MUSCLE FORCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM FOR LONG-TERM MONITORING DURING DISTRACTION OSTEOGENESIS

Distraction osteogenesis is a procedure in orthopedics for skeletal lengthening. This operation sometimes causes clinical complications such as paralysis and pain related to the rate and extent of distraction. Therefore, a tension-force monitoring system is mandatory to control optimal lengthening. We developed a portable, low-power consumption system to continuously monitor the distracted tensions during the distraction osteogenesis period on the tibias of four male New Zealand white rabbits. The lengthening rate was 1mm per day at frequencies of once a day in one rabbit, and of three successive steps in the others. The system indicates the distraction measured by force, which is considered to be more physiological in nature rather than by distance. Radiographs were also taken for comparison. The results showed that the system was stable and approximate to being ideal. The measured distract-tension recovered to a steady state faster at the frequency of 1mm a day in three steps, rather than once per day. During the duration of the entire operation, each single lengthening induced more extensive force than that of one-day totals. The integer tension gradually increased until 15 days and tended to be stable. The radiographic examinations also revealed that the tibias healed well after the lengthening; consequently, a dispensable X-ray might be mostly replaced by the system monitoring. This system might be helpful to monitor force measurement for the improvement of distraction osteogenesis.     

Gasification of coal by a pilot flame in a modified fluidized bed

Coal is successfully gasified in the presence of a pilot flame in a modified fluidized bed. Except for the pilot flame, no external heat is required to operate this gasifier. The results showed that increasing the solid-to-air ratio in the feed increased the temperature and the products, carbon monoxide and hydrogen. About 95% of the volatile materials and 80% of the fixed carbon of the feed coal could be gasified by this pilot-flame gasification method. The ash could be efficiently separated during gasification by a distributor within the dead-zone collector of this gasifier.     

H2O2/nitrite-induced post-translational modifications of human hemoglobin determined by mass spectrometry: redox regulation of tyrosine nitration and 3-nitrotyrosine reduction by antioxidants

Covalent modifications of proteins by endogenous reactive nitrogen oxide species lead to cytotoxic effects that are implicated in diseases associated with chronic infections and inflammation. Tyrosine nitration is a major post-translational modification of proteins by reactive nitrogen oxide species. Recent studies suggest that nitrotyrosine is not a permanent protein modification. We previously demonstrated that lipoyl dehydrogenase is capable of converting 3-nitrotyrosine into 3-aminotyrosine in the presence of certain reducing agents. In this study, we compared the abilities of various hemoproteins, hemin, and the cobalt-containing cofactor cyanocobalamin to mediate H(2)O(2)/nitrite-dependent tyrosine nitration and found that these hemoproteins and metal-containing cofactors also catalyzed the reduction of 3-nitrotyrosine to various extents in the presence of thiol reducing agents or ascorbate. The H(2)O(2)/nitrite-induced post-translational modifications of human hemoglobin identified by nanoLC/nanospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric analysis of the tryptic digest include nitration of tyrosine and tryptophan, as well as oxidation of methionine and cysteine residues. Nitration of human hemoglobin by H(2)O(2)/nitrite was detected on Tyr24 and Tyr42 (alpha-chain) and on Tyr130 and Trp15 (beta-chain) in the alphabeta-dimer. Oxidation of methionine and cysteine residues was also observed. Furthermore, hemoglobin also catalyzed nitro reduction of 3-nitrotyrosine to form 3-aminotyrosine, at Tyr24 in the alpha-chain peptide of human Hb in the presence of ascorbate. The enhanced peroxidase activity of nitrated hemoglobin can be reversed by the antioxidant ascorbate. These results suggest a possible in vivo pathway for hemoglobin contributing to denitration of nitrated proteins through redox regulation.     

Dechlorination of auto shredder residues

Dechlorination of ASR (auto shredder residual) wastes has been studied in the present work. ASR was predechlorinated with Ca(OH)(2) extraction as well as dechlorinated with Ca(OH)(2) during incineration or pyrolysis. Experimentally, pre-dechlorination of ASR via extraction of Cl with a Ca(OH)(2) solution (pH 12.5) may reduce Cl contain in the ASR by 15%. Extraction of Cl at elevated temperatures (such as 373 K), interestingly, led to a further reduction of Cl in the ASR to 33.5%. A small amount of HCl and light hydrocarbons (C(1)-C(5)) were yielded during pyrolysis of the ASR in the presence of Ca(OH)(2) at 773 K. On the contrary, 75-85% of Cl may be mineralized (CaCl(2)) with Ca(OH)(2) (or CaO) during incineration at 1100 K.     

Application of Centralized and Decentralized Control to Building Structure: Analytical Study

This paper presents both the centralized and decentralized control strategies by using semiactive control devices (magnetorheological dampers) for building structural control under seismic excitations. The control algorithms used in this study only focus on the linear quadratic Gaussian control theory with acceleration measurements as feedback signals. In the centralized control, the control force is generated directly from the measurement in each degree of freedom, while in the decentralized control, only measurement from local subsystems is used to calculate the control force with respect to the locations of control devices and measurements. Four groups of centralized/decentralized control algorithms are studied: fully centralized control, fully decentralized control, half-centralized control, and partially decentralized control. The ASCE 20-story benchmark building is selected as an example to evaluate the control performance among different control strategies.     

Investigation of Au/Ti/Al ohmic contact to N-type 4H–SiC

In this study, investigation on Au/Ti/Al ohmic contact to n-type 4H–SiC and its thermal stability are reported. Specific contact resistances (SCRs) in the range of 10⁻⁴–10⁻⁶ Ω cm², and the best SCR as low as 2.8 × 10⁻⁶ Ω cm² has been generally achieved after rapid thermal annealing in Ar for 5 min at 800 °C and above. About 1–2 order(s) of magnitude improvement in SCR as compared to those Al/Ti series ohmic systems in n-SiC reported in literature is obtained. XRD analysis shows that the low resistance contact would be attributed to the formation of titanium silicides (TiSi₂ and TiSi) and Ti₃SiC₂ at the metal/n-SiC interface after thermal annealing. The Au/Ti/Al ohmic contact is thermally stable during thermal aging treatment in Ar at temperature in the 100–500 °C range for 20 h.     

Gene Set?Based Integrative Analysis Revealing Two Distinct Functional Regulation Patterns in Four Common Subtypes of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

Clear cell (CCC), endometrioid (EC), mucinous (MC) and high-grade serous carcinoma (SC) are the four most common subtypes of epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC). The widely accepted dualistic model of ovarian carcinogenesis divided EOCs into type I and II categories based on the molecular features. However, this hypothesis has not been experimentally demonstrated. We carried out a gene set-based analysis by integrating the microarray gene expression profiles downloaded from the publicly available databases. These quantified biological functions of EOCs were defined by 1454 Gene Ontology (GO) term and 674 Reactome pathway gene sets. The pathogenesis of the four EOC subtypes was investigated by hierarchical clustering and exploratory factor analysis. The patterns of functional regulation among the four subtypes containing 1316 cases could be accurately classified by machine learning. The results revealed that the ERBB and PI3K-related pathways played important roles in the carcinogenesis of CCC, EC and MC; while deregulation of cell cycle was more predominant in SC. The study revealed that two different functional regulation patterns exist among the four EOC subtypes, which were compatible with the type I and II classifications proposed by the dualistic model of ovarian carcinogenesis.     

Preparation of TiO2–SiO2 aperiodic mesoporous materials with controllable formation of tetrahedrally coordinated Ti ions and their performance for photocatalytic hydrogen production

The efficiency of photocatalytic water splitting for TiO₂ dispersed on four SiO₂ aperiodic porous supports is discussed in this work. The four TiO₂–SiO₂ composite materials were prepared via a sol–gel method and then subjected to supercritical drying, natural drying, rotatory vapor drying, or hydrothermal synthesis and the materials were subsequently calcined under identical conditions. These synthetic strategies result in differences in textural properties (specific surface area, pore diameter etc.) and in the amount of tetrahedrally coordinated Ti⁴⁺ ions. The TiO₂–SiO₂ materials were thoroughly characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), nitrogen adsorption studies, FT-IR spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopic (TEM) studies, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies. The photocatalytic activity for hydrogen production is maximum when the amount of tetrahedrally coordinated Ti⁴⁺ ions is high. Thus, this work provides guidance towards the preparation of photoactive materials for generating hydrogen from water.     

Shake table testing and numerical simulation of a utility‐scale wind turbine including operational effects

Shake table tests were undertaken on an actual wind turbine (65 kW rated power, 22.6 m hub height and a 16 m rotor diameter) using the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation Large High Performance Outdoor Shake Table at the University of California, San Diego. Each base shaking event was imparted in two states, whereas the turbine rotor was still (parked), and while it was spinning (operational). Each state was tested in two orientations of shaking direction, one parallel (fore‐aft) and another perpendicular (side‐to‐side) to the axis of rotation of the rotor. Structural response characteristics are presented for motions imparted in both configurations and both operational states. Modal parameters (natural frequencies, damping ratios and mode shapes) were estimated throughout the testing program. It is found that shaking imparted in the fore‐aft direction while spinning is the only observed situation where operational effects appear significant, with reductions up to 33% in seismic bending moment demand near the tower base. Using modifications developed by the research team to the FAST code, experimental results are compared with corresponding simulations to show that dynamic characteristics, acceleration time histories and trends in tower bending seismic demand can be numerically approximated. This experimental evidence and associated numerical simulations suggest that modeling of combined wind and earthquake loading with existing turbine specific codes produce meaningful results. Discrepancies between experimental and numerical results support that further refinement of simulation codes can improve accuracy beyond the current state. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modified Collocation Trefftz Method for the Geometry Boundary Identification Problem of Heat Conduction

In this article, a meshless numerical algorithm is proposed for the boundary identification problem of heat conduction, one kind of inverse problem. In the geometry boundary identification problem, the Cauchy data is given for part of the boundary. The Neumann boundary condition is given for the other portion of the boundary, whose spatial position is unknown. In order to stably solve the inverse problem, the modified collocation Trefftz method, a promising boundary-type meshless method, is adopted for discretizing this problem. Since the spatial position for part of the boundary is unknown, the numerical discretization results in a system of nonlinear algebraic equations (NAEs). Then, the exponentially convergent scalar homotopy algorithm (ECSHA) is used to efficiently obtain the convergent solution of the system of NAEs. The ECSHA is insensitive to the initial guess of the evolutionary process. In addition, the efficiency of the computation is greatly improved, since calculation of the inverse of the Jacobian matrix can be avoided. Four numerical examples are provided to validate the proposed meshless scheme. In addition, some factors that might influence the performance of the proposed scheme are examined through a series of numerical experiments. The stability of the proposed scheme can be proven by adding some noise to the boundary conditions.