van der Waals and hygroscopic forces of adhesion generated by spider capture threads.
(17/210)
Cribellar thread is the most primitive type of sticky prey capture thread found in aerial spider webs. Its outer surface is formed of thousands of fine fibrils that issue from a cribellum spinning field. The fibrils of primitive cribellar thread are cylindrical, whereas those of derived threads have nodes. Cribellar threads snag on insect setae but also adhere to smooth surfaces. A previous study showed empirically that cylindrical fibrils use only van der Waals forces to stick to smooth surfaces, as their stickiness is the same under different humidity. By contrast, noded fibrils are stickier under high humidity, where they are presumed to adsorb atmospheric water and implement hygroscopic (capillary) adhesion. Here, we model thread stickiness according to these two adhesive mechanisms. These models equate stickiness with the force necessary to overcome the adhesion of fibril contact points in a narrow band along each edge of the contact surface and to initiate peeling of the thread from the surface. Modeled and measured thread stickiness values are similar, supporting the operation of the hypothesized adhesive forces and portraying an important transition in the evolution of spider threads. Cribellar threads initially relied only on van der Waals forces to stick to smooth surfaces. The appearance of fibril nodes introduced hydrophilic sites that implemented hygroscopic force and increased thread stickiness under intermediate and high humidity. (+info)
Have dentin adhesives become too hydrophilic?
(18/210)
This review discusses current trends in the development of dentin adhesives and the possibility that some classes of currently available adhesives are too hydrophilic. Manufacturers have reformulated dentin adhesives to make them more compatible for bonding to intrinsically moist, acid-etched dentin by adding 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and other hydrophilic resin monomers. These 3-step adhesives work well but are more time consuming to use and more sensitive to technique than the newer, simplified adhesives. When primers are mixed with adhesives in 2-step single-bottle adhesives and self-etching primers, the adhesives are more permeable to water and hence absorb more water over time than previous generations of adhesives. The most recent single-step self-etching adhesives are even more hydrophilic and hence more permeable to water derived from the underlying bonded dentin. This permeability can lead to a wide variety of seemingly unrelated problems, including incompatibility of chemically or dual-cured composites with simplified adhesives and expedited degradation of resin-dentin bonds. (+info)
Effect of drug substance particle size on the characteristics of granulation manufactured in a high-shear mixer.
(19/210)
DPC 963 is a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor with low aqueous solubility. The effect of DPC 963 drug substance particle size on the characteristics of granules manufactured by high-shear wet granulation was evaluated. The wet granulation process was used to manufacture a DPC 963 formulation with high drug loading. The formulation was manufactured using drug substance lots with different particle size distributions. Granulation particle size distribution, porosity, and compressibility were determined. A uniaxial compression test was also performed on moist compacts of the formulation prepared with different particle size distributions. Particle agglomeration behavior was affected by drug substance particle size. Granulation geometric mean diameter and fraction with particle size greater than 250 microm was inversely proportional to the drug substance particle size. Mercury intrusion porosimetry revealed higher pore volumes for the granules manufactured using the drug substance with the smaller particle size, suggesting lower tendency for granule densification than for that manufactured with the larger drug substance particle size. Granulation compressibility was also sensitive to changes in drug substance particle size. A decreased drug substance particle size led to increased granulation compressibility. Results from the uniaxial compression experiments suggested that the effect of particle size on granulation growth is the result of increased densification propensity, which in turn results from increased drug substance particle size. (+info)
Energy functions for protein design I: efficient and accurate continuum electrostatics and solvation.
(20/210)
Electrostatics and solvation energies are important for defining protein stability, structural specificity, and molecular recognition. Because these energies are difficult to compute quickly and accurately, they are often ignored or modeled very crudely in computational protein design. To address this problem, we have developed a simple, fast, and accurate approximation for calculating Born radii in the context of protein design calculations. When these approximate Born radii are used with the generalized Born continuum dielectric model, energies calculated by the 10(6)-fold slower finite difference Poisson-Boltzmann model are faithfully reproduced. A similar approach can be used for estimating solvent-accessible surface areas (SASAs). As an independent test, we show that these approximations can be used to accurately predict the experimentally determined pK(a)s of >200 ionizable groups from 15 proteins. (+info)
Influence of a thickness and processing method on the linear dimensional change and water sorption of denture base resin.
(21/210)
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of a thickness and processing method on linear dimension change and water sorption in a denture base resin after storage in water for 24 hours, one week, and four weeks. Sixty wax specimens 65 mm long and 10 mm wide were fabricated in three thicknesses, 1.5, 3, and 4.5 mm. Three dimples were made in each wax specimen. A travelling microscope was used to measure the total distance from the uppermost dimple to the lowest dimple to the nearest 0.01 mm. Acrylic resin blocks were polymerized with 2 processing cycles (short and long-cured). Immediately after processing, all samples were measured by the same investigator. They were then weighed by an electronic precision balance capable of measuring to 0.001 g. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance. Thickness and time of storage were statistically significant on the dimensional change (linear and weight changes) of denture-base resin (p < 0.01), showing the influence of the processing method. (+info)
Effect of adding spherical silica filler on physico-mechanical properties of resin modified glass-ionomer cement.
(22/210)
This study investigated the effects of spherical silica fillers on the physical and mechanical properties of resin-modified glass-ionomer cement (RMGIC). Specimens were fabricated by mixing untreated (UF) or silanized (SF) spherical silica filler into the powder of a commercially prepared RMGIC. The original RMGIC and a preparation containing 20 wt% spherical silica filler were also examined with regard to their fractured surface and fluoride release. The fillers increased the compressive strength remarkably: up to 17% in the case of SF and 9% in the case of UF. Both UF and SF increased the flexural strength by up to 17%. The addition of SF increased the DTS up to 38%, but UF decreased the DTS. The addition of SF improved the workability and the mechanical properties of the RMGIC. (+info)
Effects of added sodium alginate on mechanical strength of apatite cement.
(23/210)
Effects of added sodium alginate on the mechanical strength of Biopex, one type of apatite cement, were investigated since sodium alginate addition is very effective for Biopex to acquire anti-washout property. Addition of sodium alginate into the liquid phase of Biopex resulted in a slower transformation to apatitic monolith. As a result, mechanical strength of set Biopex in terms of diametral tensile strength (DTS) decreased when it was hardened in an incubator kept at 37 degrees C and 100% relative humidity for 7 days. However, DTS value increased with increase in the amount of added sodium alginate when the Biopex paste was immersed in 0.9% saline at 37 degrees C for 7 days. Set Biopex with less sodium alginate also showed larger porosity. Based on these findings, we concluded that added sodium alginate was effective in increasing the mechanical strength of Biopex by inhibiting liquid penetration into its paste when it is exposed to body fluids. (+info)
Gypsum-bonded investment and dental precision casting (IV) transformation of III-CaSO4 to II-CaSO4.
(24/210)
The degree of III-CaSO4 to II-CaSO4 transition was estimated on wet specimens, 25 mm in diameter and 50 mm high, prepared from a gypsum-bonded investment for quick casting. After 30 min from mixing the specimens were heated in a 700 degrees C furnace until a specimen temperature of 200 degrees C to 700 degrees C was reached. The estimation was made by measuring mass changes of the specimens before and after heating. The transition reached 39% at 350 degrees C. The same estimation method, when applied to a previous study, showed no transition to this temperature in dry specimens heated slowly (5 degrees C/min). The large difference in transition found between the wet and dry specimens was attributed to the formation of alpha- and beta-hemihydrate, respectively. At 350-450 degrees C, the transition was 3% and 48%, respectively. The pronounced latter transition, generally identified by differential thermal analysis of gypsum, appears as the major investment shrinkage demonstrating its dry dehydration process. (+info)