Fluoride content and recharge ability of five glassionomer dental materials

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The relationship between fluoride content and fluoride release for glass-ionomer cements is not well understood. The aim of this laboratory study was: to determine the fluoride concentrations at the surfaces of glass-ionomer materials with respect to different storage media and different pH environments; to examine the recharge ability of the materials after NaF immersion; and to assess the morphological changes at the material surfaces using scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectroscopic techniques (SEM/EDS).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Five glass-ionomer materials, Fuji Triage (FT), Fuji II LC (FII), Fuji VIII (FVIII), Fuji IX GP (FIX), and Ketac N100 (KN), were analyzed in this study. Resin-based fluoride releasing material Helioseal F (HSF) was used as a comparison material. The sample consisted of 120 cured cement disks (n = 20 disks of each tested material, 10 × 1.5 mm). Five disks of each material were stored in 4 different storage media (I- saline, II- acidic solution ph = 2.5, III- acid solution ph = 5.5, IV- NaF solution (c = 500/106). After 7 days, two disks of each material were transferred from media I, II and III to the NaF solution for 3 min. EDS analysis was conducted in 3 randomly selected spots of each experimental disk. SEM was used to determine morphological characteristics of the material surface. Differences between the experimental groups have been analyzed using Student's t-test with the level of significance set at p < 0.001.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>FT showed the highest fluoride content at the surface of the material. The lowest amounts of fluoride ions were detected at the surfaces of the FT disks stored at low pH environments, and this difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Glass-ionomers showed significantly higher fluoride concentrations when compared to the HSF (p < 0.001). After immersion in the NaF solution, fluoride concentrations at the surfaces of the disks increased when compared with previous storage media (FT>FVIII>KN>FII>FIX). SEM analysis of the surface morphology revealed numerous voids, cracks and microporosities in all experimental groups, except for KN and HSF. More homogenous material structure with more discrete cracks was observed in samples stored at neutral pH environment, compared to disks stored in acidic solutions.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The tested materials could be considered as promising dental materials with potential prophylactic characteristics due to their relatively high fluoride content, but also the ability to extensively reabsorb fluoride ions, especially in acidic environments.</p

CALDERA: a scientific drilling concept to unravel Connections Among Life, geo-Dynamics and Eruptions in a Rifting Arc caldera, Okataina Volcanic Centre, Aotearoa New Zealand

Silicic caldera volcanoes present major volcanic and seismic hazards but also host dynamic hydrothermal and groundwater systems and a rich but largely unexplored subsurface biosphere. Many of these volcanoes are hosted in rift settings. The intricate connections and feedbacks among magmatism, rifting, hydrothermal processes, and the biosphere in these complex systems remain poorly understood, necessitating subsurface joint observations that are only enabled by scientific drilling. The CALDERA (Connections Among Life, geo-Dynamics and Eruptions in a Rifting Arc caldera) project workshop funded by the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) gathered multi-disciplinary international experts in January 2023 to advance planning of a scientific drilling project within one of these dynamic, rift-hosted calderas, the Okataina Volcanic Centre (OVC), Aotearoa New Zealand. The OVC's high eruption rate, frequent unrest events and earthquake swarms, location in a densely faulted rapidly extending rift, abundant groundwater–geothermal fluid circulations, and diverse surface hot spring microbiota make it an ideal location for exploring a connected geo-hydro-biosphere via scientific drilling and developing a test bed for novel volcano monitoring approaches. Drilling configurations with at least two boreholes (∼ 200 and ∼ 1000–1500 m deep) were favoured to achieve the multi-disciplinary objectives of the CALDERA project. Decadal monitoring including biosphere activity and composition has the potential to evaluate the response of the hydro-bio system to volcano-tectonic activity. In addition to the OVC caldera-scale datasets already available, site surveys will be conducted to select the best drilling locations. The CALDERA project at the OVC would provide, for the first time, an understanding of volcanic–tectonic–hydrological–biological connections in a caldera–rift system and a baseline for global comparisons with other volcanoes, rifts, and hydrothermal systems. CALDERA would serve as an unprecedented model system to understand how and how quickly the subsurface biosphere responds to geologic activities. Discoveries will improve assessment of volcanic and seismic hazards, guide the sustainable management and/or conservation of groundwater and geothermal resources and microbial ecosystems, and provide a forum for interweaving mātauranga Māori and Western knowledge systems.</p

Arena fight and venom usage

The table "Arena fight and venom usage.csv" corresponds to the manuscript sections of the same name. It contains the mortality of Argentine ant and workers of four Monomorium ant species after 1, 4 and 24 hours, as well as behavioural responses and observed venom usage of ant workers in the arena trials. It furthermore contains data derived from this raw data (for example relative occurence of behaviours). The experimental design is explained in the publication in the methods section with the same name as the datafile, further description of this and the other datafiles associated with this publication can be found in the ReadMe.tx

A zircon U-Pb geochronology for the Rotokawa geothermal system, New Zealand, with implications for Taupō Volcanic Zone evolution

A U-Pb zircon geochronology for the Rotokawa geothermal system, central Taupō Volcanic Zone (TVZ), New Zealand, provides new constraints on the chronostratigraphy and volcanic and structural evolution of this area and the broader TVZ. The 3-km-thick volcanic sequence at Rotokawa is mainly composed of rhyolitic ignimbrites linked to large caldera-forming events from sources outside the field area, but locally sourced andesite and rhyolite lavas and intrusions are also present. Crystallisation age spectra (and consequent estimates of eruption age) have been obtained on zircons from hydrothermally altered magmatic rocks by Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry techniques using a SHRIMP-RG instrument. The oldest rock dated is a Tahorakuri Formation ignimbrite (eruption age estimate of 1.87 ± 0.03 Ma) which, along with comparable-age units at other nearby TVZ geothermal systems (Ngatamariki, Ohaaki), is among the oldest silicic volcanic deposits known in the TVZ. These ignimbrites collectively onlap a basal andesite lava pile, up to 1.2 km thick at Rotokawa, that in turn rests on the Mesozoic basement greywacke. The base of the lava pile is more faulted than its top surface, implying that rifting and graben formation had started along the line of the modern TVZ arc prior to 1.84 Ma and is not a younger feature. Between ~1.8 Ma and 700 ka, there are no rocks represented at Rotokawa, with the next oldest lithology being a 720 ± 90 ka rhyolite lava. At 350 ka, the Rotokawa area was buried by regionally extensive ignimbrites of the Whakamaru Group, which have since subsided by ~700 m but not been greatly faulted. Ignimbrites and sediments of the Waiora Formation were then emplaced, coevally with widespread and volumetrically greater volcanism in the Maroa and Ngatamariki areas 13 km northwest and 8 km north of Rotokawa, respectively. Local rhyolites of the Oruahineawe Formation, dated at ~100 ka, were emplaced both as extrusive domes and shallow intrusions below the area. Sedimentary rocks of the Huka Falls Formation and deposits of the 14C-dated 25.4 ± 0.2 ka Oruanui eruption capped and sealed the system, which has since been disrupted by hydrothermal eruption events. The largest of these occurred at ~6.8 ka (14C date) broadly coincident with a resumption of eruptive activity at Taupō volcano, 20 km to the south-southwest. Notable aspects of the evolution of the Rotokawa area are the early onset of rifting and subsidence along the line of the modern arc, the lack of volcanic activity for N1 Myr from 1.84 Ma to 720 ka, the lack of faulting and only modest subsidence since 350 ka, and the contrasts in volcanic and subsidence histories with other, nearby geothermal systems

Data from: Toxicity and utilization of chemical weapons: does toxicity and venom utilization contribute to the formation of species communities?

Toxicity and the utilization of venom are essential features in the ecology of many animal species and have been hypothesized to be important factors contributing to the assembly of communities through competitive interactions. Ants of the genus Monomorium utilize a variety of venom compositions, which have been reported to give them a competitive advantage. Here, we investigate two pairs of Monomorium species, which differ in the structural compositions of their venom and their co-occurrence patterns with the invasive Argentine ant. We looked at the effects of Monomorium venom toxicity, venom utilization, and aggressive physical interactions on Monomorium and Argentine ant survival rates during arena trials. The venom toxicity of the two species co-occurring with the invasive Argentine ants was found to be significantly higher than the toxicity of the two species which do not. There was no correlation between venom toxicity and Monomorium survival; however, three of the four Monomorium species displayed significant variability in their venom usage which was associated with the number of Argentine ant workers encountered during trials. Average Monomorium mortality varied significantly between species, and in Monomorium smithii and Monomorium antipodum, aggressive interactions with Argentine ants had a significant negative effect on their mortality. Our study demonstrates that different factors and strategies can contribute to the ability of a species to withstand the pressure of a dominant invader at high abundance, and venom chemistry appears to be only one of several strategies utilized

Venom survivability

The table "Venom survivability.csv" corresponds to the manuscript sections of the same name. It contains the responses of Argentine ants after 1 and 4 hours when treated with different concentrations of venom of four different Monomorium ant species and can be used to calculate the LD 50 of these venoms on Argentine ants. The experimental design is explained in the publication in the methods section with the same name as the datafile, further description of this and the other datafiles associated with this publication can be found in the ReadMe.tx

Arena fight and venom usage Monomorium Survival

The table "Arena fight and venom usage Monomorium Survival.csv" corresponds to the manuscript section "Arena fight and venom usage". It contains data represented in the Monomorium Mortality column in table "Arena fight and venom usage.csv" formatted for a survival analysis. The experimental design is explained in the publication in the methods section with the same name as the datafile, further description of this and the other datafiles associated with this publication can be found in the ReadMe.tx

Arena fight and venom usage Argentine ant Survival

The table "Arena fight and venom usage Argentine ant Survival.csv" corresponds to the manuscript section "Arena fight and venom usage". It contains data represented in the Argentine ant Mortality column in table "Arena fight and venom usage.csv" formatted for a survival analysis. The experimental design is explained in the publication in the methods section with the same name as the datafile, further description of this and the other datafiles associated with this publication can be found in the ReadMe.tx