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Surface modification of titanium has been extensively investigated in implant science and technology in an effort to improve its osteoconductivity. The rate of protein adsorption on titanium surfaces is known to vary depending on the chemistry, structure, morphology, and titanium-specific biological aging of the surface. It is thus desirable to modify smooth titanium surfaces of miniimplants used as orthodontic anchors immediately prior to use. In this study, we have developed a simple surface modification of titanium alloy that improves its biofunctional activity. The surface of a Ti-6Al-4V disk was modified by applying 3% H 2 O 2 hydrothermal treatment using an autoclave. A nanostructured porous network TiO 2 was observed on the treated surface. Treated surfaces exhibited higher hydrophilicity, protein adsorption, and cell proliferation than untreated surfaces. 3% H 2 O 2 hydrothermal treatment is thought to provide biofunctional activity for aged titanium surface.

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The transmission infrared absorption spectra of an aqueous lactic acid solution was measured over a pH range of 2.66 -1.59 using a cell with an optical path length of 12 μm. Absorption peaks were then identified by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The observed pH-dependent changes in the absorbance spectra were consistent with the properties of the assigned functional groups. We therefore believe that the present method can be applied to the contactless and non-invasive quantitative evaluation of pH values in aqueous systems, such as bioprocesses and bioimaging.

The purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness of saturated salt solution‐embalmed cadavers for oral surgical skills training related to bone graft harvesting. Two half‐day surgical skills training workshops were held at the Tokyo Medical University utilizing eight cadavers embalmed with the saturated salt solution. A total of 22 participants including oral surgeons, residents, and dentists attended the workshop. Surgical training consisted of six procedures related to intraoral and extraoral bone harvesting. The participants were surveyed to assess self‐confidence levels for each surgical procedure before and after completion of each workshop. The Wilcoxon signed‐rank test was used to compare the differences between each median score before and after the workshop. There were statistically significant increases in the self‐assessed confidence scores in bone harvesting procedures for the zygomatic bone (P = 0.003), maxillary tuberosity (P = 0.002), and other sites (P < 0.001). The anatomical features of saturated salt solution‐embalmed cadavers were also examined. The textures of the oral mucosa and skin were similar to those of living individuals. The structure of bone tissues was well‐preserved and the hardness was realistic. Consequently, all procedures were performed with sufficient realism. The saturated salt solution method has a relatively low cost of preparation and storage, and almost no odor. The authors suggest that saturated salt solution‐embalmed cadavers could provide a new model for oral surgical skills training in bone harvesting.