Resilient polymeric materials such as silicone elastomers are currently used for maxillofacial prostheses construction but the strength of these materials and their clinical performance need to be optimized with the addition of reinforcing fillers. This study investigates the effect of zirconia nanopowder addition on tear strength, tensile strength, elongation at break, Shore A hardness, surface roughness and cytotoxicity of VST-50 maxillofacial silicone. Silicone base was mixed with different amounts (1%, 2% and 3%) of zirconia nanopowder using a vacuum mixer. Silicone without filler was used as control for comparison. Scanning Electron Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy were utilized to assess the efficiency of high-shear vacuum mixing as filler dispersion method and the surface topography, respectively. Both SEM and AFM images showed that the zirconia nanopowder were distributed fairly well within the polymer. Statistically, highly significant increase in tear strength, tensile strength and hardness with non-significant decrease in elongation at break and non-significant increase in surface roughness were seen with 1% and 2% groups. Whereas with 3% group, there was significant improvement in tear strength, tensile strength and hardness but there was significant undesirable decrease in elongation and increase in roughness. Cytotoxicity test revealed that the addition of zirconia nanopowder was nontoxic to Rat Embryonic Fibroblast (REF) cells and there was non-significant change in the cell viability of all study groups after 24- and 72-hours incubation periods. In conclusion, the addition of 2% by weight nano zirconia to VST-50 maxillofacial silicone could be beneficial in enhancing its performance.
The Mishrif Formation is one of the most important geological formations in Iraq consisting of limestone, marl, and shale layers since it is one of the main oil producing reservoirs in the country, which contain a significant portion of Iraq's oil reserves. The formation has been extensively explored and developed by the Iraqi government and international oil companies, with many oil fields being developed within it. The accurate evaluation of the Mishrif formation is key to the successful exploitation of this field. However, its geological complexity poses significant challenges for oil production, requiring advanced techniques to accurately evaluate its petrophysical properties.
This study used advanced well-logging analysi
... Show MoreAlteration in the backbone structure of the endogenously released opioid peptides Leu5/Met5 enkephalins may result in compounds having comparable profile of pharmacological activity but with different physicochemical properties and side effects. Phthalyl amino acid and phthalyl esters are among the derivatives that have been synthesized and evaluated for their antibacterial and antifungal activities.This study was conducted to evaluate the possible analgesic activity of phthalyl-tyrosyl-glycin sodium that has been recently synthesized by our team.The study was carried out on 24 albino mice using hot plate method. The animals were allocated in to three groups; the first group received saline and represent a control g
... Show MoreABSTRACT Background: Piezosurgery device is a system developed recently to overcome the limitation of the traditional surgical technique in implant site preparation, which use the principle of ultrasonic microvibrations to create precise & selective cut in bone in harmony with the surrounding tissues. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of implants inserted by ultrasonic implant site preparation protocol (UISP) using piezosurgery device, regarding the survival rate, stability and other related factors, at 16 weeks postoperative follow up period. Materials and Methods: A total of (24) patients, (6) males and (18) females, aged between (19-51) years old, contributed in this study receiving a total of (42) implants, all of these
... Show MoreBackground: Pumpkin seeds are a valuable source of high-quality protein and can be utilized as functional food ingredients due to their properties, such as solubility, foam formation, and stability. This study aims to produce protein isolate and its enzymatic hydrolysates from local pumpkin seeds to study their properties. Methodology: Preparing defatted pumpkin seeds for protein extraction, followed by the enzymes’ hydrolysis using Trypsin and Pepsin enzymes separately and together in two methods. The determination of amino acids and the degree of hydrolysis was conducted; moreover, protein properties were studied, including solubility, emulsifying activity, stability index, foaming capacity, and stability. Results: A protein sample was
... Show MoreAn optical system including quantum dot cylindrical Fresnel lens (CFL) has been designed by using Zemax optical designing program. Quantum dot cylindrical Fresnel lens has a relatively small thickness compared to conventional lenses and high absorbance. It contains grooves in the form of parallel lines, and each groove represents an individual lens that works to change the path of light falling on it to a single focal line. (CFL) is characterized by its small focal length despite its large area and small thickness, due to the nature of its design that gives this feature, which is applied in many optical systems (imaging and non- imaging system). In this paper, the visual properties of the (CFL) were studied as it is one of the impor
... Show MoreIn this paper, a study was made to determine the properties of Jovian radio bursts emitted at frequency 20.1MHZ. The data were provided from the Radio Jove archive for twelve years (2000-2012) for multi stations. The duration time for Long bursts (L) was (10-30) seconds and for Short bursts (S) was (10-20) seconds. The effect of radio bursts from the Sun and the galactic background were calculated at the same frequency and were found that radio bursts from the Sun will reduce the occurrence probability of Jovian radio bursts much more than radio bursts from the galactic background. The distribution of Jovian radio bursts was different; the occurrence probability with respect to the northern latitudes was more than the southern latitudes.
The eff ect of partial substitution for lanthanum (La) on the structural properties of the compound Y1-xLaxBa4Cu7O15+δ were studied. The variation of (x) are x=0.1, 0.2 and 0.3, which was synthesized by solid state reaction method. The mixed powder was pressed with pressure (7 ton / cm2) as a disc (1.5 cm) diameter and a thickness of (0.25 to 0.3 cm). The samples were sintering by 120 °C / hour with a changing rate from room temperature to 850 ° C through 72 hours. XRD analysis using to calculate crystal size, strain and degree of crystallinity. It was found all samples have orthorhombic structure and change of structure with increasing lanthanum concentration. It was shown that the change lanthanum concentrations of all our samp
... Show MoreImproving the ability of asphalt pavement to survive the heavily repeated axle loads and weathering challenges in Iraq has been the subject of research for many years. The critical need for such data in the design and construction of more durable flexible pavement in bridge deck material is paramount. One of new possible steps is the epoxy asphalt concrete, which is classified as a superior asphalt concrete in roads and greatly imparts the level of design and construction. This paper describes a study on 40-50 penetration graded asphalt cement mixed with epoxy to produce asphalt concrete mixtures. The tests carried out are the Marshall properties, permanent deformation, flexural fatigue cracking and moisture damage. Epoxy asphalt mixes perf
... Show Morethe films of cdse pure and doped with copper ratio glass substrate effect od cucomcentration technique thikness doped with copper is an anonmg and the density of state increases
In this research, the geotechnical properties of the soil profile in Hilla city within Babylon Governorate in the middle parts of Iraq are described. The geotechnical data at the specific sites were collected from some geotechnical investigation reports performed at some selected locations. This article is devoted to studying the distribution of soil properties (the physical and mechanical) in the horizontal and vertical directions. Moreover, a correlation between different physical and mechanical properties is performed. The correlation is executed using statistical analysis by Microsoft Excel Software (2016). From the regression results, it was found that the nature of the soil is c