Transmission of externally applied mechanical forces to the interior of a cell requires coordination of biochemical signaling pathways with changes in cytoskeletal assembly and organization. In this study, we addressed one potential mechanism for this signal integration by applying uniform single external mechanical strains to aortic smooth muscle cells (SMCs) via their adhesion substrate. A te...

Plastic concrete consists of aggregates, cement, water and bentonite, mixed at a high water cement ratio, to produce a ductile material. It is used for creating an impermeable barrier (cut-off wall) for containment of contaminated sites or seepage control in highly permeable dam foundations. The effects of water to binder ratio and clay dosage on mechanical properties of plastic concrete were i...

Background. The biomechanical effect of two implants, namely, proximal femoral nail antirotation for Asia (PFNA-II) and Expert Asian Femoral Nail (A2FN), for treating subtrochanteric fracture during healing stages, is still unclear. Methods. A 3D finite element model of an intact femur was constructed and validated. The fractured and postoperative models were accordingly produced. The postopera...

The Verwey transition in Fe3O4 is the first metal-insulator transition caused by charge ordering. However, the physical mechanism and influence factors of Verwey transition are still debated. Herewith, the strain effects on the electronic structure of low-temperature phase (LTP) Fe3O4 with P2/c and Cc symmetries are investigated by first-principles calculations. LTP Fe3O4 with each space group ...

BACKGROUND Orthodontic tooth movement is a complex procedure that occurs due to various biomechanical changes in the periodontium. Optimal orthodontic forces yield maximum tooth movement whereas if the forces fall beyond the optimal threshold it can cause deleterious effects. Among various types of tooth movements intrusion and lingual root torque are associated with causing root resoprtion, es...

Vickers indentation fracture can be used to estimate equibiaxial residual stresses (RS) in brittle materials. Previous, conceptually-equal, analytical models were established on the assumptions that (i) the crack be of a semi-circular shape and (ii) that the shape not be affected by RS. A generalized analytical model that accounts for the crack shape and its change is presented. To assess these...

Introduction: Understanding the impact process of ice-silicate mixtures is of importance, because water ices exist mostly in a variety of forms of mixtures with silicate or some other components (e.g. ammonia) in the solar system. Decrease of crater volume with increasing silicate content was observed in our previous impact cratering experiments of ice-silicate mixture targets performed using a...

Tensile and compressive strain–temperature and stress–strain responses have been used for the first time to investigate the effects of second-phase particles on the deformation of NiFeGa shape memory alloys. Particles are conducive to the dissipation of stored energy; stress and thermal hysteresis increase three-fold in aged alloys. Although dissipation is severe, recoverable strain levels are ...

In this research, the performance of ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) in concrete is examined as a nondestructive experiment in order to estimate mechanical (compressive and tensile strength) and durability (water absorption) properties of fiber-reinforced self-compacted concrete For this purpose 11 mixture designs containing 3 types of fibers (steel: 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 percent by volume, Pol...