Treatment of hydrofluoric acid exposure to the eye

AIM: To review the current evidence of the treatment of hydrofluoric acid(HF) exposure to the human cornea.METHODS: A comprehensive manual search of the literature was conducted through the Ovid interface to assess the mechanism and efficacy of each irrigator through a variety of clinical cases and experimental studies.· RESULTS: Ocular exposure to HF is extremely damaging to the eye and swift recognition and decontamination with an appropriate agent forms the basis of treatment. Although there are various decontamination solutions that have efficacy against the corrosive action of HF, irrigation with Hexafluorine proved to be the most safe and effective treatment for the eye.CONCLUSION: In conclusion emergency departments could benefit from the availability of Hexafluorine for the treatment of HF ocular burns in patients.

Evaluation of zirconia–porcelain interface using X-ray diffraction

The aim of this study was to determine if accelerated aging of porcelain veneering had an effect on the surface properties specific to a tetragonal-to-monoclinic transformation（TMT） of zirconia restorations. Thirty-six zirconia samples were milled and sintered to simulate core fabrication followed by exposure to various combinations of surface treatments including as-received（control）,hydrofluoric acid（HF）, application of liner plus firings, application of porcelain by manual layering and pressing with firing, plus accelerated aging. The quantity of transformed tetragonal to monoclinic phases was analyzed utilized an X-ray diffractometer and one-way analysis of variance was used to analyze data. The control samples as provided from the dental laboratory after milling and sintering process had no TMT（X m5 0）. There was an effect on zirconia samples of HF application with TMT（X m5 0.8%） and liner plus HF application with TMT（X m5 8.7%）. There was an effect of aging on zirconia samples（no veneering） with significant TMT（X m5 70.25%）. Both manual and pressing techniques of porcelain applications reduced the TMT（manual, X m5 4.41%, pressing,X m5 11.57%）, although there was no statistical difference between them. It can be concluded that simulated applications of porcelain demonstrated the ability to protect zirconia from TMT after aging with no effect of a liner between different porcelain applications.The HF treatment also caused TMT.

Refractive index sensor based on tapered PCF in-line interferometer

A simple and compact refractive index sensor is demonstrated by tapering a photonic crystal fiber （PCF） in-line interferometer. The PCF is spliced between two single-mode fibers and tapered via hydrofluoric acid etching. Its sensitivity in liquid is more than an order of magnitude larger than the untapered one. By optimizing the etching process, we can fabricate more uniformly and thinly tapered PCF interferometers with higher sensitivity in the future.

Fabrication of grating structures on silicon carbide by femtosecond laser irradiation and wet etching

A method for fabricating deep grating structures on a silicon carbide （SIC） surface by a femtosecond laser and chemical-selective etching is developed. Periodic lines corresponding to laser-induced structure change （LISC） are formed by femtosecond laser irradiation, and then the SiC material in the LISC zone is removed by a mixed solution of hydrofluoric acid and nitric acid to form grating grooves. Grating grooves with a high-aspect ratio of approximately 25 are obtained. To obtain a small grating period, femtosecond laser exposure through a phase mask was used to fabricate grating structures with a 1.07 μm period on the surface of the SiC.

Bragg grating chemical sensor with hydrogel as sensitive element

A novel fiber Bragg grating (FBG) based chemical sensor using hydrogel, a swellable polymer, as sensitive element is demonstrated. The sensing mechanism relies on the shift of Bragg wavelength due to the stress resulted from volume change of sensitive swellable hydrogel responding to the change of external environment. A polyacrylamide hydrogel fiber grating chemical sensor is made, and the experiments on its sensitivity to the salinity are performed. The sensitivity is low due to the less stress from the shrinking or swelling of hdrogels. Reducing the cross diameter of the grating through etching with hydrofluoric acid can greatly improve the sensitivity of the sensor.