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.
Ab – initio restricted Hartree - Fock method within the framework of large unit cell (LUC) formalism is used to investigate the electronic structure of Si and Ge nanocrystals. The surface and core properties are investigated. A large unit cell of 8 atoms is used in the present analysis. Cohesive energy, energy gap, conduction and valence band widths are obtained from the electronic structure calculations. The results are compared with available experimental data and theoretical results of other investigators. The calculated lattice constant is found to be slightly larger than the corresponding experimental value because we use only 8 atoms and we compared the results with that of the bulk crystals, nanoclusters are expected to have str
... Show MoreThis study was conducted to study the cytogenetic effect of both alcoholic and water extracts of propolis on mice. Three different samples of propolis were collected from three different regions of Iraq (Najaf, Arbil and Baghdad) to be used in this study. The cytotoxic effect of two different doses of each extracted sample was measured by employing cytogenetic analysis which included (mitotic index (MI), chromosomal aberrations (CAs), micronucleus index (MN) and sperm abnormalities). Results showed that significant increase in MI and significant reduction in MN, CAs and sperm abnormalities percentage were seen after treatment with both alcoholic and water extract of the three samples when compared with negative control, and alcoholic extrac
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to get practical evidence from the Egyptian business environment The Impact of Audit Committees Effectiveness and External Audit Quality on Timeliness of annual Financial Report. Design and methodology: The study based on the content analysis technique to examine the annual reports of a sample of (30) companies listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX100) during the period (2016-2019) with a total of (120) respondents. To test the research hypotheses, the results of the study indicate that there is a negative significant impact of audit committees on timeliness of annual financial report. Moreover, while there is a negative impact on the quality of the external audit on the timing of issuing the annual
... Show MoreVascular plants that have been identified during the study seasons in the Island. The cultivated plants were 126 species belong to 103 genera and to 49 families of the year 2001-2002 . The natural vegetation in this Island has been subjected to a total disturbance and subsidence due to the comprehensive turbidity of the Island environment.Number of names of that natural vegetation has been mentioned in the study within the weed plants.The results of the study of the period of flowering and their attitudes show clear seasonal differences. During the cold months of winter, the number of the cultivated and the natural plants was at the rate of 15%.These kinds of flowers require high level of care to increase their numbers. While in the spring
... Show MoreDyspepsia is a significant public health issue that affects the entire world population. In this work, we formulate and analyze a deterministic model for the population dynamics of Gut bacteria in the presence of antibiotics and Probiotic supplements. All the possible equilibria and their local stability are obtained. The global stability around the positive equilibrium point is established. Numerical simulations back up our analytical findings and show the temporal dynamics of gut microorganisms.
Obesity is a disease describe a case of excessive accumulation of body fats. Obesity is linked to the morbidity of human health, such as the development of hypertension. The study designed to investigate the levels of glucose, urea, creatinine, and lipid profile parameters in sera of obese female and hypertensive obese female. The study included 90 subjects who divided onto three groups equally, in which they are healthy control, normotensive obese, and hypertensive obese. A significant elevation (P<0.01) has observed in the level of glucose, urea, creatinine, triglycerides (TGs), cholesterol, LDL-C, and VLDL-C in obese females compared with control, yet only TGs and VLDL-C were si
A new reversed phase- high performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method with Ultraviolet-Visible spectrophotometry has been optimized and validated for the simultaneous extraction and determination of organic acids present in Iraqi calyces of Hibiscus Sabdraffia Linn. The method is based on using ultrasonic bath for extracting organic acids. Limit of detection in µg/ml of Formic acid, Acetic acid, Oxalic acid, Citric acid, Succinic acid, Tartaric acid, and Malic acid 126.8498×10-6, 113.6005×10-6, 97.0513×10-6, 49.7925×10-6, 84.0753×10-6, 92.6551×10-6, and 106.1633×10-6 ,respectively. The concentration of organic acids found in dry spacemen of calyces of Iraqi Hibiscus Sabdraffia Linn. under study: Formic acid, Acetic acid,
... Show MoreA numerical investigation has been performed to examine the effect of fluorine concentration on the chain reaction mechanisms and parameters of hydrogen fluoride (HF) chemical laser. The practical difficulties associated with this type of lasers impose that an alternative route might be quite useful. Thus, particular attention was paid to develop a computer program to investigate various processes. The results of this computer simulation program proved their credibility when compared with the little published data. This computer program is called Reaction Rate Simulation Model (RRSM). An entirely new approach to emulate the reaction mechanisms has been followed. The effectiveness of reaction rates in the processes of HF lase
... Show MoreIn this work, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were biosynthesized from leaves of Ziziphus mauritiana Lam. jujube plant in Iraq and tested against fungal pathogens. Extract of leaves of Z. mauritiana mixed with 10-3 M AgNO3exposed to slight sunlight for 3 days. Characterization of AgNPs was done using UV-visible spectroscopy, SPM (scanning probe microscopy) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The change of solution color from pale brown to dark brown and the exhibited maximum peak at 445 nm accepted as an indicator to biosynthesized AgNPs. Aqueous extract of Ziziphus mauritiana is considered as biological reduced and stabilized agent for Ag+ to Ag0. AFM showed the formation of irregular shapes of AgNPs. The biosynthesized silver nanoparticles ha
... Show MoreThe present study is an attempt to show how the three Umayyad poets ; Jarir , Al-
Farazdaq and Al-Akhtal have consciously and skillfully employed in their poetry som ancient
Arab legends ,historical events and wars as they provide atrue image of the values and
customs of the peoples who lived before them .
Their employed , how ever, takes avarying degrees depending, to alarge extent , an the
vast but personal knowledge of each poet the past tradition , and practices . Jarir ,in many
respects out , stands the first , Al-Farazdaq , the second and Al-Akhtal , the third .