1,506 research outputs found
The fate of an endothelium layer after preconditioning
BackgroundA strategy in minimizing thrombotic events of vascular constructs is to seed the luminal surface with autologous endothelial cells (ECs). The task of seeding ECs can be achieved via bioreactors, which induce mechanical forces (shear stress, strain, pressure) onto the ECs. Although bioreactors can achieve a confluent layer of ECs in vitro, their acute response to blood remains unclear. Moreover, the necessary mechanical conditions that will increase EC adhesion and function remain unclear. We hypothesize that preconditioning seeded endothelium under physiological flow will enhance their retention and function.ObjectiveTo determine the role of varying preconditioning protocols on seeded ECs in vitro and in vivo.MethodsScaffolds derived from decelluarized arteries seeded with autologous ECs were preconditioned for 9 days. Three specific protocols, low steady shear stress (SS), high SS, and cyclic SS were investigated. After preconditioning, the seeded grafts were exposed to 15 minutes of blood via an ex vivo arteriovenous shunt model or alternately an in vivo arteriovenous bypass graft model.ResultsThe shunt model demonstrated ECs remained intact for all conditions. In the arteriovenous bypass model, only the cyclic preconditioned grafts remained intact, maintained morphology, and resisted the attachment of circulating blood elements such as platelets, red blood cells, and leukocytes. Western blotting analysis demonstrated an increase in the protein expression of eNOS and prostaglandin I synthase for the cyclic high shear stress-conditioned cells relative to cells conditioned with high shear stress alone.ConclusionCyclic preconditioning has been shown here to increase the ECs ability to resist blood flow-induced shear stress and the attachment of circulating blood elements, key attributes in minimizing thrombotic events. These studies may ultimately establish protocols for the formation of a more durable endothelial monolayer that may be useful in the context of small vessel arterial reconstruction.Clinical RelevanceThe importance of ECs toward patency has been demonstrated by the superior performance of endothelialized vein compared with prosthetic vascular graft materials. This article evaluates conditioning protocols for bioengineered vascular conduits to improve endothelial retention. This study describes approaches to improve bioengineered vessels as a potential alternative to conventional prosthetic vascular grafts
Transition from ion-coupled to electron-only reconnection: Basic physics and implications for plasma turbulence
Using kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, we simulate reconnection
conditions appropriate for the magnetosheath and solar wind, i.e., plasma beta
(ratio of gas pressure to magnetic pressure) greater than 1 and low magnetic
shear (strong guide field). Changing the simulation domain size, we find that
the ion response varies greatly. For reconnecting regions with scales
comparable to the ion Larmor radius, the ions do not respond to the
reconnection dynamics leading to ''electron-only'' reconnection with very large
quasi-steady reconnection rates. The transition to more traditional
''ion-coupled'' reconnection is gradual as the reconnection domain size
increases, with the ions becoming frozen-in in the exhaust when the magnetic
island width in the normal direction reaches many ion inertial lengths. During
this transition, the quasi-steady reconnection rate decreases until the ions
are fully coupled, ultimately reaching an asymptotic value. The scaling of the
ion outflow velocity with exhaust width during this electron-only to
ion-coupled transition is found to be consistent with a theoretical model of a
newly reconnected field line. In order to have a fully frozen-in ion exhaust
with ion flows comparable to the reconnection Alfv\'en speed, an exhaust width
of at least several ion inertial lengths is needed. In turbulent systems with
reconnection occurring between magnetic bubbles associated with fluctuations,
using geometric arguments we estimate that fully ion-coupled reconnection
requires magnetic bubble length scales of at least several tens of ion inertial
lengths
Novel Pressure Induced Structural Phase Transition in AgSbTe
We report a novel high pressure structural sequence for the functionally
graded thermoelectric, narrow band gap semiconductor AgSbTe, using angle
dispersive x-ray diffraction in a diamond anvil cell with synchrotron radiation
at room temperature. The compound undergoes a B1 to B2 transition; the
transition proceeds through an intermediate amorphous phase found between 17-26
GPa that is quenchable down to ambient conditions. The pressure induced
structural transition observed in this compound is the first of its type
reported in this ternary cubic family, and it is new for the B1-B2 transition
pathway reported to date. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations
performed for the B1 and B2 phases are in good agreement with the experimental
results.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Persistent Transport Barrier on the West Florida Shelf
Analysis of drifter trajectories in the Gulf of Mexico has revealed the
existence of a region on the southern portion of the West Florida Shelf (WFS)
that is not visited by drifters that are released outside of the region. This
so-called ``forbidden zone'' (FZ) suggests the existence of a persistent
cross-shelf transport barrier on the southern portion of the WFS. In this
letter a year-long record of surface currents produced by a Hybrid-Coordinate
Ocean Model simulation of the WFS is used to identify Lagrangian coherent
structures (LCSs), which reveal the presence of a robust and persistent
cross-shelf transport barrier in approximately the same location as the
boundary of the FZ. The location of the cross-shelf transport barrier undergoes
a seasonal oscillation, being closer to the coast in the summer than in the
winter. A month-long record of surface currents inferred from high-frequency
(HF) radar measurements in a roughly 60 km 80 km region on the WFS off
Tampa Bay is also used to identify LCSs, which reveal the presence of robust
transient transport barriers. While the HF-radar-derived transport barriers
cannot be unambiguously linked to the boundary of the FZ, this analysis does
demonstrate the feasibility of monitoring transport barriers on the WFS using a
HF-radar-based measurement system. The implications of a persistent cross-shelf
transport barrier on the WFS for the development of harmful algal blooms on the
shoreward side of the barrier are considered.Comment: Submitted to Geophysical Research Letter
A Survey of Local Group Galaxies Currently Forming Stars. I. UBVRI Photometry of Stars in M31 and M33
We present UBVRI photometry obtained from Mosaic images of M31 and M33 using
the KPNO 4-m telescope. The survey covers 2.2 sq degrees of M31, and 0.8 sq
degrees of M33, chosen so as to include all of the regions currently active in
forming massive stars. The catalog contains 371,781 and 146,622 stars in M31
and M33, respectively, where every star has a counterpart (at least) in B, V,
and R. We compare our photometry to previous studies. We provide cross
references to the stars confirmed as members by spectroscopy, and compare the
location of these to the complete set in color-magnitude diagrams. While
follow-up spectroscopy is needed for many projects, we demonstrate the success
of our photometry in being able to distinguish M31/M33 members from foreground
Galactic stars. We also present the results of newly obtained spectroscopy,
which identifies 34 newly confirmed members, including B-A supergiants, the
earliest O star known in M31, and two new Luminous Blue Variable candidates
whose spectra are similar to that of P Cygni.Comment: Accepted by the Astronomical Journal. A version with higher
resolution figures can be found at:
http://www.lowell.edu/users/massey/M3133.pdf.g
A Survey of Local Group Galaxies Currently Forming Stars: III. A Search for Luminous Blue Variables and Other H-alpha Emission-Lined Stars
We describe a search for H-alpha emission-lined stars in M31, M33, and seven
dwarfs in or near the Local Group (IC 10, NGC 6822, WLM, Sextans B, Sextans A,
Pegasus and the Phoenix dwarf) using interference filter imaging with the KPNO
and CTIO 4-m telescope and Mosaic cameras. The survey is aimed primarily at
identifying new Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) from their spectroscopic
similarity to known LBVs, avoiding the bias towards photometric variability,
which may require centuries to manifest itself if LBVs go through long
quiescent periods. Followup spectroscopy with WIYN confirms that our survey
detected a wealth of stars whose spectra are similar to the known LBVs. We
"classify" the spectra of known LBVs, and compare these to the spectra of the
new LBV candidates. We demonstrate spectacular spectral variability for several
of the new LBV candidates, such as AM2, previously classified as a Wolf-Rayet
star, which now shows FeI, FeII and Balmer emission lines but neither the NIII
4634,42 nor HeII 4686 emission that it did in 1982. Profound spectral changes
are also noted for other suspected and known LBVs. Several of the LBV
candidates also show >0.5 mag changes in V over the past 10-20 years. The
number of known or suspected LBVs is now 24 in M31, 37 in M33, 1 in NGC 6822,
and 3 in IC 10. We estimate that the total number of LBVs in M31 and M33 may be
several hundred, in contrast to the 8 known historically through large-scale
photometric variability. This has significant implications for the time scale
of the LBV phase. We also identify a few new WRs and peculiar emission-lined
objects.Comment: Accepted by the Astronomical Journal. Version with higher quality
figures may be downloaded from http://www.lowell.edu/users/massey/has.pdf.g
Ultrahigh Bandwidth Spin Noise Spectroscopy: Detection of Large g-Factor Fluctuations in Highly n-Doped GaAs
We advance all optical spin noise spectroscopy (SNS) in semiconductors to
detection bandwidths of several hundred gigahertz by employing an ingenious
scheme of pulse trains from ultrafast laser oscillators as an optical probe.
The ultrafast SNS technique avoids the need for optical pumping and enables
nearly perturbation free measurements of extremely short spin dephasing times.
We employ the technique to highly n-doped bulk GaAs where magnetic field
dependent measurements show unexpected large g-factor fluctuations.
Calculations suggest that such large g-factor fluctuations do not necessarily
result from extrinsic sample variations but are intrinsically present in every
doped semiconductor due to the stochastic nature of the dopant distribution.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Crack-Like Processes Governing the Onset of Frictional Slip
We perform real-time measurements of the net contact area between two blocks
of like material at the onset of frictional slip. We show that the process of
interface detachment, which immediately precedes the inception of frictional
sliding, is governed by three different types of detachment fronts. These
crack-like detachment fronts differ by both their propagation velocities and by
the amount of net contact surface reduction caused by their passage. The most
rapid fronts propagate at intersonic velocities but generate a negligible
reduction in contact area across the interface. Sub-Rayleigh fronts are
crack-like modes which propagate at velocities up to the Rayleigh wave speed,
VR, and give rise to an approximate 10% reduction in net contact area. The most
efficient contact area reduction (~20%) is precipitated by the passage of slow
detachment fronts. These fronts propagate at anomalously slow velocities, which
are over an order of magnitude lower than VR yet orders of magnitude higher
than other characteristic velocity scales such as either slip or loading
velocities. Slow fronts are generated, in conjunction with intersonic fronts,
by the sudden arrest of sub-Rayleigh fronts. No overall sliding of the
interface occurs until either of the slower two fronts traverses the entire
interface, and motion at the leading edge of the interface is initiated. Slip
at the trailing edge of the interface accompanies the motion of both the slow
and sub-Rayleigh fronts. We might expect these modes to be important in both
fault nucleation and earthquake dynamics.Comment: 19 page, 5 figures, to appear in International Journal of Fractur
Electronic structure, linear, nonlinear optical susceptibilities and birefringence of CuInX2 (X = S, Se, Te) chalcopyrite-structure compounds
The electronic structure, linear and nonlinear optical properties have been
calculated for CuInX2 (X=S, Se, Te) chalcopyrite-structure single crystals
using the state-of-the-art full potential linear augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW)
method. We present results for band structure, density of states, and imaginary
part of the frequency-dependent linear and nonlinear optical susceptibilities.
We find that these crystals are semiconductors with direct band gaps. We have
calculated the birefringence of these crystals. The birefringence is negative
for CuInS2 and CuInSe2 while it is positive for CuInTe2 in agreement with the
experimental data. Calculations are reported for the frequency-dependent
complex second-order non-linear optical susceptibilities . The intra-band and
inter-band contributions to the second harmonic generation increase when we
replace S by Se and decrease when we replace Se by Te. We find that smaller
energy band gap compounds have larger values of in agreement with the
experimental data and previous theoretical calculations.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figure
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