Magnification of Iris through Clear Acrylic Resin in Ocular Prosthesis.

The study on the magnification of the clear acrylic resin in prosthetic dentistry is important but lacking. Hence, this research aimed to investigate the magnification of the iris in the ocular prosthesis with various thicknesses of clear heat cure acrylic resin. A total of 60 ocular prostheses were divided into six groups with various thicknesses of clear heat cure acrylic resin over the iris; T0 (control): no acrylic resin, T1: 2, T2: 4, T3: 6, T4: 8, and T5: 10 mm of clear acrylic resin over the iris. Each ocular prosthesis was manufactured from white acrylic, with a 10.250 mm iris. Then, the clear heat cure resin was placed over the iris, cured, then polished. The final diameter of the iris was measured with a vernier caliper. The sizes of the iris were compared among various groups using one-way ANOVA, and a significant level was chosen at p value = 0.01. The mean sizes of iris were T0 = 10.25, T1 = 10.92, T2 = 11.26, T3 = 11.91, T4 = 12.75, and T5 = 13.43 mm. The size of the iris was significantly different among the group (p < 0.0001). The magnification of the iris for different groups was 1.06 for T1, 1.10 for T2, 1.16 for T3, 1.24 for T4, and 1.31 for T5. The magnification of the iris increased as the thickness of clear heat cure acrylic resin over the iris is increased on the ocular prosthesis.

Observation of Dirac-like semi-metallic phase in NdSb.

The search of new topological phases of matter is one of the new directions in condensed matter physics. Recent experimental realizations of Dirac semimetal phases pave the way to look for other exotic phases of matter in real materials. Here we present a systematic angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) study of NdSb, a potential candidate for hosting a Dirac semi-metal phase. Our studies reveal two hole-like Fermi surface pockets present at the zone center ([Formula: see text]) point as well as two elliptical electron-pockets present in the zone corner (X) point of the Brillouin zone (BZ). Interestingly, Dirac-like linearly dispersive states are observed about the zone corner (X) point in NdSb. Our first-principles calculations agree with the experimentally observed bands at the [Formula: see text] point. Moreover, the Dirac-like state observed in NdSb may be a novel correlated state, not yet predicted in calculations. Our study opens a new direction to look for Dirac semi-metal states in other members of the rare earth monopnictide family.

Observation of the spin-polarized surface state in a noncentrosymmetric superconductor BiPd.

Recently, noncentrosymmetric superconductor BiPd has attracted considerable research interest due to the possibility of hosting topological superconductivity. Here we report a systematic high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and spin-resolved ARPES study of the normal state electronic and spin properties of BiPd. Our experimental results show the presence of a surface state at higher-binding energy with the location of Dirac point at around 700 meV below the Fermi level. The detailed photon energy, temperature-dependent and spin-resolved ARPES measurements complemented by our first-principles calculations demonstrate the existence of the spin-polarized surface states at high-binding energy. The absence of such spin-polarized surface states near the Fermi level negates the possibility of a topological superconducting behaviour on the surface. Our direct experimental observation of spin-polarized surface states in BiPd provides critical information that will guide the future search for topological superconductivity in noncentrosymmetric materials.