Examination of 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine polymer coated acrylic resin denture base material: surface characteristics and <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Candida albicans</Emphasis> adhesion

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) polymer coating with various concentrations onto acrylic resin denture base material on surface characteristics such as contact angle and surface roughness and on Candida albicans adhesion which is the major factor of denture stomatitis. Specimens, prepared from heat-polymerized acrylic denture base material, were divided into control and three test groups, randomly. Surfaces of the specimens in test groups were coated with poly(MPC) (PMPC) by graft polymerization of MPC in different concentrations (0.25?mol/L; 0.50?mol/L and 0.75?mol/L), while no surface treatment was applied to the control group. Contact angles and surface roughness were examined, and chemical composition of the surfaces was analyzed by Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) to verify the presence of PMPC coatings. Then, specimens were incubated with C. albicans for 18?h and the number of adhered cells was determined. Upon PMPC coating, the contact angle values statistically decreased, but no difference was found in surface roughness values. A statistically significant decrease was observed in C. albicans adhesion in parallel with the increase in the MPC polymer concentration. There was no significant difference between 0.50?mol/L and 0.75?mol/L groups in terms of adhesion. These findings indicated that graft polymerization of MPC on acrylic denture base material reduces the adhesion of C. albicans, and may be evaluated as a coating for prevention of denture stomatitis.     

Experimental and numerical modeling of the effect of solid surface on NOx emission in the combustion chamber of a water heater

A combined experimental and CFD modeling study of the turbulent non-premixed natural gas on a laboratory scale has been performed. Effect of solid surface enhancement in combustion chamber on the flame temperature and NO emission was investigated. The solid surface called as filling material (FM) was cylindrical and was placed coaxially in the center of combustion chamber. The temperature and NO distribution in the combustion chamber were compared for different geometries of the filling material. The diameters of the filling materials were 25 and 30 cm with two lengths of 20 and 40 cm. Experimental study has been carried out on a fire tube water heater. The flame temperature on the center line of the combustion chamber, gas temperature and NO emission in the combustion chamber were measured. The actual geometry of the fire tube water heater and the burner were modeled and then analyzed by the FLUENT code. Turbulent diffusion flames were investigated numerically using a finite volume method for the solution of the conservation and reaction equations governing the problem. The measured values were specified as the boundary conditions. The elemental analysis of the natural gas was taken as a mixture of hydrocarbon and air was the oxidizer. The standard k-ε model was used for the modeling of the turbulence phenomena in the combustor. The non-premixed combustion model was chosen. In the conserved scalar approach, turbulence effects were accounted for with the help of an assumed shape probability density function or PDF. The discrete ordinates (DO) radiation model was used for modeling of the radiative heat transfer in the combustion room. The model results were compared with the experimental results. The model results were in good agreement with the measurements. The filling material provided the recirculation of the cooler gases into the flame. The recirculation reduced the oxygen concentration in the flame and controlled the flame temperature. It was found that the filling material with the diameter bigger than the flame diameter increased the heat transfer rate in the back flow around the flame.     

Pattern information extraction from crystal structures

Determining the crystal structure parameters of a material is an important issue in crystallography and material science. Knowing the crystal structure parameters helps in understanding the physical behavior of material. It can be difficult to obtain crystal parameters for complex structures, particularly those materials that show local symmetry as well as global symmetry. This work provides a tool that extracts crystal parameters such as primitive vectors, basis vectors and space groups from the atomic coordinates of crystal structures. A visualization tool for examining crystals is also provided. Accordingly, this work could help crystallographers, chemists and material scientists to analyze crystal structures efficiently.

Program summary

Title of program: BilKristalCatalogue identifier: ADYU_v1_0Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/ADYU_v1_0Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University of Belfast, N. IrelandLicensing provisions: NoneProgramming language used: C, C++, Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 and OpenGL LibrariesComputer: Personal Computers with Windows operating systemOperating system: Windows XP ProfessionalRAM: 20-60 MBNo. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.:899 779No. of bytes in distributed program, including test date, etc.:9 271 521Distribution format:tar.gzExternal routines/libraries: Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1. For visualization tool, graphics card driver should also support OpenGLNature of problem: Determining crystal structure parameters of a material is a quite important issue in crystallography. Knowing the crystal structure parameters helps to understand physical behavior of material. For complex structures, particularly, for materials which also contain local symmetry as well as global symmetry, obtaining crystal parameters can be quite hard.Solution method: The tool extracts crystal parameters such as primitive vectors, basis vectors and identify the space group from atomic coordinates of crystal structures.Restrictions: Assumptions are explained in the paper. However, none of them can be considered as a restriction onto the complexity of the problem.Running time: All the examples presented in the paper take less than 30 seconds on a 2.4 GHz Pentium 4 computer.     

Functionalization of Isotactic Polypropylene with Citraconic Anhydride

Summary Functionalization of isotactic polypropylene i-PP) with citraconic anhydride (CA) was carried out in 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene solution with dicumyl peroxide as an initiator at 160 °C under nitrogen atmosphere.atmosphere. Chemical and physical structures and thermal behavior of the synthesized graft copolymers with different anhydride units were determined by volumetric titration (acid number), FTIR and ¹H-NMR spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, DSC and TGA thermal analyses. It was shown that the crystallinity and thermal behavior of grafted i-PP’s depend on anhydride unit concentration in grafted i-PP; grafting reaction proceeds selectively which is not accompanied by oligomerization of CA and degradation main chain as in known maleic anhydride/PP system. This fact was explained by inhibition effect of α-methyl group in CA grafted unit on the chain β-scission reactions and no homopolymerization of CA in chosen grafting conditions. Functionalized i-PPs showed high thermal stability in comparison with virgin i-PP.     

Congo red- and Zn(II)-derivatized monosize poly(MMA-HEMA) microspheres as specific sorbent in metal chelate affinity of albumin

Monosize poly(methylmethacrylate-hydroxyethylmethacrylate) [poly(MMA-HEMA)] microspheres (4 μm in diameter) were produced by dispersion copolymerization of MMA and HEMA in an ethanol-water medium. Congo Red was attached to the poly(MMA-HEMA) microspheres, covalently. These Congo Red-derivatized microspheres were characterized by optical microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. Then, Zn(II) ions were incorporated by chelating with the immobilized Congo Red molecules. Different amounts of Zn(II) ions [1.2–17.6 mg of Zn(II)/g of polymer] were conjugated on the microspheres by changing the initial concentration of Zn(II) ions and pH. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption on these microspheres from aqueous solutions containing different amounts of BSA at different pH and ionic strengths was investigated in batch reactors. The nonspecific BSA adsorption on the plain poly(MMA-HEMA) microspheres was very low (0.7 mg of BSA/g of polymer). Congo Red derivatization significantly increased the BSA adsorption (up to 35.8 mg of BSA/g of polymer). A further increase in the adsorption capacity (up to 61.0 mg of BSA/g of polymer) was observed when Zn(II) ions were incorporated. More than 90% of the adsorbed BSA was desorbed in 1 h in the desorption medium containing 1.0M NaSCN at pH 8.0. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Effects of sodium ascorbate and delayed bonding after bleaching on shear bond strengts of orthodontic brackets

Introduction: The aim of the study was to determine the effects of sodium ascorbate and delaying bonding for 4 weeks after bleaching on SBS of orthodontic brackets.

Methods: Sixty freshly extracted, noncarious, premolars were randomly assigned to 4 groups of 15 each. Orthodontic brackets were bonded with a composite resin and cured with a halogen light. After bonding, the shear bond strengths of the brackets were tested with a universal testing machine. Group I served as the control. In groups II, III, and IV, teeth were bleached with an office bleaching method. In group II, brackets bonded immediately after bleaching. In group III, teeth were immersed in artificial saliva of 4 weeks after bleaching before bonding brackets. In group IV, teeth were treated with 10% sodium ascorbate after bleaching before bonding brackets.

Results: One-way analysis of variance indicated a significant difference between groups (P < .001). The highest values for SBS were measured in group I (11.92 ± 0.81 MPa). The SBS was significantly lower in groups II, III, and IV than in group I (P < .001). There was no statistically significant difference between groups III and IV.

Conclusions: Bleaching significantly reduced the SBS of orthodontic brackets on human enamel. If bleaching is mandatory, teeth should be treated with sodium ascorbate before bonding.     

Water–gas shift activity of ceria supported Au–Re catalysts

Au–Re/ceria, Au/ceria and Re/ceria catalysts were prepared using deposition precipitation and impregnation techniques for Au and Re addition, respectively, except the sample prepared by sequential impregnation. Catalysts were characterized by HRTEM-EDS, SEM-EDS, XPS and XRD. WGS activity tests on the samples were performed in the temperature range 200–450 °C. The effects of Re incorporation, metal addition sequence, space velocity and H₂O/CO ratio on the catalytic performance were investigated. The novel Au–Re/ceria catalysts showed high activity in WGS reaction, especially at high H₂O/CO ratios, led by the presence of catalytically active and steam tolerant sites formed on the bimetallic catalysts.     

Solid freeform fabrication of epoxidized soybean oil/epoxy composites with di‐, tri‐, and polyethylene amine curing agents

Soybean oil/epoxy‐based composites are prepared by solid freeform fabrication (SFF) methods. SFF methods built materials by the repetitive addition of thin layers. The mixture of epoxidized soybean oil and epoxy resin is modified with di‐, tri‐, or polyethylene amine gelling agent to solidify the materials until curing occurs. The high strength and stiffness composites are formed through fiber reinforcement. E‐glass, carbon, and mineral fibers are used in the formulations. The type of fiber affects the properties of the composites. It was found that a combination of two types of fibers could be used to achieve higher strength and stiffness parts than can be obtained from a single fiber type. In addition, the effects of curing temperature, curing time, and fiber concentration on mechanical properties of composites are studied and reported. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 93: 356–363, 2004     

Methods for increasing estolide yields in a batch reactor

Estolides are formed when the carboxylic acid group of one fatty acid forms an ester link at the site of unsaturation of another fatty acid. These compounds have the potential to be used in a variety of applications, such as lubricants, greases, plastics, inks, cosmetics, and surfactants. By manipulating the reaction equilibrium, yields of 20% estolide in clay-catalyzed estolide reactions have been increased to 30%. Reactions conducted at 180°C, where water was vented out of the reactor at specific times, not only gave dimer-free estolides but also yields up to 30%. Steam has also been used instead of water with similar results. Estolides were quite stable at temperatures up to 250°C, even when they were exposed to air.