The properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) bio-composite films reinforced with oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fiber and nanosilica were studied in this work. The composite films were prepared via the solvent casting method. The composites were characterized via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-visible spectroscopy, fieldemission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), tensile testing, and Xray diffraction (XRD). Ultraviolet visible spectroscopy results revealed that the PLA-based composites and neat PLA had similar light transmittances of approximately 89%. The FTIR and FESEM results showed that OPEFB fibers and nanosilica were embedded into the PLA matrix. The tensile strength of the composites with addition of nanosilica increased with an increasing fiber load content. The XRD analysis showed that the addition of organic or inorganic silica reduced the crystallinity of the composites. The water vapor permeability test results indicated that the inorganic silica decreased the diffusion rate of water molecules through the polymer film. The OPEFB-reinforced PLA blend with additional organic silica exhibited a higher thermal stability than the composites reinforced with inorganic silica.
A texture measurement device was modified to measure the force required to pull pin bones from King salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), snapper (Pagrus auratus), and kahawai (Arripis trutta). Pulled bones were also subjected to tension to measure the breaking force. For all fish, the pulling force depended on the size of the fish, and on the length of the pin bone (P < 0.05). In general, larger fish required greater pulling force to remove pin bones. For example, fresh small salmon (about 1500 g whole) required 600 g on average to pull pin bones, and large fish (about 3700 g whole) required 850 g. Longer bones required greater pulling force. The breaking force followed the same trend. In general, the breaking force was greater than the pulling force. This allows the removal of the bones without breaking them. There was no statistically significant (P > 0.05) difference between the forces (both pulling and breaking) from fresh and frozen/thawed samples, although in general frozen/thawed samples required less force to pull. With the quantification of pulling and breaking forces for pin bones, it is possible to design and build better, "more intelligent" pin bone removal equipment.
Eleven PVA slime phantoms with different PVA/borax ratios were prepared using PVA and borax solution. The phantoms were scanned using Siemens 3-T Magnetom Verio MRI system using spin echo (SE) and turbo spin echo (TSE) sequences to obtain axial T1 and T2 weighted images respectively. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of all samples was calculated implementing the region of interest (ROI) analysis. The T1 and T2 relaxation equations were then fitted to the experimental SNR vs. TR and SNR vs. TE curves for saturation (SNRo), T1 and T2 determination. Despite different PVA/borax ratios, SNRo was found to be constant while T1 and T2 increased slightly for higher borax concentration. The slime phantoms fabricated in this study has the potential as an alternative to agarose gel phantom.
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