To evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of three minimally invasive (MI) techniques in removing deep dentin carious lesions. Forty extracted carious molars were treated by conventional rotary excavation (control), chemomechanical caries removal agent (Brix 3000), ultrasonic abrasion (WOODPECKER, GUILIN, China); and Er, Cr: YSGG laser ablation (BIOLASE San Clemente, CA, USA). The assessments include; the excavation time, DIAGNOdent pen, Raman spectroscopy, Vickers microhardness, and scanning electron microscope combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDX). The rotary method recorded the shortest excavation time (p < 0.001), Brix 3000 gel was the slowest. DIAGNOdent pen values ranged between 14 and 18 in the remaining dentin and laser-ablated surfaces recorded the lowest reading (p < 0.001). The Ca:P ratios of the remaining dentin were close to sound dentin after all excavation methods; however, it was higher in the ultrasonic technique (p < 0.05). The bur-excavated dentin showed higher phosphate and lower matrix contents with higher tissue hardness that was comparable to sound dentin indicating the non-selectiveness of this technique in removing the potentially repairable dentin tissue. In contrast, the MI techniques exhibited lower phosphate and higher organic contents associated with lower microhardness in the deeper dentin layers. This was associated with smooth residual dentin without smearing and patent dentinal tubules. This study supports the efficiency of using MI methods in caries removal as conservative alternatives to rotary excavation, providing a promising strategy for the clinical dental practice.
In every country in the world, there are a number of amputees who have been exposed to some accidents that led to the loss of their upper limbs. The aim of this study is to suggest a system for real-time classification of five classes of shoulder girdle motions for high-level upper limb amputees using a pattern recognition system. In the suggested system, the wavelet transform was utilized for feature extraction, and the extreme learning machine was used as a classifier. The system was tested on four intact-limbed subjects and one amputee, with eight channels involving five electromyography channels and three-axis accelerometer sensor. The study shows that the suggested pattern recognition system has the ability to classify the sho
... Show MoreA low speed open circuit wind tunnel has been designed, manufactured and constructed at the Mechanical Engineering Department at Baghdad University - College of Engineering. The work is one of the pioneer projects adapted by the R & D Office at the Iraqi MOHESR. The present paper describes the first part of the work; that is the design calculations, simulation and construction. It will be followed by a second part that describes testing and calibration of the tunnel. The proposed wind tunnel has a test section with cross sectional area of (0.7 x 0.7 m2) and length of (1.5 m). The maximum speed is about (70 m/s) with empty test section. The contraction ratio is (8.16). Three screens are used to minimize flow disturbances in the test section.
... Show MoreIn this paper, variable gain nonlinear PD and PI fuzzy logic controllers are designed and the effect of the variable gain characteristic of these controllers is analyzed to show its contribution in enhancing the performance of the closed loop system over a conventional linear PID controller. Simulation results and time domain performance characteristics show how these fuzzy controllers outperform the conventional PID controller when used to control a nonlinear plant and a plant that has time delay.
In this study, condensation polymerization was used to synthesize a number of novel liquid crystal polymers with 1,3,4-oxadiazole rings based on melamine. The new synthesized polymers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1HNMR) spectroscopy. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and optical polarization microscopy (OPM) were used to investigate their liquid crystalline properties. The results demonstrated that throughout a wide temperature range, most of the polymers exhibited columnar (CohX) and nematic (N) liquid crystalline phases.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are drugs that help reduce inflammation, which often helps to relieve pain. In this research new ibuprofen oxothiazolidnone derivatives were synthesized from the reaction of Schiff base derivatives of Ibuprofen with mercapto acetic acid VI a-c, to improve the potency and to decrease the drug's potential side effects, a new series of 4-thiazolidinone derivatives of ibuprofen was synthesized VI a-c . The characterizations of the compounds were identified by using FTIR, 1HNMR technique and by measuring the physical properties.
Text Clustering consists of grouping objects of similar categories. The initial centroids influence operation of the system with the potential to become trapped in local optima. The second issue pertains to the impact of a huge number of features on the determination of optimal initial centroids. The problem of dimensionality may be reduced by feature selection. Therefore, Wind Driven Optimization (WDO) was employed as Feature Selection to reduce the unimportant words from the text. In addition, the current study has integrated a novel clustering optimization technique called the WDO (Wasp Swarm Optimization) to effectively determine the most suitable initial centroids. The result showed the new meta-heuristic which is WDO was employed as t
... Show MoreIn this work, multilayer nanostructures were prepared from two metal oxide thin films by dc reactive magnetron sputtering technique. These metal oxide were nickel oxide (NiO) and titanium dioxide (TiO2). The prepared nanostructures showed high structural purity as confirmed by the spectroscopic and structural characterization tests, mainly FTIR, XRD and EDX. This feature may be attributed to the fine control of operation parameters of dc reactive magnetron sputtering system as well as the preparation conditions using the same system. The nanostructures prepared in this work can be successfully used for the fabrication of nanodevices for photonics and optoelectronics requiring highly-pure nanomaterials.