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Background: Interposition graft rotator cuff repair is one option for the treatment of massive, otherwise irreparable rotator cuff tears. It is undetermined how different suturing techniques influence morphology at the patch-tendon interface in interposition rotator cuff repairs, particularly with respect to increased cross-sectional area at the repair site post-exposure to cyclic loading, which may influence healing. We aimed to analyze how the morphology of the grafts used in polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) interposition rotator cuff repairs differed according to whether the graft was secured using the multiple mattress technique or the weave technique respectively., Methods: Twelve PTFE interposition rotator cuff repairs (two groups, n = 6) were cyclically loaded. The thickness, width, cross-sectional area at the individual patches and at the repair site, and patch elongation were compared between repairs using the 'multiple mattress' technique and repairs that used the 'weave' technique., Results: At all loads, repair site cross-sectional area and thickness was greater in the weave group than in the multiple mattress group (P<0.05), despite repair site width being greater in the multiple mattress group (P<0.05). No significant differences in elongation were found between the multiple mattress and weave groups., Conclusion: Greater repair site cross-sectional area under cyclic loading was observed in polytetrafluoroethylene interposition rotator repairs that used the weave technique than in those that used the multiple mattress technique. Increased repair site cross-sectional area in the weave group occurred due to increased thickness and decreased width relative to the multiple mattress group. No differences in cross-sectional area were found between groups at the individual patches., (© 2023 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.)

Background: An effective suture method enables early active motion exercises and optimal post-surgical outcomes. The aim of this study is to evaluate the tensile strength of three suture configurations - horizontal mattress (HM), vertical mattress (VM) and a cross suture for repair of a tendon weave. We hypothesised that the direction of mattress sutures relative to the tendon fibres would affect the tensile strength of tendon repair. Methods: Using porcine flexor tendons and the same number of surgical sutures, three tendon weave constructs differing in the method of suture were compared: HM suture configuration (conventional technique), cross-stitch (CS) configuration (conventional technique) and VM suture configuration (novel technique). Ten pairs of each group were mounted in a material testing machine and subjected to a simple tensile test and a cyclic loading test for their biomechanical comparison. Results: The VM group and CS group had significantly higher ultimate failure load, linear stiffness and fatigue strength as compared to the HM group. The failure mode was suture breakage or tendon rupture for the VM and the CS group, while the suture pullout of the tendon only occurred in the HM group. Conclusion: Among the three techniques used for repair of a tendon weave, the VM suture technique was demonstrated to have the greatest tensile strength and least associated with suture pull-out. The direction of the mattress suture in relation the direction of tendon fibres affects the strength of repair.

A contamination on a textile material is defined as an undesirable, local formation that deviates in appearance from the rest of the material. In this paper the relationship between the shape and surface of liquid contaminations and the firmness factor of woven fabric is investigated. The interdependence of constructional and structural parameters of raw and bleached cotton fabrics were analysed. The results show that selected contaminations are distributed differently, primarily depending on the construction characteristics of the fabric, type of contamination and hydrophilicity of cotton fabric.

Over the last decade, the progressive application of natural fibres in polymer composites has had a major effect in alleviating environmental impacts. Recently, there is a growing interest in the development of green materials in a woven form by utilising natural fibres from lignocellulosic materials for many applications such as structural, non-structural composites, household utilities, automobile parts, aerospace components, flooring, and ballistic materials. Woven materials are one of the most promising materials for substituting or hybridising with synthetic polymeric materials in the production of natural fibre polymer composites (NFPCs). These woven materials are flexible, able to be tailored to the specific needs and have better mechanical properties due to their weaving structures. Seeing that the potential advantages of woven materials in the fabrication of NFPC, this paper presents a detailed review of studies related to woven materials. A variety of factors that influence the properties of the resultant woven NFRC such as yarn characteristics, fabric properties as well as manufacturing parameters were discussed. Past and current research efforts on the development of woven NFPCs from various polymer matrices including polypropylene, polylactic acid, epoxy and polyester and the properties of the resultant composites were also compiled. Last but not least, the applications, challenges, and prospects in the field also were highlighted.

Semiconductor heterojunction powders have exhibited the enhanced photocatalytic activities, but their practical applications have been limited due to their poor recycling performance from flowing wastewater. To solve these problems, with carbon fibers (CFs) as the fixing substrate, we constructed TiO 2 /CdS heterojunction as a model on CF surface by utilizing a hydrothermal-chemical bath deposition method. CFs/TiO 2 /CdS bundles display a wide photoabsorption with two photoabsorption edges (~410 and 520 nm). Furthermore, CFs/TiO 2 /CdS bundles can be weaved into macroscopical cloth (such as weight: 0.1 g, area: 4 × 4 cm 2 ) which have considerable photocurrent density of 5.75 × 10 -6  A/cm 2 . Under visible light irradiation (λ > 400 nm), macroscopic CFs/TiO 2 /CdS cloth can degrade 95.44% methylene blue (MB), 64.95% acid orange 7 (AO7), 91.37% tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) and remove 90.70% hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) after 120 min, higher than those by CFs/CdS (43.42% MB, 37.42% AO7, 31.76% TC and 30.45% Cr(VI)) or CFs/TiO 2 (12.84% MB, 10.48% AO7, 11.85% TC and 15.58% Cr(VI)). Thus, CFs/TiO 2 /CdS can act as a weavable and efficient photocatalyst for eliminating various pollutants from wastewater., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Water transfer through porous textiles consists of two sequential processes: synchronous wicking-evaporating and evaporating alone. In this work we set out to identify the main structural parameters affecting the water transfer process of cotton fabrics. Eight woven fabrics with different floats were produced. The fabrics were evaluated on a specially designed instrument capable of measuring the water loss through a vertical wicking process. Each test took 120 min, and two phases were defined: Phase I for the first 10 min and Phase II for the last 110 min according to wicking behavior transition. Principal components and multivariate statistical methods were utilized to analyze the data collected. The results showed that Phase I dominated the whole wicking-evaporating process, and the moisture transfer speed in this phase varied with fabric structure, whereas the moisture transfer speeds in Phase II were similar and constant regardless of fabric structure. In addition, fabric with more floats has high water transfer speed in Phase I due to its loosened structure with more macropores., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest. The Fiber Society has no official involvement with the issue.

By introducing a percentage of conductive material during the manufacture ofsewing thread, it is possible to obtain a fabric which is able to detect variations in pressurein certain areas. In previous experiments the existence of resistance variations has beendemonstrated, although some constrains of cause and effect were found in the fabric. Theresearch has been concentrated in obtaining a fabric that allows electronic detection of itsshape changes. Additionally, and because a causal behavior is needed, it is necessary thatthe fabric recovers its original shape when the external forces cease. The structure of thefabric varies with the type of deformation applied. Two kinds of deformation aredescribed: those caused by stretching and those caused by pressure. This last type ofdeformation gives different responses depending on the conductivity of the object used tocause the pressure. This effect is related to the type of thread used to manufacture thefabric. So, if the pressure is caused by a finger the response is different compared to theresponse caused by a conductive object. Another fact that has to be mentioned is that apressure in a specific point of the fabric can affect other detection points depending on theforce applied. This effect is related to the fabric structure. The goals of this article arevalidating the structure of the fabric used, as well as the study of the two types ofdeformation mentioned before.