Managing Pain to Avoid Opioid Misuse

This Capstone research project dissects the complexities of chronic pain management and pushes for a system wide move aware from opiate dependency. This project proposes interventions such as CAM therapy, ERAS and PPACT to battle chronic pain, avoid opiate misuse and over prescription within the healthcare system

Three-Dimensional Nanostructured Palladium with Single Diamond Architecture for Enhanced Catalytic Activity

Fuel cells are a key new green technology that have applications in both transport and portable power generation. Carbon-supported platinum (Pt) is used as an anode and cathode electrocatalyst in low-temperature fuel cells fueled with hydrogen or low-molecular-weight alcohols. The cost of Pt and the limited world supply are significant barriers to the widespread use of these types of fuel cells. Comparatively, palladium has a 3 times higher abundance in the Earth’s crust. Here, a facile, low-temperature, and scalable synthetic route toward three-dimensional nanostructured palladium (Pd) employing electrochemical templating from inverse lyotropic lipid phases is presented. The obtained single diamond morphology Pd nanostructures exhibited excellent catalytic activity and stability toward methanol, ethanol, and glycerol oxidation compared to commercial Pd black, and the nanostructure was verified by small-angle X-ray scattering, scanning tunneling electron microscopy, and cyclic voltammetry

Students and Their Meetings with Guidance Counselors: Findings From a National Study

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66655/2/10.1177_019263659407856516.pd

The Secret Life of Collagen: Temporal Changes in Nanoscale Fibrillar Pre-Strain and Molecular Organization during Physiological Loading of Cartilage

Articular cartilage is a natural biomaterial whose structure at the micro- and nanoscale is critical for healthy joint function and where degeneration is associated with widespread disorders such as osteoarthritis. At the nanoscale, cartilage mechanical functionality is dependent on the collagen fibrils and hydrated proteoglycans that form the extracellular matrix. The dynamic response of these ultrastructural building blocks at the nanoscale, however, remains unclear. Here we measure time-resolved changes in collagen fibril strain, using small-angle X-ray diffraction during compression of bovine and human cartilage explants. We demonstrate the existence of a collagen fibril tensile pre-strain, estimated from the D-period at approximately 1–2%, due to osmotic swelling pressure from the proteoglycan. We reveal a rapid reduction and recovery of this pre-strain which occurs during stress relaxation, approximately 60 s after the onset of peak load. Furthermore, we show that this reduction in pre-strain is linked to disordering in the intrafibrillar molecular packing, alongside changes in the axial overlapping of tropocollagen molecules within the fibril. Tissue degradation in the form of selective proteoglycan removal disrupts both the collagen fibril pre-strain and the transient response during stress relaxation. This study bridges a fundamental gap in the knowledge describing time-dependent changes in collagen pre-strain and molecular organization that occur during physiological loading of articular cartilage. The ultrastructural details of this transient response are likely to transform our understanding of the role of collagen fibril nanomechanics in the biomechanics of cartilage and other hydrated soft tissues

The effect of vitamin C deficiency and chronic ultraviolet-B exposure on corneal ultrastructure: a preliminary investigation

Purpose: In the visually debilitating condition of climatic droplet keratopathy, corneal transparency is progressively lost. Although the precise cause of the disease and the mechanism by which it progresses are not known, a lifetime exposure to high solar radiation and a vitamin C–deficient diet may be involved in its development. This study examines the effect of dietary ascorbate levels and ultraviolet (UV)-B exposure on corneal stromal structure. Methods: Eight guinea pigs were divided into four treatment groups (A, B, C, and D). For 15 weeks, Groups A and C were fed an ascorbate-rich diet (2 mg/100 g bodyweight/day), while Groups B and D received an ascorbate-deficient diet (0.07 mg/100 g bodyweight/day). For the last 12 weeks of the study, Groups C and D also experienced chronic UVB exposure (0.12 J/cm2 for 40 min/day). Following euthanasia, the corneas were enucleated and their stromal ultrastructure examined using X-ray scattering and electron microscopy. Results: UVB exposure resulted in an increased corneal thickness (p<0.001), but this was not accompanied by a widespread expansion of the collagen fibrillar array, and in the case of ascorbate-deficient animals, stromal thickening was associated with the compaction of collagen fibrils (p<0.01). Neither UVB exposure nor ascorbic acid deficiency caused any change in the average diameter or D-periodicity of the stromal collagen fibrils. Conclusions: UVB-induced changes in the corneal ultrastructure were most pronounced in animals fed an ascorbic acid–deficient diet. This suggests that ascorbic acid may play a vital role in protecting the corneal stroma from the harmful effects of UVB

Interfibrillar stiffening of echinoderm mutable collagenous tissue demonstrated at the nanoscale

The mutable collagenous tissue (MCT) of echinoderms (e.g., sea cucumbers and starfish) is a remarkable example of a biological material that has the unique attribute, among collagenous tissues, of being able to rapidly change its stiffness and extensibility under neural control. However, the mechanisms of MCT have not been characterized at the nanoscale. Using synchrotron small-angle X-ray diffraction to probe time-dependent changes in fibrillar structure during in situ tensile testing of sea cucumber dermis, we investigate the ultrastructural mechanics of MCT by measuring fibril strain at different chemically induced mechanical states. By measuring a variable interfibrillar stiffness (E(IF)), the mechanism of mutability at the nanoscale can be demonstrated directly. A model of stiffness modulation via enhanced fibrillar recruitment is developed to explain the biophysical mechanisms of MCT. Understanding the mechanisms of MCT quantitatively may have applications in development of new types of mechanically tunable biomaterials

Exploring the nanostructures accessible to an organic surfactant atmospheric aerosol proxy

The composition of atmospheric aerosols varies with time, season, location, and environment. This affects key aerosol properties such as hygroscopicity and reactivity, influencing the aerosol’s impact on the climate and air quality. The organic fraction of atmospheric aerosol emissions often contains surfactant material, such as fatty acids. These molecules are known to form three-dimensional nanostructures in contact with water. Different nanostructures have marked differences in viscosity and diffusivity that are properties whose understanding is essential when considering an aerosol’s atmospheric impact. We have explored a range of nanostructures accessible to the organic surfactant oleic acid (commonly found in cooking emissions), simulating variation that is likely to happen in the atmosphere. This was achieved by changing the amount of water, aqueous phase salinity and by addition of other commonly coemitted compounds: sugars and stearic acid (the saturated analogue of oleic acid). The nanostructure was observed by both synchrotron and laboratory small/wide angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) and found to be sensitive to the proxy composition. Additionally, the spacing between repeat units in these nanostructures was water content dependent (i.e., an increase from 41 to 54 Å in inverse hexagonal phase d-spacing when increasing the water content from 30 to 50 wt %), suggesting incorporation of water within the nanostructure. A significant decrease in mixture viscosity was also observed with increasing water content from ∼104 to ∼102 Pa s when increasing the water content from 30 to 60 wt %. Time-resolved SAXS experiments on levitated droplets of this proxy confirm the phase changes observed in bulk phase mixtures and demonstrate that coexistent nanostructures can form in droplets. Aerosol compositional and subsequent nanostructural changes could affect aerosol processes, leading to an impact on the climate and urban air pollution

Liquid phase blending of metal-organic frameworks.

The liquid and glass states of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have recently become of interest due to the potential for liquid-phase separations and ion transport, alongside the fundamental nature of the latter as a new, fourth category of melt-quenched glass. Here we show that the MOF liquid state can be blended with another MOF component, resulting in a domain structured MOF glass with a single, tailorable glass transition. Intra-domain connectivity and short range order is confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and pair distribution function measurements. The interfacial binding between MOF domains in the glass state is evidenced by electron tomography, and the relationship between domain size and Tg investigated. Nanoindentation experiments are also performed to place this new class of MOF materials into context with organic blends and inorganic alloys