The present study investigates the mechanical properties of partially crystalline Poly-Ether-Ether-Ketone between the glass transition and the cold crystallization. Biaxial tension, uniaxial tension, and DMA experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of temperature-induced crystallization on mechanical properties, and three stiffening behaviors are observed. Firstly, a 'U' type mechanical property is observed for all three experiments with first softening and then significant stiffening behavior with increasing temperature. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/gsk2795039.html Secondly, stiffening also occurs during low strain rate tests but not in higher strain rate tests. Thirdly, the stiffening behavior of the anisotropic film shows orientation dependence. Crystallinity evolution is predicted by the Nakaruma non-isothermal crystallization kinetics with optimized parameters, with which we demonstrate and explain that the stiffening behaviors are connected to the onset of crystallization. Therefore, the conclusion provides a new tool to approach and distinguish extrinsic and intrinsic properties during characterization, promoting future implementation for constitutive modeling and corresponding simulation that could replicate the influence of temperature-induced crystallization.Economic viability and eco-friendliness are important characteristics that make implants available to the population in a sustainable way. In this work, we evaluate the performance of a low-cost, widely available, and eco-friendly material (talc from soapstone) relative to reduced graphene oxide as reinforcement to brittle hydroxyapatite coatings. We employ a low-cost and straightforward technique, electrodeposition, to deposit the composite coatings on the titanium substrate. Corrosion, wear, and biocompatibility tests indicate that the reduced graphene oxide can be effectively replaced by talc without reducing the mechanical, anticorrosion, and biocompatible composite coatings properties. Our results indicate that talc from soapstone is a promising material for biomedical applications.Cellular and tissue-scale indent/impact thresholds for different mechanisms of functional impairments to the brain would be the preferred method to predict head injuries, but a comprehensive understanding of the dominant possible injury mechanisms under multiaxial stress-states and rates is currently not available. Until then, skull fracture could serve as an indication of head injury. Therefore the ability to predict the initiation of skull fracture through finite element simulation can serve as an in silico tool for assessing the effectiveness of various head protection scenarios. For this objective, skull fracture initiation was represented with a microstructurally-inspired, mechanism-based (MIMB) failure surface assuming three different dominant mechanisms of skull failure each element, with deformation and failure properties selected based on its microstructure, was allowed to fail either in tension, compression, or shear, corresponding to clinical linear, depressed or penetrating shear-plug failure (fracture), respectively. Microstructure-inspired a priori values for the initiation threshold of each mechanism, obtained previously from uniaxial and simple-shear experiments, were iterated and optimized for the predicted load-displacement to represent that of the corresponding indentation experiment. Element-level failure enabled the visualization of the evolution of fracture by different mechanisms. The final crack pattern at the time of macroscopic (clinically-identifiable) injury was compared between the simulation and experiment obtained through 3D tomography. Even though the timing was slightly different, the simulated prediction represented remarkably well the experimental crack pattern before the appearance of the catastrophic unstable fast crack in the experiment, thus validating the implemented hybrid-experimental-modeling-computational (HEMC) concept as a tool to predict skull fracture initiation.Most simulation studies on equine hoof biomechanics employed linear elastic (LE) material models. However, the equine hoof wall's stress-strain relationship is nonlinear and varies with hydration level. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the accuracy of the LE model compared to more advanced material models, such as hyperelastic (HE) or viscoelastic models. The current research investigated performances of LE and three HE models (Mooney-Rivlin, Neo-Hookean, and Marlow) in describing equine hoof's mechanical behavior using finite element (FE) analysis. In the first attempt, a rectangular tissue specimen was simulated using the previously published experimental data. The Marlow HE model predicted the hoof wall stress-strain curve more accurately than the LE, Mooney-Rivlin, and Neo-Hookean models. The LE model accuracy, compared with the experimental results, varied within the reported range of the strain. However, the Marlow HE model perfectly matched the experimental data for a wide range of strains. Inin the quarter regions and close to the coronet, where cracks and fractures are found more often in the physiological conditions.Construction of nanoscale delivery systems from natural food biopolymer complexes have attracted increasing interests in the fields of food industries. In this study, novel carboxymethyl konjac glucomannan/ chitosan (CMKGM/CS) nanogels with and without 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) /N-hydroxysuccinimide) (EDC/NHS)-initiated crosslinking were prepared. The physicochemical and structural properties of the CMKGM/CS nanogels and their potential to be a delivery vehicle for curcumin were investigated. Compared to original uncrosslinked nanogels, crosslinking did not alter particle size and morphology but decreased zeta potential of nanogels. Fourier transform infrared spectrum confirmed that the amide linkage was formed between CMKGM and CS, which obviously enhanced the stability of crosslinked nanogels under gastrointestinal conditions. Furthermore, the crosslinked nanogels not only had higher encapsulation efficiency of curcumin but also better sustained release behavior under simulated gastrointestinal conditions.