Accuracy and eligibility of Bonwill⁃Hawley arch form established by CBCT image for dental crowding measurement: a comparative study with the conventional brass wire and caliper methods.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to develop a novel Bonwill⁃Hawley method (Bonwill⁃Hawley arch form based on CBCT image) for the assessment of dental crowding, and to investigate and compare the accuracy and eligibility with the conventional brass wire and caliper methods under different crowding conditions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty patients with the pair of plaster casts and CBCT data were collected. All the casts were marked and transformed into digital models using iTero scanner, and imported into OrthoCAD software to measure the required space. Using the conventional brass wire (M1) and caliper methods (M2), the available space and dental crowding were measured and calculated basing on digital models, respectively. Correspondingly, the axial planes in the level of dental arches were oriented and captured from the CBCT images to draw the Bonwill⁃Hawley arch forms (M3), which were used to measure and calculate the available space and dental crowding. For each method, intra and inter-examiner reliabilities were evaluated with intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs). Wilcoxon test and Kruskal-Wallis test were performed for statistically analyzing the discrepancy among different groups. RESULTS: Both intra- and inter-examiner reliability were generally excellent for all parameters obtained by the three methods, except for the dental crowding measured using M1(ICC: 0.473/0.261). The dental crowding measured using M2 were significantly increased in mild, moderate and severe-crowding groups compared with M1. However, no significant difference was detected between M1 and M3 in severe-crowding group (maxilla, p = 0.108 > 0.05; mandible, p = 0.074 > 0.05). With the deterioration of crowding condition, the discrepancy of dental crowding between M1 and M2, or M1 and M3 were significantly decreased (maxilla, M2-M1, mild VS serve, p = 0.003 < 0.05; maxilla, M3-M1, mild VS serve, p = 0.003 < 0.05; mandible, M2-M1, mild VS serve, p = 0.000 < 0.001; mandible, M3-M1, mild VS serve, p = 0.043 < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Dental crowding measured using the novel Bonwill⁃Hawley method was relatively greater than the caliper method, but not exceeding the brass wire method, which wound gradually come close to the brass wire method with the deterioration of crowding condition. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The Bonwill⁃Hawley method basing on CBCT image proved to be a reliable and acceptable choice for orthodontists to analyze the dental crowding.

Engineered crumpled graphene oxide nanocomposite membrane assemblies for advanced water treatment processes.

In this work, we describe multifunctional, crumpled graphene oxide (CGO) porous nanocomposites that are assembled as advanced, reactive water treatment membranes. Crumpled 3D graphene oxide based materials fundamentally differ from 2D flat graphene oxide analogues in that they are highly aggregation and compression-resistant (i.e., π-π stacking resistant) and allow for the incorporation (wrapping) of other, multifunctional particles inside the 3D, composite structure. Here, assemblies of nanoscale, monomeric CGO with encapsulated (as a quasi core-shell structure) TiO2 (GOTI) and Ag (GOAg) nanoparticles, not only allow high water flux via vertically tortuous nanochannels (achieving water flux of 246 ± 11 L/(m(2)·h·bar) with 5.4 µm thick assembly, 7.4 g/m(2)), outperforming comparable commercial ultrafiltration membranes, but also demonstrate excellent separation efficiencies for model organic and biological foulants. Further, multifunctionality is demonstrated through the in situ photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO), as a model organic, under fast flow conditions (tres < 0.1 s); while superior antimicrobial properties, evaluated with GOAg, are observed for both biofilm (contact) and suspended growth scenarios (>3 log effective removal, Escherichia coli). This is the first demonstration of 3D, crumpled graphene oxide based nanocomposite structures applied specifically as (re)active membrane assemblies and highlights the material's platform potential for a truly tailored approach for next generation water treatment and separation technologies.

Aerosol synthesis of self-organized nanostructured hollow and porous carbon particles using a dual polymer system.

A facile method for designing and synthesizing nanostructured carbon particles via ultrasonic spray pyrolysis of a self-organized dual polymer system comprising phenolic resin and charged polystyrene latex is reported. The method produces either hollow carbon particles, whose CO2 adsorption capacity is 3.0 mmol g(-1), or porous carbon particles whose CO2 adsorption capacity is 4.8 mmol g(-1), although the two particle types had similar diameters of about 360 nm. We investigate how the zeta potential of the polystyrene latex particles, and the resulting electrostatic interaction with the negatively charged phenolic resin, influences the particle morphology, pore structure, and CO2 adsorption capacity.