Close-Packing of Clusters: Application to Al_100

The lowest energy configurations of close-packed clusters up to N=110 atoms with stacking faults are studied using the Monte Carlo method with Metropolis algorithm. Two types of contact interactions, a pair-potential and a many-atom interaction, are used. Enhanced stability is shown for N=12, 26, 38, 50, 59, 61, 68, 75, 79, 86, 100 and 102, of which only the sizes 38, 75, 79, 86, and 102 are pure FCC clusters, the others having stacking faults. A connection between the model potential and density functional calculations is studied in the case of Al_100. The density functional calculations are consistent with the experimental fact that there exist epitaxially grown FCC clusters starting from relatively small cluster sizes. Calculations also show that several other close-packed motifs existwith comparable total energies.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure

Strain Effects on Point Defects and Chain-Oxygen Order-Disorder Transition in 123-Structure Cuprate Superconductors

The energetics of Schottky defects in 123 cuprate superconductor series, $\rm REBa_2Cu_3O_7$ (where RE = lanthandies) and $\rm YAE_2Cu_3O_7$ (AE = alkali-earths), were found to have unusual relations if one considers only the volumetric strain. Our calculations reveal the effect of non-uniform changes of interatomic distances within the RE-123 structures, introduced by doping homovalent elements, on the Schottky defect formation energy. The energy of formation of Frenkel Pair defects, which is an elementary disordering event, in 123 compounds can be substantially altered under both stress and chemical doping. Scaling the oxygen-oxygen short-range repulsive parameter using the calculated formation energy of Frenkel pair defects, the transition temperature between orthorhombic and tetragonal phases is computed by quasi-chemical approximations (QCA). The theoretical results illustrate the same trend as the experimental measurements in that the larger the ionic radius of RE, the lower the orthorhombic/tetragonal phase transition temperature. This study provides strong evidence of the strain effects on order-disorder transition due to oxygens in the CuO chain sites.Comment: In print Phys Rev B (2004

Determining collagen distribution in articular cartilage using contrast-enhanced micro-computed tomography

Objective: Collagen distribution within articular cartilage (AC) is typically evaluated from histological sections, e.g., using collagen staining and light microscopy (LM). Unfortunately, all techniques based on histological sections are time-consuming, destructive, and without extraordinary effort, limited to two dimensions. This study investigates whether phosphotungstic acid (PTA) and phosphomolybdic acid (PMA), two collagen-specific markers and X-ray absorbers, could (1) produce contrast for AC X-ray imaging or (2) be used to detect collagen distribution within AC. Method: We labeled equine AC samples with PTA or PMA and imaged them with micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) at pre-defined time points 0, 18, 36, 54, 72, 90, 180, 270 h during staining. The micro-CT image intensity was compared with collagen distributions obtained with a reference technique, i.e., Fourier-transform infrared imaging (FTIRI). The labeling time and contrast agent producing highest association (Pearson correlation, BlandeAltman analysis) between FTIRI collagen distribution and micro-CT -determined PTA distribution was selected for human AC. Results: Both, PTA and PMA labeling permitted visualization of AC features using micro-CT in non-calcified cartilage. After labeling the samples for 36 h in PTA, the spatial distribution of X-ray attenuation correlated highly with the collagen distribution determined by FTIRI in both equine (mean +/- S.D. of the Pearson correlation coefficients, r = 0.96 +/- 0.03, n = 12) and human AC (r = 0.82 +/- 0.15, n = 4). Conclusions: PTA-induced X-ray attenuation is a potential marker for non-destructive detection of AC collagen distributions in 3D. This approach opens new possibilities in development of non-destructive 3D histopathological techniques for characterization of OA. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd and Osteoarthritis Research Society International.Peer reviewe

Magnetic Anisotropy of a Single Cobalt Nanoparticle

Using a new microSQUID set-up, we investigate magnetic anisotropy in a single 1000-atoms cobalt cluster. This system opens new fields in the characterization and the understanding of the origin of magnetic anisotropy in such nanoparticles. For this purpose, we report three-dimensional switching field measurements performed on a 3 nm cobalt cluster embedded in a niobium matrix. We are able to separate the different magnetic anisotropy contributions and evidence the dominating role of the cluster surface.Comment: 4 pages, 8 figure

Dictionary learning for fast classification based on soft-thresholding.

Classifiers based on sparse representations have recently been shown to provide excellent results in many visual recognition and classification tasks. However, the high cost of computing sparse representations at test time is a major obstacle that limits the applicability of these methods in large-scale problems, or in scenarios where computational power is restricted. We consider in this paper a simple yet efficient alternative to sparse coding for feature extraction. We study a classification scheme that applies the soft-thresholding nonlinear mapping in a dictionary, followed by a linear classifier. A novel supervised dictionary learning algorithm tailored for this low complexity classification architecture is proposed. The dictionary learning problem, which jointly learns the dictionary and linear classifier, is cast as a difference of convex (DC) program and solved efficiently with an iterative DC solver. We conduct experiments on several datasets, and show that our learning algorithm that leverages the structure of the classification problem outperforms generic learning procedures. Our simple classifier based on soft-thresholding also competes with the recent sparse coding classifiers, when the dictionary is learned appropriately. The adopted classification scheme further requires less computational time at the testing stage, compared to other classifiers. The proposed scheme shows the potential of the adequately trained soft-thresholding mapping for classification and paves the way towards the development of very efficient classification methods for vision problems

Growth of nanostructures by cluster deposition : a review

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of simple models useful to analyze the growth of nanostructures obtained by cluster deposition. After detailing the potential interest of nanostructures, I extensively study the first stages of growth (the submonolayer regime) by kinetic Monte-Carlo simulations. These simulations are performed in a wide variety of experimental situations : complete condensation, growth with reevaporation, nucleation on defects, total or null cluster-cluster coalescence... The main scope of the paper is to help experimentalists analyzing their data to deduce which of those processes are important and to quantify them. A software including all these simulation programs is available at no cost on request to the author. I carefully discuss experiments of growth from cluster beams and show how the mobility of the clusters on the surface can be measured : surprisingly high values are found. An important issue for future technological applications of cluster deposition is the relation between the size of the incident clusters and the size of the islands obtained on the substrate. An approximate formula which gives the ratio of the two sizes as a function of the melting temperature of the material deposited is given. Finally, I study the atomic mechanisms which can explain the diffusion of the clusters on a substrate and the result of their mutual interaction (simple juxtaposition, partial or total coalescence...)Comment: To be published Rev Mod Phys, Oct 99, RevTeX, 37 figure

The effects of bisphosphonates and COX-2 inhibitors on the bone remodelling unit

Abstract Bone remodelling occurs in humans throughout life, therefore bone is continuously renewed to better respond to changes in weightbearing circumstances. Bone remodelling is extremely vulnerable during fracture healing and integration of prostheses into the surrounding bone. Bone remodelling is a complex system in which many growth factors, cytokines and enzymes, which are essential for the differentiation of osteoblasts and osteoclasts, are involved. Some widely used drugs can affect this sensitive system of remodellation in unexpected manner. Painkillers such as cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitors have been demonstrated in animal studies to interfere with fracture healing and a few retrospective clinical studies confirm these observations. Bisphosphonates (BP), main target of which is the bone resorbing osteoclast, have been suggested to be the drug of choice to improve periprosthetic bone density and thus prevent aseptic loosening of implants. The exact mechanism of action of clodronate (CLO), a non-amino-BP, which was selected for the study, has not been clarified thus far. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the role of the COX enzyme in the differentiation of osteoblasts we studied human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) cultures in the presence of different COX-inhibitors; indomethacine, parecoxib and NS398, a specific COX-2 inhibitor. We used the liposome encapsulated CLO metabolite (AppCCl2p) to study in detail the mechanism of BP induced apoptosis in osteoclast. The effects of different BPs CLO, pamidronate (PAM) and zoledronic acid (ZOL), on the differentiation of osteoblasts and osteoclasts were tested in vitro. The optimal concentration for in situ CLO rinsing in clinical study was found. Finally, the effects of in situ and per oral CLO on the periimplant bone density and integration of prostheses were studied in vivo. All tested COX-inhibitors significantly inhibited osteoblast differentiation from hMSCs and stimulated the differentiation of adipocytes. It was also demonstrated that AppCCl2p inhibits mitochondrial function by a mechanism that involves competitive inhibition of ADP/ATP translocase. In the comparison of BPs, ZOL seemed to posses the properties of both non-amino- and amino-BPs and it thus belongs to a new class of BPs. Peroral and in situ CLO seemed to have different mechanisms of action. Peroral CLO delayed the integration of prosthesis to the bone and increased peri-implant osteolysis while is situ CLO accelerated integration. In conclusion, we can alter normal bone remodellation during fracture healing and prosthesis integration. On the other hand, we can also improve the circumstances for the integration of implant to the surrounding bone by in situ BP rinsing, thus creating a better environment for bone ingrowth.Tiivistelmä Läpi elämän luustossa tapahtuu uudelleenmuotoutumista, remodelaatiota, jonka seurauksena luu pystyy paremmin vastaamaan muuttuneisiin kuormitusolosuhteisiin. Remodelaatioprosessi on hyvin haavoittuvainen murtuman luutumisen aikana sekä proteesin kiinnittyessä ympäröivään luuhun. Luun remodelaatioon osallistuvat kasvutekijät, sytokiinit ja entsyymit, jotka puolestaan ovat välttämättömiä osteoblastien ja osteoklastien erilaistumiselle. Monet lääkeaineet voivat yllättävällä tavalla vahingoittaa tätä herkkää remodelaatiosysteemiä. Kipulääkkeet, kuten syklo-oksygenaasi (COX) estäjät, voivat häiritä murtuman luutumista aikaisempien eläintöiden ja muutamien retrospektiivisten potilastutkimusten mukaan. Lisäksi bisfosfonaatit, joiden päävaikutuskohde on luuta hajoittava osteoklasti, voisivat olla lupaavia lääkkeitä myös parantamaan proteesia ympäröivän luun laatua ja siten estämään aseptista implantin irtoamista. Tutkimuksen yhtenä tarkoituksena oli selvittää klodronaatin, ensimmäisen polven typpi-ryhmää sisältämättömän bisfosfonaatin tarkka vaikutusmekanismi. Viljelemällä ihmisen luuytimen kantasoluja indometasiinia, parekoksibia tai spesifistä COX-2 estäjää NS 398:a, sisältävässä kasvatusliuoksessa selvitettiin COX-entsyymin merkitys osteoblastien erilaistumiselle. Liposomien sisälle pakattua klodronaatin metaboliittia (AppCCl2p) käytettiin tutkittaessa millä vaikutusmekanismilla klodronaatti aiheuttaa osteoklastien apoptoosin. Bisfosfonaattien; klodronaatin, pamidronaatin ja tsoledronaatin vaikutusta osteoklastien ja osteoblastien erilaistumiseen tutkittiin soluviljelmämallissa ja määritettiin kliinisessä potilastyössä paikallisesti käytettävän klodronaattiliuoksen pitoisuus. Lopuksi potilastyössä selvitettiin paikallisen klodronaattihuuhtelun ja suun kautta annostellun klodronaatin vaikutus proteesia ympäröivän luun tiheyteen ja proteesin kiinnittymiseen ympäristöönsä. Tutkimukseen valitut COX-estäjät vähensivät ihmisen kantasolujen erilaistumista osteoblasteiksi ja lisäsivät erilaistumista rasvasoluiksi. Lisäksi todettiin, että AppCCl2p estää mitokondrioissa tapahtuvaa hengitystä estämällä ADP/ATP-vaihtajan toiminnan, saaden aikaan solukuoleman. Vertailtaessa bisfosfonaatteja, tsoledronaatilla vaikutti olevan sekä ensimmäisen, että kolmannen polven (sisältää typpi-ryhmän) bispfosfonaattien vaikutuksia, joten tsoledronaatti kuuluu aivan uuteen bisfosfonaattiryhmään. Potilastutkimuksessa suun kautta ja paikallisesti reisiluun ytimeen annostellulla klodronaatilla oli täysin erilainen vaikutus. Suun kautta syötynä klodronaatti hidasti proteesin kiinnittymistä ja aiheutti osteolyysiä. Sen sijaan paikallinen klodronaatti nopeutti merkittävästi proteesin kiinnittymistä ympäröivään luuhun. Näiden tutkimustulosten perusteella voidaan olettaa, että COX-estäjät, samoin kuin peroraalinen bisfosfonaatti, voivat tahattomasti häiritä luun remodelaatiota

Predisposing factors for a second fragile hip fracture in a population of 1130 patients with hip fractures, treated at Oulu University Hospital in 2013–2016:a retrospective study

Abstract Objective: The life-time risk of a second fragile hip fracture is 8.4%, but the risk factors that predispose to a second hip fracture remain unresolved. This study aimed to define risk factors that predisposed patients to a second hip fracture. Methods: For this retrospective study, we retrieved clinical data on 1130 patients with fragile hip fractures (67.2% female, mean age: 79.3 years) that underwent surgery at the Oulu University Hospital in 2013–2016. These data included the fracture risk assessment score (measured with the FRAX tool), the bone-mass T-score, laboratory values, ambulatory capacity, and the time of death. Results: In this population, 12.4% of patients sustained a second hip fracture. The predisposing factors for a second hip fracture were: female (p = 0.016), a high FRAX score (p = 0.020), and low physical capacity (p < 0.001). The vitamin D level recommended for treating osteoporosis (i.e., vitamin D > 75 nmol/l) was observed in only 24% of patients, and 42% of patients had ionized calcium levels below the reference range. According to the level of the cross-linked carboxy-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP), 37% of patients did not have high bone turnover. We found a positive correlation between age and ICTP (p = 0.001). The risk of death was higher after the second hip fracture (p = 0.005), but we found no difference in age between patients with first and second hip fractures (p = 0.11). Conclusions: After a hip fracture, a second hip fracture is a well-known risk. Nevertheless, we found that only one-third of patients with a second hip fracture had used anti-osteoporosis medication at any time previously. These findings suggested that second hip fractures were most likely to occur in patients with osteopenic T-score values, in women more often than men, and in patients with high FRAX scores and low ambulatory capacity