Optical signals transmitted through cladded glass fibers are subject to delay distortion because of (1) dispersion in the material, (2) dispersion caused by the waveguide characteristic, and (3) delay differences between modes. We isolate these effects and evaluate their significance for cases of practical interest. These concern fibers in which the refractive index of the cladding is only slig...

The aim of this experiment was to investigate the reaction of peripheral nerve tissue to a synthetic absorbable suture material. Polyglycolic acid suture material was investigated by means of electron photomicrographs. It was concluded that placement of polyglycolic acid into the peculiar environment of endoneurial tissues results in minimal scarring and in minimal disturbance of the surroundin...

To study the role of surface proteins in the adherence of Staphylococcus aureus to fibers that are used in tampon and surgical gauze pad manufacture, we have developed an adherence assay with S. aureus cells and cotton and rayon fibers. Results suggest that staphylococcal adherence is dependent on both the substrate and the material used to coat these fibers. Scanning electron micrographs suppo...

A novel route to fabricate nano-fiber anode material for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) is presented. Firstly, uniform nano-fibers of 8 mol % Yttria Stabilized Zirconia (8YSZ) were formed in an electrospinning process; then, these electrospun fibers were calcined at temperatures up to 1300 °C; and finally the ceramic 8YSZ nano-fibers were coated with nickel in an electroless plating process. Th...

The intracellular polymerization of deoxy-sickle cell hemoglobin (HbS) has been identified as the main cause of sickle cell disease. Therefore, the material properties and biomechanical behavior of polymerized HbS fibers is a topic of intense research interest. A solvent-free coarse-grain molecular dynamics (CGMD) model is developed to represent a single hemoglobin fiber as four tightly bonded ...

The present invention provides wood derivatives and composite materials prepared by first solvating a lignocellulosic material using an ionic liquid. The solvated lignocellulosic material can be derivatized to incorporate functional groups, particularly groups that facilitate later combination with polymer materials, including non-polymer polymers. The polymeric materials can be combined with t...

Ultrafine composite fibers consisting of a thermoplastic polyurethane solid-solid phase-change material and organic lanthanide luminescent materials were prepared through a parallel electrospinning technique as an innovative type of ultrafine, dual-functional fibers containing phase-change and luminescent properties. The morphology and structure, thermal energy storage, and luminescent properti...

The mechanical defibration of rice straw was conducted to determine a feasible method for its diverse utilization as an alternative wood fibers, especially use raw material pulp mold. In this study, dry and wet processes were used defibrate the characteristics defibrated obtained using different analyzed. Two types methods such valley beater process micro-grinder applied. Compared process, incr...

Probing the surface morphology of microthin fibers such as naturally occurring biofibers is essential for understanding their structural properties, biological function, and mechanical performance. The state-of-the-art methods for studying the surfaces of biofibers are atomic force microscopy imaging and scanning electron microscopy, which well characterize surface geometry of the fibers but pr...

Acrylic (polymethylmethacrylate or PMMA) bone cement was modified by the addition of high-strength zirconia fibers with average lengths of 200 microm and diameters of 15 microm or 30 microm. A novel emulsion polymerization process was developed to encapsulate individual fibers in PMMA. Improvements in tensile and compressive properties as well as in fracture toughness were investigated upon inc...