OBJECTIVE Nonlubricated plastic specula can adhere to the vaginal introitus and cause discomfort with pelvic examination. We wanted to see if application of water-soluble gel lubricant to the plastic vaginal speculum would change the unsatisfactory cervical cytology diagnosis rate. METHODS Five public health family planning clinic sites were randomized to either water-soluble gel or water onl...

A thermodynamic model describing the phase transition of first order between structure states of lubricant material in the boundary friction regime is proposed. It is shown that lubricant melts with temperature increase or at shear of rubbing surfaces if the elastic strain (stress) exceeds the critical value. The phase diagram with domains of dry and sliding friction is constructed. The depende...

RATIONALE Chemical additives are incorporated into commercial lubricant oils to modify the physical and chemical properties of the lubricant. The quantitative analysis of additives in oil-based lubricants deposited on a surface without extraction of the sample from the surface presents a challenge. The potential of desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) for the quantitat...

We studied the condensation of water drops on a micro-structured lubricant-infused surfaces. Hierarchical micro-prism surfaces were fabricated by soft imprinting with wet TiO2 nanoparticle paste. After hydrophobization, the patterned surfaces were infused with silicone oil as a lubricant. When cooling at high humidity (over 80%), water drops nucleate and start growing on the surface. Once they ...

The essential customer needs of today, namely long bearing service life and low noise performance, demand the availability of a means to verify that the required cleanliness level and lubrication conditions are fulfilled. To fulfil these needs, a new equipment, the SKF BEQUIET+ tester has been developed to assess the quality of the lubricant with regard to cleanliness and damping characteristic...

Sonny G. Sundaresan Copeland Corporation Sidney, Ohio, U.S.A. HCFC 22 currently used in Air-Conditioning and Heat Pump applications, is being replaced by R407C and R410A, both HFC 32 based blends. Scroll compressors are being developed to meet the improved efficiency and other system performance requirements in Air-Conditioning and Heat Pump products in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. L...

Sliding friction across a thin soft lubricant film typically occurs by stick slip, the lubricant fully solidifying at stick, yielding and flowing at slip. The static friction force per unit area preceding slip is known from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to decrease with increasing contact area. That makes the large-size fate of stick slip unclear and unknown; its possible vanishing is imp...

Both compounds have become more commonly used in dietary supplements. Stearic acid is commonly used as a binder in tablets, and it has lubricant properties. Magnesium stearate is a lubricant commonly used in tablet formulations. After achieving a homogenous blend of powdered ingredients, adding a small amount of magnesium stearate enables the powder blend particle surface to be sufficiently coa...

In this study, osteoarthritic and periprosthetic synovial fluid samples were rheologically and biochemically compared to develop a hyaluronic acid (HA) supplemented bovine serum (BS) lubricant that mimicked the properties of human joint synovial fluid. The effect of this BS + HA lubricant (50 per cent bovine calf serum + 1.5 g/l HA) on the wear rate of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (...

The cochlear implants consisting of electrode arrays for electrically stimulating the auditory nerve fibres have been developed to restore hearing for profoundly deaf people. The insertion of a straight electrode array into the spiral cochlear scala tympani has unfortunately been found to damage delicate structures within the inner ear such as the spiral ligament and the basilar membrane. Altho...