Strengthening Dental Porcelains by Ion Exchange Process

Porcelains have been used in dentistry for many decades because of their excellent aesthetic qualities, besides other favorable characteristics. Despite these desirable characteristics, porcelain restorations may fail in the oral environment due to fracture. Studies on the clinical success rate of porcelain onlays, inlays and veneers have shown that their fracture rate is relatively high and is among the main reasons for failure of these restorations. The fracture of dental porcelains is a consequence of its brittle nature and low fracture toughness. Porcelains are also highly susceptible to weakening during their lifetime in the oral environment, because the sizes of defects tend to increase by the slow crack growth phenomenon. Therefore, in order to increase the lifetime of porcelain restorations, it is necessary to enhance their overall resistance to crack propagation. Among the methods proposed to strengthen glasses and ceramics, a potential method to improve the mechanical properties of dental porcelains is the chemical strengthening or tempering by the ion exchange process. In this chapter, the effects of chemical tempering on mechanical behavior of dental porcelains are reviewed. Dental porcelains are based on alkali-containing aluminosilicate glass compositions and can have leucite (KAlSi2O6) crystalline particles dispersed in the glassy matrix. The ion exchange process can be carried out by the paste method using KNO3 salt at a temperature that is 80% of glass transition temperature (Tg) of porcelain during a short time (15 to 30 min). In this treatment, the small Na+ ions in the glassy matrix are exchanged by larger K+ ions from the salt, resulting in a K+ concentration profile that results in a steep gradient of residual compressive stress by the ion stuffing effect at the surface region of the porcelain. No significant variations in strengthening have been observed when temperature and time varied around the above indicated values, since the increase in these parameters enhanced the stress relaxation process, which hinders the effect of higher ion interdiffusion. Although few porcelains with high leucite content have no strengthening response to ion exchange process, most dental porcelains can be strengthened and significant increases in fracture toughness (up to around 150%) have been reported. The same level of increase in flexural strength has been observed, but the variability of fracture stress also increases due to the relative small thickness of compressive layer and the decreasing resistance curve effect. The lower reliability is counterbalanced by significant increases of the resistance to slow crack growth phenomenon, leading to higher strength retention after long lifetimes even at low levels of fracture probability. Therefore, it is expected that the application of chemical tempering (strengthening by ion exchange) can improve the lifetime of dental porcelain restorations

Memristors : a journey from material engineering to beyond Von-Neumann computing

Memristors are a promising building block to the next generation of computing systems. Since 2008, when the physical implementation of a memristor was first postulated, the scientific community has shown a growing interest in this emerging technology. Thus, many other memristive devices have been studied, exploring a large variety of materials and properties. Furthermore, in order to support the design of prac-tical applications, models in different abstract levels have been developed. In fact, a substantial effort has been devoted to the development of memristive based applications, which includes high-density nonvolatile memories, digital and analog circuits, as well as bio-inspired computing. In this context, this paper presents a survey, in hopes of summarizing the highlights of the literature in the last decade

The role of time scale in the spreading of asymmetrically interacting diseases

Diseases and other contagion phenomena in nature and society can interact asymmetrically, such that one can benefit from the other, which in turn impairs the first, in analogy with predator-prey systems. Here, we consider two models for interacting disease-like dynamics with asymmetric interactions and different associated time scales. Using rate equations for homogeneously mixed populations, we show that the stationary prevalences and phase diagrams of each model behave differently with respect to variations of the relative time scales. We also characterize in detail the regime where transient oscillations are observed, a pattern that is inherent to asymmetrical interactions but often ignored in the literature. Our results contribute to a better understanding of disease dynamics in particular, and interacting processes in general, and could provide interesting insights for real-world applications, most notably, the interplay between the dynamics of fact-checked and fake news.Comment: 11 pages and 8 figure

Modeling the effects of social distancing on the large-scale spreading of diseases

To contain the propagation of emerging diseases that are transmissible from human to human, non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) aimed at reducing the interactions between humans are usually implemented. One example of the latter kind of measures is social distancing, which can be either policy-driven or can arise endogenously in the population as a consequence of the fear of infection. However, if NPIs are lifted before the population reaches herd immunity, further re-introductions of the pathogen would lead to secondary infections. Here we study the effects of different social distancing schemes on the large scale spreading of diseases. Specifically, we generalize metapopulation models to include social distancing mechanisms at the subpopulation level and model short- and long-term strategies that are fed with local or global information about the epidemics. We show that different model ingredients might lead to very diverse outcomes in different subpopulations. Our results suggest that there is not a unique answer to the question of whether contention measures are more efficient if implemented and managed locally or globally and that model outcomes depends on how the full complexity of human interactions is taken into account

Epidemic spreading in populations of mobile agents with adaptive behavioral response

Despite the advanced stage of epidemic modeling, there is a major demand for methods to incorporate behavioral responses to the spread of a disease, such as social distancing and adoption of prevention methods. Mobility plays an important role on epidemic dynamics and is also affected by behavioral changes, but there are many situations in which real mobility data is incomplete or inaccessible. We present a model for epidemic spreading in temporal networks of mobile agents that incorporates local behavioral responses. Susceptible agents are allowed to move towards the opposite direction of infected agents in their neighborhood. We show that this mechanism considerably decreases the stationary prevalence when the spatial density of agents is low. However, for higher densities, the mechanism causes an abrupt phase transition, where a new bistable phase appears. We develop a semi-analytic approach for the case when the mobility is fast compared to the disease dynamics, and use it to argue that the bistability is caused by the emergence of spatial clusters of susceptible agents. Finally, we characterize the temporal networks formed in the fast mobility regime, showing how the degree distributions and other metrics are affected by the behavioral mechanism. Our work incorporates results previously known from adaptive networks into population of mobile agents, which can be further developed to be used in mobility-driven models

Correlation between clinical performance and degree of conversion of resin cements: a literature review

AbstractResin-based cements have been frequently employed in clinical practice to lute indirect restorations. However, there are numerous factors that may compromise the clinical performance of those cements. The aim of this literature review is to present and discuss some of the clinical factors that may affect the performance of current resin-based luting systems. Resin cements may have three different curing mechanisms: chemical curing, photo curing or a combination of both. Chemically cured systems are recommended to be used under opaque or thick restorations, due to the reduced access of the light. Photo-cured cements are mainly indicated for translucent veneers, due to the possibility of light transmission through the restoration. Dual-cured are more versatile systems and, theoretically, can be used in either situation, since the presence of both curing mechanisms might guarantee a high degree of conversion (DC) under every condition. However, it has been demonstrated that clinical procedures and characteristics of the materials may have many different implications in the DC of currently available resin cements, affecting their mechanical properties, bond strength to the substrate and the esthetic results of the restoration. Factors such as curing mechanism, choice of adhesive system, indirect restorative material and light-curing device may affect the degree of conversion of the cement and, therefore, have an effect on the clinical performance of resin-based cements. Specific measures are to be taken to ensure a higher DC of the luting system to be used

Finite element procedure for stress amplification factor recovering in a representative volume of composite materials

Finite element models are proposed to the micromechanical analysis of a representative volume of composite materials. A detailed description of the meshes, boundary conditions, and loadings are presented. An illustrative application is given to evaluate stress amplification factors within a representative volume of the unidirectional carbon fiber composite plate. The results are discussed and compared to the numerical findings

Utilização do enxofre pelo arroz e Crotalária júncea de sulfato - 34S aplicado ao solo

Em solos tropicais com agricultura intensiva se verifica, atualmente, redução na disponibilidade de enxofre, causada pelo uso de fertilizantes concentrados em NPK. Neste estudo, desenvolvido em vaso contendo 3 kg de um Argissolo, em condições de casa de vegetação, avaliou-se a utilização pelo arroz (Oriza sativa L.) e crotalária júncea (Crotalaria juncea L.) do enxofre de fertilizante, fazendo-se uso do isótopo estável 34S. Uma solução de sulfato de sódio marcado com 34S (14,30 ± 0,05% em átomos de 34S) foi aplicada ao solo (70 mg S-SO4 por kg de solo) após 18 dias da semeadura. A colheita da parte aérea da crotalária e do arroz deu-se aos 72 e 122 dias após a adubação respectivamente. O material seco da crotalária foi menor que o do arroz. Por outro lado, o teor de enxofre e a quantidade de S na crotalária foram muito superiores às do arroz, devido a maior exigência da leguminosa pelo nutriente. A maior exigência da leguminosa por enxofre e o menor tempo entre a fertilização e a colheita, possibilitaram que uma menor quantidade de S nativo do solo fosse mineralizada, e que uma menor quantidade de 34SO4 fosse imobilizada pela biomassa microbiana, o que resultou em abundância de 34S e porcentagem de enxofre na planta derivada do fertilizante (Sddf) superiores na crotalária (%Sddf crotalária = 91,3 ± 3,5%; %Sddf arroz = 66,3 ± 0,8%). Os valores expressivos de %Sddf indicaram uma baixa taxa de mineralização de S, provavelmente, como conseqüência da possível carência do nutriente no solo.In tropical soils with intensive agriculture an increasing sulfur deficiency has been verified in several crops. The low available S in these soils is caused by the continuous use of concentrated NPK fertilizers. The objective of this work was to evaluate the utilization by rice (Oriza sativa L.) and crotalaria juncea (Crotalaria juncea L.) of sulfur applied to the soil, under greenhouse conditions. Pots with 3 kg of an Argisol (Paleudalf) were used to test the isotopic technique with the stable isotope 34S, adding a solution of sodium sulfate labeled with 34S (14.30 ± 0.05 atom % of 34S) to the soil (70 mg SO4-S per kg-1 of soil) 18 days after sowing both species. The shoots of the crotalaria and rice were harvested, respectively on the 72nd and 122nd days after S fertilization. The concentration and the amount of sulfur in the crotalaria were higher than in rice, due to the higher legume requirement for this nutrient. The sulfur requirement and the short time interval between fertilization and harvest of the crotalaria resulted in a small amount of native SO4-S mineralized in the soil and a small quantity of 34SO4 immobilized by soil microorganisms. Thus, the percentage of sulfur in the crotalaria derived from the fertilizer (Sdff) was higher than in the rice (%Sdff crotalaria = 91.3 ± 3.5%; %Sdff rice = 66.3 ± 0.8%). The expressive values of %Sdff indicate a low rate of mineralization of SO4-S probably as a consequence of the low available sulfur content in the soil

Antimicrobial activity of de novo designed cationic peptides against multi-resistant clinical isolates

Antibiotic resistance is one of the main problems concerning public health or clinical practice. Antimicrobial peptides appear as good candidates for the development of new therapeutic drugs. In this study we de novo designed a group of cationic antimicrobial peptides, analyzed its physicochemical properties, including its structure by circular dichroism and studied its antimicrobial properties against a panel of clinical isolates expressing different mechanisms of resistance. Three cationic alpha helical peptides exhibited antimicrobial activity comparable to, or even better than the comparator omiganan (MBI-226).Fil: Faccone, Diego Francisco. Dirección Nacional de Institutos de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Área de Antimicrobianos; ArgentinaFil: Veliz, Omar. Dirección Nacional de Institutos de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Área de Antimicrobianos; ArgentinaFil: Corso, Alejandra. Dirección Nacional de Institutos de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Área de Antimicrobianos; ArgentinaFil: Noguera, Martín Ezequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Martínez, Melina María Belén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Microbiología Molecular; ArgentinaFil: Payés, Cristian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Microbiología Molecular; ArgentinaFil: Semorile, Liliana Carmen. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Microbiología Molecular; ArgentinaFil: Maffia, Paulo Cesar. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Microbiología Molecular; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Soil loss ratio for three green manures

Um experimento sobre perdas de água e solo por erosão foi desenvolvido, durante seis anos agrícolas (1973/74 a 1978/79), no Centro Experimental de Campinas do Instituto Agronômico do estado de São Paulo, Brasil, em um Typic Haplortox, com vistas em avaliar a Razão de Perdas de Solo (RPS) para três leguminosas utilizadas como adubos verdes. As leguminosas estudadas foram a Crotalaria juncea L. (crotalária); Stizolobium aterrinum Piper et Tracy (mucunapreta) e Dolichos lablab L. (labelabe). Para determinar a razão de perdas de solo, foram estabelecidos quatro períodos das culturas isolados de 0-30, 30-60, 60-90 e 60-120 dias após a semeadura e períodos cumulativos de 0-30, 0-60, 0-90 e 0-120 dias após a semeadura. Os resultados obtidos mostraram maior proteção oferecida pela mucuna-preta à erosão, com valores de RPS de 0,28; 0,37; 0,17; e 0,09 para os períodos isolados de 0-30, 30-60; 60-90 e 60-120 dias após a semeadura. O labelabe apresentou, para a mesma situação, os valores de 0,50; 0,45; 0,27 e 0,19; enquanto, para a crotalária, os valores foram de 0,30; 0,42; 0,26 e 0,24. Os resultados mostraram proteção mais efetiva do solo à erosão a partir dos 60 dias após a semeadura, por parte das espécies avaliadas. A mucuna-preta apresentou maior efetividade na proteção do solo, seguida da crotalária, especialmente no primeiro período, e do labelabe, no estádio mais próximo ao florescimento.A field experiment of soil and water losses by erosion was carried out during six consecutive agricultural years (1973/74 to 1978/79) at the Experimental Center of Campinas, Instituto Agronomico of São Paulo, Brazil, in a Typic Haplorthox, to evaluate soil loss ratio (SLR) for three green manures: Crotalaria juncea L., Stizolobium aterrinum Piper et Tracy and Dolichos lablab L. Four cropstage periods were defined as isolated periods (0-30, 30-60, 60-90, and 60-120 days after planting), and as accumulated cropstage period (0-30, 0-60, 0- 90 or 0-120 days after planting). The results showed that Stizolobium aterrinum gave the best cover protection against soil loss, with values of soil loss ratio (SLR) of 0.28, 0.37, 0.17 and 0.19 for cropstage periods of 0-30, 30-60, 60-90 and 60-120 days after planting, respectively. Dolichos lablab showed SLR values of 0.50, 0.45, 0.27 and 0.19 and Crotalaria juncea of 0.30, 0.42, 0.26 and 0.24 for the same cropstage periods, respectively. The results also showed that the cover protection from the three green manures was more effective after 60 days of planting. Stizolobium was the most efficient cover, followed by Crotalaria, mainly in the first cropstage period and Dolichos, during flowering