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The Impact of Effective Density and Compressive Strength on the Structure of Crumpled Paper Balls

Chu et al. | Nov 19, 2020

The Impact of Effective Density and Compressive Strength on the Structure of Crumpled Paper Balls

Crumpling is the process whereby a sheet of paper undergoes deformation to yield a three-dimensional structure comprising a random network of ridges and facets with variable density. The authors hypothesized that the more times a paper sheet is crumpled, the greater its compressive strength. Their results show a relatively strong linear relationship between the number of times a paper sheet is crumpled and its compressive strength.

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Utilizing sorbitol to improve properties of cellulose-based biodegradable hydrogels

Adler et al. | Jan 06, 2025

Utilizing sorbitol to improve properties of cellulose-based biodegradable hydrogels

Hydrogels are commonly used in medicine, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture. Hydrogels absorb water by swelling and re-release this water by diffusion. This study sought to synthesize a biodegradable, cellulose-based hydrogel that is more effective at absorbing and re-releasing water than those produced by current methods. We tested the compressive strength of both the dry and swollen gels and the tensile strength of the swollen gels to elucidate the gel structure.

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Innovative use of recycled textile fibers in building materials: A circular economy approach

Gupta et al. | Feb 19, 2026

Innovative use of recycled textile fibers in building materials: A circular economy approach
Image credit: Gupta and Gupta

Textile waste from the fashion industry is a major environmental pollutant, but recycling waste into novel building material is a strategy to reduce the negative effects. This manuscript characterized five different binders that can be used to repurpose textile waste into bricks for construction purposes. Water-based glue, cement, white cement, plaster of Paris, and epoxy resin were mixed with shredded textile waste, and the mechanical characteristics and thermal insulation of each brick type were measured. Bricks with increased mechanical strength had the poorest thermal resistance, and the contrasting properties would suit different building purposes. This work provides a first step in generating recycled textile bricks for construction in a circular economy framework.

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3D Printed Polymer Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Regeneration

Jayatissa et al. | Apr 26, 2019

3D Printed Polymer Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Regeneration

Scientists are always on the quest to improve the body's healing abilities and broken bones are no exception. In this article, the authors investigate properties of 3D-printed biocompatible polymers used to improve bone healing. With such efforts, we can hope to, one day, improve bone scaffolding materials in ways that make the natural healing processes more efficient, reducing the time needed for recovery from bone fractures.

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Fractal dimensions of crumpled paper

Zhou et al. | Aug 10, 2023

Fractal dimensions of crumpled paper
Image credit: Richard Dykes

Here, beginning from an interest in fractals, infinitely complex shapes. The authors investigated the fractal object that results from crumpling a sheet of paper. They determined its fractal dimension using continuous Chi-squared analysis, thereby testing and validating their model against the more conventional least squares analysis.

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Quantitative definition of chemical synthetic pathway complexity of organic compounds

Baranwal et al. | Jun 19, 2023

Quantitative definition of chemical synthetic pathway complexity of organic compounds

Irrespective of the final application of a molecule, synthetic accessibility is the rate-determining step in discovering and developing novel entities. However, synthetic complexity is challenging to quantify as a single metric, since it is a composite of several measurable metrics, some of which include cost, safety, and availability. Moreover, defining a single synthetic accessibility metric for both natural products and non-natural products poses yet another challenge given the structural distinctions between these two classes of compounds. Here, we propose a model for synthetic accessibility of all chemical compounds, inspired by the Central Limit Theorem, and devise a novel synthetic accessibility metric assessing the overall feasibility of making chemical compounds that has been fitted to a Gaussian distribution.

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