Advanced Materials Research Vol. 1052

Abstract: The property difference of urine crystallites with different sizes in the urines of calcium oxalate (CaOx) calculi patients and healthy controls was comparatively investigated. Nanoparticle size analyzer was used to study the mobility of urine crystallites. Fast Fourier transformation (FFT) and and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) was performed to detect the components of urinary crystallites. The specific surface area (S_g) of nanoscale urinary crystallites is greater than that of micron-grade urinary crystals. The mobility of the controls was more negative than that of the calculi patients. The effect of particle size on mobility was greater than that of the charges on surface of the particles. The amount of small-sized urine crystallites in the healthy subjects was significantly higher than that of the patients. However, the number of large micron-scale crystals in the controls was reduced remarkably. These results showed that the formation of CaOx calculi was closely related to the presence of UA and calcium phosphate crystallites in urine. The urinary system of calculi patients is unstable and very susceptible to urine crystallite aggregation.

Abstract: Garlic puree turns green easily during the storage. And temperature is one of the greatest affects on degree of greening of garlic puree. The greening of garlic purees was evaluated by sensory analysis. It showed that 35°C was the best temperature to prevent garlic from greening. At the same storage time, different kinds of garlics were at different degree of greening. Organic garlic didn’t show absolutely advantage at preventing garlic from greening.

Abstract: A good understanding of the compaction mechanisms of pharmaceutical powders allows accurate prediction of tablet quality and facilitates design of tablet formulations. In this area of research, a common practice is to examine the response of particles towards the pressure applied during compaction. To ensure accurate and reproducible experimental results, it is prudent to have an in depth understanding of the fundamental background and potential applicabilities of the compaction process. This article reviews methods that are widely employed to study the compaction process, such as mathematical models, compaction energetics, statistical analysis methods and mechanical element simulations. In view of the complex nature of the compaction process and current research gaps in understanding the compaction characteristics, particularly of pharmaceutical powder blends, some suggestions will be proposed as well.

Abstract: Medical facilities and similar types of medical centres providing surgical or ambulant care are nowadays unable to manage without a strict hygienic sterilization of medical instruments. The clean steam, necessary for the requested sterilizations, must meet the requirements of European Standard EN 285 and that is particularly from the point of quality, pressure and requested volume in random time period. Production of clean steam is technically and financially very demanding. This contribution is aimed on newly developed Pure Steam system with STEAMEX clean steam generator.

Abstract: This article explored the effect of natural light and ultraviolet lamp radiation on the discoloration of the green part of the 4-year bamboo by using the color analyzer and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The results showed that both light treatment could make the discoloration of the bamboos green part obviously, and the lightness increased, the color hue (a*) changed a little, however, the color hue (b*) had a great change, and the aberration (△E*) increased with the increasing duration. FTIR results showed that the chemical structure of the bamboos green part had a change, and the components of the lignin decreased because of the degradation, but the hydroxyl increased.

Abstract: Tung oil tree is deciduous trees, which belongs to euphorbiaceae. It is a important woody oil species used to producing bio-diesel. In China, tung oil tree mainly have two species including Vernicia fordii and Aleurites montana, they have obviously different characteristics. This paper compares the differences between these two species, including botany characteristics, ecological characteristics, reproductive mode and application, which provides bases on the selection and promotion of the tung oil tree in different places.

Abstract: Dental impressions have been considered to be potential sources of microbial contamination from patients’ blood and saliva to dental personnel and prostheses fabricated on gypsum casts. Thus, the development of dental gypsum with antimicrobial activity to reduce cross-contamination between patients and laboratory personnel is needed. This study aims to evaluate the influence of incorporation of 3-iodo-2-propynyl-butylcarbamate (IPBC) into type III dental gypsum on its antimicrobial activities and physical properties such as dry compressive strength and setting time. Type III dental gypsum (The Siam Moulding Plaster Co., Ltd, Thailand) incorporated with 3 concentrations of IPBC (0.01%, 0.005% and 0.001% w/w) was tested compared with the control, gypsum without disinfectant. Microorganisms tested were Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 and Candida albicans ATCC 1023. One hundred μL of each microbial suspension (10⁸ CFU/mL) was dropped on hydrocolloid impression (Jeltrate; Caulk/Dentsply, Milford, DE) and left dry. All types of gypsum mixes were prepared and poured into the impressions and allowed to set for 60 min. Then the gypsum samples were removed and the microbial contact surfaces were imprinted on Brain Heart Infusion agar plates. After incubation, colonies appeared on agar were gram-stained and counted. The dry compressive strength and setting time were tested in accordance with International Standard (ISO) 6873: 1998 (E). Dental gypsum containing IPBC showed antimicrobial activity against all tested microorganisms with the percentage of microbial reduction ranging from 19.4% to 70.6%. Among all types of dental gypsum, no significant differences in dry compressive strength and setting time were observed. The newly developed type III dental gypsum incorporated with IPBC had antimicrobial effects against all tested microorganisms. The physical properties of the modified dental gypsum were within the ISO standards. However, further investigation on other properties such as dimensional stability, detail reproduction and clinical usage are still needed.

Abstract: A novel method was used to make palygorskite supported nano-silver powder at room temperature. XRD result showed the presence of silver in the final product. TEM investigation revealed that nano-sliver particles of 6-10 nm in diameter were successfully attached on surface of palygorskite fiber. FTIR was also used to clarify the formation mechanism of our method. The antibacterial effect of palygorskite supported nano-silver powder was investigated. Palygorskite supported nano-silver powder had good antibacterial activity on standard Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.

Abstract: This research has attempted to predict the level of corrosion of reinforcing bar depending on diffusion speed of chloride in concrete to develop prediction program for the time in which corrosion of reinforcing bar in concrete structure at coast occurs. Based on the results, diffusion algorithm of chloride has been formulated and corrosion prediction system has been developed by utilizing the prediction model for diffusion of chloride. The results from experiment and field investigation on coastal structure indicate that the developed program can predict diffusion speed of chloride relatively accurately, The majority of estimated values are coincide with experimental value apart from those of the surface regarding prediction on content of chloride according to different depth. Therefore, the newly developed program has been found to be useful for interpreting and predicting diffusion of chloride.

Abstract: For the net shape forming of composite products with structure of SB/CF-EP (steel backing/carbon fabric reinforced epoxy) lining, the demolding is difficult. Aiming to net shape forming of transmission screw nuts with structure of SB/CF-EP, a new solution was proposed in which the high-strength casting wax was used as the release agent. A basic demolding experiment was designed and comparative demolding experiments were conducted for three different conditions: wax and grease as release agents and no agent. The influences of different agents and agent thickness on demolding force, product sizes and surface quality were studied. In comparison with grease and no release agent the demolding force for wax was reduced by 91.6% and 98.0% respectively. The product shrink could be compensated by controlling the wax thickness. By using wax release agent, the fabrication of transmission screw nuts with SB/CF-EP lining was successfully completed.