Carbon Nanotubes: Biocompatibility of Immobilized Aligned Carbon Nanotubes (Small 8/2011)

In vivo host responses to an electrode‐like array of aligned carbon nanotubes (ACNTs) embedded within a biopolymer sheet are reported. This biocompatibility study assesses the suitability of immobilized carbon nanotubes for bionic devices. Inflammatory responses and foreign‐body histiocytic reactions are not substantially elevated when compared to negative controls following 12 weeks implantation. A fibrous capsule isolates the implanted ACNTs from the surrounding muscle tissue. Filamentous nanotube fragments are engulfed by macrophages, and globular debris is incorporated into the fibrous capsule with no further reaction. Scattered leukocytes are observed, adherent to the ACNT surface. These data indicate that there is a minimal local foreign‐body response to immobilized ACNTs, that detached fragments are phagocytosed into an inert material, and that ACNTs do not attract high levels of surface fouling. Collectively, these results suggest that immobilized nanotube structures should be considered for further investigation as bionic components.     

Collaborative decoding in bandwidth-constrained environments

We present a cooperative communication scheme in which a group of receivers can collaborate to decode a message that none of the receivers can individually decode. The receivers act as a virtual antenna array in which the combining must be performed over bandwidth-constrained links. The proposed approach is targeted at systems in which the cooperative information must be digitized, such as for wireless or wired links that are constrained to use digital modulation. In such systems, previously proposed schemes such as amplify-and-forward would require that a large amount of information be exchanged when there are many collaborating nodes. The approach presented in this paper, called improved least-reliable bits (I-LRB) collaborative decoding, provides a higher level of adaptation than previously proposed cooperative schemes. The I-LRB scheme utilizes reliability information and information about competing paths in soft-input, soft-output (SISO) decoders to adaptively select the amount of information that is needed to correct a particular part of a message, as well as which bits should be exchanged. Simulation results show that the proposed approach offers a significant performance advantage over a constrained-overhead, incremental form of maximal ratio combining (MRC)     

The effects of different wire and screw combinations on the stiffness of a hybrid external fixator

Hybrid external fixators that use tensioned wires in the metaphysis and screws in the diaphysis combine the advantages of both unilateral and circular fixators and provide considerable flexibility in frame construction. This study aims to determine the effects of wire and screw combinations on the mechanical characteristics of such systems. Acrylic rods were used to simulate a long bone with a transverse fracture gap. A standard hybrid fixator design was used to stabilize the fracture in accordance with modern concepts with wires being used on one side of the fracture and screws on the other side. Twelve different wire and screw combinations were tested in axial compression and four-point bending in two planes. All the fixators tested demonstrated stiffening under increasing axial load, the extent of which appeared to correlate inversely with the number of wires used. Increasing the number of wires by one increased the axial stiffness by 7-16 N/mm (average 11 N/mm). The bending stiffness was largely controlled by the number of wires and increased by 0.42-1.03 N m/mm (average 0.74 N m/mm) for each additional wire. The axial stiffness of fixators with three screws was 4-7 N/mm (average 6 N/mm) higher than those with two screws if the offset screw was not in use. When the offset screw was used no stiffness advantages were found for three screws over two screws. The use of an offset screw substantially increased axial stiffness (by 12-26 N/mm, average 20 N/mm) and is recommended for unstable fractures. The two-ring hybrid fixators with four wires in one ring and three screws in the other had stiffness characteristics similar to the conventional four-ring Ilizarov fixator. Knowledge gained regarding the effects of wire and screw combinations on overall stiffness will be helpful both in the construction of frames and in destabilization during fracture healing.     

Two-grating diffraction and Lau effect under laser illumination

We first describe an unconventional Lau experiment that is performed with a collimated He-Ne laser beam. We then describe an elegant experimental arrangement in which a collimated He-Ne laser beam is gradually rendered spatially incoherent; this demonstrates the evolution of the Lau fringes from the Fraunhofer diffraction pattern of the two gratings in the Lau setup.     

Ignition and combustion of n-heptane droplets in carbon dioxide enriched environments

The ignition process and burning characteristics of fiber-supported n-heptane fuel droplets in carbon dioxide enriched and varying pressure environments have been studied under normal gravity. Measured values of droplet burning rates, flame dimensions, broad-band radiant emission, and ignition times were compared to droplets burning in standard air conditions. The burning rate constants increased with increasing carbon dioxide concentration or pressure. For 21% ambient oxygen concentration ignition was achieved for carbon dioxide concentrations up to 46% with the remaining being nitrogen. The experimental burning rates were compared to existing theoretical models. A flammability map for n-heptane burning under normal gravity as a function of carbon dioxide concentration and pressure was also developed using these results.     

Biocompatibility of immobilized aligned carbon nanotubes

In vivo host responses to an electrode-like array of aligned carbon nanotubes (ACNTs) embedded within a biopolymer sheet are reported. This biocompatibility study assesses the suitability of immobilized carbon nanotubes for bionic devices. Inflammatory responses and foreign-body histiocytic reactions are not substantially elevated when compared to negative controls following 12 weeks implantation. A fibrous capsule isolates the implanted ACNTs from the surrounding muscle tissue. Filamentous nanotube fragments are engulfed by macrophages, and globular debris is incorporated into the fibrous capsule with no further reaction. Scattered leukocytes are observed, adherent to the ACNT surface. These data indicate that there is a minimal local foreign-body response to immobilized ACNTs, that detached fragments are phagocytosed into an inert material, and that ACNTs do not attract high levels of surface fouling. Collectively, these results suggest that immobilized nanotube structures should be considered for further investigation as bionic components.     

Greater emotional distress is associated with accelerated CD4+ cell decline in HIV infection

The hepatic transport of the immunosuppressive Cyclosporin A (CyA) was studied using liposomal phospholipid membranes, freshly isolated rat hepatocytes and bile canalicular plasma membrane vesicles from rat liver. The Na(+)-dependent, saturable uptake of the bile acid 3H-taurocholate into isolated rat liver cells was apparently competitively inhibited by CyA. However, the uptake of CyA into the cells was neither saturable, nor temperature-dependent nor Na(+)-dependent, nor could it be inhibited by bile salts or CyA-derivatives, indicating passive diffusion. In steady state depolarization fluorescence studies, CyA caused a concentration-dependent decrease of anisotropy, indicating a membrane fluidizing effect. Ion flux experiments demonstrated that CyA dramatically increases the permeability of Na+ and Ca2+ across phospholipid membranes in a dose- and time-dependent manner, suggesting a iontophoretic activity that might have a direct impact on cellular ion homeostasis and regulation of bile acid uptake. Photoaffinity labeling with a [3H]-labeled photolabile CyA-derivative resulted in the predominant incorporation of radioactivity into a membrane polypeptide with an apparent molecular weight of 160,000 and a minor labeling of polypeptides with molecular weights of 85,000-90,000. In contrast, use of a photolabile bile acid resulted in the labeling of a membrane polypeptide with an apparent molecular weight of 110,000, representing the bile canalicular bile acid carrier. The photoaffinity labeling as well as CyA transport by canalicular membrane vesicles were inhibited by CyA and the p-glycoprotein substrates daunomycin and PSC-833, but not by taurocholate, indicating that CyA is excreted by p-glycoprotein. CyA uptake by bile canalicular membrane vesicles was ATP-dependent and could not be inhibited by taurocholate. CyA caused a decrease in the maximum amount of bile salt accumulated by the vesicles with time. However, initial rates of [3H]-taurocholate uptake within the first 2.5 min remained unchanged at increasing CyA concentrations. In summary, the data indicate that CyA does not directly interact with the hepatic bile acid transport systems. Its cholestatic action may rather be the result of alterations in membrane fluidity, intracellular effects and an interaction with p-glycoprotein.     

Quasi-steady flame standoff ratios during methanol droplet combustion in microgravity

Recently, Aharon and Shaw developed a simplified analytical expression to predict quasi-steady flame stand-off ratios for alkane fuels. Their analysis is strictly valid only for alkane-type fuels where there is no reabsorption of flame generated species back into the droplet. In this note we show that Aharon and Shaw’s analysis can be extended to methanol droplet combustion where water generated at the flame-sheet is absorbed back into the droplet. The model predictions are shown to compare well with available experimental results.     

Diffusion flames over a melting polymer disk in von kármán swirling flows

A laminar diffusion flame that is established over a spinning, thermoplastic, polymer fuel disk in a quiescent, oxidizing environment under microgravity is analyzed theoretically. The conservation equations for the polymer melt layer coupled to the gas-phase equations are solved numerically using similarity transformations. The polymer melting rate, the thickness of the melt layer, and the fraction of melted fuel that is burned in the gas-phase are predicted as functions of the ambient conditions and polymer property values. In these calculations the melt viscosity is assumed to vary with temperature in an Arrhenius form. Results are presented for polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) disks burning in air at atmospheric pressure and compared against earlier experimental results.