Background: Adjustment of any premature occlusal contact of any zirconia restoration requires its polishing or glazing in order to restore the smoothness of the restoration. The objective of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effects of different polishing systems and glazing on the surface roughness of full-contour zirconia. Material and methods: Forty disks (diameter: 8 mm, thickness: 6.4 mm) were prepared from pre-sintered full-contoured zirconia block; they were colored and sintered in a high-temperature furnace at 1500˚C for 8 hours. The specimens were then leveled and finished using grinding and polishing machine and adjusted using diamond disk. The specimens were then randomly divided into four groups (n=10), group I involves samples that were polished using (karat diamond polishing set, Vita zahnfabrik, Germany), group II involves samples that were polished with (zirconia polishing kit, SMEdent, Shanghai, China), group III involves samples that were polished with (OptraFine® diamond polishing system, Ivoclar Vivadent, Germany), while group IV involves samples that were glazed using glazing medium (VITA Akzent Glaze AKZ 25, Vita zahnfabrik, Germany). Surface roughness values (Ra) (in µm) of all the specimens were recorded at each stage of surface treatment of zirconia disks (leveling and finishing, adjustment of the samples and polishing / glazing) using surface roughness tester. Statistical analysis was carried out using one-way ANOVA and LSD tests. Results: The results showed that the glazing group recorded the lowest surface roughness mean value, followed by (OptraFine® polishing system), then (zirconia polishing kit) and finally (karat polishing set) which showed the highest mean of surface roughness. For all groups, there was a statistically very high significant difference of (Ra) value before and after adjustment of the samples. Moreover, there was a statistically very high significant difference in (Ra) value when comparing the adjusted samples with the polished and glazed ones. Karat polishing set group showed a statistically highly significant difference with zirconia polishing kit group (P<0.01). Both, karat polishing set and zirconia polishing kit groups showed a statistically very highly significant difference (P<0.001) with (OptraFine® polishing system) and glazing groups. On the other hand, no statistically significant difference was found between glazing and (OptraFine® polishing system) groups (P>0.05). Conclusions: Adjusting full-contour zirconia with diamond bur or disk resulted in a significant increase in (Ra) that necessitates its polishing or glazing to restore the surface smoothness. Furthermore, both glazing and OptraFine® polishing system provided the best surface smoothness, so glazing can be substituted with chairside polishing using OptraFine® polishing system.
Objectives This work presents laser coating of grade 1 pure titanium (Ti) dental implant surface with sintered biological apatite beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP), which has a chemical composition close to bone. Materials and methods Pulsed Nd:YAG laser of single pulse capability up to 70 J/10 ms and pulse peak power of 8 kW was used to implement the task. Laser pulse peak power, pulse duration, repetition rate and scanning speed were modulated to achieve the most homogenous, cohesive and highly adherent coat layer. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray microscopy (EDX), optical microscopy and nanoindentation analyses were conducted to characterise and evaluate the microstructure, phases, modulus of elasticity
... Show MoreA significant increase in the incidence of non-O157 verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) infections have become a serious health issues, and this situation is worsening due to the dissemination of plasmid mediated multidrug-resistant microorganisms worldwide. This study aims to investigate the presence of plasmid-mediated verotoxin gene in non-O157 E. coli. Standard microbiological techniques identified a total of 137 E. coli isolates. The plasmid was detected by Perfectprep Plasmid Mini preparation kit. These isolates were subjected to disk diffusion assay, and plasmid curing with ethidium bromide treatment. The plasmid containing isolates were subjected to a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for investigating
... Show MoreThis study reports testing results of the transient response of T-shape concrete deep beams with large openings due to impact loading. Seven concrete deep beams with openings including two ordinary reinforced, four partially prestressed, and one solid ordinary reinforced as a reference beam were fabricated and tested. The effects of prestressing strand position and the intensity of the impact force were investigated. Two values for the opening’s depth relative to the beam cross-section dimensions were inspected under the effect of an impacting mass repeatedly dropped from different heights. The study revealed that the beam’s transient deflection was increased by about 50% with gre
Previous studies in Euro-American countries have shown that patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection have increased levels of neuropsychiatric symptoms. While chronic hepatitis C virus infection has been reported in Arab countries such as Iraq, there is little studies about the neuropsychological burden associated with chronic hepatitis C among patients in the Arab region. The aim of the current study was to measure the prevalence and level of severity of depression, anxiety and stress among a sample of chronic hepatitis C patients in AL-Najaf province /Iraq. The current study was cross-sectional study carried out on (110) already diagnosed chronic viral hepatitis C patients who attended the Gastroenterology and Hepatology
... Show MoreMyriophyllum spicatum distribution in Al-Burgga marsh, Hor Al-Hammar was described in relation to some of the physical-chemical properties for its habitat (water depth, light penetration, water temperature, water salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, Ca+2, Mg+2, reactive NO2=, reactive NO3-1, and reactive PO4-3) during 2011, seasonally. CANOCO ordination program (CCA) was used to analyse the data. Its vegetation cover percentage was with its peak at summer, its value was 90 %, while the lowest value was 20 % in winter. Statistically, Positive relationships for WT, sal., Ca+2, Mg+2, reactive NO2=, reactive NO3-1, and reactive PO4-3 with the vegetation cover percentage were observed. While, negative relationships for WD, pH, and DO with the ve
... Show MorePurpose: To assess the antioxidant and antineoplastic effects of Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn. on oral squamous cell carcinoma cells. Materials and Methods: Human squamous cell carcinoma HSCC cells were tested for cytotoxicity by a methanol extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa (MEHSP). After 24, 48, and 72 ...