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This work presents some of researches performed by the authors on execution of plastic parts required for repair works specific to certain machines and plants. Authors focused especially on the repair and reconditioning of certain assemblies which include various machine parts: special spacers, machine-tools guides and toothed gears. Methods shown herein are very simple, accessible even to small workshop and they do not require special equipment, thereby involving minimal expenses. The use of simple programs allow fast and low-cost execution of parts with an accurately determined geometry.

Prosthetic mesh implants in hernia repair are frequently used based on the fact that lower recurrence rates are detected compared to anatomic repair. In latest years, researchers tried to answer weather there is an ideal mesh material for abdominal hernia repair. The studies tried to compare resistance, bio-tolerance, rates of recurrence and infection of several materials used in alloplasty. The results are far from pointing an unique ideal chemical structure of mesh. In our study, we compared the results of a cohort of 265 patients operated in 2010 and 2011 in our clinic for complicated abdominal incisional hernias. We compared the results of polypropylene mesh vs. polyester. Polypropylene mesh proved significantly better for preventing hernia recurrence and showed a lower shrinkage rate.

Combining technological development in the laparoscopic field alongside the increase of surgeon’s experience in partial nephrectomy, have extended the indications of laparoscopic nephron sparing surgery to more complicated cases, increasing the role of suture materials in obtaining a good collecting system closure and hemostasis, with short warm ischemia time and low postoperative complications rate. Suturing materials are continuously developed combining new and unique designs with novel synthetic materials in order to fulfill surgeon’s exigence.

The aim of the paper is to identify the of optimal plastic type used in obtaining thoraco-lumbar orthoses - used in the treatments of comminutive fracture, of burst fracture type of the vertebrae in the lumbar area. For this purpose, with the help of Finite Element Analysis (FEA), a theoretical study was carried out on the influence of elastic properties of plastics, used in the achieving of lumbar orthoses, on the state of tension and on the local displacements of the bone fragments from the traumatized area under the condition of the movement from the base of extension and flexion. In the study the force of flexion, the force of extension and the elastic modulus of plastic material varied on three levels. The theoretical results obtained were completed with clinical trials carried out on a total of 26 patients who suffer thoraco-lumbar comminutive fracture, burst fractures type, at vertebra T11 and were immobilized in Boston-type plastic orthoses made of: polypropylene (PP), rigid vinyl polychloride (PVC-D) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). As a result of observations, it was found that the use of an orthesis made from rigid plastic material, although it appears higher stresses in the traumatized zone, the displacements of bone fragments are smaller, the pains is higher in the fractured zone, the angle of kyphosis (LKA) close to the normal value and a better mobility of the spine (ODI indicator).

The metal complexes and amine compounds are the most frequent categories of catalysts used in polyurethanes synthesis. Unfortunately, all auxiliary substances added to a synthesis increase the toxicological risk of final products used in a therapy. In the present study, polyether-urethane (PU) microstructures with and without catalyst were obtained. These structures were characterized by the measurement of samples’ pH, of their size and stability, were obtained and the skin irritation potential. The results show that samples with a neutral pH, PU microstructures with sizes between 120 and 165 nm and with a medium stability. It was found that the microstructures from syntheses with catalyst present increased values of skin irritation.

Water is an important element of life, while every industry in its processes uses an important amount of water. Following processes, the water is contaminated and requires water treatment technologies. Unconventional methods to wastewater treatment, in the last years, use membrane technology as one of the most reliable processes for contaminants removal. In this article, the influence of the different concentrations of polysulfone (PSf) on the polymeric membranes properties was studied. These membranes were obtained through phase inversion method and with different polymer concentrations: 23, 25, 27 and 30 wt.%. The performance of the membranes was studied by pure water flux, permeability and retention. It has been observed that by increasing the polymer concentration, the pure water flux and the permeability will decrease. Retention was determined using methylene blue, which is one of the most utilized dye from industry and it could be observed that by increasing the polymer concentration the retention degree of the pollutant also increases. In order to explain the evolution of membrane permeability at different polymer concentrations, surface hydrophilicity by contact angle method and cross-section SEM imaging were used.

Since the time of their introduction into medical practice, biomesh were criticized for their lack of tissue integration and the rejection due to the organism reaction for an element that is not autologous. The mechanisms by which these changes of contact between the tissue and the foreign material were produced were initially incompletely understood, but over time the involvement of the immune system mediated by the cellular or humoral local inflammatory reaction was established.

Graphene oxide and graphite filled polyester composites were prepared by using conventional melt-mixing methods in order to improve tribological performance of polyester. It was investigated friction stability, microhardness, friction coefficient, and specific wear rate of the composites in details. It was found that the presence of graphite and graphene oxide influenced friction coefficient and wear rate of the composites. Graphene oxide decreased wear rate with increasing of test speed and graphite decreased wear rate for composite for all speeds. Tribological performance of the polyester/graphene composites is mainly attributed to bigger thermal conductivity for graphene, which can easily dissipate the heat which appears during the friction process at bigger forces. The positive influence of graphite on coefficient of friction (COF) of the composites is the result of the clivage of graphite layers during the loadings due to van der Waals weak bonds between the graphite layers.

Materials based on acrylic resins are commonly used in dental practice. These are obtained through various technologies, which determine the chemical, physical and biological properties of the final product, which can influence the inflammatory processes in the periodontal tissue. To evaluate the effects of these materials, we identified the concentrations of TGFb1 and IL8 in crevicular fluid in 23 patients with temporary dentures made of polymethyl methacrylate by two polymerization methods: (1) a product processed immediately prior to application, wherein the polymerization of the material occurs in the oral cavity; and (2) a product processed in the dental laboratory from a prepolymerized block (block-type PMMA), and applied directly into the patient’s mouth. The results of our study revealed a significant correlation between the IL-8 inflammation marker and the clinical parameters in the periodontal tissue exposed to the polymerization of the material in the oral cavity.

This paper presents the development and characterization of polymer composites based on natural rubber, crosslinked using two types of vulcanization systems, as follows: the classical method using sulfur and curing accelerators and the method using peroxide in the presence of a polyfunctional monomer - trimethylolpropanetrimethacrylate. The composites were made with 0 parts to 100 parts rubber (phr) and 40 phr filler content. The physical-mechanical characteristics of resulting composites depend on the crosslinking method and on the composition. The mechanical parameters of materials were derived by processing the transmissibility curves, derived for samples with known dimensions and density. The main vibration frequencies and the quality factor, derived in the vicinity of resonances, allow to derive the elasticity and internal damping of materials.