Self-diffusion of polymers in cartilage as studied by pulsed field gradient NMR

Pulsed field gradient (PFG) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was used to investigate the self-diffusion behaviour of polymers in cartilage. Polyethylene glycol and dextran with different molecular weights and in different concentrations were used as model compounds to mimic the diffusion behaviour of metabolites of cartilage. The polymer self-diffusion depends extremely on the observation time: The short-time self-diffusion coefficients (diffusion time Delta approximately 15 ms) are subjected to a rather non-specific obstruction effect that depends mainly on the molecular weights of the applied polymers as well as on the water content of the cartilage. The observed self-diffusion coefficients decrease with increasing molecular weights of the polymers and with a decreasing water content of the cartilage. In contrast, the long-time self-diffusion coefficients of the polymers in cartilage (diffusion time Delta approximately 600 ms) reflect the structural properties of the tissue. Measurements at different water contents, different molecular weights of the polymers and varying observation times suggest that primarily the collagenous network of cartilage but also the entanglements of the polymer chains themselves are responsible for the observed restricted diffusion. Additionally, anomalous restricted diffusion was shown to occur already in concentrated polymer solutions

The Dynamics of Food Web Model with Defensive Switching Property

In this paper, a food web model consisting of two-predator one-prey with the defensive switching of predation avoidance is proposed and analyzed. It is assumed that the prey growth logistically in the absence of predators and defends itself from relatively abundant predator species by switching to another habitat with relatively rare predator species. Sufficient conditions for the stability of the non-trivial equilibrium point are obtained. The Lyapunov function is constructed to establish the global asymptotic stability of the non-trivial equilibrium point when the intensity of defensive switching equal one. Numerical simulations for different sets of parameter values and for different sets of initial conditions are carried out. It has been shown that the system has a globally asymptotically stable non-trivial point when the two predators have the same mortality rates

Dynamical Complexity in Some Ecological Models: Effects of Toxin Production by Phytoplankton

We investigate dynamical complexities in two types of chaotic tri-trophic aquatic food-chain model systems representing a real situation in the marine environment. Phytoplankton produce chemical substances known as toxins to reduce grazing pressure by zooplankton [1]. The role of toxin producing phytoplankton (TPP) on the chaotic behavior in these food chain systems is investigated. Holling type I, II, and III functional response forms are considered to study the interference between phytoplankton and zooplankton populations in the presence of toxic chemical. Our study shows that chaotic dynamics is robust to changes in the rates of toxin release as well as the toxin release functions. The present study also reveals that the rate of toxin production by toxin producing phytoplankton plays an important role in controlling oscillations in the plankton system. The different mortality functions of zooplankton due to toxin producing phytoplankton have significant influence in controlling oscillations, coexistence, survival or extinction of the zooplankton population. Further studies are needed to ascertain if this defence mechanism suppresses chaotic dynamics in model aquatic systems

(R1412) Stability and Bifurcation of a Cholera Epidemic Model with Saturated Recovery Rate

In this paper, a Cholera epidemic model is proposed and studied analytically as well as numerically. It is assumed that the disease is transmitted by contact with Vibrio cholerae and infected person according to dose-response function. However, the saturated treatment function is used to describe the recovery process. Moreover, the vaccine against the disease is assumed to be utterly ineffective. The existence, uniqueness and boundedness of the solution of the proposed model are discussed. All possible equilibrium points and the basic reproduction number are determined. The local stability and persistence conditions are established. Lyapunov method and the second additive compound matrix are used to study the global stability of the system. The conditions that guarantee the occurrence of local bifurcation and backward bifurcation are determined. Finally, numerical simulation is used to investigate the global dynamical behavior of the Cholera epidemic model and understand the effects of parameters on evolution of the disease in the environment. It is observed that the solution of the model is very sensitive to varying in parameters values and different types of bifurcations are obtained including backward bifurcation

The Dynamics of Stage Structured Prey-Predator Model Involving Parasitic Infectious Disease

In this paper a prey-predator model involving parasitic infectious disease is proposed and analyzed. It is assumed that the life cycle of predator species is divided into two stages immature and mature. The analysis of local and global stability of all possible subsystems is carried out. The dynamical behaviors of the model system around biologically feasible equilibria are studied. The global dynamics of the model are investigated with the help of Suitable Lyapunov functions. Conditions for which the model persists are established. Finally, to nationalize our analytical results, numerical simulations are worked out for a hypothetical set of parameter values

Hormonal sex reversal of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) by ethynylestradiol-17α (EE2)

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) females grow larger and mature later than males, making all-female stocks economically advantageous. The objective of this research was to develop methods for the production of monosex populations of trout through the use of sex steroids. The synthetic estrogen ethynylestradiol-17α (EE2) was administered in single period-immersion treatment of 400 µg/l for 1, 2, 4 and 8 h to groups of newly-hatched sac fries of rainbow trout and in a 30 day dietary treatment of 5, 10, 15 and 20 mg/kgf of newly swum up fries. 73.4 And 94.5% females were obtained with 1 and 2-h single-immersion of EE2 respectively (38% female in control). However, higher doses progressively reduced the survival drastically. Sex ratios of dietary treatment of fry were 60, 57.4, 78 and 94% females respectively. Treatments also resulted in a slight increase of both weight and length. This increase was related to the method of hormonal exposure (dietary > immersion), but not dosage-dependent for utilized hormone. This demonstrates that the direct feminization of rainbow trout can be achieved and resulted in sex reversal ratio effectively but not decreased the growth, as observed in hormonal sex reversed females, and it would be a noticeable approach to the direct feminization of trout

Improving the concrete sections after removing intermediate support of RC continuous non-prismatic beam

An experimental study was conducted to investigate the performance of the 2-span continuous reinforced concrete beams of different section depth after removing the middle support by adding steel fibers or steel plates. The beams were loaded monotonically with two-point loads. One continuous beam and six simply supported beams of non-prismatic section were tested using two different content of steel fibers and three different locations of steel plates welded to the reinforcement. The test results reveal that using inclined steel plates at the region of changing of cross section thickness at the middle support increase the load capacity of the beam significantly up to 75% of the continuous beam capacity, and a significant warning before failure is shown. Adding steel fibers to the concrete has less influence on the capacity of the beam. The failure mode of the beams with no middle support is the same, but with different values of deflection. The inclined steel plate again is the most effective way to decrease the deflection because of the increased stiffness of the cross section. To achieve the same capacity of the continuous beam after removing the middle support, it is recommended to use horizontal steel plates welded to the reinforcement at the region of the middle support extended within one fourth the length of each span of different thickness to avoid the stress concentration resulted from the large deflection at that region

Use of Echogenic Immunoliposomes for Delivery of both Drug and Stem Cells for Inhibition of Atheroma Progression

Use of Echogenic Immunoliposomes for Delivery of both Drug and Stem Cells for Inhibition of Atheroma Progression By Ali K. Naji B.S. Advisor: Dr. Melvin E. Klegerman PhD Background and significance: Echogenic liposomes can be used as drug and cell delivery vehicles that reduce atheroma progression. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a signal protein that induces vasculogenesis and angiogenesis. VEGF functionally induces migration and proliferation of endothelial cells and increases intracellular vascular permeability. VEGF activates angiogenic transduction factors through VEGF tyrosine kinase domains in high-affinity receptors of endothelial cells. Bevacizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody specific for VEGF-A which was developed as an anti-tumor agent. Often, anti-VEGF agents result in regression of existing microvessels, inhibiting tumor growth and possibly causing tumor shrinkage with time. During atheroma progression neovasculation in the arterial adventitia is mediated by VEGF. Therefore, bevacizumab may be effective in inhibiting atheroma progression. Stem cells show an ability to inhibit atheroma progression. We have previously demonstrated that monocyte derived CD-34+ stem cells that can be delivered to atheroma by bifunctional-ELIP ( BF-ELIP) targeted to Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and CD-34. Adhesion molecules such as ICAM-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) are expressed by endothelial cells under inflammatory conditions. Ultrasound enhanced liposomal targeting provides a method for stem cell delivery into atheroma and encapsulated drug release. This project is designed to examine the ability of echogenic liposomes to deliver bevacizumab and stem cells to inhibit atheroma progression and neovasculation with and without ultrasound in vitro and optimize the ultrasound parameters for delivery of bevacizumab and stem cells to atheroma. V Hypotheses: Previous studies showed that endothelial cell VEGF expression may relate to atherosclerosis progression and atheroma formation in the cardiovascular system. Bevacizumab-loaded ELIP will inhibit endothelial cell VEGF expression in vitro. Bevacizumab activity can be enhanced by pulsed Doppler ultrasound treatment of BEV-ELIP. I will also test the hypothesis that the transwell culture system can serve as an in vitro model for study of US-enhanced targeted delivery of stem cells to atheroma. Monocyte preparations will serve as a source of CD34+ stem cells. Specific Aims: Induce VEGF expression using PKA and PKC activation factors to endothelial cell cultures and use western blot and ELISA techniques to detect the expressed VEGF. Characterize the relationship between endothelial cell proliferation and VEGF expression to develop a specific EC culture based system to demonstrate BEV-ELIP activity as an anti-VEGF agent. Design a cell-based assay for in vitro assessment of ultrasound-enhanced bevacizumab release from echogenic liposomes. Demonstrate ultrasound delivery enhancement of stem cells by applying different types of liposomes on transwell EC culture using fluorescently labeled monocytes and detect the effect on migration and attachment rate of these echogenic liposomes with and without ultrasound in vitro

On numerical modeling of couple heat, air and moisture transfer through multilayered walls

This paper reports on numerical modeling of heat, air, and moisture transfer through multilayered walls. Building materials are often subjected to temporal climatic variations, which can induce a transfer of heat and moisture through the walls of the building and the foundation soil. These materials are generally considered as porous media. The coupled heat, air and moisture transfer in building materials is of paramount importance in the construction area. In this way, a mathematical model has been elaborated and validated using a benchmark example. Here, we aim to determine the energy losses. The capillary pressure is considered as potential moisture which represents both the transport of vapor and liquid phases of the water. Basing on basic functions of partial differential equations, one can convert certain measurable properties of porous media as coefficients depending on the temperature and the capillary pressure. The results obtained compare favorably with other available in the literature

A Framework for Construction Workspace Management: A Serious Game Engine Approach

Construction workspace is regarded as one of the main constraints on construction sites. Construction workspaces are generally difficult to proactively plan and manage due to the dynamic nature of a site where workspace requirements keep changing as time evolves. However, project managers are looking for ways to develop proactive site plan for the workspaces required for construction activities as this can impact not only on the cost and project duration, but can also contribute to provide a safer site. This research paper presents an approach for integrating workspace management within the planning process using a serious game engine technology. This paper first illustrates a review of the workspace management practices and advanced visualization techniques in the construction industry. Then, it presents a process framework for an interactive decision support system that integrates workspace planning into 5D planning in order to enable safer, efficient and more productive construction sites. The decision support system will identify schedule conflicts, workspace conflicts and the severity of their conflicts, and workspace congestions on a construction site and allow construction planners to resolve spatial conflicts prior to construction. Finally, the paper shows the current progress in the development of an initial prototype and outlines the future work and research. © 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers