracy of the prediction method is affected. This reduction in the yield and the accuracy of the prediction method is inversely proportional to the time in which the condensed water stays on the inner side of the condensing cover without collection because more drops will fall down into the basin of the solar-still. Different numbers of scraper motions per hour (NSM), that is
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