Extraction of reliable information from time-domain pressure and flow signals measured by means of forced oscillation techniques

This paper aims to give a proof-of-concept for the possible application of the forced oscillation lung function test to assess the viscoelastic properties of the airways and tissue. In particular, a novel signal processing algorithm is employed on non-stationary, noisy, (relatively) short time series of respiratory pressure and flow signals. This novel technique is employed to filter the useful information from the signals acquired under two measurement conditions: pseudo-functional residual capacity (PFRC) and pseudo-total lung capacity (PTLC). The PFRC is the measurement performed at lowest lung volume with maximum deflation, and the PTLC is measurement performed at the maximum lung volume under maximum inflation. The results suggest that the proposed technique is able to extract information on the viscoelastic properties of the lung tissue at a macroscopic level. The conclusion of this preliminary study is that the proposed combination of signal processing method and lung function test is suited to be employed on a large database in order to deliver reference values and perform further statistical analysis

Chemical modification of bacterial cellulose for the development of an antibacterial wound dressing

Bacterial cellulose is a bacterially derived polymer with great potential for application in wound healing due to its innate properties such as high biocompatibility and biodegradability. In addition to this, it is naturally biosynthesized by bacteria as a hydrogel, which makes it an optimal substrate for the treatment of dry wounds, where additional moisture is required to facilitate the healing process. However, this polymer lacks antibacterial properties. As bacterial infections are becoming increasingly common and difficult to treat due to antimicrobial resistance, it is of crucial importance to develop strategies for the modification of cellulose to ensure protection against bacterial contamination. In this study, a green-chemistry approach was proposed for the functionalization of cellulose to introduce antibacterial functional groups. Two different active agents, namely glycidyl trimethylammonium chloride and glycidyl hexadecyl ether, were used for the covalent derivatization of the hydroxyl groups of glucose through a heterogeneous reaction in basic aqueous conditions. The modified material was chemically and mechanically characterized by solid-state techniques and rheological measurements. A biological assessment was then carried out both using bacterial cells and human keratinocytes. It was observed that the functionalization performed induced a reduction of approximately half of the bacterial population within 24 h of direct contact with Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus Rosenbach 6538PTM and Escherichia coli (Migula) Castellani and Chalmers ATCC® 8739TM (respectively, a reduction of 53% and 43% in the cell number was registered for the two strains). In parallel, cytotoxicity studies performed on keratinocytes (HaCaT cell line) showed cell viability in the range of 90 to 100% for up to 6 days of direct contact with both unmodified and modified samples. The morphology of the cells was also visually evaluated, and no significant difference was noted as compared to the control. Finally, the in vitro scratch assay evidenced good wound closure rates in the presence of the samples, with complete coverage of the scratched area after 5 days for both the modified cellulose and the positive control (i.e., keratinocytes growth medium). Overall, the modified hydrogel showed promising features, confirming its potential as an alternative substrate to develop a sustainable, antibacterial and biocompatible wound dressing

Binary Polyhydroxyalkanoate Systems for Soft Tissue Engineering

Progress in tissue engineering is dependent on the availability of suitable biomaterials. In an effort to overcome the brittleness of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), P(3HB), a natural biodegradable polyester, and widen its biomedical applications, plasticising of P(3HB) with oligomeric substances of related structure has been studied. A biosynthesised medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoate (mcl-PHA) copolymer, the plasticizer precursor, was obtained using vegetable waste frying oil as a sole carbon source. The mcl-PHA was transformed into an oligomeric derivative by acid hydrolysis. The plasticising effect of the oligomeric mcl-PHA on P(3HB) was studied via characterisation of thermal and mechanical properties of the blends in the course of ageing at ambient conditions. Addition of oligomeric mcl-PHA to P(3HB) resulted in softer and more flexible materials based entirely on PHAs. It was shown that the oligomeric mcl-PHA transformed highly crystalline P(3HB) into materials with a dominant amorphous phase when the content of oligomeric mcl-PHA exceeded 10wt%. In vitro biocompatibility studies of the new binary PHA materials showed high viability and proliferation of C2C12 myoblast cells. Thus, the proposed approach for P(3HB) plasticisation has the potential for the generation of more pliable biomaterials based on P(3HB) which can find application in unique soft tissue engineering applications where a balance between stiffness, tensile strength and ductility is required

Application of Fractional Moments for Comparing Random Variables with Varying Probability Distributions

New methods are being presented for statistical treatment of different random variables with unknown probability distributions. These include analysis based on the probability circles, probability ellipses, generalized mean values, generalized Pearson correlation coefficient and the beta-function analysis. Unlike other conventional statistical procedures, the main distinctive feature of these new methods is that no assumptions are made about the nature of the probability distribution of the random series being evaluated. Furthermore, the suggested procedures do not introduce uncontrollable errors during their application. The effectiveness of these methods is demonstrated on simulated data with extended and reduced sample sizes having different probability distributions

Log-periodic corrections to the Cole-Cole expression in dielectric relaxation

A model of the self-similar process of relaxation is given, and a method of derivation of the kinetic equations for the total polarization based on the ideas of fractional kinetics is suggested. The derived kinetic equations contain integro-differential operators having non-integer order. They lead to the Cole-Cole expression for the complex dielectric permittivity. It is shown rigorously that the power-law exponent α in the Cole-Cole expression coincides with the dimension of the mixed space-temporal fractal ensemble. If the discrete scale invariance for the temporal-space structure of the dielectric medium considered becomes important, then the expression for the complex dielectric permittivity contains log-periodic corrections (oscillations) and, hence, it generalizes the conventional Cole-Cole expression. The corrections obtained in this model suggest another way of interpretation and analysis of dielectric spectra for different complex materials. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Correction of the power law of ac conductivity in ion-conducting materials due to the electrode polarization effect

Based on the supposition related to fractal nature of transport processes in ion-conducting materials, an expression for the low-frequency ac conductivity dependence was derived. This expression for the ac conductivity generalizes the power-law dependence and gives a possibility to take into account the influence of the electrode polarization effect. The ac conductivity expression obtained is in excellent agreement with experimental data for a wide frequency range. © 2014 American Physical Society

Application of the method of static fluctuational approach to the Bogolyubov-Kolesnikov-Shelah model

A method of calculating the equilibrium correlation functions of any arbitrary order for the Baldwin- Kolesnikov-Shelah (BKSh) model is suggested based on the static fluctuational approach. The method based on only one controllable approach allows the so-called equations of long-range coupling to be obtained which contain all information on the sought-after equilibrium correlation functions within the scope of the BKSh model. Calculations of the sought-after equilibrium correlation functions allow one to go beyond the scope of the conventional molecular field approach and to take into account the effect of field fluctuations on the gap behavior and the heat capacity to the left and right of the critical point. For the simplest case disregarding a dependence of the potential on the wave vector, temperature dependences of the energy gap and heat capacity with allowance for the fluctuations are presented. It is demonstrated that in this case, the fluctuations are small for three-dimensional systems, but sharply increase with decreasing dimensionality of the system. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc

The origin of the "excess Wing" and β-relaxation phenomena in glass-forming materials

We suggest a model that allows to describe the β-relaxation and Excess Wing phenomena from the unified positions based on the hypothesis related to the self-similar (fractal) character of dielectric relaxation. It has been shown that these phenomena have similar nature but with different organization of relaxation channels. Additional arguments proving that additive combination of the well-known empirical functions forming an expression for the complex dielectric permittivity in frequency domain is not suitable for description of experimental data are given. In the frame of the model suggested we derive new functions for the complex dielectric permittivity that describe well the experimental data where two phenomena mentioned above (β-relaxation and Excess Wing) take place. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

The influence of the secondary relaxation processes on the structural relaxation in glass-forming materials

In the frame of fractional-kinetic approach, the model of the structural α-relaxation in the presence of the secondary β-relaxation processes is suggested. The model is based on the rigorous bond between β-processes with α-process and leads to the generalized and justified expression for the complex dielectric permittivity (CDP). It allows to form a new sight on the problem of the fitting of multi-peak structure of the dielectric loss spectra in glass-forming materials. The consistency of the CDP expressions obtained is based on a good fit of experimental data for binary methanol-water mixtures. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC