OBJECTIVE Different fixation techniques have been used for stabilization of autotransplanted teeth. Because rigid or extended fixation periods can cause complications such as ankylosis and disturbances of pulpal revascularization, our aim was to evaluate an alternative technique, a removable splint, for improving the success rate of autotransplanted molar teeth. STUDY DESIGN In 44 patients, (...

In this paper we present our positive experience with use of Aquaplast thermoplastic as a tie-down dressing for securing and maintaining skin grafts in good position against their nutrient recipient beds. This unique polymer is safe to use, simple to apply, and maintains uniform pressure across the entire surface of the skin graft, no matter how contoured the shape of the anatomical region.

RAFT polymerization afforded acrylic ABC triblock copolymers with self-complementary nucleobase-functionalized external blocks and a low-Tg soft central block. ABC triblock copolymers self-assembled into well-defined lamellar microphase-separated morphologies for potential applications as thermoplastic elastomers. Complementary hydrogen bonding within the hard phase facilitated self-assembly an...

Quadriplegics rely on mouth-controlled devices to perform a variety of tasks and to establish some degree of self-sufficiency. The most functional mouthstick appliances have custom-fitted mouthpieces which are fabricated by dental professionals, and in some cases are cost-prohibitive. An inexpensive lightweight mouthstick which incorporates a new thermoplastic mouthpiece and can be custom-fitte...

Fluorescence spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements using bisurea-pyrene probes show that they are randomly dispersed in the hard blocks of thermoplastic elastomers with matching bisurea groups, whereas they phase separate from polymers with non-matching or no bisurea groups.

Surgical guides produced by stereolithography use hard resin. The hard resin prevents seating beyond the height of contour, hence these guides are not intrinsically retentive. By covering the guide with a flexible thermoplastic material that extends into the undercuts, the resulting guide now has a retentive feature. This allows it to maintain its position during surgery yet it can easily be re...

We report femtosecond optical signal processing by using second-order spectral holography. Enhanced secondorder diffraction from a thermoplastic plate makes possible new signal-processing operations not possible with first-order holography. Experiments resulting in output waveforms equal to the autoconvolution function of the input waveform are described, and the possibility of optical signals ...

The in situ thermoplastic tape placement process is increasingly applied for manufacturing of composite structures. Compared to the fi lamentwinding process, it provides several additional fl exibilities such as the possibility to manufacture nonrotational structures, even with concave curves and free fibre orientation. Considerable savings in terms of time and costs can be achieved with an in ...

A series of flattened-nanotube reinforced thermoplastic composites are sizably fabricated as a function of buckypaper loading. The effects of the volume fraction, nanotube alignment and length on the tensile performance of the composites are factored into a general expression. The incorporation of self-reinforcing polyphenylene resin (Parmax) into a highly aligned buckypaper frame at an optimal...

The development of resins represented a great step forward in dental technique, the first thermopolymerisable acrylic resins being developed in 1936. Acrylic resins are better known as poly(methyl methacrylate) or PMMA. They are synthetically obtained materials that can be modelled, packed or injected into molds during an initial plastic phase which solidify through a chemical reaction-polymeri...