Nearly Monodispersion CoSm Alloy Nanoparticles Formed by an In-situ Rapid Cooling and Passivating Microfluidic Process

An in siturapid cooling and passivating microfluidic processhas been developed for the synthesis of nearly monodispersed cobalt samarium nanoparticles (NPs) with tunable crystal structures and surface properties. This process involves promoting the nucleation and growth of NPs at an elevated temperature and rapidly quenching the NP colloids in a solution containing a passivating reagent at a reduced temperature. We have shown that Cobalt samarium NPs having amorphous crystal structures and a thin passivating layer can be synthesized with uniform nonspherical shapes and size of about 4.8 nm. The amorphous CoSm NPs in our study have blocking temperature near 40 K and average coercivity of 225 Oe at 10 K. The NPs also exhibit high anisotropic magnetic properties with a wasp-waist hysteresis loop and a bias shift of coercivity due to the shape anisotropy and the exchange coupling between the core and the thin oxidized surface layer

Impact of supragingival therapy on subgingival microbial profile in smokers versus non-smokers with severe chronic periodontitis

The aim of this study was to assess subgingival microbiological changes in smokers versus non-smokers presenting severe chronic periodontitis after supragingival periodontal therapy (ST).Non-smokers (n=10) and smokers (n=10) presenting at least nine teeth with probing pocket depth (PPD) (≥5 mm), bleeding on probing (BoP), and no history of periodontal treatment in the last 6 months were selected. Clinical parameters assessed were plaque index (PI), BoP, PPD, relative gingival margin position (rGMP) and relative clinical attachment level (rCAL). Subgingival biofilm was collected before and 21 days after ST. DNA was extracted and the 16S rRNA gene was amplified with the universal primer pair, 27F and 1492R. Amplified genes were cloned, sequenced, and identified by comparison with known 16S rRNA sequences. Statistical analysis was performed by Student's t and Chi-Square tests (α=5%).Clinically, ST promoted a significant reduction in PI and PPD, and gain of rCAL for both groups, with no significant intergroup difference. Microbiologically, at baseline, data analysis demonstrated that smokers harbored a higher proportion of Porphyromonas endodontalis, Bacteroidetes sp., Fusobacterium sp. and Tannerella forsythia and a lower number of cultivated phylotypes (p<0.05). Furthermore, non-smokers featured significant reductions in key phylotypes associated with periodontitis, whereas smokers presented more modest changes.Within the limits of the present study, ST promoted comparable clinical improvements in smokers and non-smokers with severe chronic periodontitis. However, in smokers, ST only slightly affected the subgingival biofilm biodiversity, as compared with non-smokers