Background: Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a promising implant material due to its superior biomechanical strength. However, due to its hydrophobic nature and lack of cellular adhesion properties, it has poor integration with bone tissue. Methods: A fractional CO2 laser was used with various parameters for surface texturing of PEEK substrate to enhance its surface properties. An optical microscope and field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) were used to examine the surface morphology of untextured and laser-textured samples. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) was performed to determine the effect of the laser on the microstructure of PEEK. Surface microroughness, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and wettability were investigated. Results: There were significant increases in microroughness, nanoroughness, surface area ratio, and wettability after laser texturing with no change in the elemental composition. The best results were obtained by using 400 µs laser pulse duration with a dot separation distance of 0.2 mm and a 60° staggered dots pattern. Conclusions: Laser surface texturing of PEEK implant material by fractional CO2 laser is an easy and fast method of introducing patterned topographical features with no need for additional devices. With further investigations, this method of PEEK modification might have the potential to be used in the implant field.
Data steganography is a technique used to hide data, secret message, within another data, cover carrier. It is considered as a part of information security. Audio steganography is a type of data steganography, where the secret message is hidden in audio carrier. This paper proposes an efficient audio steganography method that uses LSB technique. The proposed method enhances steganography performance by exploiting all carrier samples and balancing between hiding capacity and distortion ratio. It suggests an adaptive number of hiding bits for each audio sample depending on the secret message size, the cover carrier size, and the signal to noise ratio (SNR). Comparison results show that the proposed method outperforms state of the art methods
... Show MoreData steganography is a technique used to hide data, secret message, within another data, cover carrier. It is considered as a part of information security. Audio steganography is a type of data steganography, where the secret message is hidden in audio carrier. This paper proposes an efficient audio steganography method that uses LSB technique. The proposed method enhances steganography performance by exploiting all carrier samples and balancing between hiding capacity and distortion ratio. It suggests an adaptive number of hiding bits for each audio sample depending on the secret message size, the cover carrier size, and the signal to noise ratio (SNR). Comparison results show that the proposed method outperforms state of the art methods
... Show MoreThe goal of this investigation is to prepare zinc oxide (ZnO) nano-thin films by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique through Q-switching double frequency Nd:YAG laser (532 nm) wavelength, pulse frequency 6 Hz, and 300 mJ energy under vacuum conditions (10-3 torr) at room temperature. (ZnO) nano-thin films were deposited on glass substrates with different thickness of 300, 600 and 900 nm. ZnO films, were then annealed in air at a temperature of 500 °C for one hour. The results were compared with the researchers' previous theoretical study. The XRD analysis of ZnO nano-thin films indicated a hexagonal multi-crystalline wurtzite structure with preferential growth lines (100), (002), (101) for ZnO nano-thin films with different thi
... Show MoreAbstract: Background: Staphylococcus aureus is Gram-positive bacteria that lives as a normal flora in living organisms but can be pathogenic to humans. Although a relatively unspectacular, nonmotile coccoid bacterium, S. aureus is a dangerous human pathogen in both community-acquired and nosocomial infections. Due to the increasing emergence of new strains of this antibiotic-resistant bacteria, it has become essential to approach different methods to control this pathogen. One of these methods is the antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation process using a low-level laser, in this paper, the Photodynamic effects of Rose Bengal and LLLL on the virulence factors of S.aureus were evaluated.
Background: In recent years, the immediate loading of dental implants has become more accepted as a standard protocol for the treatment of the edentulous area. Success in implant dentistry depends on several parameters that may improve phenomenon of osseointegration and new bone formation in close contact with the implant. The aim of study was to evaluate the effect of strontium chloride coating of screw shape commercially pure titanium dental implant osseointegration at bone - implant interface by histomorphometric analysis and compare with hydroxyapatite coating at 2 time periods (2 weeks and 6 weeks). Materials and methods: Electrophoretic Deposition Technique (EPD) was used to obtain a uniform coating layer on commercially pure titanium
... Show MoreSome nonlinear differential equations with fractional order are evaluated using a novel approach, the Sumudu and Adomian Decomposition Technique (STADM). To get the results of the given model, the Sumudu transformation and iterative technique are employed. The suggested method has an advantage over alternative strategies in that it does not require additional resources or calculations. This approach works well, is easy to use, and yields good results. Besides, the solution graphs are plotted using MATLAB software. Also, the true solution of the fractional Newell-Whitehead equation is shown together with the approximate solutions of STADM. The results showed our approach is a great, reliable, and easy method to deal with specific problems in
... Show MoreIn present work an investigation for precise hole drilling via continuous wave (CW) CO2 laser at 150 W maximum output power and wavelength 10.6 μm was achieved with the assistance of computerized numerical controlled (CNC) machine and assist gases. The drilling process was done for thin sheets (0.1 – 0.3 mm) of two types of metals; stainless steel (sst) 321H, steel 33 (st). Changing light and process parameters such as laser power, exposure time and gas pressure was important for getting the optimum results. The obtained results were supported with computational results using the COMSOL 3.5a software code.
Background: Denture cleansing was an important step that could prevent the spread of infection and improve a patient's health, the durability of the dentures, and the overall quality of life; therefore, it was necessary to choose a suitable cleanser that, in addition to being effective, did not have an unfavorable effect on the qualities of the denture base resin itself when used for an extended period. For this purpose, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of tea tree oil (TTO) on Candida albicans adhesion and the surface roughness property of poly(methyl methacrylate) denture material after immersion in TTO. Methods: A total of 55 heat-cured acrylic resin specimens were used for C. albicans adherence and surface roughness tests. The
... Show More