Neem oil is a promising alternative for synthetic chemicals in food preservation and an active functional agent packaging. Drying studies were conducted on neem seeds using different drying methods, the yield profile nutritional content such as azadirachtin content, groups, elemental composition analysed. Tray at 60°C showed faster rate with minimum quality of oil. The process parameters statis...

OBJECTIVE In this study, we evaluated the effect of scalp massage on hair in Japanese males and the effect of stretching forces on human dermal papilla cells in vitro. METHODS Nine healthy men received 4 minutes of standardized scalp massage per day for 24 weeks using a scalp massage device. Total hair number, hair thickness, and hair growth rate were evaluated. The mechanical effect of scalp...

The forming limit diagram (FLD) is probably the most common representation of sheet metal formability and can be defined as the locus of the principal planar strains where failure is most likely to occur. Low carbon steel sheets have many applications in industries, especially in automotive parts, therefore it is necessary to study the formability of these steel sheets. In this paper, FLDs, wer...

The steady two-dimensional flow of a viscous nanofluid of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow and heattransfer characteristics for the boundary layer flow over a nonlinear stretching sheet is considered. Theflow is caused by a nonlinear stretching sheet with effects of velocity, temperature and concentrationslips. Problem formulation is developed in the pre...

Several studies utilizing adult subjects have indicated that static stretching may reduce subsequent strength and power production, possibly for as long as an hour following the stretch. This observation has not been evaluated in children, nor in athletes accustomed to performing static stretches during strength/ power type training sessions. The purpose of this investigation was to determine i...

BACKGROUND Keloids grow and spread horizontally, like malignant tumors, for reasons that remain unknown. Yet, stretching tension is clearly associated with keloid generation, as keloids tend to occur on high tension sites such as the anterior chest and scapular region. Thus, we analyzed the relationship between keloid growth patterns and stretching tension using a visualized finite element stud...

External mechanical loading on a wound commonly increases fibrosis. Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) has been implicated in fibrosis in various models, including the mechanical force model. However, the underlying mechanism is unclear. Our previous experiments suggested that eukaryotic initiation factor 6 (eIF6) acted as a regulator of TGF-β1 expression, and negatively impact on collagen ...

This article presents Navier type closed-form solutions for static bending, elastic buckling and free vibration analysis of symmetric functionally graded (FG) sandwich beams using a hyperbolic shear deformation theory. The beam has FG skins and isotropic core. Material properties of FG skins are varied through the thickness according to the power law distribution. The present theory accounts fo...

[Purpose] The aim of this study was to examine whether plantar flexor static stretching and dynamic stretching using an Aero-Step results in changes in foot pressure during gait in healthy adults. [Subjects] Eighteen normal adults were randomly allocated to either a dynamic stretching using an Aero-Step group (DSUAS) group (n = 8) or a static stretching (SS) group (n = 10). [Methods] The DSUAS ...

Effects of bi-axial stretching induced reorientation of graphene platelets (GPLs) on the Young's modulus of GPL/polymer composites is studied by Mori-Tanaka micromechanics model. The dispersion state of the GPLs in polymer matrix is captured by an orientation distribution function (ODF), in which two Euler angles are used to identify the orientation of the GPLs. Compared to uni-axial stretching...