Design and fabrication of 3D‐plotted polymeric scaffolds in functional tissue engineering

Regenerating the load‐bearing tissues requires 3D scaffolds that balance the temporary mechanical function with the biological requirements. In functional tissue engineering, designing scaffolds with biomimetic mechanical properties could promote tissue ingrowth since the cells are sensitive to their local mechanical environment. This work aims to design scaffolds that mimic the mechanical response of the biological tissues under physiological loading conditions. Poly(L ‐lactide) (PLLA) scaffolds with varying porosities and pore sizes were made by the 3D‐plotting technique. The scaffolds were tested under unconfined ramp compression to compare their stress profile under load with that of bovine cartilage. A comparison between the material parameters estimated for the scaffolds and for the bovine cartilage based on the biphasic theory enabled the definition of an optimum window for the porosity and pore size of these constructs. Moreover, the finite element prediction for the stress distribution inside the scaffolds, surrounded by the host cartilaginous tissue, demonstrated a negligible perturbation of the stress field at the site of implantation. The finite element modeling tools in combination with the developed methodology for optimal porosity/pore size determination can be used to improve the design of biomimetic scaffolds. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 47:608–618, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers.     

Plasma and lipoprotein fatty acid composition in glycogen storage disease type I

Nocturnal intragastric feeding has been shown to be an effective means to improve clinical and biochemical features in glycogen storage disease type I (GSD-I). In this study, we investigated the fatty acid patterns in a whole plasma and in circulating lipoproteins in patients on this therapy. The results demonstrated massive concentration of total fatty acids coupled with higher levels of triglycerides, free cholesterol, cholesterol ester and phospholipids. This hyperlipidemia involved all fatty acids without distinction of carbon or bond numbers. However, the increase was more pronounced for saturated than polyunsaturated fatty acids, as was demonstrated by the ratios of both oleic acid to linoleic acid (1.91±0.40 vs 0.80±0.09 in controls) and of ω3+ω6 to ω9 fatty acid families (0.92±0.11 vs 1.66±0.08 in controls). The fatty acid patterns in very low (VLDL), low (LDL) and high (HDL) density lipoprotein showed substantial differences in composition, reflecting an association between an abnormal lipoprotein pattern and essential fatty acid deficiency. Furthermore, GSD-I patients exhibited a significant increase in VLDL (17±2 vs 47±7 mg/dl) and LDL cholesterol (124±7 vs 206±24 mg/dl), coupled with a decrease in HDL cholesterol (49±4 vs 28±3 mg/dl). These data documenting high LDL cholesterol and low HDL cholesterol associated with an increased concentration and proportion of saturated fatty acids suggest that GSD-I patients on nocturnal intragastric feeding are at high risk for atherosclerosis and its complications.     

Effects of molasses grass,Melinis minutiflora volatiles on the foraging behavior of the cereal stemborer parasitoid,Cotesia sesamiae

Olfactory responses of the cereal stemborer parasitoid Cotesia sesamiae to volatiles emitted by gramineous host and nonhost plants of the stemborers were studied in a Y-tube olfactometer. The host plants were maize (Zea mays) and sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor), while the nonhost plant was molasses grass (Melinis minutiflora). In single-choice tests, females of C. sesamiae chose volatiles from infested and uninfested host plants and molasses grass over volatiles from the control (soil). In dual-choice tests, the wasp preferred volatiles from infested host plants to those from uninfested host plants. There was no discrimination between molasses grass volatiles and those of uninfested maize, uninfested sorghum, or infested maize. The wasp preferred sorghum volatiles over maize. Combining uninfested maize or sorghum with molasses grass did not make volatiles from the combination more attractive as compared to only uninfested host plants. Infested maize alone was as attractive as when combined with molasses grass. Infested sorghum was preferred over its combination with molasses grass. Local growth conditions of the molasses grasses influenced attractiveness to the parasitoids. Volatiles from Thika molasses grass were attractive, while those from Mbita molasses grass were not. Growing the Thika molasses grass in Mbita rendered it unattractive and vice versa with the Mbita molasses grass. This is a case of the same genotype expressing different phenotypes due to environmental factors.     

An abstract formal basis for digital crowds

Distributed and Parallel Databases - Crowdsourcing, together with its related approaches, has become very popular in recent years. All crowdsourcing processes involve the participation of a digital...     

Reflections on privacy,identity and consent in on-line services

The paper gives an overview of the evolution of the laws protecting personal data privacy in the UK over the last 30 years. Against this background, the author considers: the compromises to personal data privacy brought about by the electronic age; individual motivations for using e-services and the balance of risks and benefits; the place of identity management in e-transactions; and, the ways that data guardianship can be improved by an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of those responsible for personal data in organisations, data handlers and individual citizens. The conclusions reached are that once personal data has been recorded electronically it persists and the divide between public and private space is blurred. Citizens should retain rights to personal data including the right to be asked for their consent before it is shared or linked for commercial or administrative purposes. This puts a particular duty on government to behave (and be perceived to behave) responsibly and transparently with regard to the collection, use and disposal of personal data so as to create trust and support democracy.     

Comparison of three-dimensional surface scanning techniques for capturing the external ear

Congenital facial anomalies, such as microtia (malformation of the external ear), lead to significant psychosocial effects starting from early childhood. Three-dimensional (3D) scanning and advanced manufacturing are being investigated as a cheaper and more personalised method of fabricating reconstructive treatments for patients compared to traditional approaches. To date, most case studies have used expensive 3D scanners, yet, there is potential for low-cost devices to provide comparable results. This study aimed to investigate these different approaches. Both ears of 16 adult participants were scanned with three devices: Artec Spider (Artec Group), Intel^® RealSense? (Intel), and the Apple iPhone^® 7 (Apple Inc.) combined with photogrammetry using 90, 60 and 30 photographs. The scanning time, processing time, accuracy, completeness, resolution and repeatability of each technique were assessed using the Artec Spider as a reference scanner. Our results show that the iPhone had the longest processing time however, this decreased nine-fold when reducing the number of photos from 90 to 30. There was no significant difference in the accuracy, completeness or repeatability of the iPhone scans with 90 photographs (1.4?±?0.6?mm, 79.9%, 1.0?±?0.1?mm), 60 photographs (1.2?±?0.2, 79.3%, 0.9?±?0.2?mm) or 30 photographs (1.2?±?0.3?mm, 74.3%, 1.0?±?0.2?mm). The Intel RealSesne performed significantly worse in each parameter (1.8?±?03?mm; 46.6%, 1.4?±?0.5). Additionally, the RealSense had significantly lower resolution with not enough detail captured for the application. These results demonstrate that the ear can be accurately 3D scanned using iPhone photographs. We would recommend capturing between 30 and 60 photographs of the ear to create a scan that is accurate but without the downfall of long processing time. Using these methods we aim to provide a more comfortable setting for the patient and a lower-cost and more personalised ear prosthesis.     

A sufficient condition to test identifiability of nonlinear delayed-differential models with constant delays and multi-inputs

In this paper, an original result in terms of a sufficient condition to test the identifiability of nonlinear delayed-differential models with constant delays and multi-inputs is given. The identifiability is studied for the linearized system and a criterion for linear systems with constant delays is provided, from which the identifiability of the original nonlinear system can be proved. This result is obtained by combining a classical identifiability result for nonlinear ordinary differential systems due to Grewal and Glover (1976) with the identifiability of linear delayed-differential models developed by Orlov, Belkoura, Richard, and Dambrine (2002). This paper is a generalization of Denis-Vidal, Jauberthie, and Joly-Blanchard (2006), which deals with the specific case of nonlinear delayed-differential models with two delays and a single input.     

Improving literacy and metacognition with electronic portfolios: Teaching and learning with ePEARL

Can an electronic portfolio that is both a multimedia container for student work and a tool to support key learning processes have a positive impact on the literacy practices and self-regulated learning skills of students? This article presents the findings of a yearlong study conducted in three Canadian provinces during the 2007–2008 school year initially involving 32 teachers and 388 students. Due to varying levels of implementation our final data set included 14 teachers and 296 students. Using a non-equivalent pre-test/post-test design, we found that grade 4–6 students who were in classrooms where the teacher provided regular and appropriate use of the electronic portfolio tool ePEARL (i.e., medium–high implementation condition, n = 7 classrooms and 121 students), compared to control students (n = 7 classrooms and 175 students) who did not use ePEARL, showed significant improvements (p < .05) in their writing skills on a standardized literacy measure (i.e., the constructed response subtest of the Canadian Achievement Test-4th ed.) and certain metacognitive skills measured via student self-report. The results of this study indicate that teaching with ePEARL has positive impacts on students’ literacy and self-regulated learning skills when the tool is used regularly and integrated into classroom instruction.     

Assay of aflatoxin in peanuts and peanut products using acetone-hexane-water for extraction

A quantitative method is described for the assay of aflatoxin in peanut products. The procedure involves extraction of aflatoxin from the sample with a homogeneous acetone-hexane-water solvent mixture followed by purification of the extract by phasic extraction of the aflatoxin with aqueous sodium chloride and then with chloroform. The purified chloroform extract is analyzed by thin-layer chromatography by comparison of the intensity of fluorescence of any aflatoxin with the intensity of a known standard. The aflatoxin analyses of peanuts were found to be very variable due to sampling, and this variability has been greatly reduced by finely grinding and thoroughly mixing 2 kg of the sample before removal of an aliquot for assay. The method is sensitive to approximately 2 parts per billion. Honorable mention, Bond Award competition. Presented at AOCS Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, October, 1964. So. Reg. Res. Lab., New Orleans, Louisiana, one of the laboratories of the So. Utiliz. Res. and Dev. Div., ARS, USDA.