Abstract A method for small-scale testing and imaging of freestanding, microtomed polymer films using a push-to-pull device is presented. Central to this was the development sample preparation technique which utilized solvents at cryogenic temperatures transfer deposit delicate thin onto microfabricated devices. The focused ion beam (FIB)-milled tensile specimens enabled quantitative in situ TE...

OBJECTIVE To examine the effect of distilled water, artificial saliva and ethanol on the tensile strength of direct tooth-coloured restorative material. METHODS The study was conducted at Dr. Ishrat ul Ebad Khan Institute of Oral Health Sciences, Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), Karachi, from April 2011 to September 2012. The testing was performed at the Pakistan Council of Scientifi...

OBJECTIVE Acetabular labral tears predominantly affect young patients and are a source of hip pain in the athlete. Four causes of the initiation of labral tears have been proposed; trauma, hypolaxity of the anterior capsule, dysplasia and bony impingement. A further cause could be reduced biomechanical properties in the area most susceptible to tears. However, no work has defined these properti...

Objectives: To evaluate the micro-tensile repair bond strength between aged and new composite, using silane and adhesives that were cured or left uncured when new composite was placed. Methods: Eighty Filtek Supreme XLT composite blocks and four control blocks were stored in water for two weeks and thermo-cycled. Sandpaper ground, etched and rinsed specimens were divided into two experimental g...

The strength mismatch effect on the deformation behaviour of defect-free cross-weld tensile specimens, where there is a variation in strength along the length of the specimen, was investigated through 2D finite element analysis. A simple bi-material model, which is generally used in current engineering assessments (e.g. R6 “Assessment of the integrity of structures containing defects”) to exami...

Depending on the loading conditions on brittle materials, damage can generally not be reduced to a simple scalar. Microcrack orientation affects the stiffness in a preferential direction perpendicular to the crack lips. Taking into account the damage anisotropy in phenomenological models is a possible option, but the identification of the corresponding models with respect to damage anisotropy i...

Microcantilevers are widely used in micro-/nanoscale mechanics studies. The nonlinear response of a cantilever at large deflection is sometimes overlooked. A general study of cantilever beam nonlinearity under a variety of loading conditions was performed with analytical and finite element analyses. Analytical equations for the applied load and the cantilever deflection were obtained. The canti...

INTRODUCTION The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a bilateral synovial joint that is formed by the condyle of the mandible and the glenoid fossa of the temporal bone. In between these two bones is a fibrocartilagenous structure called the TMJ disc. Deterioration or displacement of the TMJ disc can lead to temporomandibular joint disorders (TMDs), which can cause symptoms such as pain, discomfor...