Further studies of calcium phosphate growth on phosphorylated cotton fibres

Further studies using scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM/EDX), micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and solid state magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR) techniques of calcium phosphate growth on Ca(OH)₂-treated urea/H₃PO₃- and urea/H₃PO₄-modified cotton fibres are reported. In the case of the Ca(OH)₂-treated urea/H₃PO₃-modified fibres which have been reported in an earlier paper, further experiments subjecting the urea/H₃PO₃-modified cotton to alternative soaking treatment procedures to Ca(OH)₂ as well as different calcium phosphate growth media such as the alkaline phosphatase-catalysed hydrolysis of disodium p-nitrophenylphosphate to free phosphate have reaffirmed the importance of the Ca(OH)₂ treatment step for the stimulus and growth of calcium phosphate growth on the fibres. Studies on cotton phosphorylated by a slightly different method using urea/H₃PO₄ instead of urea/H₃PO₃ show that a phosphorylated cotton with similar properties to the urea/H₃PO₃-modified fibres can be produced. Soaking of these fibres in saturated Ca(OH)₂ solution leads to cotton coated with thin layers of calcium phosphate formed by partial hydrolysis of the PO₄ functionalities in the phosphorylated cotton which are believed to act as nucleation layers for further calcium phosphate deposition when the fibres are subsequently soaked in 1.5×SBF solution. SEM/EDX studies of the calcium phosphate coatings formed on the Ca(OH)₂-treated urea-H₃PO₄ fibres as a function of soaking time in 1.5 × SBF show that coatings deposit and become noticeably thick after approximately 9 days. XPS studies indicated the presence of carbonate species in the calcium phosphate coating deposited. In common with the calcium phosphate coated Ca(OH)₂-treated urea/H₃PO₃-modified fibres studied earlier, the average EDX-measured Ca: P ratios of the coatings formed on the Ca(OH)₂-treated urea/H₃PO₄ fibres are 1.60 and give very similar micro-FTIR spectra with evidence of carbonate which suggests that amorphous calcium deficient apatite has deposited.     

Topology optimization for thermal stress reduction in power semiconductor module

Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization - The present paper deals with the design of a power semiconductor module using topology optimization. The module must be capable of efficient heat...     

Grayscale-free topology optimization for electromagnetic design problem of in-vehicle reactor

Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization - In this paper, we propose grayscale-free topology optimization for a reactor design problem where the electromagnetic performance needs to be...     

Studies on The Modification of Epoxy Resin with Silicone Rubber

In order to find a compatibilizer for epoxy resin/silicone rubber systems, interfacial tension of epoxy resin mixed with modified silicone oils which had the compatible groups to epoxy resin was measured against RTV silicone rubber and silicone oil. From the results, it was found that one of polyether modified silicone oils (EtMPS) had strong interfacial activity. Then using the EtMPS as the compatibilizer, RTV silicone rubber or silicone diamine was filled in epoxy resin. The effects of silicone content of these materials on impact fracture energy and on peel strength were investigated. The impact fracture energy of epoxy resin was increased by the addition of RTV silicone rubber up to two times that of unmodified resin while silicone diamine had almost no effect which might be due to the small molecular weight. T-peel strengths of aluminium plates bonded by epoxy resin filled with RTV silicone rubber and with silicone diamine effectively increased with the increasing of silicone content showing the maximum at 10 ∼ 20 phr. The fracture surfaces after the mechanical tests of these materials were observed by a scanning electron microscope. Many particles of silicone rubber in the size of 1 ∼ 20 μ were observed over the fracture surface.     

Control of epilepsy associated with cerebral arteriovenous malformations after radiosurgery

The autocorrelation function pertaining to spatial distributions of ultrasonic scatterers in soft tissue is believed to contain useful information related to tissue morphology. A simple processing method applied to radio-frequency echo signals estimates this function for a sample having isotropic scattering conditions. It utilizes backscattered echo signals from the sample and echo signals from a reference object having defined scattering properties. The ratio of the echo signal power spectrum from the sample to the echo signal power spectrum from the reference object is obtained, and corrected for attenuation differences between the two media. This yields a "form factor" for the sample, whose inverse Fourier transform is the autocorrelation function. The method was tested using tissue-mimicking samples for which spatial autocorrelation functions could be modeled from the dimensions of embedded scatterers. The shapes of the measured autocorrelation functions were in reasonable agreement with those estimated, although measured functions overestimated the function at small lag distances. Scatterer diameters estimated from the zeros of the autocorrelation function agreed to within 6% of expected values when the measurement system bandwidth satisfied minimal criteria.     

Drag minimization and lift maximization in laminar flows via topology optimization employing simple objective function expressions based on body force integration

This paper deals with topology optimization of body shapes in fluid flows, where some new ideas for drag minimization and lift maximization problems are proposed. For drag minimization problems, the objective function is expressed as a body force integration in the flow domain. Also a similar expression of objective function is given for lift maximization problems. Employing those objective function expressions, optimum shapes of bodies in incompressible axisymmetric and two-dimensional flows are numerically investigated.     

A Hydrogen Peroxide Activatable Gemcitabine Prodrug for the Selective Treatment of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

The main concern in the use of anticancer chemotherapeutic drugs is host toxicity. Patients need to interrupt or change chemotherapy due to adverse effects. In this study, we aimed to decrease adverse events with gemcitabine (GEM) in the treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and focused on the difference of hydrogen peroxide levels in normal versus cancer cells. We designed and synthesized a novel boronate-ester-caged prodrug that is activated by the high H₂O₂ concentrations found in cancer cells to release GEM. An H₂O₂-activatable GEM (A-GEM) has higher selectivity for H₂O₂ over other reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cytotoxic effects corresponding to the H₂O₂ concentration in vitro. A xenograft model of immunodeficient mice indicated that the effect of A-GEM was not inferior to that of GEM when administered in vivo. In particular, myelosuppression was significantly decreased following A-GEM treatment compared with that following GEM treatment.