In this research, the electrical characteristics of glow discharge plasma were studied. Glow discharge plasma generated in a home-made DC magnetron sputtering system, and a DC-power supply of high voltage as input to the discharge electrodes were both utilized. The distance between two electrodes is 4cm. The gas used to produce plasma is argon gas which flows inside the chamber at a rate of 40 sccm. The influence of work function for different target materials (gold, copper, and silver), - 5cm in diameter and around 1mm thickness - different working pressures, and different applied voltages on electrical characteristics (discharge current, discharge potential, and Paschen’s curve) were studied. The results showed that the discharge cur

This study investigates the implementation of Taguchi design in the estimation of minimum corrosion rate of mild-steel in cooling tower that uses saline solution of different concentration. The experiments were set on the basis of Taguchi’s L16 orthogonal array. The runs were carried out under different condition such as inlet concentration of saline solution, temperature, and flowrate. The Signal-to- Noise ratio and ANOVA analysis were used to define the impact of cooling tower working conditions on the corrosion rate. A regression had been modelled and optimized to identify the optimum level for the working parameters that had been founded to be 13%NaCl, 35ᴼC, and 1 l/min. Also a confirmation run to establish the p

Objective(s): This study aims to evaluate the hardness of two commercially available cold cured acrylic resin material
(Vertex and PAN) when polymerized at different temperature in comparison to those polymerized by conventional
methods in air at 23C ± 5C.
Methodology: Eighty specimens, forty from cold cured acrylic (Vertex Type) and forty from cold cured acrylic (PAN
type) were prepared, flasking and packing procedure were done according to manufacturer direction and divided
according to processing as follow: 20 specimens (10 from Vertex type and 10 from PAN type) were processed in air for
two hours at 23C ± 5C under press (bench curing) as a control, and 60 specimens (30 from Vertex type and 30 from
PAN type) wer

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

In this research, damping properties for composite materials were evaluated using logarithmic decrement method to study the effect of reinforcements on the damping ratio of the epoxy matrix. Three stages of composites were prepared in this research. The first stage included preparing binary blends of epoxy (EP) and different weight percentages of polysulfide rubber (PSR) (0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5% and 10%). It was found that the weight percentage 5% of polysulfide was the best percentage, which gives the best mechanical properties for the blend matrix. The advantage of this blend matrix is that; it mediates between the brittle properties of epoxy and the flexible properties of a blend matrix with the highest percentage of PSR. The second stage

Background and objectives: This study aimed at testing the effect of plastic sleeve or barrier, used to cover the guide of the light cure unit to prevent cross-infection, on the shear bond strength and site of bond failure of stainless steel and ceramic orthodontic brackets. Materials and methods: Forty orthodontic brackets; twenty stainless steel and twenty ceramic brackets bonded to forty extracted human maxillary first premolars using light cure adhesive cured with and without the use of a protective plastic barrier on the guide. Comparing the effect of this barrier on the shear bond strength and adhesive remnant index was performed using an independent t-test and Chi-square test. Results: The protective barrier had decreased the shear b

Fluconazole was used to test the susceptibility of Candida albicans isolated from different clinical samples, and to detect mutations in ERG11 gene, and their relationship to fluconazole resistance. Forty-eight isolates of Candida albicans were tested for susceptibility using the disc diffusion method (M-44). ERG11 genes of six isolates were amplified (four resistant, two susceptible) and sequenced. The sequenced genes were analyzed to detect the mutations. Out of 48 isolates of Candida albicans, 4 (8%) were resistant to fluconazole. Sixteen-point mutations were detected included 13 silent mutations, and three missense mutations. The mutations of A945C (E266D) and G1609A (V488I) were found only in susceptible Candida albicans isolates, whil

This study included the isolation and identification of Aspergillus flavus isolates associated with imported American rice grains and local corn grains which collected from local markets, using UV light with 365 nm wave length and different media (PDA, YEA, COA, and CDA ). One hundred and seven fungal isolates were identified in rice and 147 isolates in corn.4 genera and 7 species were associated with grains, the genera were Aspergillus ,Fusarium ,Neurospora ,Penicillium . Aspergillus was dominant with occurrence of 0.47% and frequency of 11.75% in rice grains whereas in corn grains the genus Neurospora was dominant with occurrence of 1.09% and frequency 27.25% ,results revealed that 20 isolates out of 50 A. flavus isolates were able

Background: Plaque retention during fixed orthodontic therapy is an important cause of developing enamel demineralization. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of different brackets types on the count of Streptococcus Mutans in orthodontic patients using conventional fluoridated toothpaste. Materials and Methods: Plaque samples were collected from maxillary 1st premolar teeth of twenty right handed patients (using split mouth technique) before bonding, after 48 hrs of bonding using tooth brush only, and after 2 weeks of using fluoridated toothpaste. Stainless steel bracket was bonded on right first premolar while the left one was bonded with sapphire bracket. The calculation of the Streptococcus Mutans count was done usin