Silks are highly expressed, secreted proteins that represent a substantial metabolic cost to the insects and spiders that produce them. Female spiders in the superfamily Araneoidea (the orb-spinning spiders and their close relatives) spin six different kinds of silk (three fibroins and three fibrous protein glues) that differ in amino acid content and protein structure. In addition to this dive...

Historically, soy protein and extracts have been used extensively in foods due to their high protein and mineral content. More recently, soy protein has received attention for a variety of its potential health benefits, including enhanced skin regeneration. It has been reported that soy protein possesses bioactive molecules similar to extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and estrogen. In wound h...

statement of problem: periodontal disease (pd) has been linked to adverse cardiovascular events by unknown mechanisms. c-reactive protein (crp) is a prognostic marker for cardiovascular disease, with reported elevated serum levels during pd. purpose: the aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between pd and higher crp levels in the serum of acute myocardial infarction (ami) pa...

Electrospinning is a simple method for producing ultrafine fibers, and has attracted much recent interest. The classical approach was either polymer solutions or polymer melts. Bubbfil spinning (e.g. bubble-electrospinning) is a facile method to fabricate nanofibers with high surface area to volume ratio and high porosity. Polyether sulfone (PES) dissolved in N,N-Dimethylacetamide (DMAC) was us...

Developing texture in nanocrystalline permanent magnet alloys is of significant importance. Directional annealing is shown to produce texture in the permanent magnet alloy (Sm12Co88)99Nb1. Melt spinning produced isotropic grain structures of the hard magnetic metastable SmCo7 phase, with grain sizes of ∼300 nm. Conventional annealing of melt-spun (Sm12Co88)99Nb1 alloy produced Sm2Co17 phase wit...

Structural and magnetic characterization of Mnx−yAl100−x−yC2y (x = {50, 55}; y = {0, 1}) melt-spun ribbons is reported. To obtain the metastable ferromagnetic τ-phase, rapidly solidified alloys were annealed either in a vacuum furnace at 823 K or directly in the vibrating sample magnetometer under applied magnetic field. Optimal magnetic properties were demonstrated by Mn54Al44C2 samples proved...

(Fe100-xVx)75P15C10 (x=0, 5, 10 and 15) semiamorphous alloys were prepared by the melt spinning technique and their structural, thermal and magnetic properties were investigated. The structure of the alloys was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) for annealing temperatures of 400 oC to 650 oC within a 30 minute annealing time. The XRD patterns show that the samples contain a BCC structure for te...

T. Bončina, University of Maribor, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Maribor, Slovenia The shapes of icosahedral quasicrystalline (IQC) particles were determined in melt-spun ribbons of alloys based on the Al-Mn-Be alloy system. The sizes of the quasicrystalline particles ranged from a few tenths of nanometres up to 1 μm. Therefore, diff erent methods were employed for characterizing their sha...

Silk's outstanding mechanical properties and energy efficient solidification mechanisms provide inspiration for biomaterial self-assembly as well as offering a diverse platform of materials suitable for many biotechnology applications. Experiments now reveal that the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori secretes its silk in a practically "unspun" state that retains much of the solvent water and exhibi...