Weijun Yang^1†, Xiaomin Zhao^2†, Elena Fortunati¹, Franco Dominici¹, Jose M. Kenny¹, Debora Puglia^1*, De-Yi Wang^2*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.5, pp. 423-434, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634146

Abstract Presented herein is a deep investigation of the fire, mechanical and thermal performances of poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based nanocomposites, which were obtained by combining cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) with various contents of N,N’-diallyl-phenylphosphoricdiamide (P-AA) via a two-steps masterbatch melt extrusion process (glycidyl methacrylate grafting on PLA and CNC premixing with PLA). Results have shown that the value of the limiting oxygen index (LOI) increased to 28.8% and a V-0 rating in UL94 test was obtained when 2 wt% of P-AA was added in the presence of cellulose nanocrystals (3 wt%). The incorporation of CNC induced a decrease of both PHRR and THR… More >

Agnieszka Sobczak-Kupiec¹, Klaudia Pluta¹, Dagmara Malina^1*, Bożena Tyliszczak²

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.3-4, pp. 180-188, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634106

Abstract In recent years, the development of composite biomaterials has been the subject of very intensive research. The elaboration of technology for manufacturing new biomaterials will allow their practical implementation and adaptation to changing market needs. One of the key components in the developed composite materials will be natural origin hydroxyapatite (HAp) and tricalcium phosphate (TCP) obtained from bone products. In this study, preparation and detailed characterization of bone-derived calcium phosphates as a component of biomaterial composites is proposed. This novel method of obtaining hydroxyapatite for biomedical applications allows the obtainment of a material with expected parameters. In this study, pork… More >

Hu Feng¹, Guanghui Liu¹, Jiansong Yuan^2,*, M. Neaz Sheikh³, Lu Feng⁴, Jun Zhao¹

Structural Durability & Health Monitoring, Vol.13, No.1, pp. 105-121, 2019, DOI:10.32604/sdhm.2019.04864

Abstract The fibre pullout test was conducted to investigate the influence of the water stability on the bond behaviour between the Magnesium phosphate cement (MPC) matrix and the steel fibre. The composition of the MPC-matrix and the immersion age of the specimens are experimentally investigated. The average bond strength and the pullout energy are investigated by analysing the experimental results. In addition, the microscopic characteristics of the interface transition zone are investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The experimental results showed that the bond performance between the MPC-matrix and the steel fibre decreased significantly with the increase of the duration of… More >

Pranav S. Sapkal^1,*, Abhaykumar M. Kuthe¹, Shantanu Mathankar², Akash A. Deshmukh

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.14, No.2, pp. 125-136, 2017, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2017.014.123

Abstract β-TCP-Zirconia scaffolds with different architectures were fabricated by means of 3D-Bioplotting in order to enhance the mechanical and in-vitro ability of the scaffold to heal large size bone defects. In the present study scaffold architecture with different strand orientations (0°-90°, 0°-45°-135°-180°, 0°-108°-216° and 0°-72°-144°-36°-108°) were fabricated, characterized and evaluated for mechanical strength and cell proliferation ability. β-TCP powder (25 µm) and PVA (Polyvinyl Alcohol) was acquired from Fisher Scientific, India. Zirconia (18 to 32 µm) was procured from Lobachemie, India. In brief 7.5%, PVA in distilled water was used as a binder and was mixed with 10 grams of (70/30)… More >

Pranav S. Sapkal^1*, Abhaykumar M. Kuthe¹, Divya Ganapathy², Shantanu C. Mathankar³, Sudhanshu Kuthe⁴

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.13, No.2, pp. 115-136, 2016, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2016.013.131

Abstract Biphasic calcium phosphate scaffolds with 20/80 HA/TCP ratio were fabricated using the 3D-Bioplotting system to heal critical size defects in rabbit tibia bone. Four different architectures were printed in a layer by layer fashion with lay down patterns viz. (a) 0°– 90°, (b) 0°– 45°– 90°– 135°, (c) 0°–108°– 216° and (d) 0°– 60°– 120°. After high-temperature sintering scaffolds were coated with collagen and were further characterized by (FTIR) Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, (SEM) Scanning Electron Microscopy, (XRD) X-Ray diffraction, Porosity analysis and Mechanical testing. Scaffold samples were tested for its ability to induce cytotoxicity in Balb/c 3T3 cells at… More >

Sunil Kr. Jha¹, Zulfiqar Ahmad²

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.113, No.4, pp. 443-459, 2017, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2017.113.443

Abstract Microbial population and enzyme activities are the significant indicators of soil strength. Soil microbial dynamics characterize microbial population and enzyme activities. The present study explores the development of efficient predictive modeling systems for the estimation of specific soil microbial dynamics, like rock phosphate solubilization, bacterial population, and ACC-deaminase activity. More specifically, optimized subtractive clustering (SC) and Wang and Mendel's (WM) fuzzy inference systems (FIS) have been implemented with the objective to achieve the best estimation accuracy of microbial dynamics. Experimental measurements were performed using controlled pot experiment using minimal salt media with rock phosphate as sole carbon source inoculated with… More >

A. Koba yashi¹, K. Suginuma², M. Furui chi¹

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.113, No.2, pp. 117-149, 2017, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2017.113.121

Abstract Triage is a method for determining the priority of patients’ treatment to improve survival rates. Different triage methods are used in hospitals, and they are applied after performing an evaluation based on standard methods such as the Japan Triage Acuity Scale (JTAS) or Emergency Severity Index (ESI). It is important to consider the characteristics of all the hospitals when assigning triage methods and emergency levels to them; the hospital managers make these decisions. We propose a multi-agent simulation method to support the hospital managers in employing the triage protocols according to their environment. We developed a prototype simulation system called… More >

Dein Shaw^1,2, Chih-Ren Huang², Li-Cheng Huang²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.11, No.3, pp. 229-242, 2009, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2009.011.229

Abstract In this study, a method for designing an in-plane, free-form, beam-type spring for use in a lower-limb orthosis was developed. A spring designed by this method follows a predefined relationship between loading and displacement. To facilitate the analysis of the spring, it was divided into several beam segments. The stiffness equations related to loading (including moment and force) and displacements (linear and rotation) of each beam segment were found to follow a modified (non-linear) Castigliano's second theorem (NCST) and were assembled by using the continuity of nodal points of neighbouring curve segments. Using the proposed method, a spring designer can… More >