The invention provides implantable drug delivery devices comprising a core comprising a polymer (or polymer blend) and one or more drugs or pharmaceutical substances, and an outer shell comprising a polymer (or polymer blend) and one or more porogen materials. The invention reduces burst release of drug. Pharmaceuticals such as triiodothyronine (T3) or ropinirole can be delivered by the devices.

A method of manufacturing a mixture PTFE thread using a mixture PTFE powder consisting of PTFE: 73-95 wt %, MoS.sub.2: 3-25 wt %, Al.sub.2O.sub.3: 1-5 wt %, and Al(OH).sub.3: 1-5 wt % comprises heat-retaining step for adding 18-25 wt % kerosene of a solvent to the mixture PTFE powder and keeping it warm at 30-50° C. for 40 to 50 hours, extruding the heat-retained mixture PTFE powder into a rod shape with a circular or elliptical cross section at the cylinder temperature of 70-90° C., rolling the extrusion at 100-150° C. into a 0.3-0.7 mm thick sheet shape, multiple-folding the sheet and passing the sheet through an oven at 250-270° C. at the rate of 10-40 cm/s, and stretching the folded sheet with a stretch ratio of 200-600% in multiple stages after heating the sheet at 450-500° C.

There is a lead casing for pencil for writing, drawing, marking, plotting, and/or coloring made of a composition having, by weight relative to the total weight of the lead casing for pencil: a) from 50 to 95% of a mixture of polylactic acid and polybutylene adipate terephtalate in a weight ratio polylactic acid/polybutylene adipate terephtalate ranging from 60/40 to 90/10, and b) from 5 to 40% of mineral fillers chosen in the group consisting of shellfish shells, more specifically oyster shells, and even more specifically milled oyster shells.

There is also a pencil including the lead casing for the pencil of the disclosure, for writing, drawing, marking, plotting, and/or coloring as well as a method for manufacturing such a pencil.

There is a lead casing for pencil for writing, drawing, marking, plotting, and/or coloring made of a composition having, by weight relative to the total weight of the lead casing for pencil: a) from 50 to 95% of a mixture of polylactic acid and polybutylene adipate terephtalate in a weight ratio polylactic acid/polybutylene adipate terephtalate ranging from 60/40 to 90/10, and b) from 5 to 40% of mineral fillers chosen in the group consisting of shellfish shells, more specifically oyster shells, and even more specifically milled oyster shells.

There is also a pencil including the lead casing for the pencil of the disclosure, for writing, drawing, marking, plotting, and/or coloring as well as a method for manufacturing such a pencil.

An example extrusion system includes a die including a circular cross-section disposed about an axis, and a plurality of slits disposed in the die and circumferentially spaced about a periphery of the die. Each of the plurality of slits has a generally rectangular cross-section. A ratio of a number of slits comprising the plurality of slits to a distance between the plurality of slits is between approximately 144:1 and 96:1. A method of forming a biodegradable component with an extrusion system is also disclosed.

An optical fiber drop cable including a cable jacket having an outer surface defining the outermost surface of the optical fiber drop cable. The optical fiber drop cable also includes a subunit, a first strength element, and a second strength element. The first strength element, the second strength element, and the subunit are embedded in the cable jacket, and the first strength element, the second strength element, and the subunit are arranged substantially parallel to each other on a first plane. The subunit includes a buffer tube having an inner surface and an outer surface, at least one optical fiber, and a plurality of strengthening yarns. The plurality of strengthening yarns are disposed between the inner surface of the buffer tube and the at least one optical fiber, and the outer surface of the buffer tube is at least partially in contact with the cable jacket.

A multiple layer foam insert replacement for a pneumatic inner tube for a tire. The multiple layer foam insert emulates the effect of air pressure, across a range of pressures, while still approaching the weight of the air filled tube. Through the use of different density materials and the orientation and thickness of such materials, the desirable characteristics of the pneumatic tube structure and performance can be emulated to a high degree. This multiple layer foam insert can be produced in varying levels of quality and function through the method of extrusion of foam materials in different sizes and layering.

Energy cable comprising, from the interior to the exterior, an electrical conductor, an inner semiconductive layer, an electrically insulating layer made from a thermoplastic material in admixture with a dielectric fluid, and an outer semiconductive layer, wherein the outer semiconductive layer comprises: (i) from 55 wt % to 90 wt % of a copolymer of ethylene with at least one ester comonomer having an ethylenic unsaturation; (ii) from 10 wt % to 45 wt % of a propylene copolymer with at least one olefin comonomer selected from ethylene and an α-olefin other than propylene, said copolymer having a melting point of from 145° C. to 170° C. and a melting enthalpy of from 40 J/g to 80 J/g; (iii) at least one conductive filler; (iv) at least one dielectric fluid; the amounts of (i) and (ii) being expressed with respect to the total weight of the polymeric components of the layer. The outer semiconductive layer is cold-strippable, having an adhesion with the underlying thermoplastic insulating layer which can be tuned so as to obtain a suitable balance between strippability at a temperature ranging from about 0° C. to about 40° C., without applying heat, and stable adhesion with the insulating layer during the cable lifespan.

Systems and methods presented herein provide for elastomeric and flexible cables. In one embodiment, an elastomeric cable comprises an elastomeric core (e.g., a stretchable polymer) and at least one cabling component wound about the elastomeric core along a length of the elastomeric core.

Exemplary methods for manufacturing a wire and resultant wires are disclosed herein. The method includes extruding a receptor cross-linkable polymer that is substantially free of curing agent about a conductive core and extruding a donor polymer in association with a curing agent. The method includes disposing the donor polymer about the receptor polymer and conductive core to create a multi-layer wire pre-product. The method also includes heat curing a multi-layer wire pre-product to form a wire.