Overall, citric acid was least effective in reducing dentine hardness whilst EDTA had the strongest effect.

The most effective demineralizing substance was citric acid. The methodology developed for real-time observation of dentine surfaces is a valuable method to evaluate demineralization.

No abstract

Lignocellulosic fibers have several advantages as reinforcement for polymer-matrix composites such as their biodegradability and neutrality with respect to CO 2 emission. One characteristic of these fibers is the variability of their properties that usually present large bounds due to several factors. In respect to the determination of fiber properties, one issue is the actual measurement of the fiber cross-section. It is usual practice to measure a typical cross-section length and to assume that the fibers have circular cross-sections, although this is known to be a relatively crude approximation. In this work, digital microscopy and image analysis were used to measure the actual cross-section of several lignocellulosic fibers. The true area was compared to those calculated from minimum and maximum projected diameters, and the errors were analyzed.

No abstract