Physical properties (thermal,thermomechanical, magnetic,and adhesive) of some smart orthodontic wires

Thermal, thermomechanical, and caloric properties of commercial orthodontic wires (produced by Natural Orthodontics Corp., USA) with cylindrical and rectangular geometry were studied. Depending on the applied forces, there were identified the range of elasticity, the elasticity–viscoelasticity coexistence domain and the domain in which a maximum force of 18 N is applied, for the orthodontic wires. When increasing the thickness of orthodontic wires, deformation decreases. The Controlled Force Module, in the tension mode, was used for the determination of the orthodontic wires elongation at application of the stretching forces from 0 to 13 N, at 35 °C, maintaining each static force value for 3 min. The increase in the cross-sectional area of the orthodontic wires disfavors the process of elongation of the sample, at the same applied static force. Using the Multi-Frequency–Strain–Stress modulus, in the tension mode, DMA cyclic heating–cooling measurements were performed. The measured physical quantities for orthodontic wires were Storage Modulus, Loss Modulus, Tanδ and Stiffness, at heating and cooling. Thus, the characteristic temperatures of the phase transitions (A_s, A_f, M_s, M_f), of all the studied orthodontic wires were identified. Also, the values of the elasticity modulus (Young’s Modulus) of the orthodontic wires were calculated at 35 °C. With the DSC Q200 device, using temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry method, a multi-step temperature variation program, was applied to a rectangular wire, in three stages (cooling–heating–cooling). Through the interpretation of heat fluxes (reversible, irreversible and total), the phase transitions in the formation of martensite, austenite, but also of the rombohedral phase (R-phase), were identified. Formations of austenite and martensite were also evidenced by the classical DSC method, but the classical DSC method also enabled the R-phase identification. The adherence of some food dyes on the orthodontic wires, as well as the modification of the surface roughness of the orthodontic wire after the deposition of the food dye, was also studied. By magnetic measurements, it was established that the orthodontic wires had paramagnetic properties at room temperature, and nitinol was a mixture of 49.2% austenite and 50.8% martensite.

     

Compatibility study of tobramycin and pharmaceutical excipients using differential scanning calorimetry,FTIR, DRX,and HPLC

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), isothermal stress testing–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (IST–FTIR), isothermal stress testing–high-performance liquid chromatography, and powder X-ray diffraction (PDRX) were used as screening techniques for assessing the compatibility of tobramycin with some currently employed ophthalmic excipients. In the first phase of the study, DSC was used as a tool to detect any interaction. The absolute value of the difference between the enthalpy of the pure tobramycin melting peak and that of its melting peak in the different analyzed mixtures was chosen as a parameter of the drug–excipient interaction degree. DSC results demonstrated that benzalkonium chloride, monobasic sodium phosphate, boric acid, edetate disodium, sodium metabisulfite, thimerosal, and potassium sorbate interact with tobramycin. Taking into account these results, it could be suggested that some of the changes observed in the IST–FTIR spectra of binary blends of tobramycin and some of the excipients would account for a possible interaction between the mixture component. In this study, PDRX did not provide much information, since only tobramycin–thimerosal interactions could be detected. DSC and IST–FTIR are suitable and simple methods for the detection of potential incompatibilities between active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and excipients.

     

A numerical algorithm for pricing electricity derivatives for jump-diffusion processes based on continuous time lattices

We present a numerical algorithm for pricing derivatives on electricity prices. The algorithm is based on approximating the generator of the underlying price process on a lattice of prices, resulting in an approximation of the stochastic process by a continuous time Markov chain. We numerically study the rate of convergence of the algorithm for the case of the Merton jump-diffusion model and apply the algorithm to calculate prices and sensitivities of both European and Bermudan electricity derivatives when the underlying price follows a stochastic process which exhibits both fast mean-reversion and jumps of large magnitude.     

A note on the two-stage hybrid flow shop problem with dedicated machines

In this paper we introduce a new dominance rule for the two-stage hybrid flow shop problem with dedicated machines. The rule is then used to construct a dominating set. The efficiency of the proposed rule is shown through an analysis of the dominating set cardinality.