UV-Casting on methacrylated PCL for the production of a peripheral nerve implant containing an array of porous aligned microchannels

Peripheral nerves are basic communication structures guiding motor and sensory information from the central nervous system to receptor units. Severed peripheral nerve injuries represent a large clinical problem with relevant challenges to successful synthetic nerve repair scaffolds as substitutes to autologous nerve grafting. Numerous studies reported the use of hollow tubes made of synthetic polymers sutured between severed nerve stumps to promote nerve regeneration while providing protection for external factors, such as scar tissue formation and inflammation. Few approaches have described the potential use of a lumen structure comprised of microchannels or microfibers to provide axon growth avoiding misdirection and fostering proper healing. Here, we report the use of a 3D porous microchannel-based structure made of a photocurable methacrylated polycaprolactone, whose mechanical properties are comparable to native nerves. The neuro-regenerative properties of the polymer were assessed in vitro, prior to the implantation of the 3D porous structure, in a 6-mm rat sciatic nerve gap injury. The manufactured implants were biocompatible and able to be resorbed by the host’s body at a suitable rate, allowing the complete healing of the nerve. The innovative design of the highly porous structure with the axon guiding microchannels, along with the observation of myelinated axons and Schwann cells in the in vivo tests, led to a significant progress towards the standardized use of synthetic 3D multichannel-based structures in peripheral nerve surgery

Use of SMS texts for facilitating access to online alcohol interventions: a feasibility study

A41 Use of SMS texts for facilitating access to online alcohol interventions: a feasibility study In: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2017, 12(Suppl 1): A4

Turbulence and stratification in Priest Pot, a productive pond in a sheltered environment.

Priest Pot is an example of the abundant ponds which, collectively, contribute crucially to species diversity. Despite extensive biological study, little has been reported about the physical framework which supports its ecological richness. This paper elucidates the physical character of Priest Pot�s water column and thus that of similar waterbodies. Vertical thermal microstructure profiles were recorded during summer 2003, and analysed alongside concurrent meteorological data. During summer stratification, the thermal structure appeared to be dominated by surface heat fluxes. Surface wind stress, limited by sheltering vegetation, caused turbulent overturns once a surface mixed layer was present, but appeared to contribute little to setting up the thermal structure. Variations in full-depth mean stratification occurred pre-dominantly over seasonal and ~5-day time scales, the passage of atmospheric pressure systems being posited as the cause of the latter. In the uppermost ~0.5 m, where the stratification varied at sub-daily time scales, turbulence was active (sensu Ivey and Imberger, 1991) when this layer was mixed, with dissipation values � ~ 10-8 m2s-3 and vertical diffusivity KZ = 10-4-10-6 m2s-1. Where the water column was stratified, turbulence was strongly damped by both buoyancy and viscosity and KZ was an order of magnitude smaller. Vertical transport in the mixed layer occurred via many small overturns (Thorpe scale rms and maximum values typically 0.02m and 0.10m respectively) and seston were fully mixed through the water column