Effect of chemical treatments on flax fibre reinforced polypropylene composites on tensile and dome forming behaviour.

Tensile tests were performed on two different natural fibre composites (same constituent material, similar fibre fraction and thickness but different weave structure) to determine changes in mechanical properties caused by various aqueous chemical treatments and whether any permanent changes remain on drying. Scanning electronic microscopic examinations suggested that flax fibres and the flax/polypropylene interface were affected by the treatments resulting in tensile property variations. The ductility of natural fibre composites was improved significantly under wet condition and mechanical properties (elongation-to-failure, stiffness and strength) can almost retain back to pre-treated levels when dried from wet condition.

Lateral drill holes decrease strength of the femur: an observational study using finite element and experimental analyses.

Background: Internal fixation of femoral fractures requires drilling holes through the cortical bone of the shaft of the femur. Intramedullary suction reduces the fat emboli produced by reaming and nailing femoral fractures but requires four suction portals to be drilled into the femoral shaft. This work investigated the effect of these additional holes on the strength of the femur.

Influence of enzymatic maceration on the microstructure and microhardness of compact bone.

The cleaning of fresh bones to remove their soft tissues while maintaining their structural integrity is a basic and essential part of bone studies. The primary issue is how the cleaning process influences bone microstructures and mechanical properties. We cleaned fresh lamb femurs using enzymatic maceration in comparison with water maceration at room temperature.

WallGen, software to construct layered cellulose-hemicellulose networks and predict their small deformation mechanics.

We understand few details about how the arrangement and interactions of cell wall polymers produce the mechanical properties of primary cell walls. Consequently, we cannot quantitatively assess if proposed wall structures are mechanically reasonable or assess the effectiveness of proposed mechanisms to change mechanical properties. As a step to remedying this, we developed WallGen, a Fortran program (available on request) building virtual cellulose-hemicellulose networks by stochastic self-assembly whose mechanical properties can be predicted by finite element analysis.

A theoretical model for simulating effect of parathyroid hormone on bone metabolism at cellular level.

A mathematical model is developed for simulating anabolic behaviour of bone affected by Parathyroid Hormone (PTH) in this paper. The model incorporates a new understanding on the interaction of PTH and other factors with the RANK-RANKL-OPG pathway into bone remodelling, which is able to simulate anabolic actions of bone induced by PTH at cellular level. The RANK-RANKL-OPG pathway together with the dual action of TGF-beta, which represent the core of coupling behaviour between osteoblasts and osteoclasts which are two cell types specialising in the maintenance of bone integrity, are widely considered essential for the regulation of bone remodelling at cellular level.