Qualitative study of young,adult, and aged wistar rats temporomandibular synovial membrane employing light,scanning, and transmission electron microscopy

The aim of this study was to analyze the rat temporomandibular joint (TMJ) synovial membrane at different ages using light, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy. Under light microscopic analysis, the TMJ structures were observed such as condyle, capsule, disk, the synovial membrane collagen type, and cells distribution. In the scanning electron microscopy, the synovial membrane surface exhibited a smooth aspect in young animals and there was an increase with ageing in the number of folds. The transmission electron microscopic analysis showed more synoviocytes in the synovial layer in the young group and still a great number of vesicles and cisterns dilation of rough endoplasmic reticulum in the aged group. In the three groups, a dense layer of collagen fibers in the synovial layer and cytoplasmic extensions were clearly seen. It was possible to conclude that synovial membrane structures in aged group showed alterations contributing to the decrease in joint lubrication and in the sliding between disk and joint surfaces. These characteristic will reflect in biomechanics of chewing, and may cause the TMJ disorders, currently observed in clinical processes. Microsc. Res. Tech. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

ANFIS modeling of surface roughness in abrasive waterjet machining of carbon fiber reinforced plastics

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - This study discusses the development of an Adaptive neuro–fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) model for determining the surface roughness (Ra) during...     

Technologies for enhancing accessibility and fighting info-exclusion

Universal Access in the Information Society -     

Operating parameters for the continuous unidirectional solidification of the Al-1wt.% Si alloy drawn to fine wire

The Ohno process was applied to produce Al-lwt.% Si alloy rods for semiconductor devices. The casting conditions which enable production of an 8mm diameter rod having a mirror surface with a highly longitudinally oriented microstmcture was established. It was demonstrated that the alloy could be drawn, without the need of intermediate recrystallization or stress relief, to produce wires of 0.14 to 0.10mm in diameter. The rela-tionships between the casting conditions and wire breakage during fine wire drawing were also studied.     

Clean catalysis with clean solvents – phosphonium tosylates for transfer hydrogenation reactions

Molten salts have been applied for the first time as solvents in rhodium‐catalysed transfer hydrogenation reactions. The salts are tetraalkyl/aryl phosphonium tosylates; they are liquid at the reaction temperature and solid at room temperature, thereby facilitating catalyst recovery. In certain cases they can give rise to favourable enantioselectivities. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Optimization of Radial Basis Function neural network employed for prediction of surface roughness in hard turning process using Taguchi’s orthogonal arrays

This work presents a study on the applicability of radial base function (RBF) neural networks for prediction of Roughness Average (R_a) in the turning process of SAE 52100 hardened steel, with the use of Taguchi’s orthogonal arrays as a tool to design parameters of the network. Experiments were conducted with training sets of different sizes to make possible to compare the performance of the best network obtained from each experiment. The following design factors were considered: (i) number of radial units, (ii) algorithm for selection of radial centers and (iii) algorithm for selection of the spread factor of the radial function. Artificial neural networks (ANN) models obtained proved capable to predict surface roughness in accurate, precise and affordable way. Results pointed significant factors for network design have significant influence on network performance for the task proposed. The work concludes that the design of experiments (DOE) methodology constitutes a better approach to the design of RBF networks for roughness prediction than the most common trial and error approach.     

Stripe coating with a coffee‐ring effect for color filter solutions

The coffee‐ring effect of a coated narrow stripe approximately 350 μm wide was examined. The coating solution was based on a new formulation with a specific application for the production of color filters used in liquid‐crystal display panels. The basic components of this formulation were color pigments, solvents, and a novel alkali solution resin. The resin was a copolymer consisting of methacrylic acid, hydroxyl ethyl methacrylate, and methyl methacrylate. Three solvents with different boiling points were used: propylene glycol methyl ether acetate, methyl ethyl ketone, and tetrahydrofuran. The formation of a coffee ring on the coated stripe was mainly dependent on the solvent evaporation rate and the acid value of the copolymer. The acid value determined the strength of the hydrogen bonding of the copolymer. Fourier transform infrared analysis revealed that the intramolecular hydrogen bonding of the carbonyl groups of hydroxyl ethyl methacrylate was one of the critical factors affecting the formation of a coffee ring. The other factor was the rate of solvent evaporation. A proper adjustment of the acid value combined with a highly volatile solvent could effectively eliminate the formation of a coffee ring. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011