Ternary Ti alloys functionalised with antibacterial activity.

Prosthesis bacterial infection occurring during surgery is a rising health issue. Pathogenic bacterial infection causes inflammation, interferes with the healing process, inhibits osteogenesis and, eventually, leads to implant failure. These issues can be tackled either by applying coatings or developing multifunctional (i.e. structural and antibacterial) materials. In this work, ß eutectoid bearing functionalised Ti alloys were designed and manufactured via the cost-effective press and sinter powder metallurgy route. The systematic analysis of the ternary Ti-xCu-yMn alloys shows that the mechanical properties proportionally increase with the amount of alloying elements added. All the ternary Ti-xCu-yMn alloys have strong antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli with respect to the negative control (i.e. pure Ti). Our study demonstrates that ternary Ti-xCu-yMn alloys are promising candidates for structural prostheses functionalised with antibacterial capability.

Comparison between landmark and surface-based three-dimensional analyses of facial asymmetry in adults.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: To collect the reference values for facial asymmetry in adults using landmark and surface-based three-dimensional analyses and to compare their diagnostic abilities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Laser scans were taken from 85 British Caucasians, 29 males (23.9±5.7 years, range 19-44) and 56 females (28.1±9.5 years, range 19-54), students and staff of the Cardiff Dental Hospital, and three orthodontic patients with marked facial asymmetry. An asymmetry index (AI) was measured for 14 landmarks. The surface-to-surface average distance between the best-fit registered original and mirror scans (ADom) was measured for the whole face and six regions. Non-parametric descriptive statistics was used to obtain the reference values, and Mann-Whitney U-test was used for gender comparison. P values less than 0.05 were considered significant. Patients' values were compared to the reference values by calculating the corresponding percentiles. RESULTS: The lowest AI was found for 'pronasale' in males [median 0.1 (interquartile range 0.0-0.3) mm] and the highest for 'cheilion' [3.5 (2.4-5.0) mm] in females. The ADom for the whole face was 0.7 (0.5-0.9) mm in males and 0.6 (0.5-0.7) mm in females and regionally between 0.4 (0.3-0.6) mm and 0.8 (0.4-1.2) mm. In orthodontic patients, AI did not always reveal asymmetry in a particular coordinate plane, and surface-based analysis was favourable in regions underrepresented by landmarks. CONCLUSIONS: Facial asymmetry can be accurately quantified using landmark- and surface-based approaches. The latter offers a more comprehensive analysis of the face.