Innovative novel candy made from a low-solubility amorphous material promotes saliva secretion: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover comparative trial.

Saliva has antioxidant properties, washes away food residues, and helps maintain the oral environment; thus, decreased saliva secretion can have negative consequences. This study examined how slow-soluble innovative candy, named low-solubility amorphous material, affects oral indices such as saliva secretion and halitosis in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover comparative study. Twenty-four healthy individuals with low saliva production were given one piece of low-solubility amorphous material or placebo candy and their saliva secretion was measured over 20 min.

Impact of Lanthanoid Substitution on the Structural and Physical Properties of an Infinite-Layer Iron Oxide.

The effect of lanthanoid (Ln = Nd, Sm, Ho) substitution on the structural and physical properties of the infinite-layer iron oxide SrFeO was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) at ambient and high pressure, neutron diffraction, and Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. Ln for Sr substituted samples up to ∼30% were synthesized by topochemical reduction using CaH. While the introduction of the smaller Ln ion reduces the a axis as expected, we found an unusual expansion of the c axis as well as the volume.

B1-to-B2 structural transitions in rock salt intergrowth structures.

The rock salt (B1) structure of binary oxides or chalcogenides transforms to the CsCl (B2) structure under high pressure, with critical pressures P(s) depending on the cation to anion size ratio (R(c)/R(a)). We investigated structural changes of A(2)MO(3) (A = Sr, Ca; M = Cu, Pd) comprising alternate 7-fold B1 AO blocks and corner-shared MO(2) square-planar chains under pressure. All of the examined compounds exhibit a structural transition at P(s) = 29-41 GPa involving a change in the A-site geometry to an 8-fold B2 coordination.