Effect of resin thickness, and curing time on the micro-hardness of bulk-fill resin composites

Background: Bulk-fill resin composite has been introduced, their manufacturers claimed that they can be applied in bulks of 4mm, without necessitating a prolonged curing time, or a light curing unit with increased irradiance. Thus this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of resin thickness, and curing time on the micro-hardness of two bulk -fill resin composites; Tetric Evo-Ceram [TE], and X-trafil [XF]. Material and Methods: 120 cylindrical specimens were prepared, and divided into 24 groups (n=5/group), representing the two bulk-fill resin composites, three different material thicknesses (2, 3 and 4 mm) and the four curing times used in the study (10, 20, 40, and 60 seconds). The specimens were light-cured from the top surface only. Specimens were stored in light proof containers in complete darkness at 37°C for 24 hours. Micro-hardness test was conducted on both top and bottom surfaces using Vickers micro-hardness tester with 500 g load and a dwell time of 15 seconds. Data were statistically analyzed by Four-way ANOVA of Variance. The significance level was set at P ≤ 0.05. Pearson Correlation used to determine significant correlations between mean micro-hardness (top) and (bottom) surfaces. Results: Four way-ANOVA shows that different tested materials produce a statistically significant effect on mean micro-hardness (VHN) at p ≤0.001, while thickness, curing time, and surface revealed statistically non significant effect on mean micro-hardness (VHN) at p ≥0.05. [XF] (92.01±3.15 VHN) showed statistically significant higher mean micro-hardness than [TE] (54.13±4.96 VHN). Pearson Correlation revealed that there was a significant direct correlation between micro-hardness (bottom) and mean micro-hardness (top) (mm), r = 0.985, p (2-tailed) ≤0.001. Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, the bulk-fill resin composites used in this study can be placed and cured properly in the 4 mm bul

Recombination Ghosts in Littrow Configuration: Implications for Spectrographs Using Volume Phase Holographic Gratings

We report the discovery of optical ghosts generated when using Volume Phase Holographic (VPH) gratings in spectrographs employing the Littrow configuration. The ghost is caused by light reflected off the detector surface, recollimated by the camera, recombined by, and reflected from, the grating and reimaged by the camera onto the detector. This recombination can occur in two different ways. We observe this ghost in two spectrographs being developed by the University of Wisconsin - Madison: the Robert Stobie Spectrograph for the Southern African Large Telescope and the Bench Spectrograph for the WIYN 3.5m telescope. The typical ratio of the brightness of the ghost relative to the integrated flux of the spectrum is of order 10^-4, implying a recombination efficiency of the VPH gratings of order 10^-3 or higher, consistent with the output of rigorous coupled wave analysis. Any spectrograph employing VPH gratings, including grisms, in Littrow configuration will suffer from this ghost, though the general effect is not intrinsic to VPH gratings themselves and has been observed in systems with conventional gratings in non-Littrow configurations. We explain the geometric configurations that can result in the ghost as well as a more general prescription for predicting its position and brightness on the detector. We make recommendations for mitigating the ghost effects for spectrographs and gratings currently built. We further suggest design modifications for future VPH gratings to eliminate the problem entirely, including tilted fringes and/or prismatic substrates. We discuss the resultant implications on the spectrograph performance metrics.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, emulateapj style, accepted for publication in PAS

An experimental study to discriminate between the validity of diffraction theories for off-Bragg replay

We show that experiments clearly verify the assumptions made by the first-order two-wave coupling theory for one dimensional lossless unslanted planar volume holographic gratings using the beta-value method rather than Kogelnik's K-vector closure method. Apart from the fact that the diffraction process is elastic, a much more striking difference between the theories becomes apparent particularly in the direction of the diffracted beam in off-Bragg replay. We therefore monitored the direction of the diffracted beam as a function of the off-Bragg replay angle in two distinct cases: [a] the diffracted beam lies in the plane of incidence and [b] the sample surface normal, the grating vector and the incoming beam do not form a plane which calls for the vectorial theory and results in conical scattering.Comment: Corrected Eqs. (3) & (6); 14 pages, 8 figure

Extraordinary magnetooptical effects and transmission through the metal-dielectric plasmonic systems

We report on significant enhancement of the magnetooptical effects in gyrotropic systems of a metallic film perforated by subwavelength hole arrays and a uniform dielectric film magnetized perpendicular to its plane. Calculations, based on a rigorous coupled-wave analysis, demonstrate the Faraday and Kerr effect spectra having several resonance peaks in the near infrared range, some of them coinciding with transmittance peaks. Qualitative analysis revealed that magnetic polaritons being coupled magnetic-film waveguiding modes with surface plasmons play a crucial role in the observed effect.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Ultra-broadband Light Absorption by a Sawtooth Anisotropic Metamaterial Slab

We present an ultra broadband thin-film infrared absorber made of saw-toothed anisotropic metamaterial. Absorbtivity of higher than 95% at normal incidence is supported in a wide range of frequencies, where the full absorption width at half maximum is about 86%. Such property is retained well at a very wide range of incident angles too. Light of shorter wavelengths are harvested at upper parts of the sawteeth of smaller widths, while light of longer wavelengths are trapped at lower parts of larger tooth widths. This phenomenon is explained by the slowlight modes in anisotropic metamaterial waveguide. Our study can be applied in the field of designing photovoltaic devices and thermal emitters.Comment: 12 pages, 4 picture

Spectroscopic ellipsometry and polarimetry for materials and systems analysis at the nanometer scale: state-of-the-art, potential, and perspectives

This paper discusses the fundamentals, applications, potential, limitations, and future perspectives of polarized light reflection techniques for the characterization of materials and related systems and devices at the nanoscale. These techniques include spectroscopic ellipsometry, polarimetry, and reflectance anisotropy. We give an overview of the various ellipsometry strategies for the measurement and analysis of nanometric films, metal nanoparticles and nanowires, semiconductor nanocrystals, and submicron periodic structures. We show that ellipsometry is capable of more than the determination of thickness and optical properties, and it can be exploited to gain information about process control, geometry factors, anisotropy, defects, and quantum confinement effects of nanostructures

A functional variant in the Stearoyl-CoA desaturase gene promoter enhances fatty acid desaturation in pork

There is growing public concern about reducing saturated fat intake. Stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) is the lipogenic enzyme responsible for the biosynthesis of oleic acid (18:1) by desaturating stearic acid (18:0). Here we describe a total of 18 mutations in the promoter and 3′ non-coding region of the pig SCD gene and provide evidence that allele T at AY487830:g.2228T>C in the promoter region enhances fat desaturation (the ratio 18:1/18:0 in muscle increases from 3.78 to 4.43 in opposite homozygotes) without affecting fat content (18:0+18:1, intramuscular fat content, and backfat thickness). No mutations that could affect the functionality of the protein were found in the coding region. First, we proved in a purebred Duroc line that the C-T-A haplotype of the 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (g.2108C>T; g.2228T>C; g.2281A>G) of the promoter region was additively associated to enhanced 18:1/18:0 both in muscle and subcutaneous fat, but not in liver. We show that this association was consistent over a 10-year period of overlapping generations and, in line with these results, that the C-T-A haplotype displayed greater SCD mRNA expression in muscle. The effect of this haplotype was validated both internally, by comparing opposite homozygote siblings, and externally, by using experimental Duroc-based crossbreds. Second, the g.2281A>G and the g.2108C>T SNPs were excluded as causative mutations using new and previously published data, restricting the causality to g.2228T>C SNP, the last source of genetic variation within the haplotype. This mutation is positioned in the core sequence of several putative transcription factor binding sites, so that there are several plausible mechanisms by which allele T enhances 18:1/18:0 and, consequently, the proportion of monounsaturated to saturated fat.This research was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (AGL2009-09779 and AGL2012-33529). RRF is recipient of a PhD scholarship from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (BES-2010-034607). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of manuscript