Eoin Parle

Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology | GMIT · Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

It has been suggested that adverse changes in bone quality due to the accumulation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) may play a role in the increased skeletal fragility. These non-enzymatic glycation mediated crosslinks are caused due to the presence of sugars in the extracellular space and can be induced in-vitro. AGEs exist naturally in b...

This study presents a systematic evaluation of the physical, thermal and mechanical performance of medical-grade semi-crystalline PLLA undergoing thermally-accelerated degradation. Samples were immersed in phosphate-buffered saline solution at 50 °C for 112 days and mass loss, molecular weight, thermal properties, degree of crystallinity, FTIR and...

The objective of this study is to determine whether in vitro dielectric properties of human trabecular bones, can distinguish between osteoporotic and osteoarthritis patients' bone samples. Specifically this study enlightens intra-patient variation of trabecular bone microarchitecture and dielectric properties, inter-disease comparison of bone diel...

This study delineates the time sequence of changes in bone tissue mineralisation in ovariectomised rats. We report that changes in bone mineral distribution arise secondary to the initial rapid bone loss but coincide with trabecular thickening. We propose that these changes compensate for elevated stresses in remaining trabeculae after bone resorpt...

Osteoporosis is associated with systemic bone loss, leading to a significant deterioration of bone microarchitecture and an increased fracture risk. While recent studies have shown that the distribution of bone mineral becomes more heterogeneous due to estrogen deficiency in animal models of osteoporosis, it is not known whether osteoporosis alters...

The main aim of this research is to significantly improve the mechanical, wear and fracture properties of superhard cutting tool materials by taking advantage of the potential of additive manufacturing (AM), commonly known as 3D printing, to create novel and highly controlled, graded microstructures which cannot be obtained through traditional proc...

Despite some previous work on the morphology and mechanical properties of parts of the insect exoskeleton, there is very little known about how these properties change over time during the life of the insect. We examined the hind tibia of the adult desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) as a function of time up to 63 days following the final moult,...

The exoskeleton of an insect can contain countless specializations across an individual, across developmental stages, and across the class Insecta. Hence, the exoskeleton's building material cuticle must perform a vast variety of functions. Cuticle displays a wide range of material properties which are determined by several known factors: the amoun...

Insects are among the most diverse groups of animals on Earth. Their cuticle exoskeletons vary greatly in terms of size and shape, and are subjected to different applied forces during daily activities. We investigated the biomechanics of the tibiae of three different insect species: the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria), American cockroach (Per...

If an insect is injured, can it repair its skeleton in a manner which is mechanically strong and viable? Previous work has described the biological processes that occur during repair of insect cuticle, but until now, there has been no biomechanical assessment of the repaired area. We analysed the biomechanics of the injury repair process in the des...

Thin walled tubes are often used for load-bearing structures, in nature and in engineering, because they offer good resistance to bending and torsion at relatively low weight. However, when loaded in bending they are prone to failure by buckling. It is difficult to predict the loading conditions which cause buckling, especially for tubes whose cros...

Insects are all around us. They live in almost every environment on earth. Every part of every insect and arthropod is made from a material called cuticle [1]. This versatile material makes up the insect's exoskeleton, its tendons, wings and even its eyes, performing a wide variety of functions and exhibiting a very wide range of material propertie...

Many parts of the insect exoskeleton experience repeated cyclic loading. Although the cuticle of insects and other arthropods is the second most common natural composite material in the world, so far nothing is known about its fatigue properties, despite the fact that fatigue undoubtedly limits the durability of body parts in vivo. For the first ti...