BACKGROUND Static facial suspension (SFS) continues to play a role for rehabilitation in patients with facial paralysis. We perform SFS almost exclusively with a suture technique in our practice. Monofilament polypropylene suture (Prolene) is commonly used for SFS, but we have witnessed occasional failure and some stretching with this material. The purpose of this study was to establish and com...

This paper is concerned with a new type of deployable structures that can be rolled up like a tape measure but, unlike a tape measure, are stable in two different configurations. The key to the behaviour of these structures is a particular type of composite construction based on an anti-symmetric lay-up of glass fibres in a polypropylene matrix. The paper presents a finite element analysis usin...

The fracture behaviour of polymers is strongly affected by the addition of rigid particles. Several features of the particles have a decisive influence on the values of the fracture toughness: shape and size, chemical nature, surface nature, concentration by volume, and orientation. Among those of thermoplastic matrix, polypropylene (PP) composites are the most industrially employed for many di...

The use of polymer reinforced with fillers has increased in recent years as their properties have improved. thermoplastic matrix chosen for this study was Polypropylene (PP) and reinforcement Spheri-glass-3000 (SGS). melt mixing method used to produce PP/SGS nanocomposites the aid twin-screw-extruder. Test samples manufactured by injection-molding-machine. mechanical thermal produced been inves...

Polypropylene (PP) has been one of the most widely used polymers due to the versatility and cost benefits obtained with this material. In this work, composites of PP modified with nanostructured ZSM-5 zeolite were prepared and their thermal and mechanical properties were evaluated. Zeolites were synthetized by hydrothermal method and the crystallization time was modified to evaluate the effect ...

Despite the great potential of graphene as a nanofiller, achieving homogeneous dispersion remains the key challenge for effectively reinforcing polyolefin (such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP)) nanocomposites. Therefore, in this research, we report a facile combined in situ polymerization and masterbatch method for fabricating PP/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites. In the p...

We present a simple but efficient route to prepare a highly anisotropic conductive plastic thin film from the polypropylene/(styrene-ethylene/butadiene-styrene) triblock copolymer/graphene blend via shear-induced self-assembly. Under the shear-flow induction, GE nanosheets dispersed in the polymer matrix can spontaneously assemble into ordered parallel stripes, which endow the materials signifi...

Polymer composites based on natural fillers are currently attracting great attention as alternative materials to glass or synthetic fibre reinforced plastics in several applications, mostly for automotive, appliance and packaging products. The main advantage of employing natural fibres is that these are biodegradable and renewable, and exhibit low cost, low density and high toughness. However t...

The creation of highly oriented, co-extruded polypropylene (PP) tapes allows the production of recyclable ‘all-polypropylene’ composites, with a large temperature processing window (O30 8C) and a high volume fraction of highly oriented PP (O90%). These composites show little deviation of mechanical properties with compaction temperature. This paper introduces all-polypropylene composites and re...

The use of polypropylene mesh devices for Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) spread rapidly during the last decade, yet our knowledge of the mesh-tissue interaction is far from complete. We aimed to perform a thorough pathological examination of explanted POP meshes and describe findings that may explain mechanisms of complications resulting in product excision. We report a spectrum of important findi...