In the present work microstructural evolution of A356 Aluminum alloy using an inclined cooling plate casting process for thixoforming feedstock production is investigated. The resultant microstructure was evaluated and compared with those of the same alloy produced by the conventional casting process, i.e. directly cast in the same mold without using an inclined cooling plate. It was found that...

Periventricular hemorrhagic infarct (PVHI) is among the most devastating injuries suffered by prematurely born infants. In PVHI (formerly called Grade 4 intraventricular hemorrhage), an intraventricular vein that drains smaller veins from the surrounding white matter is occluded, resulting in venous infarction with hemorrhage [1]. DTI has become a useful imaging technique to identify maturation...

Homocysteine level can lead to adverse effects on the brain white matter through endothelial dysfunction, microstructural inflammation, and neurotoxin effects. Despite previously observed associations between elevated homocysteine and macroscopic structural brain changes, it is still unknown whether microstructural associations of homocysteine on brain tissue properties can be observed in healt...

There are few experimental results to date describing the crack-propagation threshold behavior of short fatigue cracks under multiaxial loading conditions. To address this need, in the present study, the variation in mixed-mode, high-cycle fatigue-crack growth thresholds with crack size and shape are reported for a Ti-6Al-4V turbine blade alloy, heat treated to two widely different microstructu...

Ultra-light porous networks based on nano-carbon materials (such as graphene or carbon nanotubes) have attracted increasing interest owing to their applications in wide fields from bioengineering to electrochemical devices. However, it is often difficult to translate the properties of nanomaterials to bulk three-dimensional networks with a control of their mechanical properties. In this work, w...

The extraordinary mechanical performance of spider dragline silk is explained by its highly ordered microstructure and results from the sequences of its constituent proteins. This optimized microstructural organization simultaneously achieves high tensile strength and strain at breaking by taking advantage of weak molecular interactions. However, elucidating how the original design evolved over...