957 research outputs found
The Effect of ArF-Excimer Laser Irradiation of the Human Enamel Surface on the Bond Strength of Orthodontic Appliances
This study investigated enamel laser conditioning as an alternative to acid etching in bracket therapy. In preliminary experiments optimal laser parameters for achieving a bond strength of 6-10 N/mm2 were defined. Enamel surface morphology was assessed and the ablation depth was measured on serial enamel sections. Thirty human molars were exposed to 193 nm ArF-excimer laser radiation (energy density: 260 mJ/cm2) by single pulse application of 23 nanoseconds. Thirty molars were etched with phosphoric acid (37%) for 60 seconds. The brackets from the treated molars and 30 untreated molars were debonded vertically for tensile bond strength measurement. Roughened enamel surfaces were attained by 450 and 900 laser pulses with a mean ablation depth of 10.13 ± 4. 84 μm. After 1-10 laser pulses, the enamel surface appeared intact. The tensile bond strength was 6.63 ± 2 .18 N/mm2 in the laser-treated group (1 pulse), 8.75 ± 3.61 N/mm2 in the acid-etched group, and 4 .61 ± 3.15 N/mm2 in the untreated group. We conclude a laser-selective ablation of the membranous enamel pellicle. Since the irradiated area can be adapted to bracket base and the enamel surface remains morphologically intact, pulsed ArF-excimer laser treatment seems to be superior to the acid etching technique
Intrinsic parton motion soft mechanisms and the longitudinal spin asymmetry A_LL in high energy pp -> pi X
The longitudinal double spin asymmetry A_LL in the reaction pp --> pi X has
been measured at RHIC with extremely interesting consequences. If the gluon
polarization in a proton were as big as needed to resolve the famous "spin
crisis" then A_LL would be large and positive. Latest RHIC results indicate
that A_LL is small and disfavour large positive values of the gluon
polarization. We examine whether the soft mechanisms (Collins, Sivers,
Boer-Mulders), essential for generating transverse single spin asymmetries,
have any significant influence on A_LL, and whether they could alter the
conclusion that the gluon polarization is necessarily small. It turns out that
the contribution from these effects is essentially negligible.Comment: RevTeX, 9 pages, 3 eps figures. Revised and shortened version; title
slightly modified; figs. 3,4 removed; a new figure for the unpol. cross
section added; no changes in results and conclusions; matches the published
versio
Characterization of Bovine Osteoclasts on an Ionomeric Cement In Vitro
Primary bovine osteoclasts were obtained by an outgrowth method from bovine periosteum and cultured for 7 days on an ionomeric cement for biomaterial testing. Osteoclasts cultured on slices of bovine bone and on glass microscope cover-slides served as a control. The cells were characterised as osteoclasts by a number of tests. Osteoclasts showed positive staining for tartrate resistant acid phosphatase and reactivity with the antibodies 13C2 and 23C6, which react with the alphachain of the vitronectin receptor. Addition of salmon calcitonin to the culture medium led to sudden cessation of lamellipodial activity. The cells resorbed bone by making pits. In mixed cultures with osteoblasts, the morphology of the osteoclasts on the smooth ionomeric cement surface was comparable to the one on glass cover-slides, revealing broad cytoplasmatic extensions on the material. Acridine orange staining demonstrated viability of cells until the end of the culture period and increased acidification after parathyroid hormone (PTH) stimulation. Scanning electron microscopy did not reveal erosion of the material by osteoclasts. No signs of aluminium toxicity on osteoclasts could be detected during the 7 day culture period, although an increased uptake of aluminium into the cell was demonstrated
The Interaction of Laser Energy with Ureter Tissues in a Long Term Investigation
This study investigates tissue responses after laser irradiation of the rabbit ureter, which serves as an experimental model for rectourogenital fistulae of children. Twenty-five rabbit ureters were irradiated intraluminally by a Nd:YAG laser 1320 nm (2 Watt, 20 seconds and 3 Watt, 8 seconds) via an applicator with radialsymmetrical light distribution. Immediately, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 16 weeks after irradiation, the ureters were X-rayed with contrast solution and prepared for light and transmission electron microscopy. For the parameters employed, no apparent morphological differences could be observed. Immediately, the central laser zone showed a transmural therrnonecrosis prevailed by cellular destruction, condensed ground substance and occlusion of most vascular lumina. Peripheral laser zones displayed urothelial vacuolations. Between 2 and 16 weeks, urothelial regeneration and ingrowth of granulation tissue caused a luminal stenosis or occlusion followed by transformation into scar tissue. In some peripheral laser zones, a hydroureter with marked luminal dilatation developed. We conclude that the ureter is occluded if the expanding force of the growing scar tissue exceeds the hydrostatic pressure of the obstructed urine. A laser occlusion of rectourogenital fistulae will be easier to achieve since fistula occlusion does not entail an obstruction of the urine flow
RadialLight: Exploring radial peripheral LEDs for directional cues in head-mounted displays
Current head-mounted displays (HMDs) for Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) have a limited field-of-view (FOV). This limited FOV further decreases the already restricted human visual range and amplifies the problem of objects going out of view. Therefore, we explore the utility of augmenting HMDs with RadialLight, a peripheral light display implemented as 18 radially positioned LEDs around each eye to cue direction towards out-of-view objects. We first investigated direction estimation accuracy of multi-colored cues presented on one versus two eyes. We then evaluated direction estimation accuracy and search time performance for locating out-of-view objects in two representative 360° video VR scenarios. Key findings show that participants could not distinguish between LED cues presented to one or both eyes simultaneously, participants estimated LED cue direction within a maximum 11.8° average deviation, and out-of-view objects in less distracting scenarios were selected faster. Furthermore, we provide implications for building peripheral HMDs
New-particle formation events in a continental boundary layer: first results from the SATURN experiment
International audienceDuring the SATURN experiment, which took place from 27 May to 14 June 2002, new particle formation in the continental boundary layer was investigated. Simultaneous ground-based and tethered-balloon-borne measurements were performed, including meteorological parameters, particle number concentrations and size distributions, gaseous precursor concentrations and SODAR and LIDAR observations. Newly formed particles were observed inside the residual layer, before the break-up process of the nocturnal inversion, and inside the mixing layer throughout the break-up of the nocturnal inversion and during the evolution of the planetary boundary layer.</p
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Results from the CERN pilot CLOUD experiment
During a 4-week run in October–November 2006, a pilot experiment was performed at the CERN Proton Synchrotron in preparation for the Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets (CLOUD) experiment, whose aim is to study the possible influence of cosmic rays on clouds. The purpose of the pilot experiment was firstly to carry out exploratory measurements of the effect of ionising particle radiation on aerosol formation from trace H2SO4 vapour and secondly to provide technical input for the CLOUD design. A total of 44 nucleation bursts were produced and recorded, with formation rates of particles above the 3 nm detection threshold of between 0.1 and 100 cm−3 s−1, and growth rates between 2 and 37 nm h−1. The corresponding H2SO4 concentrations were typically around 106 cm−3 or less. The experimentally-measured formation rates and H2SO4 concentrations are comparable to those found in the atmosphere, supporting the idea that sulphuric acid is involved in the nucleation of atmospheric aerosols. However, sulphuric acid alone is not able to explain the observed rapid growth rates, which suggests the presence of additional trace vapours in the aerosol chamber, whose identity is unknown. By analysing the charged fraction, a few of the aerosol bursts appear to have a contribution from ion-induced nucleation and ion-ion recombination to form neutral clusters. Some indications were also found for the accelerator beam timing and intensity to influence the aerosol particle formation rate at the highest experimental SO2 concentrations of 6 ppb, although none was found at lower concentrations. Overall, the exploratory measurements provide suggestive evidence for ion-induced nucleation or ion-ion recombination as sources of aerosol particles. However in order to quantify the conditions under which ion processes become significant, improvements are needed in controlling the experimental variables and in the reproducibility of the experiments. Finally, concerning technical aspects, the most important lessons for the CLOUD design include the stringent requirement of internal cleanliness of the aerosol chamber, as well as maintenance of extremely stable temperatures (variations below 0.1 _C)
Drell-Yan forward-backward and spin asymmetries for arbitrary vector boson production at next-to-leading order
Longitudinally polarized, unpolarized and forward-backward mass differential
cross sections for Drell-Yan lepton-pair production by arbitrary vector bosons
are calculated in next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD. Analytical results are
presented in a form valid for all consistent -dimensional regularization
schemes, with the mass factorization scheme kept general. NLO predictions for
all Drell-Yan type processes (, and ) at BNL's
relativistic heavy ion collider (RHIC) are made using polarized parton
distributions which fit the recent deep-inelastic scattering data. These are
examined as tools in the determination of the polarized parton distributions
and the unpolarized ratio. NLO predictions for the
forward-backward lepton asymmetry at Fermilab are made and the precision
determination of from future runs is studied. In all the
above, the QCD corrections are found to be significant. An introductory
discussion is given of various theoretical issues, such as allowable
factorization and regularization schemes, and scale dependences.Comment: 34 pages, figures included, revtex. Some discussions and references
added/modified. In more compact form. To appear in Phys. Rev.
Analytic Calculation of Prompt Photon plus Associated Heavy Flavor at Next-to-Leading Order in QCD
Contributions through second order, , in perturbative quantum
chromodynamics are calculated analytically for inclusive associated production
of a prompt photon and a charm quark at large values of transverse momentum in
high energy hadron-hadron collisions. Seven partonic subprocesses contribute at
order . We find important corrections to the lowest order,
, subprocess . We demonstrate to what
extent data from may serve to measure
the charm quark density in the nucleon.Comment: 34 pages RevTex plus 9 figures submitted as uuencoded ps files;
figures replaced and text revised to include one additional referenc
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