Effect of Vertical Misfit on Screw Joint Stability of Implant-Supported Crowns

The passive fit between prosthesis and implant is a relevant factor for screw joint stability and treatment success. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of vertical misfit in abutment-implant interface on preload maintenance of retention screw of implant-supported crowns. The crowns were fabricated with different abutments and veneering materials and divided into 5 groups (n = 12): Gold UCLA abutments cast in gold alloy veneered with ceramic (Group I) and resin (Group II), UCLA abutments cast in titanium veneered with ceramic (Group III) and resin (Group IV), and zirconia abutments with ceramic veneering (Group V). The crowns were attached to implants by gold retention screws with 35-N cm insertion torque. Specimens were submitted to mechanical cycling up to 10⁶ cycles. Measurements of detorque and vertical misfit in abutment-implant interface were performed before and after mechanical cycling. ANOVA revealed statistically significant difference (P < 0.05) among groups for vertical misfit measured before and after mechanical cycling. The abutments cast in titanium exhibited the highest misfit values. Pearson correlation test did not demonstrate significant correlation (P > 0.05) between vertical misfit and detorque value. It was concluded that vertical misfit did not influence torque maintenance and the abutments cast in titanium exhibited the highest misfit values.     

Calcium dosing for the simultaneous control of biomass retention and the enhancement of fermentative biohydrogen production in an innovative fixed-film bioreactor

Biohydrogen (bioH₂) production via dark fermentation is an attractive approach to overcome the drawbacks of conventional hydrogen production methods and represents a preliminary alternative for the management of organic wastes. Fundamental studies are still required to enhance the performance of bioH₂ production systems, with emphasis on the development of novel reactor configurations. The anaerobic structured-bed reactor (ASTBR) is a recently developed configuration with great potential for bioH₂ production, although operating strategies are still required to minimize biomass washout in such systems. In this context, calcium dosing has been investigated as a strategy to enhance both biomass retention and bioH₂ production rates in the ASTBR. The present study employed varying COD/calcium ratios (4423, 2079, 1357, 1012, 884, and 632) in continuous experiments under mesophilic conditions (25 °C). Calcium dosing effectively enhanced biomass retention within the ASTBR, directly increasing the availability of metabolic energy for different metabolic pathways rather than cell synthesis. An optimal COD/calcium ratio of 1360 was mathematically estimated for bioH₂ production, which is consistent with the results obtained experimentally. The specific organic loading rate (SOLR) was better controlled at this ratio, indicating the establishment of balanced conditions in terms of substrate availability and biomass concentration. Conversely, bioH₂ production was severely impaired at COD/calcium values below and above the optimal range, most likely due to enhancement of the homoacetogenic pathway as a result of unbalanced conditions in the SOLR. Furthermore, biomass accumulation did not strongly affect the mean residence time of the ASTBR, facilitating its robust and enhanced solid retention.     

Identification of unbalance forces by metaheuristic search algorithms

This paper discusses the identification of parameters in rotary systems, namely, the unbalance magnitude, phase and position in the rotor system. These parameters can be identified using the measured orbits in the hydrodynamic bearings. The oil film forces are evaluated in the different positions of the orbit of the journal and are applied to the model of the shaft. The model, integrated in time domain, allows with an assumed unbalance, to simulate the orbits. The objective function is basically the difference between measured and simulated orbits, and its minimum corresponds to the identified unbalance amount, phase and position along the shaft. With respect to traditional model based identification procedures, this approach using oil film forces instead of oil film linearized stiffness and damping coefficients, and unfiltered orbits instead of 1X vibration components is suitable to deal with non-linear behaviour of the system.     

Fertigung einer universellen Hüftprothesenpfanne mittels Hochdruckblechumformung

In recent years, the use of hip prostheses has become a routine procedure. The use of total hip replacement has evolved in recent years to a routine procedure. Despite this experience, it always comes back to complications. Especially the migration or loosening of the acetabular component because of the artificial load adaptive bone remodeling is still a current problem. This is due to the changing mechanical situation after the implantation of the prosthesis. Another problem is the high bone loss during implantation, which complicates a revision of the prosthesis. One solution is the use of patient‐specific prostheses. So far, the use of these prostheses is limited due to the time‐consuming and cost‐intensive production. The overall objective of the presented project in this publication is the development and establishment of an innovative concept for the production of patient‐specific hip prosthesis made of titanium plates by sheet metal forming. The idea of this concept involves the development of a two‐stage process. First of all a standardized hip prosthesis is made by high‐pressure sheet metal forming and then individually in the second step. This publication contains the derivation of the standard prosthesis. For this purpose, a design methodology was generated, based on the so‐called agglomerative clustering. In addition, presents the results of the numerical preliminary design of the first stage of the process and the tool developed concept in the course of this paper.     

BaTiO3 incorporation effect on the dielectric properties of polymer from aqueous emulsion: An enhanced dispersion technique

An economic and environment friendly process was adapted to synthesize new dielectric composite materials. Using ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA)/vinyl ester of versatic acid (VeoVa) terpolymer as an aqueous emulsion provides a homogenous dispersion of BaTiO₃ (BT) particles, due to the high viscosity and polarity of the vinyl resin (VR). Composites films were obtained from these dispersions by water evaporation. The evolution of the dielectric properties as a function of the BaTiO₃ content, was correctly fitted by a Maxwell‐Garnett model. This fitting of the experimental curve shows a good dispersion of filler in the vinyl resin and the particles separation by a layer of resin as expected for the preparation method used in this study. The VR/BT composites show good synergy between the dielectric properties of the different phases of the composites due to the formation of macrodipoles and to the strong interactions between polar EVA/VeoVa groups and the BaTiO₃ particles surface. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 44333.     

Thermo‐responsive polyurethane hydrogels based on poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(caprolactone): Physico‐chemical and mechanical properties

In this work, we present the synthesis and characterization of chemically crosslinked polyurethanes (PU) composed of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and poly(caprolactone) diol (PCL‐diol), as hydrophilic and hydrophobic segments respectively, poly(caprolactone) triol (PCL‐triol), to induce hydrolysable crosslinks, and hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI). The syntheses were performed at 45 °C, resulting in polyurethanes with different PEG/PCL‐diol/PCL‐triol mass fractions. All the PUs are able to crystallize and their thermal properties depend on the global composition. The water uptake capacities of the PU increase as the PEG amount increases. The water into hydrogels is present in different environments, as bounded, bulk and free water. The PU hydrogels are thermo‐responsive, presenting a negative dependence of the water uptake with the temperature for PEG rich networks, which gradually changes to a positive behavior as the amount of poly(caprolactone) (PCL) segments increases. However, the water uptake capacity changes continuously without an abrupt transition. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses of the hydrogel morphology after lyophilization revealed a porous structure. Mechanical compression tests revealed that the hydrogels present good resilience and low recovery hysteresis when they are subject to cycles of compression–decompression. In addition, the mechanical properties of the hydrogels varies with the composition and crosslinking density, and therefore with the water uptake capacity. The PU properties can be tuned to fit for different applications, such as biomedical applications. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43573.     

Comparative Study of Ultrasonication-Induced and Naturally Self-Assembled Silk Fibroin-Wool Keratin Hydrogel Biomaterials

This study reports the formation of biocompatible hydrogels using protein polymers from natural silk cocoon fibroins and sheep wool keratins. Silk fibroin protein contains β-sheet secondary structures, allowing for the formation of physical cross-linkers in the hydrogels. Comparative studies were performed on two groups of samples. In the first group, ultrasonication was used to induce a quick gelation of a protein aqueous solution, enhancing the ability of Bombyx mori silk fibroin chains to quickly entrap the wool keratin protein molecules homogenously. In the second group, silk/keratin mixtures were left at room temperature for days, resulting in naturally-assembled gelled solutions. It was found that silk/wool blended solutions can form hydrogels at different mixing ratios, with perfectly interconnected gel structure when the wool content was less than 30 weight percent (wt %) for the first group (ultrasonication), and 10 wt % for the second group (natural gel). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and temperature modulated DSC (TMDSC) were used to confirm that the fibroin/keratin hydrogel system was well-blended without phase separation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to investigate the secondary structures of blended protein gels. It was found that intermolecular β-sheet contents significantly increase as the system contains more silk for both groups of samples, resulting in stable crystalline cross-linkers in the blended hydrogel structures. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to analyze the samples’ characteristic morphology on both micro- and nanoscales, which showed that ultrasonic waves can significantly enhance the cross-linker formation and avoid phase separation between silk and keratin molecules in the blended systems. With the ability to form cross-linkages non-chemically, these silk/wool hydrogels may be economically useful for various biomedical applications, thanks to the good biocompatibility of protein molecules and the various characteristics of hydrogel systems.     

Electro-osmosis treatment techniques and their effect on dewatering of soils,sediments, and sludge: A review

Electro-osmosis is an established method of dewatering fine soils, sediments, and sludge (SSS). The efficiency of electro-osmotic treatment is controlled by the electrical resistance of the system. Due to an increase in SSS resistance during treatment, its cost efficiency is reduced, limiting the widespread use of this technique. The aim of this paper is to discuss the main reasons for the increase in SSS resistance during treatment and then to analyze the most recent and widely spread modifications to classical electro-osmotic treatment that attempt to combat these issues and improve the efficiency of the technique. These modifications to electro-osmotic treatment are polarity reversal, an intermittent current, the injection of chemical solutions at the electrodes, and the use of geo-synthetics. The paper discusses the relevant research on the above adaptations, and the advantages and disadvantages of each are evaluated and compared using the available laboratory and field tests in the literature on electro-osmotic dewatering research. All four methods of modification are shown to provide significant improvements and can be successfully translated to the field for greater use. However, the improvements they bring about may not be sufficient to warrant their general use in geotechnical applications.     

The effect of monoethylene glycol on the stability of water-in-oil emulsions

It is important from both a strategic and economic standpoint to study the mechanism of formation of water/oil emulsions, to predict their increase of viscosity with respect to that of the crude oil, and to obtain information about the stability vs separation of these substances (since their presence can impair oil processing and distribution). The objective of this work was to ascertain the influence of monoethylene glycol (MEG) on these parameters and its action mechanism. The addition of MEG in different proportions in the oil emulsions significantly changed the flow curve of the emulsion, passing from a quasi-Newtonian one to a shear thinning behaviour. Besides this, when MEG was present at low concentrations, the demulsification process was slow and an increase in concentration made the emulsions more stable than samples containing the same aqueous phase proportion. Under the conditions studied, the addition of MEG did not reduce the quantity of the aqueous phase separated compared to the emulsions free of MEG, but significantly delayed the demulsification process. Rheology provided important information regarding the phase separation process of the aqueous phase in oil phase emulsions, and dynamic testing suggested that the most relevant effect of the addition of MEG is an increase of the emulsion elasticity that can be correlated with the increase in the emulsion stability observed by bottle test and Turbiscan.