Objective: To test the hypothesis that treatment time, debris/biofilm, and oral pH have an influence on the physical-chemical properties of orthodontic brackets and arch wires. Materials and Methods: One hundred twenty metal brackets were evaluated. They were divided into four groups (n 5 30) according to treatment time: group C (control) and groups T12, T24, and T36 (brackets recovered after 12, 24, and 36 months of treatment, respectively). Rectangular stainless-steel arch wires that remained in the oral cavity for 12 to 24 months were also analyzed. Dimensional stability, surface morphology, composition of brackets, resistance to sliding of the bracket-wire set, surface roughness of wires, and oral pH were analyzed. One-way analysis of variance, followed by a Tukey multiple comparisons test, was used for statistical analysis (P , .05).Results: Carbon and oxygen were shown to be elements that increased expressively and in direct proportion to time, and there was a progressive increase in the coefficient of friction and roughness of wires as a function of time of clinical use after 36 months. Oral pH showed a significant difference between group T36 and its control (P 5 .014). Conclusions: The hypothesis was partially accepted: treatment time and biofilm and debris accumulation in bracket slots were shown to have more influence on the degradation process and frictional force of these devices than did oral pH. (Angle Orthod. 2015;85:298-304.)

The use of quasicrystalline alloys as reinforcement material is due to the fact that they posses high hardness and low coefficient of friction. For this purpose was used compaction/extrusion equipment with which it was possible to observe a tendency toward increase in the mechanical strength from 72MPa (0% reinforcement) to 129Mpa (6% reinforcement).

This study evaluates the margin of a nanofill, a nanohybrid, and a conventional microhybrid composite in restorations in occlusal cavities of posterior teeth after 12 months. Forty-one patients, each with three molars affected by primary caries or the need to replace restorations, participated in this research. The teeth were restored with a nanofill (Filtek Z350), a nanohybrid (Esthet-X), and a microhybrid as a control (Filtek Z250). Ten patients were selected randomly, and the three restorations were molded with a low-viscosity polyvinyl siloxane material. The molds were poured with epoxy resin, gold-sputter coated, observed by scanning electron microscopy, and classified as: "perfect margin," "marginal irregularity," "marginal gap," "marginal fracture," or "artifact." For statistical analysis, the Wilcoxon and Friedman nonparametric tests and paired-samples t-test were used (significance level of 5%). The performance of the three materials was compared after 1 week and 12 months. No statistically significant differences were detected for all criteria (P > 0.05). When each composite was compared over time, statistically significant differences were found for the criterion, perfect margins (Esthet-X and Filtek Z350, P < 0.05). The materials performed satisfactorily over the 12-month-observation period, but all composites under investigation showed a certain amount of deterioration relating to marginal quality over time.

The geopolymer although being a recently discovered material, it is already present in many industrial sectors. This range of applications is due to the commitment of the scientific community to understand and manipulate the material, seeking a contribution in this regard, it has produced geopolymer matrix composites with quasicrystalline and reinforcement, Al62,2Cu25,5Fe12,3 in the proportion of 10%, 20% and 30% by volume. These composites were obtained by manual production and heat treated at 400 º C for two hours. The characterization was made with the aid of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD). Diffractograms of composites without heat treatment showed characteristic peaks of the phases present in the matrix and reinforcement. For the composites with heat-treated, it was observed that besides the phases mentioned above the presence of diffraction peaks possibly associated phase silica sodium aluminate. The composite showed good interface quasicrystal / geopolymer, showing the existence of a phase with lamellar morphology in the treated material.

The formation of brittle microstructures around the fusion line in dissimilar welds has required a deeper microstructural analysis in this region. The study becomes more relevant when these welds are used in environments that facilitate hydrogen embrittlement. The present work aims to characterize the microstructure and hardness at the diluted zone interface in joints welded with dissimilar materials. Aiming for a better efficacy in the microstructural characterization of this zone, samples of both normal cross-section (NCS) and section with slope were used, according to the low-angle microsectioning (LAMS) technique, which allows a greater amplification of partially mixed zones (PMZs). The results indicated the diffusion of carbon from the heat-affected zone (HAZ) towards the fusion line which, in combination with other alloying elements, form highly brittle carbides. In turn, the hardness of the base metal and the HAZ was reduced after post weld heat treatment, whereas in the weld metal an opposite behavior was observed. The dissimilar interface was promising for applications in environments facilitating hydrogen embrittlement, especially regarding the characteristics of zone Φ.

No abstract

Eu-doped semiconductor matrix of ZnO at concentrations of 0.05 and 0.10 mols was synthesized by combustion reaction, using zinc nitrate, europium nitrate, and urea as fuel. In order to analyze the effect of europium concentration and sintering on the structure, band gap, magnetic and morphological properties of ZnO, the samples were sintered at 1100 °C for 30 min and analyzed before and after sintering via X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet and visible spectroscopy, vibrant sample magnetometry, and scanning electron microscopy. From the results obtained, it was found that there was the formation of the semiconductor phase ZnO and also a second-phase (Eu2O3). It was observed that the samples before and after sintering presented band gap values within the semiconductor range and ferromagnetism at room temperature.

Objective: The focus of this study was to test the hypothesis that there is difference between the surface roughness and topography of flow resins used as bioprotective materials of orthodontic mini-implants. Thirty test specimens (5 mm × 3 mm) of flow resins were used, divided into 3 groups (n = 10): Group W (Wave), Group TC (Top Comfort) and Group F (Filtek Z350 XT). Topographic analysis was performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and surface roughness measurement by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). One-way analysis of variance ANOVA followed by the Tukey post hoc test were used for statistical evaluation (p < .05). By SEM, Group W presented a surface that was not very homogeneous with inorganic particles of up to 5 μm; in a similar manner and with a larger number of particles, Group TC was shown to have particles close to 3 μm in size. Whereas, Group F presented a more homogeneous and regular surface with few inorganic particles of 1 μm. AFM demonstrated that there was a significantly higher degree of surface roughness in Group W, which showed statistically significant difference from Group F (p = .007), and no significant difference between Group TC and the other groups (p > .05). The hypothesis was partially accepted; it could be affirmed that the flow resin Filtek Z350 presented a lower degree of surface roughness, and had smaller and more uniformly distributed inorganic particles when compared with the Wave and Top Comfort resins.