The simulation of stress fibre and focal adhesion development in cells on patterned substrates.

The remodelling of the cytoskeleton and focal adhesion (FA) distributions for cells on substrates with micro-patterned ligand patches is investigated using a bio-chemo-mechanical model. We investigate the effect of ligand pattern shape on the cytoskeletal arrangements and FA distributions for cells having approximately the same area. The cytoskeleton model accounts for the dynamic rearrangement of the actin/myosin stress fibres. It entails the highly nonlinear interactions between signalling, the kinetics of tension-dependent stress-fibre formation/dissolution and stress-dependent contractility. This model is coupled with another model that governs FA formation and accounts for the mechano-sensitivity of the adhesions from thermodynamic considerations. This coupled modelling scheme is shown to capture a variety of key experimental observations including: (i) the formation of high concentrations of stress fibres and FAs at the periphery of circular and triangular, convex-shaped ligand patterns; (ii) the development of high FA concentrations along the edges of the V-, T-, Y- and U-shaped concave ligand patterns; and (iii) the formation of highly aligned stress fibres along the non-adhered edges of cells on the concave ligand patterns. When appropriately calibrated, the model also accurately predicts the radii of curvature of the non-adhered edges of cells on the concave-shaped ligand patterns.     

Rho-associated kinase-dependent contraction of stress fibres and the organization of focal adhesions

Stress fibres and associated focal adhesions in cells constitute a contractile apparatus that regulates cell motility and contraction. Rho-kinase, an effector molecule of small GTPases, regulates non-muscle cell motility and contractility. Rho-kinase mediates the contraction of stress fibres in a Ca²⁺-independent manner, and is responsible for slower and more finely tuned contraction of stress fibres than that regulated by myosin light chain kinase activity in living cells. The specific inhibition of the Rho-kinase activity causes cells to not only lose their stress fibres and focal adhesions, but also to appear to lose their cytoplasmic tension. Activated Rho-kinase is also involved in the organization of newly formed stress fibres and focal adhesions in living cells.     

Adhesion formation of primary human osteoblasts and the functional response of mesenchymal stem cells to 330nm deep microgrooves.

The surface microtexture of an orthopaedic device can regulate cellular adhesion, a process fundamental in the initiation of osteoinduction and osteogenesis. Advances in fabrication techniques have evolved to include the field of surface modification; in particular, nanotechnology has allowed for the development of experimental nanoscale substrates for investigation into cell nanofeature interactions. Here primary human osteoblasts (HOBs) were cultured on ordered nanoscale groove/ridge arrays fabricated by photolithography. Grooves were 330nm deep and either 10, 25 or 100mum in width. Adhesion subtypes in HOBs were quantified by immunofluorescent microscopy and cell-substrate interactions were investigated via immunocytochemistry with scanning electron microscopy. To further investigate the effects of these substrates on cellular function, 1.7K gene microarray analysis was used to establish gene regulation profiles of mesenchymal stem cells cultured on these nanotopographies. Nanotopographies significantly affected the formation of focal complexes (FXs), focal adhesions (FAs) and supermature adhesions (SMAs). Planar control substrates induced widespread adhesion formation; 100mum wide groove/ridge arrays did not significantly affect adhesion formation yet induced upregulation of genes involved in skeletal development and increased osteospecific function; 25mum wide groove/ridge arrays were associated with a reduction in SMA and an increase in FX formation; and 10mum wide groove/ridge arrays significantly reduced osteoblast adhesion and induced an interplay of up- and downregulation of gene expression. This study indicates that groove/ridge topographies are important modulators of both cellular adhesion and osteospecific function and, critically, that groove/ridge width is important in determining cellular response.     

The effect of remodelling and contractility of the actin cytoskeleton on the shear resistance of single cells: a computational and experimental investigation

The biomechanisms that govern the response of chondrocytes to mechanical stimuli are poorly understood. In this study, a series of in vitro tests are performed, in which single chondrocytes are subjected to shear deformation by a horizontally moving probe. Dramatically different probe force–indentation curves are obtained for untreated cells and for cells in which the actin cytoskeleton has been disrupted. Untreated cells exhibit a rapid increase in force upon probe contact followed by yielding behaviour. Cells in which the contractile actin cytoskeleton was removed exhibit a linear force–indentation response. In order to investigate the mechanisms underlying this behaviour, a three-dimensional active modelling framework incorporating stress fibre (SF) remodelling and contractility is used to simulate the in vitro tests. Simulations reveal that the characteristic force–indentation curve observed for untreated chondrocytes occurs as a result of two factors: (i) yielding of SFs due to stretching of the cytoplasm near the probe and (ii) dissociation of SFs due to reduced cytoplasm tension at the front of the cell. In contrast, a passive hyperelastic model predicts a linear force–indentation curve similar to that observed for cells in which the actin cytoskeleton has been disrupted. This combined modelling–experimental study offers a novel insight into the role of the active contractility and remodelling of the actin cytoskeleton in the response of chondrocytes to mechanical loading.     

Large-scale dendrimer-based uneven nanopatterns for the study of local arginine-glycine-aspartic acid （RGD） density effects on cell adhesion

Cell adhesion processes are governed by the nanoscale arrangement of the extracellular matrix （ECM）, being more affected by local rather than global concentrations of cell adhesive ligands. In many cell-based studies, grafting of dendrimers on surfaces has shown the benefits of the local increase in concentration provided by the dendritic configuration, although the lack of any reported surface characterization has limited any direct correlation between dendrimer disposition and cell response. In order to establish a proper correlation, some control over dendrimer surface deposition is desirable. Here, dendrimer nanopatterning has been employed to address arginine-glycine-aspartic acid （RGD） density effects on cell adhesion. Nanopatterned surfaces were fully characterized by atomic force microscopy （AFM）, scanning tunneling microscopy （STM） and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, showing that tunable distributions of cell adhesive ligands on the surface are obtained as a function of the initial dendrimer bulk concentration. Cell experiments showed a clear correlation with dendrimer surface layout： Substrates presenting regions of high local ligand density resulted in a higher percentage of adhered cells and a higher degree of maturation of focal adhesions （FAs）. Therefore, dendrimer nano- patterning is presented as a suitable and controlled approach to address the effect of local ligand density on cell response. Moreover, due to the easy modification of dendrimer peripheral groups, dendrimer nanopatterning can be further extended to other ECM ligands having density effects on cells.     

Three-dimensional traction forces of Schwann cells on compliant substrates

The mechanical interaction between Schwann cells (SCs) and their microenvironment is crucial for the development, maintenance and repair of the peripheral nervous system. In this paper, we present a detailed investigation on the mechanosensitivity of SCs across a physiologically relevant substrate stiffness range. Contrary to many other cell types, we find that the SC spreading area and cytoskeletal actin architecture were relatively insensitive to substrate stiffness with pronounced stress fibre formation across all moduli tested (0.24–4.80 kPa). Consistent with the presence of stress fibres, we found that SCs generated large surface tractions on stiff substrates and large, finite material deformations on soft substrates. When quantifying the three-dimensional characteristics of the SC traction profiles, we observed a significant contribution from the out-of-plane traction component, locally giving rise to rotational moments similar to those observed in mesenchymal embryonic fibroblasts. Taken together, these measurements provide the first set of quantitative biophysical metrics of how SCs interact with their physical microenvironment, which are anticipated to aid in the development of tissue engineering scaffolds designed to promote functional integration of SCs into post-injury in vivo environments.     

Shear-induced force transmission in a multicomponent,multicell model of the endothelium

Haemodynamic forces applied at the apical surface of vascular endothelial cells (ECs) provide the mechanical signals at intracellular organelles and through the inter-connected cellular network. The objective of this study is to quantify the intracellular and intercellular stresses in a confluent vascular EC monolayer. A novel three-dimensional, multiscale and multicomponent model of focally adhered ECs is developed to account for the role of potential mechanosensors (glycocalyx layer, actin cortical layer, nucleus, cytoskeleton, focal adhesions (FAs) and adherens junctions (ADJs)) in mechanotransmission and EC deformation. The overriding issue addressed is the stress amplification in these regions, which may play a role in subcellular localization of mechanotransmission. The model predicts that the stresses are amplified 250–600-fold over apical values at ADJs and 175–200-fold at FAs for ECs exposed to a mean shear stress of 10 dyne cm⁻². Estimates of forces per molecule in the cell attachment points to the external cellular matrix and cell–cell adhesion points are of the order of 8 pN at FAs and as high as 3 pN at ADJs, suggesting that direct force-induced mechanotransmission by single molecules is possible in both. The maximum deformation of an EC in the monolayer is calculated as 400 nm in response to a mean shear stress of 1 Pa applied over the EC surface which is in accord with measurements. The model also predicts that the magnitude of the cell–cell junction inclination angle is independent of the cytoskeleton and glycocalyx. The inclination angle of the cell–cell junction is calculated to be 6.6° in an EC monolayer, which is somewhat below the measured value (9.9°) reported previously for ECs subjected to 1.6 Pa shear stress for 30 min. The present model is able, for the first time, to cross the boundaries between different length scales in order to provide a global view of potential locations of mechanotransmission.     

Exploring the formation of focal adhesions on patterned surfaces using super-resolution imaging

The formation of focal adhesions on various sizes of fibronectin patterns, ranging from 200 μm to 250 nm, was systematically investigated by total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy and super-resolution imaging. It was found that cells adhered to and spread on these micro/nanopatterns, forming focal adhesions. On a micrometer scale the shape of the focal adhesions was elongated. However, on the nanometer scale, the shape of focal adhesions became dotlike. To further explore the distribution of focal adhesion proteins formed on surfaces, a localization-based super-resolution imaging technique was employed in order to determine the position and density of vinculin proteins. A characteristic distance of 50 nm was found between vinculin molecules in the focal adhesions, which did not depend on the size of the fibronectin nanopatterns. This distance was found to be crucial for the formation of focal adhesions. In addition, the density of vinculin at the focal adhesions formed on the nanopatterns increased as the pattern size decreased. The density of the protein was found to be 425 ± 247, 584 ± 302, and 703 ± 305 proteins μm(-2) on the 600, 400, and 250 nm fibronectin patterns respectively. Whereas 226 ± 77 proteins μm(-2) was measured for the matured focal adhesions on homogeneous fibronectin coated substrates. The increase in vinculin density implies that an increase in mechanical load was applied to the focal adhesions formed on the smaller nanopatterns.     

Hot wire CVD deposition of nanocrystalline silicon solar cells on rough substrates

In silicon thin film solar cell technology, frequently rough or textured substrates are used to scatter the light and enhance its absorption. The important issue of the influence of substrate roughness on silicon nanocrystal growth has been investigated through a series of nc-Si:H single junction p-i-n solar cells containing i-layers deposited with Hot-wire CVD. It is shown that silicon grown on the surface of an unoptimized rough substrate contains structural defects, which deteriorate solar cell performance. By introducing parameter v, voids/substrate area ratio, we could define a criterion for the morphology of light trapping substrates for thin film silicon solar cells: a preferred substrate should have a v value of less than around 1 × 10^- 6, correlated to a substrate surface rms value of lower than around 50 nm. Our Ag/ZnO substrates with rms roughness less than this value typically do not contain microvalleys with opening angles smaller than ~ 110°, resulting in solar cells with improved output performance. We suggest a void-formation model based on selective etching of strained Si-Si atoms due to the collision of growing silicon film surface near the valleys of the substrate.     

Simulation studies on the effect of a buffer layer on the external parameters of hydrogenated amorphous silicon p-i-n solar cells

Device modeling of p-i-n junction amorphous silicon solar cells has been carried out using the amorphous semiconductor analysis (ASA) simulation programme. The aim of the study was to explain the role of a buffer layer in between the p-and i-layers of the p-i-n solar cell on the external parameters such as dark current density and open circuit voltage. Investigations based on the simulation of dark I–V characteristics revealed that as the buffer layer thickness increases the dark current for a given voltage decreases.     

提高阿基米德螺旋相控阵换能器焦点声压的仿真研究

针对阿基米德螺旋相控阵换能器焦点声压不足的问题,通过有限元仿真,分别讨论了换能器阵元形状和频率改变与声场的变化关系,从焦点声压、偏转范围、栅瓣水平、焦域大小等方面进行了研究。结果表明,相同频率下,扇形阵元阿基米德螺旋相控阵换能器的焦点声压比圆形阵元时的焦点声压提高了32.28%,偏转范围为20 mm×20 mm×40 mm;在扇形阵元形状的情况下,频率选择0.9~1.0 MHz,不仅能获得较高的焦点声压,同时还能保证改善聚焦性能。文章的仿真结果为阿基米德螺旋相控阵换能器提高焦点声压,满足深部组织消融治疗需要的高功率要求提供了有用的设计参考。     

Contribution of material properties of cellular components on the viscoelastic,stress-relaxation response of a cell during AFM indentation

The close relationship between the mechanical properties of biological cells, namely, elasticity, viscosity, and the state of its disease condition has been widely investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM). In this study, computational simulation of the AFM indentation is carried out using a finite element (FE) model of an adherent cell. A parametric evaluation of the material properties of the cellular components on the viscoelastic, stress-relaxation response during AFM indentation is performed. In addition, the loading rate, the size of the nucleus, and the geometry of the cell are varied. From the present study, it is found that when comparing the material properties derived from experimental force-deflection curves, the influence of loading rates should be accommodated. It also provides a framework that can quantify the variation of the mechanical property with various stages of malignancy of the cancer cell, a potential procedure for cancer diagnosis.     

Radio frequency sputter deposition of high-quality conductive and transparent ZnO:Al films on polymer substrates for thin film solar cells applications

Thick aluminum-doped zinc oxide films were deposited at substrate temperatures from 100 °C to room temperature on polyethylene terephthalate by radio frequency magnetron sputtering, varying the deposition parameters such as radio frequency power and working pressure.Structural, optical and electrical properties were analyzed using an x-ray diffractometer, a spectrophotometer and a four-point probe, respectively. Films were polycrystalline showing a strong preferred c-axis orientation (002). The best optical and electrical results were achieved using a substrate temperature of 100 °C. Furthermore, high transmittances close to 80% in the visible wavelength range were obtained for those films deposited at the lowest Argon pressure used of 0.2 Pa. In addition, resistivities as low as 1.1 × 10^− 3 Ω cm were reached deposited at a RF power of 75 W. Finally, a comparison of the properties of the films deposited on polymer and glass substrates was performed, obtaining values of the figure of merit for the films on polymer comparable to those obtained on glass substrates, 17,700 Ω^− 1 cm^− 1 vs 14,900 Ω^− 1 cm^− 1, respectively.     

Influence of substrates on the structural and optical properties of chemically deposited CdS films

Cadmium sulfide (CdS) films were chemically deposited on glass, polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and Si wafer. Effects of substrate types on the structural and optical properties of the films were investigated. There is a preferential orientation of the crystallites in the film grown on the glass along the c-axis (perpendicular to the plane of the substrate) producing a strong hexagonal (0 0 2) or cubic (1 1 1) peak, regardless of the presence of ITO coating. However, such preferential orientation decreases or disappears when the deposition was made onto PC or PET substrates. The crystallinity of CdS films on glass and Si is better than that of the other ones. The average transmittance of the films on PC and PET is about 50% and 55%, respectively, and increases up to 70% for glass substrate. The improvement of the transmittance was obtained from ITO-coated substrates.     

A detailed study of the series resistance effect on CdS/CdTe solar cells with Cu/Mo back contact

CdS/CdTe thin film solar cells with an area of 1 cm² were obtained and studied in detail. A ZnO buffer layer was deposited by reactive RF-sputtering on commercial ITO substrates. The CdS layer was grown on ZnO also by using RF-sputtering and CdTe thin film was deposited by conventional CSS technique. The chlorination of the solar cells is performed into Freon atmosphere at 400 °C. The CdTe thin film surface was chemically etched by using Br-Methanol solution. The back contact was deposited using RF-sputtering from a pure Cu and Mo targets. The procedure developed in this work led us to make systematically solar cells with good efficiency. However, the series resistance has a high value for an area of 1 cm² (22 Ω cm²). In order to make more detailed study, the solar cell with an area of 1 cm² was divided in a 3 × 3 matrix. A good homogeneity in cell properties is observed and the efficiency increases to more than 11%, fundamentally through decreasing series resistance.     

RGD修饰钛表面对人牙龈成纤维细胞初期黏附和铺展的影响

用羰基二咪唑(1,1'-carbonyldiimidazole,CDI)将含RGD的短肽共价连接到纯钛表面,研究接枝后的钛表面对原代培养的人牙龈成纤维细胞(human gingival fibroblasts,HGF)初期黏附和铺展的影响.结果表明,RGD修饰的纯钛表面粘附的细胞数比未修饰钛表面多,细胞铺展面积比钛表面的大,应力纤维的形成比钛表面早.RGD接枝钛表面更有利于人牙龈成纤维细胞的粘附,改善了纯钛的生物相容性.     

A simulation study of the effect of the diverse valence-band offset and the electronic activity at the grain boundaries on the performance of polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells

The paper presents a two-dimensional simulation study of a polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGS) solar cell with various shapes of grains inside the CIGS absorber layer. The grain boundaries (GBs) with a diverse valence-band offset (VBO) and the density of defect states (N_tA) are considered so as to evaluate their effects on the performance of the CIGS cell. The numerical simulations show that a CIGS cell with column-like grains can achieve a high conversion efficiency (η), while the η of a CIGS cell with diamond-like grains is low if the VBO at the GBs exceeds 0.4 eV. The VBO at which the η of the CIGS cell with diamond-like grains peaks is found at 0.20-0.27 eV. A favorable VBO mainly depends on the shape of the grains, but it also depends on the N_tA. The simulations of the CIGS cells in the substrate and superstrate configurations showed that their performances change if the VBO is varied. This result also implies that the configuration of the CIGS cell is important and the substrate configuration with larger grains in the space-charge region has a considerable advantage if the VBO ranges from 0 eV to 0.2 eV.     

协议分析仪2Mb/s高速信令处理模块

为了满足2 Mb/s高速信令的测试要求，开发了2 Mb/s高速信令协议分析仪信令处理模块。信令处理模块分为硬件系统和软件系统两部分。介绍了开发2 Mb/s高速信令协议分析仪的意义，使用2 Mb/s高速信令链路的优势，信令处理模块的设计原理和功能。介绍嵌入式处理器和实时操作系统的相关内容。     

Simulation approach for studying the performances of original superstrate CIGS thin films solar cells

In this work, we report on the performances of superstrate Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGS) thin film solar cells with an alternative SLG/SnO₂:F/CIGS/In₂Se₃/Zn structure using AMPS-1D (Analysis of Microelectronic and Photonic structures) device simulator. An inverted surface layer, n-type CIGS layer, is inserted between the In₂Se₃ buffer and CIGS absorber layers and the SnO₂:F layer is just a transparent conducting oxide (TCO). The simulation has been carried out by lighting through SnO₂:F. The obtained results show that the existence of so-called ‘ordered defect compound’ (ODC) layer in such a structure is the critical factor responsible for the optimization of the performances. Photovoltaic parameters were determined using the current density-voltage (J-V) curve. An optimal absorber and ODC layer thickness has been estimated, that improve significantly the devices efficiency exceeding 15% AM1.5 G. The variation of carrier density in In₂Se₃ layer has an influence on the superstrate CIGS cells performances. Moreover, the quantum efficiency (Q.E.) characteristics display a maximum value of about 80% in the visible range.     

包装机中常热式薄膜热封过程的仿真研究

通过对包装机常热式封头结构和封合参数的分析，建立薄膜热封过程的数学模型，并在Matlab/simulink下建立可实时运行的仿真模型。根据仿真结果得出了一些有价值的结论和改进包装机中热封装置设计的措施。