Substantial quantities of senile coconut palms are present in plantations within the Asia-Pacific region. Once coconut palms become over-mature, their production of traditional products, such as coconuts, significantly decreases, resulting in profitability challenges for farmers. Presently, few profitable markets exist for over-mature, senile coconut palms. Using the coconut palm stem in compos...

Fracture damage in trilayers consisting of outer and inner brittle layers bonded to a compliant (polycarbonate) substrate and subjected to concentrated surface loading is analyzed. The principal mode of fracture is radial cracking at the undersurface of the inner (core) layer, even in the strongest of core ceramics--other damage modes, including radial cracking in the outer (veneer) layer, are ...

Porcelain laminate veneers are used routinely in cosmetic dentistry. The public usually refers to this mode of treatment simply as “veneers.” Their popularity has increased because of television makeover programs, commercials, and magazine advertisements. Porcelain laminate veneers have so increased in their attractiveness that the general public is demanding this type of instant makeover. Furt...

A large amount of poplar plywood is now being imported into Japan from China, and as a result, formaldehyde emitted from this plywood represents an undesirable chemical that must be controlled using a chemical catching agent. The aim of this study is to find an approach to reduce the formaldehyde emission of poplar plywood using thermal treatment without employing any chemicals. The experimenta...

Purpose The aim of this study was to describe different designs of semimonolithic crowns made of translucent and high-translucent zirconia materials and to evaluate the effect on fracture resistance and fracture mode. Methods One hundred crowns with different designs were produced and divided into five groups (n=20): monolithic (M), partially veneered monolithic (semimonolithic) with 0.3 mm b...

The aim of this study was to screen patients with fixed prosthodontic appliances that were in oral cavity for a period of 5 years or more and to assess clinically and radiologically root caries, gingival recession, pocket formation, alveolar ridge resorption, as well as gingival (GI) and plaque index (PI). The aim also was to find out the differences between materials and constructions, between...

We have investigated thermal conductivity of graphene laminate films deposited on polyethylene terephthalate substrates. Two types of graphene laminate were studied, as deposited and compressed, in order to determine the physical parameters affecting the heat conduction the most. The measurements were performed using the optothermal Raman technique and a set of suspended samples with the graphe...

It is an effective way to improve the flexural behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) members by externally bonded carbon fiber reinforcement polymer (CFRP) laminates on the soffit of the members. However, there is little investigation on flexural performance of RC beam flexurally strengthened by side-bonded FRP laminates. To investigate the flexural behavior of RC beams side-bonded CFRP laminate...

In this paper the magnetic flux density concentration of Metglas as a function of its sheet aspect ratio was investigated for Metglas/Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) laminar composites. The magnetic flux density inside a Metglas sheet increases when its aspect ratio (cross-section width/length) is reduced. Both simulations and experimental results verified it. Consequently the magnetostriction o...