"Spicy Touch": Cross-modal associations between hand-feel touch and capsaicin-induced oral irritation.

The influence of extrinsic hand-feel touch cues on consumer experiences in food and beverage consumption is well established. However, their impact on trigeminal perception, particularly the oral irritation caused by capsaicin or spicy foods, is less understood. This study aimed to determine the existence of cross-modal associations between hand-feel touch and capsaicin-induced oral irritation.

Rapid virtual fractional flow reserve using 3D computational fluid dynamics.

Aims: Over the last ten years, virtual Fractional Flow Reserve (vFFR) has improved the utility of Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR), a globally recommended assessment to guide coronary interventions. Although the speed of vFFR computation has accelerated, techniques utilising full 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solutions rather than simplified analytical solutions still require significant time to compute.

Methods And Results: This study investigated the speed, accuracy and cost of a novel 3D-CFD software method based upon a graphic processing unit (GPU) computation, compared with the existing fastest central processing unit (CPU)-based 3D-CFD technique, on 40 angiographic cases.

Cartilage-inspired surface textures for improved tribological performance of orthopedic implants.

Joint replacements have become one of the most common orthopedic procedures due to the significant demands of retaining functional mobility. While these procedures are of great value to patients, there are some limitations. Durability is the most important limitation associated with joint replacement that needs to be addressed due to the increasing number of younger patients.

Biodegradable microneedle patch for delivery of meloxicam for managing pain in cattle.

Microneedle patches are a promising source for transdermal diffusion of macromolecules and are designed to painlessly penetrate the skin. In this study, a biodegradable chitosan microneedle patch to deliver meloxicam for managing pain in cattle was tested. The potential of reuse of the polymeric solution to fabricate the patches, optimization of fabrication, morphological analysis of the microneedle patch and analysis of preservation of the chemical composition after sterilization were evaluated.

Analysis of Chemisorbed Tribo-Film for Ceramic-on-Ceramic Hip Joint Prostheses by Raman Spectroscopy.

To understand the possible lubricant mechanism in ceramic-on-ceramic hip joint prostheses, biochemical reactions of the synovial fluid and the corresponding frictional coefficients were studied. The experiments were performed in a hip joint simulator using the ball-on-cup configuration with balls and cups made from two types of ceramics, BIOLOXforte and BIOLOXdelta. Different lubricants, namely albumin, -globulin, hyaluronic acid and three model synovial fluids, were studied in the experiments and Raman spectroscopy was used to analyze the biochemical responses of these lubricants at the interface.

Association between hyper-pronated foot and the degree of severity of disability in patients with non-specific low back pain.

Background: It has been established that Hyper-pronation of the foot may lead to postural changes in the lower limbs, with a resultant pelvic ante-version, and a subsequent risk of development of low back pain. However, the association between the presence of a hyper-pronated foot and the severity of disability in low back pain is currently not known.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine whether the presence of a hyper-pronated foot has any impact on the degree of severity of disability (functional status) in patients with non-specific low back pain.

Enhanced lubricant film formation through micro-dimpled hard-on-hard artificial hip joint: An in-situ observation of dimple shape effects.

This study evaluates the impact of dimple shapes on lubricant film formation in artificial hip joints. Micro-dimples with 20-50 µm lateral size and 1 ± 0.2 µm depths were fabricated on CrCoMo hip joint femoral heads using a picosecond laser.

Mechanical wear and oxidative degradation analysis of retrieved ultra high molecular weight polyethylene acetabular cups.

The number of revision joint replacements has been increasing substantially over the last few years. Understanding their failure mechanism is extremely important for improving the design and material selection of current implants. This study includes ten retrieved and four new mildly cross-linked ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) acetabular liners.

The impact of surface and geometry on coefficient of friction of artificial hip joints.

Coefficient of friction (COF) tests were conducted on 28-mm and 36-mm-diameter hip joint prostheses for four different material combinations, with or without the presence of Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) particles using a novel pendulum hip simulator. The effects of three micro dimpled arrays on femoral head against a polyethylene and a metallic cup were also investigated. Clearance played a vital role in the COF of ceramic on polyethylene and ceramic on ceramic artificial hip joints.

Diamond-like carbon coatings with zirconium-containing interlayers for orthopedic implants.

Six types of diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings with zirconium (Zr)-containing interlayers on titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) were investigated for improving the biotribological performance of orthopedic implants. The coatings consist of three layers: above the substrate a layer stack of 32 alternating Zr and ZrN sublayers (Zr:ZrN), followed by a layer comprised of Zr and DLC (Zr:DLC), and finally a N-doped DLC layer. The Zr:ZrN layer is designed for increasing load carrying capacity and corrosion resistance; the Zr:DLC layer is for gradual transition of stress, thus enhancing layer adhesion; and the N-doped DLC layer is for decreasing friction, squeaking noises and wear.

Improved wear resistance of functional diamond like carbon coated Ti-6Al-4V alloys in an edge loading conditions.

This study investigates the durability of functional diamond-like carbon (DLC) coated titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) under edge loading conditions for application in artificial hip joints. The multilayered (ML) functional DLC coatings consist of three key layers, each of these layers were designed for specific functions such as increasing fracture strength, adapting stress generation and enhancing wear resistance. A 'ball-on-disk' multi-directional wear tester was used in the durability test.

Tribological performance of the biological components of synovial fluid in artificial joint implants.

The concentration of biological components of synovial fluid (such as albumin, globulin, hyaluronic acid, and lubricin) varies between healthy persons and osteoarthritis (OA) patients. The aim of the present study is to compare the effects of such variation on tribological performance in a simulated hip joint model. The study was carried out experimentally by utilizing a pin-on-disk simulator on ceramic-on-ceramic (CoC) and ceramic-on-polyethylene (CoP) hip joint implants.

Tribological investigation of diamond-like carbon coated micro-dimpled surface under bovine serum and osteoarthritis oriented synovial fluid.

Osteoarthritis-oriented synovial fluid (OASF), i.e., that typical of a patient with osteoarthritis, has different physical and biological characteristics than bovine serum (BS), a lubricant widely used in biotribological investigations.

A novel tribological study on DLC-coated micro-dimpled orthopedics implant interface.

This study investigates a tribological performance of diamond like carbon (DLC) coated micro dimpled prosthesis heads against ceramic cups in a novel pendulum hip joint simulator. The simulator enables determining friction coefficient and viscous effects of a concave shaped specimen interface (conformal contact). Two types of DLC such as hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) and tetrahedral amorphous carbon (Ta-C) and one set of micro dimple (diameter of 300µm, depth of 70µm, and pitch of 900µm) were fabricated on metallic prosthesis heads.

Fabrication and characterization of DLC coated microdimples on hip prosthesis heads.

Diamond like carbon (DLC) is applied as a thin film onto substrates to obtain desired surface properties such as increased hardness and corrosion resistance, and decreased friction and wear rate. Microdimple is an advanced surface modification technique enhancing the tribological performance. In this study, DLC coated microdimples were fabricated on hip prosthesis heads and their mechanical, material and surface properties were characterized.

Nature and pattern of cricket injuries: the Asian Cricket Council Under-19, Elite Cup, 2013.

Cricket has over the years gained much popularity in Asia, thus the number of cricket players has also grown in tandem. However, cricket players are not as fortunate as other athletes as they do not always have a standard cricket infrastructure to practice; therefore, the injury prevalence is expected to be high. Unfortunately, very few studies have been conducted to investigate the nature and pattern of cricket injuries prevalent to cricketers in this region.

Wear Debris Characterization and Corresponding Biological Response: Artificial Hip and Knee Joints.

Wear debris, of deferent sizes, shapes and quantities, generated in artificial hip and knees is largely confined to the bone and joint interface. This debris interacts with periprosthetic tissue and may cause aseptic loosening. The purpose of this review is to summarize and collate findings of the recent demonstrations on debris characterization and their biological response that influences the occurrence in implant migration.

Effects of surface coating on reducing friction and wear of orthopaedic implants.

Coatings such as diamond-like carbon (DLC) and titanium nitride (TiN) are employed in joint implants due to their excellent tribological properties. Recently, graphite-like carbon (GLC) and tantalum (Ta) have been proven to have good potential as coating as they possess mechanical properties similar to bones-high hardness and high flexibility. The purpose of this systematic literature review is to summarize the coating techniques of these four materials in order to compare their mechanical properties and tribological outcomes.