Remineralization effects of self-assembling peptide P11-4 associated with three materials on early enamel carious lesions: An in vitro study

The aim of this study was to assess the remineralization of enamel caries lesions using the self-assembling peptide P₁₁-4 associated with different materials. Artificial early enamel lesions were prepared on 154 primary teeth. The samples were randomly divided into eight groups: (1) control, (2) P₁₁-4, (3) fluoridate toothpaste (FT), (4) P₁₁-4 + FT, (5) casein phosphopeptide–amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP–ACP), (6) P₁₁-4 + CPP–ACP, (7) fluoridate bioactive glass toothpaste (BT), and (8) P₁₁-4 + BT. The surface enamel microhardness (EMH) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) of the teeth were then measured at the baseline, after demineralization, and after 28 days of remineralization. The enamel surfaces were assessed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The data were analyzed with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) (p < .05). EMH after demineralization was significantly lower than the baseline value (p < .001). The interventions led to an enhanced percentage of EMH recovery (%REMH), which was higher in Groups 6 and 7. There was no significant difference between Groups 3 and 4. Groups 1 and 2 had the lowest %REMH. The mean calcium/phosphate weight percentage ratio of P₁₁-4 was significantly lower than the others (p < .001). The FESEM and AFM images revealed mineral deposition on the eroded enamel and reductions in surface roughness in Groups 5 and 7.     

Effect of laser preparation on adhesion of a self‐adhesive flowable composite resin to primary teeth

The aim of the study was to evaluate the adhesion of a self‐adhering flowable composite resin to primary tooth enamel and dentin after silicon carbide paper (SiC) and laser pretreatment. Adhesive properties were evaluated as shear bond strength (SBS) and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) characteristics. A total 120 primary canine teeth were randomly divided into two groups to study enamel and dentin. Each group was divided into 6 subgroups (n = 10) according to type of surface preparation (SiC or Er:YAG laser) of enamel or dentin. Three methods were used to build cylinders of restoration on tooth surface: OptiBond All‐In‐One + Premise Flowable composite, OptiBond All‐In‐One + Vertise Flow and Vertise flow. After restoration, samples were tested for SBS and failure mode. Twenty eight samples were examined by SEM. The results of the study showed SBS of Vertise Flow was lower than others in enamel and dentin samples pretreated with SiC and in dentin samples pretreated with laser (P < 0.001). Compared to SiC pretreatment, laser pretreatment led to a significantly higher SBS with Vertise Flow on enamel (P < 0.001). Vertise Flow associated with the adhesive led to a higher SBS in enamel and dentin compared to Vertise Flow alone. Adhesive and mixed failure modes were observed more frequently in Vertise Flow groups. SEM images showed that Vertise Flow led to more irregularities on enamel and more open dentinal tubules after laser ablation compared SiC pretreatment. Microsc. Res. Tech. 79:334–341, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Implementation of an YSZ coating material to prevent clogging of the submerged entry nozzle (SEN) during continuous casting of Ce-treated steels

The possibility to reduce clogging in the submerged entry nozzle (SEN) during continuous casting of Ce alloyed stainless steels has been studied. This was done by implementing a new plasma coating material, consisting of yttria-stabilised zirconia (YSZ). The coating was first tested in pilot–plant trials; where the amount of steel teemed through the plasma-coated nozzles was monitored. Thereafter, samples of the coatings from the nozzles were studied using a FEG-SEM equipped with EDS. In addition, the coating material was tested in industrial trials where the performance was judged with respect to the clogging tendency detected as the movement of the stopper rod. The results from both the pilot–plant trials and industrial trials showed that the use of an YSZ coating led to a decreased clogging tendency during the casting in comparison to when using an uncoated SEN. Specifically, the pilot–plant trials showed that the clogging factor was lowered when implementing the YSZ coatings. Furthermore, the industrial trials showed that the clogging tendency, measured by the stopper rod movements, were lower when implementing the YSZ coating.     

High speed sample and hold design using closed-loop pole-zero cancelation

A new closed loop Sample-and-Hold (S&H) architecture is proposed for pipeline analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that breaks the precision-speed-power trade off by means of canceling out the first closed loop pole. This pole-canceling results in widening the bandwidth of the S&H up to the second pole. In this architecture, two amplifiers are used: one for accuracy with little power consumption, another one for high-speed response, which consumes most of the total power. Exploiting these two amplifiers remedies some of the tradeoffs and limitations of opamp design in S&H circuits. Simulated by HSPICE with a standard BSIM3v3 0.13 μm technology, the S&H achieves 80 dB SFDR for a 1.6 V_ppd output at 500 MHz sampling rate.     

Studies of new coating materials to prevent clogging of submerged entry nozzle (SEN) during continuous casting of Al killed low carbon steels

The possibility to reduce clogging in the submerged entry nozzle when casting Al killed low carbon steel has been evaluated. The coating materials have been tested in laboratory trials and pilot plant trials. Totally, two mixes of the coating material have been tested, containing 4.8 and 9.1% CaTiO₃ mixed with yttria stabilised zirconia powder. The chemical composition was analysed using a field emission gun–scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry. The major result showed that alumina reacted with CaTiO₃ in the temperature interval from 1550 to 1600°C. In addition, the clogging ratio showed a decreased clogging tendency for coated nozzles compared to standard nozzles. In addition, the results showed that an approximately three times higher steel mass could be teemed through the coated nozzles before clogging occurred compared to trials with uncoated standard nozzles. Overall, it is concluded that plasma sprayed CaTiO₃ coatings can reduce the clogging tendency during the continuous casting process.     

Efficacy of calcium‐ and fluoride‐containing materials for the remineralization of primary teeth with early enamel lesion

The aim of the study was to determine the efficacy of different products containing fluoride, calcium and phosphate for enamel remineralization in eroded primary teeth. A total of 90 sound primary canine teeth were randomly divided into 5 groups of 18 teeth each: 1) control (polished enamel), 2) 5% DuraShield sodium fluoride varnish, 3) 500 ppm fluoridated toothpaste, 4) casein phosphopeptide‐amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP‐ACP) cream, and 5) Clinpro White varnish containing functionalized tri‐calcium phosphate (fTCP). Enamel microhardness (EMH) was measured in all samples before and after demineralization and after 28 days of remineralization. Also 8 samples in groups 2 to 5 and four samples of sound and demineralized enamel were examined with atomic force microscopy (AFM). All data were analyzed with one‐way ANOVA (p<0.05). Mean microhardness of demineralized enamel was significantly lower than in enamel at baseline (p<0.001). Remineralization significantly increased microharness in groups 2 to 5 compared to the control group (p<0.001). Percent EMH after remineralization with CPP‐ACP was significantly higher than after fTCP (p=0.029), toothpaste (p< 0.001) or fluoride varnish (p<0.001); however, there was no significant difference between toothpaste and fluoride varnish (p=0.062). Microhardness increased more after fTCP treatment than after treatment with sodium fluoride varnish (p<0.001) or fluoridated toothpaste (p=0.045). AFM images showed that enamel roughness decreased most after treatment with fTCP, followed by CPP‐ACP, toothpaste and fluoride varnish. The efficacy of CPP‐ACP cream for remineralizing eroded enamel was greater than fluoride toothpaste, fluoride varnish or fTCP varnish. Microsc. Res. Tech. 78:801–806, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Studies of the decarburisation phenomena during preheating of submerged entry nozzles (SEN) in continuous casting processes

Decarburisation of the submerged entry nozzles (SEN) during the preheating process was investigated based on plant trials and thermodynamic modelling at three different steel plants. During the trials the preheating processes were mapped, the temperature profiles were registered and post-mortem studies of the SENs with scanning electron microscopy were performed. Typically, the glass/silicon powder will form a dense and protective layer inside the SEN when heated over 1100°C. However, this study found that the temperature distribution inside the SEN did not always reach this critical temperature. Thus, decarburisation of the SEN was found at all steel plants. The overall results illustrate that the control of the preheating process needs to be improved at all steel plants. It is suggested that future research should be focused on the development of new coating materials to prevent decarburisation of the refractory base material, which would decrease the chances of clogging during casting.