INTRODUCTION For more than 20 years alumina-blasted surfaces have been successfully used for cementless surgical implants, because of their good biocompatibility and rapid osseointegration. However, it has been shown recently that grit-blasting leads to partial embedding of aluminum oxide particles that can cover 24% to 40% of the surface, with a difference between manufacturers [1-2]. These pa...

BACKGROUND Beryllium exposure occurs in aluminium smelters from natural contamination of bauxite, the principal source of aluminium. AIMS To characterize beryllium exposure in aluminium smelters and determine the prevalence rate of beryllium sensitization (BeS) among aluminium smelter workers. METHODS A population of 3185 workers from nine aluminium smelters owned by four different aluminiu...

[1] An aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer was deployed at Mace Head (Ireland) during August 2002. The measurements provide qualitative chemical composition and size distribution (0.3–3 μm) information for single particles. Three broad categories of particles: sea salt, dust, and carbon-containing particles were identified and apportioned, and their temporal evolution (1 hour resolution) i...

Semi-opaque to opaque films containing small amounts of various aluminium particles to decrease emissivity were easily prepared and coated onto low-density polyethylene (LDPE) sheets. The thermal-radiative properties (reflectivity, transmissivity and absorptivity) of the films were measured and related to the aluminum particles' content, size and nature. Time-to-ignition of samples was assessed...

Human activities have circumvented the efficient geochemical cycling of aluminium within the lithosphere and therewith opened a door, which was previously only ajar, onto the biotic cycle to instigate and promote the accumulation of aluminium in biota and especially humans. Neither these relatively recent activities nor the entry of aluminium into the living cycle are showing any signs of abati...

OF all the methods of delaying the absorption of intramuscular penicillin, combination with procaine is at present foremost (Florey 1952). Procaine penicillin is most effective when the particles are smaller than 5 µ and are suspended in a peanut-oil medium with 2% (w/v) aluminium monostearate (Thomas et al. 1948). Emery et al. (1949) showed that in children a serum-penicillin level above...

Plasticine strips are rolled between cylindrical rollers to model the phenomenon of material transfer in metal rolling. Strips of thin plastic film ‘clingfilm’) on the plasticine strip are used to model the oxide layer that covers the surface of aluminium. The effect of gaps opening up between he clingfilm strips is investigated. It is found that the percentage area of the exposed strip giving ...

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder of unknown aetiology. It is suggested to involve both genetic susceptibility and environmental factors including in the latter environmental toxins. Human exposure to the environmental toxin aluminium has been linked, if tentatively, to autism spectrum disorder. Herein we have used transversely heated graphite furnace atomic absorption s...

Particle effects on friction and wear of 6061 aluminium (6061 AI) reinforced with silicon carbide (SIC) and alumina (AI203) particles were investigated by means of Vickers microhardness measurements and scratch tests. Unreinforced 6061 AI matrix alloy was also studied for comparison. To explore the effect of heat treatment, materials subjected to three different heat treatment conditions, i.e. ...

The differential diagnosis of bluish-gray pigmentation of the skin includes dermal melanocytosis, malignant melanoma and metallic discoloration. Of these disorders, metallic discoloration, which develops from deposits of fine metallic particles on the skin, is an uncommon dermatologic disease. We report a case of metallic discoloration of the right shin caused by titanium alloy prostheses in a ...