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Porosity formation during solidification in equiaxed microstructure of multicomponent nickel aluminide IC396M is examined. Two types of porosities are identified and related to the other scales of microstructure that evolve during solidification. A correlation is established between the relevent processing parameters and the microstructure variables.

Background/purpose Ceramic restorations have been increasingly applied over recent years. But the performance of cement is still unknown after cementation. This study was aimed to compare the compressive strength and the performances of three different types of composite resin after lithium disilicate inlay cementation. Materials and methods Twenty-four human maxillary premolars were embedded in resin blocks, finished a MOD inlay preparation and scanned with an extraoral scanner. Lithium disilicate ceramic inlays (IPS e.max, Ivoclar Vivadent, Liechtenstein) were fabricated according to the scanner's model. All the specimens were then etched, bonded, and cemented with three different composite resins. Right after 5000 thermal cyclings, the specimens were accepted compressive tests to evaluate the compressive strength and failure types. Moreover, the fracture fragments of the specimens were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to verify the fracture type. Results Dual-cured resin cement (Rely X Ultimate) showed the highest compressive strength (1002 ± 508 N), followed by the light-cured flowable resin (Z350 XT) (971 ± 209 N) and light-cured bulkfill (Filtek Bulkfill) resin (581 ± 191 N). Type IV (root fracture) failures in the dual-cured resin cement group was 25%, and light-cured flowable resin was 37.5%. But none of type IV fracture was found in the light-cured bulkfill flowable group. Conclusion Dual-cured resin cement demonstrates the highest compressive strength after ceramic inlay cementation. Light-cured bulkfill resin shows the lowest compressive strength, but catastrophic failure is absent in this group.

Background/purpose The Passavant's ridge can be utilized as a guide landmark during obturator prosthesis fabrication, but there were no studies concerning about the prevalence of the ridge in East Asia region. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of Passavant's ridge in patients with velopharyngeal insufficiency in a Taiwan Chinese population. Materials and methods It's a retrospective study that 91 patients with velopharyngeal insufficiency who received a obturator prosthesis during the period from 1992 to 2016 in Taichung Veterans General Hospital (TCVGH, Taiwan) were included. The Passavant's ridge was directly identified under intraoral examination during phonation (group 1) and gagging (group 2) action by two examiners. The results in these two groups were compared using McNemar test. Associations between the presence of the ridge and categorical variables (gender, etiology and defect area) were also analyzed using the chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. (α = 0.05) Results Passavant's ridge was observed during phonation in 72 patients (79.1%) and during gagging in 83 patients (91.2%), which showed a statistically difference (p < 0.05). The relationship between the presence of the ridge and categorical variables (gender, etiology and defect area) were evaluated but no statistically significant correlation was found (p > 0.05). Conclusion A high prevalence of Passavan't ridge either in phonation and gagging action was identified in patients with velopharyngeal insufficiency in a Taiwan Chinese population. In addition, the occurrence of Passavant's ridge was significantly higher during gagging action than during phonation.