The objective of this study is to evaluate the existing test methods of die strength, including widelyaccepted three-point and four-point bending tests, and a newly-proposed point-load test by testing silicon die specimens with different surface conditions. It has been reported that there are three factors to influence die strength: the surface conditions of the die (including grinding-mark dir...

The aim of this investigation is to study the performance of the new generation of the PVD coated grade and to map the influence of cutting conditions on the tool life in milling of ADI (Austempered Ductile Iron). The results show that chipping is the main wear mechanism which determines the tool life in dry condition and notch wear in wet condition for this application. This due to the differe...

Nacrtak Wood fuel quality attributes have to be considered by logistics planners if fuel procurement from forests and energy production at the plant are considered simultaneously. The single most important quality attribute is the moisture content (MC) of chips or raw material delivered to energy plants. It affects heating value, storage properties, chipping and transport costs of the fuel. To ...

An important problem for forestry in-field chipping operations is the efficient daily truck transportation of chips from different coupes being harvested, with known supplies, to customer destinations with known daily demands. This paper presents initial results from a trial with FastTRUCK, a software tool that uses a simulated annealing approach to optimise truck schedules. The software was de...

U recently, conventional wisdom has held that the lineage potential of stem cells was restricted to the tissue of origin. That is, stem cells derived from tissue A could only give rise to differentiated cells of tissue A and not to differentiated cells of tissues B, C, or D. This notion has been challenged since by a plethora of reports suggesting that stem cells have an inherent plasticity tha...

In clinical cardiology, therapy for the most part is still primarily palliative, whereas relatively few procedures are truly curative. In the early days of invasive electrophysiology, clinicians were excited about the ability to induce supraventricular tachycardia with single, critically timed atrial extrastimuli.1 Soon thereafter, a whole array of mechanisms that induced these tachycardias bec...

Survivors of acquired brain injury (ABI) are at risk of a range of neuropsychiatric and behavioural disorders. Emotional disturbance, with reactive elements of mood disorder, such as depression and anxiety, appear particularly common. Specific anxiety disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have also been identified. Pain syndromes are also common-particularly in those who have...