Background. “Polyetheretherketone (PEEK)” is a biocompatible, high-strength polymer that is well-suited for use in dental applications due to its unique properties. However, achieving good adhesion between PEEK and hydrophilic materials such as dental adhesives or cement can be challenging. Also, this hydrophobicity may affect the use of PEEK as an implant material. Surface treatment or conditioning is often necessary to improve surface properties. The piranha solution is the treatment of choice to be explored for this purpose. Methods. PEEK disks of 10 mm diameter and 2 mm thickness were used in this study. Those samples were divided into five groups (each group has five samples). The first is the control group, in which no acid treatment was used; the second group undergoes sulfuric acid treatment. The remaining three groups were treated with Piranha solution; each group used a different concentration (1 : 3, 1 : 5, and 1 : 7 hydrogen peroxide to sulfuric acid, respectively). The period of treatment was 60 s for all groups. Wettability and surface roughness tests were done for the five groups. In statistical analysis, Shapiro–Wilk test was used to check the assumption of normality and to determine the statistical significance among groups; a one-way analysis of variance was employed. Subsequently, for multiple comparisons, Tukey’s honestly significant difference post hoc test was performed. Results. The Piranha solution treatment groups showed a higher wettability compared to the control group and the group treated with sulfuric acid. Additionally, the Piranha solution treatment with a higher concentration of hydrogen peroxide (1 : 3) resulted in greater improvement in surface roughness compared to the control group and the lower concentration groups (1 : 5 and 1 : 7), while the sulfuric acid treated group showed the highest surface roughness. Conclusion. The results of this study suggest that the piranha solution can be an effective method for improving the surface characteristics of PEEK to be used in different dental applications, especially as a dental implant material, due to the increase in wettability and surface roughness.
The extraction of Cupressus sempervirens L. or cypress essential oil was studied in this paper. This cypress oil was extracted by using the hydro-distillation method, using a clevenger apparatus. Cupressus sempervirens L. leaves were collected from Hit city in Al-Anbar province – Iraq. The influences of three important parameters on the process of oil extraction; water which used as a solvent to the solid ratio (5:1 and 14:1 (ml solvent/g plant), temperature (30 to 100 °C) and processing time, were examined to obtain the best processing conditions to achieve the maximum yield of the essential oil. Also, the mathematical model was described to calculate the mass transfer coefficient. Therefore, the best conditions, that were obtained in
... Show MoreBubbled slabs can be exposed to damage or deterioration during its life. Therefore, the solution for strengthening must be provided. For the simulation of this case, the analysis of finite elements was carried out using ABAQUS 2017 software on six simply supported specimens, during which five are voided with 88 bubbles, and the other is solid. The slab specimens with symmetric boundary conditions were of dimensions 3200/570/150 mm. The solid slab and one bubbled slab are deemed references. Each of the other slabs was exposed to; (1) service charge, then unloaded (2) external prestressing and (3) loading to collapse under two line load. The external strengthening was applied using prestressed wire with four approaches, wh
... Show MoreThe catalytic cracking of three feeds of extract lubricating oil, that produced as a by-product from the process of furfural extraction of lubricating oil base stock in AL-Dura refinery at different operating condition, were carried out at a fixed bed laboratory reactor. The initial boiling point for these feeds was 140 ºC for sample (1), 86 ºC for sample (2) and 80 ºC for sample (3). The catalytic cracking processes were carried out at temperature range 325-400 ºC and initially at atmospheric pressure after 30 minutes over 9.88 % HY-zeolite catalyst load. The comparison between the conversion at different operating conditions of catalytic cracking processes indicates that a high yield was obtained at 375°C, according to gasoline pr
... Show MoreSpray pyrolysis technique (SPT) is employed to synthesize cadmium oxide nanostructure with 3% and 5% Cobalt concentrations. Films are deposited on a glass substrate at 350 ᵒC with 150 nm thickness. The XRD analysis revealed a polycrystalline nature with cubic structure and (111) preferred orientation. Structural parameters represent lattice spacing, crystallite size, lattice parameter and dislocation density. Homogeneous surfaces and regular distribution of atoms were showed by atomic force microscope (AFM) with 1.03 nm average roughness and 1.22 nm root mean square roughness. Optical properties illustrated a high transmittance more than 85% in the range of visible spectrum and decreased with Co concentration increasing. The absorption
... Show MoreThis study aims to remove Cd(II) ions from simulated wastewater by using Chlorophyceae algae (CA). Different parameters were studied to show their effects on the biosorption efficiency of CA. These parameters are: the effect of pH 3-7, initial metal ion concentration 20-200 mg/L, sorbent dos-age 0.05-2 g/L, contact time 5-180 min, and agitation speed 100-300 rpm. We found that both the Langmuir and Freundlich models appropriate for characterizing the metal removal process. The biosorption data fit best with the results of the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, demonstrating that the chemisorption process is the dominant mechanism controlling the removal. CA was char-acterized using the scanning electron microscopy test, prior to and post bi
... Show MoreThe purpose of this study was to investigate the difference in mandibular trauma caused by two mechanisms for the delivery of missile injuries: firearms and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The data investigated included sex, age, mechanism of injury, and other clinical and radiographic manifestations. Seventy consecutive patients, predominantly male, with a mean age of 28.6 ± 14 years (range 2–60 years) were enrolled: 38 patients (54.3%) sustained mandibular fractures caused by bullet injuries and 32 patients (45.7%) had mandibular fractures caused by IED explosion injuries. The study revealed that the differences in most of the investigated variables were not statistically significant; the only significant differences were the inci
... Show MoreIn the present investigation two different types of fiber reinforced polymer composites were prepared by hand lay-up method using three different parameters (curing temperature, pressing load and fiber volume fraction). These composites were prepared from the polyester resin as the matrix material reinforced with glass fibers as first group of samples and mat Kevlar fibers as the second group, both with different volume fractions (4%, 8%, and 12%) of fibers. They were then tested by tensile strength and impact strength. The main objective in this study is to use Taguchi method for predicting the better parameters that give the better tensile and impact strength to the composites, and then preparing composites at
... Show MoreGreen synthesis methods have emerged as favorable techniques for the synthesis of nano-oxides due to their simplicity, cost-effectiveness, eco-friendliness, and non-toxicity. In this study, Nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO-NPs) were synthesized using the aqueous extract of Laurus nobilis leaves as a natural capping agent. The synthesized NiO-NPs were employed as an adsorbent for the removal of Biebrich Scarlet (BS) dye from aqueous solution using adsorption technique. Comprehensive characterization of NiO-NPs was performed using various techniques such as atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett and Teller (BET) analysis, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Additionally, o
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