Dento-Alveolar Distraction Osteogenesis for Rapid Orthodontic Treatment- A Case Report

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the rate of canine distalization by segmental alveolar distraction method in first premolar extraction case, to evaluate the displacement of the canine and first molar teeth, to assess the effects of the procedure on the pulpal vitality of the canines, and to determine the amount of root resorption in retracted canines. Pre- and post-treatment dental casts, panoramic radiographs, and standard periapical radiographs were taken. An electrical vitality test was applied before and after the distraction procedure and during the follow-up period. The distraction procedure was completed in 12 to 16 days. There was no anchorage loss. No clinical and radiographic evidence of complications such as root resorption, ankylosis, periodontal problems, and soft tissue dehiscence, was observed. Patients had minimal to moderate discomfort after the surgery and vitality of canine maintained.   &nbsp

Upregulation of ASCL1 and inhibition of Notch signaling pathway characterize progressive astrocytoma

Astrocytoma is the most common type of brain cancer constituting more than half of all brain tumors. With an aim to identify markers describing astrocytoma progression, we have carried out microarray analysis of astrocytoma samples of different grades using cDNA microarray containing 1152 cancer-specific genes. Data analysis identified several differentially regulated genes between normal brain tissue and astrocytoma as well as between grades II/III astrocytoma and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM; grade IV). We found several genes known to be involved in malignancy including Achaete-scute complex-like 1 (Drosophila) (ASCL1; Hash 1). As ASCL has been implicated in neuroendocrine, medullary thyroid and small-cell lung cancers, we chose to examine the role of ASCL1 in the astrocytoma development. Our data revealed that ASCL1 is overexpressed in progressive astrocytoma as evidenced by increased levels of ASCL1 transcripts in 85.71% (6/7) of grade II diffuse astrocytoma (DA), 90% (9/10) of grade III anaplastic astrocytoma (AA) and 87.5% (7/8) of secondary GBMs, while the majority of primary de novo GBMs expressed similar to or less than normal brain levels (66.67%; 8/12). ASCL1 upregulation in progressive astrocytoma is accompanied by inhibition of Notch signaling as seen by uninduced levels of HES1, a transcriptional target of Notch1, increased levels of HES6, a dominant-negative inhibitor of HES1-mediated repression of ASCL1, and increased levels of Notch ligand Delta1, which is capable of inhibiting Notch signaling by forming intracellular Notch ligand autonomous complexes. Our results imply that inhibition of Notch signaling may be an important early event in the development of grade II DA and subsequent progression to grade III AA and secondary GBM. Furthermore, ASCL1 appears to be a putative marker to distinguish primary GBM from secondary GBM

Bioplastics from Kitchen Wastes: A Developing Green Technology

Plastic waste has become one of the biggest problems due to their excessive use. Decomposition of bioplastics is very difficult as a result its causes lot of negative impact to landfill and water pollution. The most possible solution to overcome this problem is to substitute synthetic polymeric materials with biodegradable materials suchas bioplastics. Food wastes can be transformed into environment friendly bioplastics, which will not only reduce environmental pollution due to natural fermentation of these wastes, but also generate National revenue besides generating employment potentials. These polymers can be degraded environmentally by microorganisms and water in compost piles. Application of Bioplastics has several advantages over conventional plastics such as lower carbon footprint and greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, lower energy cost in manufacturing, reduction of permanent litter, and much safer to the environment. In food Industries, the need for high-standard storage features and the urge for packaging with high economic, low ecological impact, ease of customization, and low encumbrance can be answered by compostable or degradable bioplastics where kitchen waste may take essential role. Advancements in biomedical applications of bioplastics lead to the development of drug delivery systems and therapeutic devices for tissue engineering. Nanocellulose and its composites, which may be obtained from the processing of kitchen wastes, may result in potential and economical sources for green plastic studies about the fabrication of medical implants, either in dental, orthopedic, or biomedical fields

Flexible silicon nitride photonic integrated circuit embedded in polymer handle

In this paper, we present a hybrid process to make a flexible photonic circuit. The photonic circuit is fabricated on a Silicon substrate with PECVD Silicon Nitride (SiN) as a waveguide layer on an oxide layer. The SiN waveguide circuit is fabricated using conventional lithography and dry etching followed by Si substrate thinned down to 10micrometer. The thin-film photonic circuit integrity after wafer-thinning and layer transfer is characterized by the waveguide performance, grating coupler efficiency and ring resonator performance. We observe no degradation in device and circuit performance. We present detailed process flow, SiN-to-PDMS embedding process and detailed device characterization

Vickers micro-hardness variation during change in concentration of constituent elements in Ni

Present work is on Heusler alloys of the sequence Ni50–xFexMn30Sn20–yIny, were prepared in order to investigate the relationship between microstructure and mechanical property. The work represents the variations in the hardness of the alloy when the component elements are changed. Alloys show Vickers hardness HV = 3.5 GPa at x = 2 and y = 4. At x = 4 and y = 8, alloy exhibits an L10 tetragonal structure, whereas at x = 3 and y = 6 L21 austenite phase structure is observed. Interface piling up occurs which greatly reduces fracture propagation and dislocation at neighboring interfaces. Large piled-up interfaces available in the martensite phase due to the sub-strips significantly contribute this process resulting in large hardness value. In spite of thicker laminates in the austenite phase, the alloy exhibits higher hardness than martensite phase or even the composite. Hardness is particularly low in the martensitic phase (x = 4, y = 8), which is produced owing to interfacial motion. The hardness value falls as the Sn concentration increases due to weak pinning between the strips. A drastic increase in hardness of 3.5 GPa has been observed when x = 2 and y = 4

Martensitic Transformation and Magnetic Properties of Ni-Mn Quinary Heusler Alloy

Ni-Mn-based quinary Heusler alloys have seldom been investigated with respect to their martensitic transformation and mechanical properties for near room temperature transformation. In the current work, we identified and investigated martensitic transformation near room temperature, and the martensitic properties of Ni-Mn-Sn-Fe-In-based quinary Heusler alloys. Alloys prepared in an argon-rich vacuum arc melting furnace. During X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, it was identified that the L21 cubic structure austenite phase of the alloy transforms into L10 orthorhombic martensite phase in the case of alloys with greater Fe substitution. The martensitic transformation zone of the alloy is also shifted to the near-room-temperature range of 15–28 °C by changing the stoichiometry of the alloy composition. Magnetic measurements like field heating (FH), field cooling (FC) and zero field cooling (ZFC) indicate the presence of a dual magnetic phase in the alloy, while magnetic susceptibility testing also helped to establish claims regarding the magnetic measurement results

A Study to Investigate the Influence of Machining Parameters on Delamination in the Abrasive Waterjet Machining of Jute-Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites: An Integrated Taguchi and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) Optimization to Minimize Delamination

In recent years, abrasive waterjet machining has emerged as a promising machining technique for the machining of composites because of its non-thermal nature. In the present study, the effect of machining parameters on the quality of machining has been studied and the process parameters have been optimized to machine jute-fiber-reinforced polymer composites. The design of the experiment was used to predict the combination of the input parameters for L27 experiments. Taguchi and response surface methodology (RSM) techniques were employed to analyze the experimental data and identify the optimum combination of process parameters to achieve as little delamination as possible. The results indicate that an increase in the values of the parameters traverse speed and abrasive mass flow rate leads to an increase in the damage obtained. However, an increase in the value of the parameter stand-off distance minimizes the damage produced. To achieve minimum delamination, the optimum combination of input parameters is obtained through Taguchi and RSM. For the present experimental condition, to achieve minimum delamination, the parameter traverse speed should be set at 20 mm/min, the stand-off distance should be 4 mm, and the abrasive flow rate should be set at 0.25 kg/min. The results confirm that the optimum combination of parameters obtained through both approaches is similar. This investigation results indicated a significant improvement in the cutting quality with reduced damage, achieved through the optimized process parameters. For the considered range of parameters, graphs are plotted such that any intermediate values can be anticipated within the considered range without performing any further experiments. The present work signifies the effect of fiber orientation on delamination

Investigation on Magnetization, Magnetocalory, Magnetoresistance, and Electric Properties of Ni-Mn Based Heusler Alloy

The magnetic and electrical characteristics of Ni-Mn quinary Heusler alloys are studied in the current work. The results concern the materials’ magnetic and electrical behavior. The physical property measurement system (PPMS) and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) were used at various magnetization levels to determine the results. The addition of Fe helps to form the alloy into a smart memory alloy with magnetocrystalline anisotropy, twin border mobility, and varied magnetic and martensite transition temperature characteristics. Character changes in the superparamagnetic (SPM) and paramagnetic (PM) alloys occur between 26 and 34 °C. The curves are supported by the alloy’s martensitic transition temperature change. A large refrigeration capacity is identified in the alloy. These properties are an indication of the alloys’ application prospects. Entropy change helps to detect the inverse magnetocaloric effect in the alloy, whereas adiabatic temperature change helps identify the origin and validity of reverse magnetic properties. The transition temperature changes occur when austenite’s sigma is larger than that of martensite, and as the magnetic field increases, the temperature declines. Isothermal magnetization curves, a large (MR)/B value at low and high magnetic fields, and temperatures near the transformation point suggest that small-crystal Heusler alloys have tremendous promise for low and high magnetic field magnetoresistance applications