This study developed an experimental quaternary titanium (Ti) alloy and evaluated its surface properties and electrochemical stability. The viability for a biofunctional surface treatment was also ...tested. Ti-35Nb-7Zr-5Ta (wt%) alloy was developed from pure metals. Commercially pure titanium (cpTi) and Ti-6Al-4V were used as controls. All groups had two surface conditions: untreated (machined surface) and modified by plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) (treated surface). The experimental alloy was successfully synthesized and exhibited β microstructure. PEO treatment created a porous surface with increased roughness, surface free energy, hardness and electrochemical stability (p < 0.05). For the machined surfaces, the Ti-Nb-Zr-Ta alloy presented the lowest hardness and elastic modulus (p < 0.05) and displayed greater polarization resistance relative to cpTi. Only PEO-treated cpTi and Ti-Al-V alloys exhibited anatase and rutile as crystalline structures. The β experimental Ti-Nb-Zr-Ta alloy seems to be a good alternative for the manufacture of dental implants, since it presents elastic modulus closer to that of bone, feasibility for surface treatment, electrochemical stability and absence of toxic elements.
•A β experimental Ti-Nb-Zr-Ta alloy with low elastic modulus was developed and functionalized.•The Ti-Nb-Zr-Ta alloy exhibited good electrochemical stability and surface properties.•Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) was a feasible surface treatment for the experimental alloy.•PEO-treated surfaces exhibited remarkable electrochemical stability.
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•Binary and ternary Ti alloys were developed.•Ti–Zr alloys exhibited enhanced hardness and electrochemical stability.•Ti–Nb–Zr alloys presented an elastic modulus closer to that of ...bone.•The experimental alloys were not detrimental to albumin adsorption.•The experimental alloys may be considered a suitable candidate for dental implants.
The aim of this study was to develop binary and ternary titanium (Ti) alloys containing zirconium (Zr) and niobium (Nb) and to characterize them in terms of microstructural, mechanical, chemical, electrochemical, and biological properties.
The experimental alloys — (in wt%) Ti–5Zr, Ti–10Zr, Ti–35Nb–5Zr, and Ti–35Nb–10Zr — were fabricated from pure metals. Commercially pure titanium (cpTi) and Ti–6Al–4V were used as controls. Microstructural analysis was performed by means of X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Vickers microhardness, elastic modulus, dispersive energy spectroscopy, X-ray excited photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, surface roughness, and surface free energy were evaluated. The electrochemical behavior analysis was conducted in a body fluid solution (pH 7.4). The albumin adsorption was measured by the bicinchoninic acid method. Data were evaluated through one-way ANOVA and the Tukey test (α=0.05).
The alloying elements proved to modify the alloy microstructure and to enhance the mechanical properties, improving the hardness and decreasing the elastic modulus of the binary and ternary alloys, respectively. Ti–Zr alloys displayed greater electrochemical stability relative to that of controls, presenting higher polarization resistance and lower capacitance. The experimental alloys were not detrimental to albumin adsorption.
The experimental alloys are suitable options for dental implant manufacturing, particularly the binary system, which showed a better combination of mechanical and electrochemical properties without the presence of toxic elements.
Wound infection is a common complication of chronic wounds. It can impair healing, which may not occur without external help. Antimicrobial dressings (AMDs) are a type of external help to infected ...chronic wounds. In this study, highly porous membranes made of only chitosan and containing the antiseptic polyhexanide (poly(hexamethylene biguanide); PHMB) were prepared by cryogelation, aiming to be used in AMDs. These membranes exhibited a water swelling capacity of 748%, a water drop penetration time of 11 s in a dry membrane and a water vapor transmission rate of 34,400 g H2O/m2/24 h when in contact with water. The best drug loading method involved simultaneous loading by soaking in a PHMB solution and sterilization by autoclaving, resulting in sterilized, drug-loaded membranes. When these membranes and a commercial PHMB-releasing AMD were assayed under the same conditions, albeit far from the in vivo conditions, their drug release kinetics were comparable, releasing PHMB for ca. 6 and 4 h, respectively. These membranes exhibited high antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which are bacterial species commonly found in infected wounds and blood clotting activity. The obtained results suggest that these membranes may have potential for use in the development of AMDs.
This study evaluated the influence of different translucent resins (Z350 and Opallis) for customizing fiber posts and light-curing the cementation system using different LED equipment (V, Valo or R, ...Radii-Cal) on the bond strength and adhesive failure pattern at 24 h and 6 months. Eighty roots were prepared and divided into 4 groups (n=20): ZV (Z350 resin and LED Valo), ZR (Z350 resin and LED Radii-Cal), OV (Opallis resin and LED Valo), OR (Opallis resin and LED Radii-Cal). After post space preparation, the fiber post was customized and cemented with self-adhesive cement and light-curing using V or R LED equipment. Bond strength values were submitted to 2-way ANOVA test. ZV and ZR showed higher bond strength values than the other groups at 6 months of evaluation (p<0.05). The Z350 resin has a favorable influence on the bond strength of self-adhesive cement to root dentin, regardless of the LED polymerization equipment used.
Abstract
The lung is inhabited by a diverse microbiome that originates from the oropharynx by a mechanism of micro-aspiration. Its bacterial biomass is usually low; however, this condition shifts in ...lung cancer (LC), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and interstitial lung disease (ILD). These chronic lung disorders (CLD) may coexist in the same patient as comorbidities and share common risk factors, among which the microbiome is included. We characterized the microbiome of 106 bronchoalveolar lavages. Samples were initially subdivided into cancer and non-cancer and high-throughput sequenced for the 16S rRNA gene. Additionally, we used a cohort of 25 CLD patients where crossed comorbidities were excluded. Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes were the most prevalent phyla independently of the analyzed group.
Streptococcus
and
Prevotella
were associated with LC and
Haemophilus
was enhanced in COPD versus ILD. Although no significant discrepancies in microbial diversity were observed between cancer and non-cancer samples, statistical tests suggested a gradient across CLD where COPD and ILD displayed the highest and lowest alpha diversities, respectively. Moreover, COPD and ILD were separated in two clusters by the unweighted UniFrac distance (
P
value = 0.0068). Our results support the association of
Streptoccocus
and
Prevotella
with LC and of
Haemophilus
with COPD, and advocate for specific CLD signatures.
The aim of this study was to compare backs and forwards rugby union players recruited to a National team in the following physical and physiological indicators: anthropometrics, squat jump (SJ), ...countermovement jump (CMJ), 10- and 30-meter sprint, resting heart rate variability (HRV), Yo-Yo Test and heart rate (HR) at 2 minutes of test.
The measurements were performed on the first day of a training camp planned to finely select the players who would participate in the 2016 America's Rugby Championship. The magnitude-based inference was used in the comparisons.
Backs demonstrated almost certainly greater distance in the Yo-Yo Test (backs: 2305.9±231.3 meters; forwards: 1802.4±361.2 meters), higher vertical jump height in both SJ and CMJ (SJ: 44.0±5.3 cm vs. 37.6±5.4 cm; CMJ: 46.1±5.0 cm vs. 40.0±5.5 cm, for backs and forwards respectively), and superior sprint velocity in 10- and 30-m (10-m: 6.02±0.23 m.s-1 vs. 5.51±0.34 m.s-1; 30-m: 7.46±0.25 m.s-1 vs. 6.89±0.37 m.s-1, for backs and forwards respectively) than the forwards. In contrast, forwards were almost certainly taller and heavier than backs, and displayed higher sprint momentum in 10- and 30-meters (10 meters: 513.0±51.6 kg.m.s-1 vs. 598.4±53.1 kg.m.s-1; 30 meters: 635.3±56.1 kg.m.s-1 vs. 749.0±70.5 kg.m.s-1, for backs and forwards respectively). The submaximal HR in the first 2-minutes of the Yo-Yo test was likely lower in the backs than in the forwards (77.6±5.1% of the maximal HR vs. 81.3±5.4% of the maximal HR for backs and forwards respectively), while HRV indices were not different between backs and forwards.
Playing position appears to be determined by the players' physical and physiological characteristics in top-level rugby union, and the submaximal HR measured during Yo-Yo test can be a simple alternative to discriminate backs and forwards.
The mechanical properties of new titanium alloys with an elastic modulus closest to cortical bone have been studied. However, potentially damaging conditions experienced in the oral cavity, such as ...fluoride ions, can initiate a localized or crevice process of corrosive degradation in the alloy surfaces.
The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effects of long-term immersion in artificial saliva or in fluoride solution on mean roughness (Ra), Vickers hardness, and topography of the new titanium alloy Ti-35Nb-7Zr-5Ta (TNZT) compared with those of cp Ti and Ti-6Al-4V (TAV).
Disks (N=210) were divided into cp Ti, TAV, and TNZT and subdivided according to the following treatments: no immersion (N(-), control), immersion in artificial saliva (S), and immersion in fluoride (F) during periods equivalent to 5, 10, 15, and 20 years. The Ra and Vickers hardness were measured with a profilometer and a hardness tester. The topography was analyzed by scanning electronic microscopy. Data were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn tests (α=.05).
Values of Ra and hardness were significantly different among the metals (Ra: TAV<TNZT<cp Ti; P<.05); and hardness (cp Ti<TNZT<TAV; P<.05); with a tendency for Ra to increase for TAV after 20 years of fluoride immersion and changes in hardness values of TAV and TNZT after immersion. TAV surfaces showed a heterogeneous appearance.
Long-term immersion in NaF did not change the roughness of Ti-35Nb-7Zr-5Ta. However, the hardness of the alloys increased with immersion.
Lung cancer configures as one of the deadliest types of cancer. The future implementation of early screening methods such as exhaled breath condensate analysis and low dose computed tomography (CT) ...as an alternative to current chest imaging based screening will lead to an increased burden on bronchoscopy units. New approaches for improvement of diagnosis in bronchoscopy units, regarding patient management, are likely to have clinical impact in the future. Diagnostic approaches to address mortality of lung cancer include improved early detection and stratification of the cancers according to its prognosis and further response to drug treatment. In this study, we performed a detailed mass spectrometry based proteome analysis of acellular bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid samples on an observational prospective cohort consisting of 90 suspected lung cancer cases which were followed during two years. The thirteen new lung cancer cases diagnosed during the follow up time period clustered, based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) data, with lung cancer cases at the time of BAL collection. Hundred and thirty-tree potential biomarkers were identified showing significantly differential expression when comparing lung cancer versus non-lung cancer. The regulated biomarkers showed a large overlap with biomarkers detected in tissue samples.
Acellular bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) proteomics can partially separate lung cancer from non-lung cancer patients based on principal component analysis and multivariate analysis. Furthermore, the ...variance in the proteomics data sets is correlated mainly with lung cancer status and, to a lesser extent, smoking status and gender. Despite these advances BAL small and large extracellular vehicles (EVs) proteomes reveal aberrant protein expression in paracrine signaling mechanisms in cancer initiation and progression. We consequently present a case-control study of 24 bronchoalveolar lavage extracellular vesicle samples which were analyzed by state-of-the-art liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). We obtained evidence that BAL EVs proteome complexity correlated with lung cancer stage 4 and mortality within two years´ follow-up (p value = 0.006). The potential therapeutic target DNMT3B complex is significantly up-regulated in tumor tissue and BAL EVs. The computational analysis of the immune and fibroblast cell markers in EVs suggests that patients who deceased within the follow-up period display higher marker expression indicative of innate immune and fibroblast cells (four out of five cases). This study provides insights into the proteome content of BAL EVs and their correlation to clinical outcomes.
The chemical composition of biomaterials can drive their biological responses; therefore, this in vitro study aimed to evaluate the proteomic profile of the salivary pellicle formed on titanium (Ti) ...alloys containing niobium (Nb) and zirconium (Zr). The experimental groups consisted of Ti35NbxZr (x = 5 and 10 wt%) alloys, and commercially pure titanium (cpTi); titanium aluminium vanadium (Ti6Al4V) alloys were used as controls. The physical and chemical characteristics of the Ti materials were analysed. The proteomic profile was evaluated by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Bacterial adhesion (2 h) of mixed species (Streptococcus sanguinis and Actinomyces naeslundii) was investigated as colony-forming units (n = 6). This paper reports the finding that salivary pellicle composition can be modulated by the composition of the Ti material. The Ti35NbxZr group showed a significant ability to adsorb proteins from saliva, which can favour interactions with cells and compatibility with the body.
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