We show how to greatly improve precision when determining bending elasticity of giant unilamellar vesicles. Taking advantage of the well-known quasi-spherical model of liposome flickering, we analyze the full probability distributions of the configurational fluctuations instead of limiting the analysis to the second moment measurements only as usually done in previously published works. This le...

This paper describes an experimental investigation into the use of steel bars bonded into glulam timber beams with epoxy resins in order to provide moment-resisting joints between glulam beams and steel supports. The objective of this research was to provide information about the bending and shear strength of such connections. Past research has investigated the use of steel rods epoxy bonded in...

Flight feathers of birds interact with the flow field during flight. They bend and twist under aerodynamic loads. Two parameters are mainly responsible for flexibility in feathers: the elastic modulus (Young's modulus, E) of the material (keratin) and the geometry of the rachises, more precisely the second moment of area (I). Two independent methods were employed to determine Young's modulus of...

Seventy-two 4-week-old pigs were randomly assigned by sex (gilts, barrows, boars) to two dietary treatments and four age periods for determinations of the effects of age, sex and Ca and P levels on the mechanical properties of various bones in swine. Pigs were individually fed diets containing either. months after the initiation of the trial. The femur (Fem), humerus (Hum), third and fourth met...

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of general principles of person transfer techniques specifically on the low back joint extension moment. These effects were examined by the following measurable quantitative parameters: 1) trunk bending angle, 2) knee flexion angle, 3) distance between the centers of gravity (COGs) of the caregiver and patient, representing the distance betwe...

Computer simulations have been carried out with a model flagellum that can bend in three dimensions. A pattern of dynein activation in which regions of dynein activity propagate along each doublet, with a phase shift of approximately 1/9 wavelength between adjacent doublets, will produce a helical bending wave. This pattern can be termed "doublet metachronism." The simulations show that doublet...

Almost all mammals use their mystacial vibrissae (whiskers) as important tactile sensors. There are no sensors along the length of a whisker: all sensing is performed by mechanoreceptors at the whisker base. To use artificial whiskers as a sensing tool in robotics, it is essential to be able to determine the three-dimensional (3D) location at which a whisker has made contact with an object. Wit...

The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that the upper cervical spine is weaker than the lower cervical spine in pure flexion and extension bending, which may explain the propensity for upper cervical spine injuries in airbag deployments. An additional objective is to evaluate the relative strength and flexibility of the upper and lower cervical spine in an effort to better understa...

The Rotary-Draw Bending (RDB) process is a distinguished process employed for the precision cold bending of a hollow tube with small radius bends using Numerical Control (NC) machines. This research presents an analytical model based on the power law hardening model for the RDB processing of rectangular thin tubes. Based on the constraints of the tube in the dies and its thinness, the plane str...