Shear bond strengths of six different porcelain laminate veneer materials cemented to enamel with two different MDP-containing resin cements

Purpose: To compare the shear bond strengths of six different porcelain laminate veneer (PLV) materials cemented to enamel with two different MDP-containing resin cements. Materials and methods: Totally 120 disc specimens were fabricated with In-Ceram alumina (ICA), Turkom-Cera^TM (TCR), IPS Empress (IPS), IPS Empress-II (IPS2), Finesse (FNS), and Ceramco-3 (CER) ceramic systems (n = 20). Sixty specimens were cemented with self-adhesive resin cement (Clearfil SA), and 60 specimens were cemented with self-etch resin cement (Panavia F2.0) to enamel. Thus, 120 PLV–enamel specimens were assigned to 12 experimental groups (ICA/Pv, ICA/Cf, TCR/Pv, TCR/Cf, IPS/Pv, IPS/Cf, IPS2/Pv, IPS2/Cf, CER/Pv, CER/Cf). Shear force was applied on PLV–enamel interfaces until failure. Obtained data were statistically analyzed with ANOVA and t-tests. Results: Obtained shear bond strength values (SBSV) ranged as follows, respectively; TCR/Cf (7.70 MPa), FNS/Cf (7.57 MPa), TCR/Pv (6.91 MPa), ICA/Pv (5.05 MPa), CER/Pv (4.75 MPa), IPS2/Cf (4.66 MPa), FNS/Pv (4.43 MPa), IPS2/Pv (3.97 MPa), CER/Cf (3.82 MPa), IPS/Pv (3.62 MPa), ICA/Cf (3.59 MPa), IPS/Cf (3.11 MPa). Highest SBSV were obtained in TCR groups (7.70 MPa for TCR/Cf and 6.91 MPa for TCR/Pv) and lowest SBSV were obtained in IPS groups (3.11 MPa for IPS/Cf and 3.62 MPa for IPS/Pv) in both resin cements. No significant bond strength difference was found between two resin cements. Conclusions: TCR groups showed highest SBSV; lowest SBSV were obtained with both IPS PLVs. The resin cement type did not significantly affect the bond strength value of a ceramic type, except for the Finesse system.     

Application of an asymmetrical four point bend shear test to solder joints

The asymmetrical four-point bend shear (AFPB) test method was used to measure the shear strength and creep properties through the stress relaxation experiments using three different Pb-free solder joint compositions in an assolidified condition. Since it was difficult to shear the uniform specimens and the local bending usually occurs at the inner loading points, the notches were introduced at the joint line to preferentially weaken this region. The stress analysis by finite element modeling showed that the straight notches transform the parabolic shear stress distribution in the uniform specimen into a relatively uniform shear distribution along the bond line in the notched specimens. Therefore, the shear strength results from the notched specimens are expected to be much more accurate. Experiments showed that both the Sn-3.6Ag-1Cu (wt.%) and Sn-3.6Ag-1Cu-0.45Co joints have superior strength and creep properties as compared to the Sn-3.5Ag joint. However, there was no statistical difference between the shear strength of the Sn-3.6Ag-1Cu and Sn-3.6Ag-1Cu-0.45 Co joints. Moreover, the difference between the creep resistance of these two types of joints was small.     

Complexity reduction in subspace-based blind channel identificationfor DS/CDMA systems

Direct-sequence code-division multiple access is emerging as a potential multiple-access communication scheme for future digital wireless communications systems. Such wide-band systems usually operate in a frequency-selective fading channel that introduces intersymbol interference and thus potential performance degradation. Previously proposed subspace-based blind channel identification algorithms, which provide estimates of channel parameters for effective equalization, suffer from high numerical complexity for systems with large spreading gains. In this paper, it is shown that, through the use of matched filter outputs, reduction in numerical complexity can be obtained. The complexity reduction is considerable when the channel length is small and the system is moderately loaded. The results show that the new algorithm suffers a slight performance loss. Although the employed matched filter outputs do not form a set of sufficient statistics for the unknown channels, the difference between the matched filter outputs and the sufficient statistics becomes negligible for large observation lengths and the asymptotic normalized Fisher information does not change. Performance is evaluated through simulations, the derivation of a tight approximation of the mean-squared channel estimation error, and through comparisons to the Cramer-Rao bound for the estimation error variance. It is shown that the approximation of the mean-squared error can be obtained in terms of the correlation of the spreading codes and the channels. This representation of the error supplies a tool for investigating the relationship between performance and spreading sequence correlations     

Effect of packing on void morphology in resin transfer molded E‐glass/epoxy composites

Effects of applying a packing pressure on void content, void morphology, and void spatial distribution were investigated for resin transfer molding (RTM) E‐glass/epoxy composites. Packing pressures of zero and 570 kPa were respectively applied to center‐gated composites containing 17.5% randomly oriented, E‐glass fiber preform. Radial samples of these disk‐shaped composites were utilized to evaluate voidage via microscopic image analysis. Two adjacent surfaces were cut from each molded disk in order to evaluate void presence from both through‐the‐thickness and planar views. The packed composite was found to contain almost 92% less void content than the unpacked composite. While void fractions of 2.2 and 2.6% were measured, respectively, from the through‐the‐thickness and planar surfaces of the unpacked composite, only 0.2% void content was observed in the packed composite from both surfaces. Digital images obtained from through‐the‐thickness surface showed that average void size dropped from 59.3 μm in the unpacked composite to 31.7 μm in the packed composite. A similar reduction in average void size from 66.7 to 41.1 μm was observed from the planar surfaces. Circular voids were found to experience higher removal rates at 99%, followed by cylindrical and elliptical voids at 83 and 81%, respectively; while irregular voids show slightly lower void removal rates at 67%. Void proximity to fiber bundles was also observed to affect void reduction as voids located inside fiber tows experience lower void reduction rates. Along the radial direction of the molded disks, removal of voids with different proximities to fibers seems to depend on their arrangement at the end of the filling stage. These findings are believed to ascertain packing as an effective void removal method for RTM and similar liquid composite molding processes. POLYM. COMPOS., 26:614–627, 2005. © 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Surface-modified alumina nanoparticles-filled aramid fiber-reinforced epoxy nanocomposites: preparation and mechanical properties

Iranian Polymer Journal - Surface of Al2O3 nanoparticles was modified with a silane coupling agent, and aramid fiber-reinforced epoxy nanocomposites were produced using these particles. Three...     

Fabrication of a New Hybrid Coronene/n-Si Structure by Using Spin Coating Technique and its Photoresponse and Admittance Spectroscopy Studies

Silicon - Coronene/n-Si Schottky structure has been fabricated by Coronene thin film deposited on n-Si substrate using the spin coating technique. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the...     

Flavonoids, dietary-derived inhibitors of cell proliferation and in vitro angiogenesis

Consumption of a plant-based diet can prevent the development and progression of chronic diseases associated with extensive neovascularization, including solid malignant tumors. In previous studies, we have shown that the plant-derived isoflavonoid genistein is a potent inhibitor of cell proliferation and in vitro angiogenesis. In the present study, we report that certain structurally related flavonoids are more potent inhibitors than genistein. Indeed, 3-hydroxyflavone, 3',4'-dihydroxyflavone, 2',3'-dihydroxyflavone, fisetin, apigenin, and luteolin inhibited the proliferation of normal and tumor cells, as well as in vitro angiogenesis, at half-maximal concentrations in the low micromolar range. We have previously demonstrated that genistein concentrations in the urine of subjects consuming a plant-based diet is 30-fold higher than in subjects consuming a traditional Western diet. The wider distribution and the more abundant presence of flavonoids in the plant kingdom, together with the present results, suggest that flavonoids may contribute to the preventive effect of a plant-based diet on chronic diseases, including solid tumors.     

Pearlite spheroidization

The static spheroidization of a silicon-containing steel was studied employing quantitative metallography and hardness measurements. Specimens with interlamellar spacings of 0.57 and 0.26m were annealed at temperatures of 600, 650 and 700° C to obtain the spheroidization of Fe₃C. The results of quantitative metallography and hardness measurements indicate that the rate of spheroidization is controlled by the diffusion of iron at the Fe-Fe₃C interface. The increase in the rate of spheroidization due to a reduction in the interlamellar spacing is thought to be caused by an increase in the defect density in the Fe₃C plates when pearlite has a smaller interlamellar spacing.