A Technique of Improved Medial Meniscus Visualization by Anterior Cruciate Ligament Graft Placement in Chronic Anterior Cruciate Deficient Knees

It is customary to perform medial meniscus repair before anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) graft placement when undertaken as a combined procedure. However, in chronic ACL-deficient knees, intraoperative anterior tibiofemoral translation can cause the medial meniscus repair to be more technically challenging. Intraoperative anterior tibiofemoral translation can both reduce the visualization of the medial meniscus and make its reduction unstable. An operative sequence alteration of ACL graft placement and tensioning before medial meniscal repair improves medial meniscus visualization in chronically ACL-deficient knees by using the ACL graft’s ability to prevent anterior tibiofemoral translation. The technique sequence is as follows: (a) the medial meniscus is reduced, (b) ACL reconstruction is undertaken using a hamstring graft without final tibia fixation, (c) distal graft tension is manually applied to distal graft sutures by the surgeon to prevent tibiofemoral subluxation, (d) the medial meniscus is repaired while graft tension is applied, and (e) the graft is then fixed to the tibia using an interference screw or another device

Multifunctional Micro- and Nanoparticles – Quo vadis ?

No Abstract.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64930/1/105_ftp.pd

Learning on Other People’s Kids: Becoming a Teach for America Teacher

A review of the book Learning to Teach on Other People’s Kids: Becoming a Teach for America Teacher, by Barbara Torre Veltri (Information Age Publishing, 2010)

Partially Fluorinated Poly- p -xylylenes Synthesized by CVD Polymerization

This paper describes partially fluorinated poly- p -xylylenes prepared by CVD polymerization. The synthesis, characterization, and surface modification of two partially fluorinated polymer coatings, namely poly(4,12-dibromo-1,1,9,9-tetrafluoro- p -xylylene) ( 2 ) and poly(4-heptadecafluorononanoyl- p -xylylene-co- p -xylylene) ( 4 ), is described. Polymer 2 is synthesized from 4,12-dibromo-1,1,9,9-tetrafluoro[2.2]paracyclophane ( 1 ), which is fluorinated at the aliphatic bridge, while 4-heptadecafluorononanoyl[2.2]paracyclophane ( 3 ), which contains a perfluorinated keto group at the aromatic ring, is used to synthesize polymer 4 . Furthermore, the keto-functionalized polymer 4 introduces both extreme hydrophobicity and surface reactivity towards hydrazide-containing ligands.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/63082/1/142_ftp.pd

Vapor-based polymer coatings for potential biomedical applications

Over the last decade, biology and biotechnology have witnessed an extraordinary development spanning genomics, proteomics, and metabolics. This progress was so rapid and definite that it not only changed the face of modern biology, but indeed altered the way day-to-day business is done in biology and related fields. This scientific advancement came with a need for concurrent technological advances. In this context, the ability to interface sophisticated devices with relevant biological microenvironments has emerged as a critical challenge. Already, novel biomaterials are on the horizon that promise to fulfill the rigid criteria of being both biocompatible under the conditions of a versatile range of biological applications and compatible with the increasing demands for miniaturization, integration, and throughput of future device architectures. As currently employed solvent-based polymer coatings are increasingly reaching their limits, a range of unconventional materials, such as vapor-based polymer coatings, are discussed as attractive alternatives. One of the main features of vapor-based polyreactions is their versatility in synthesizing both simple and complex polymers with relative ease and at generally low temperatures. The advantages of the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique also include control of the composition and architecture of the resulting materials, high accuracy, solvent-free environments, excellent adhesion, and the ability to accommodate custom-tailored surface modifications. For further illustration, selected examples of polymer-based surface engineering approaches using vapor-based polyreactions are discussed in this review. For instance, reactive coating technology uses CVD polymerization to deposit a wide range of chemically functionalized polymer coatings on various substrate materials. Its simplicity in providing chemically reactive groups and its applicability to three-dimensional geometries (e.g. for microfluidics) enables exact tailoring of surface properties and the preparation of biologically relevant microenvironments. CVD-based reactive coatings are compatible with soft lithographic processes allowing for patterning of proteins, DNA, cytokines, and mammalian cells. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical IndustryPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/55843/1/2098_ftp.pd

Towards Multipotent Coatings: Chemical Vapor Deposition and Biofunctionalization of Carbonyl-Substituted Copolymers

Future advances in designing bioactive materials, such as antithrombotic coatings for cardiovascular stents, will require widely applicable and robust methods of surface modification. In this paper, we report on the development of multifunctional polymer coatings made by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) copolymerization. Polymer coatings of various [2.2]paracyclophane derivatives were co-deposited in controlled ratios and their chemical composition verified by FT-IR and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Furthermore, preliminary biocompatibility of these coatings was assessed using human umbilical vein endothelial cells and 3T3 murine fibroblasts. The parallel immobilization of two different antithrombotic biomolecules onto a CVD-based copolymer is also demonstrated by orthogonal immobilization strategies.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60225/1/855_ftp.pd

Deep‐Learning‐Assisted Stratification of Amyloid Beta Mutants Using Drying Droplet Patterns

The development of simple and accurate methods to predict mutations in proteins remains an unsolved challenge in modern biochemistry. It is discovered that critical information about primary and secondary peptide structures can be inferred from the stains left behind by their drying droplets. To analyze the complex stain patterns, deep-learning neuronal networks are challenged with polarized light microscopy images derived from the drying droplet deposits of a range of amyloid beta (1–42) (Aβ$_{42}$) peptides. These peptides differ in a single amino acid residue and represent hereditary mutants of Alzheimer\u27s disease. Stain patterns are not only reproducible but also result in comprehensive stratification of eight amyloid beta (Aβ) variants with predictive accuracies above 99%. Similarly, peptide stains of a range of distinct Aβ$_{42}$ peptide conformations are identified with accuracies above 99%. The results suggest that a method as simple as drying a droplet of a peptide solution onto a solid surface may serve as an indicator of minute, yet structurally meaningful differences in peptides’ primary and secondary structures. Scalable and accurate detection schemes for stratification of conformational and structural protein alterations are critically needed to unravel pathological signatures in many human diseases such as Alzheimer\u27s and Parkinson\u27s disease

Surface engineering the cellular microenvironment via patterning and gradients

Cell organization, proliferation, and differentiation are impacted by diverse cues present in the cellular microenvironment. As a result, the surface of a material plays an important role in cellular function. Synthetic surfaces may be augmented by physical as well as chemical means. In particular, patterning and interfacial gradients may be utilized to mitigate the cellular response. Patterning is advantageous as it affords control over a range of feature sizes from several nanometers to millimeters. Gradients exist in vivo , for instance in stem cell niches, and the ability to create interfacial gradients in vitro can provide valuable insights into the influence of a series of minute surface changes on a single sample. This review focuses on fabrication methods for generating micro‐ and nanoscale surface patterns as well as interfacial gradients, the impact of these surface modifications on the cellular response, and the advantages and challenges of these surfaces in in vitro applications. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys., 2013 The influence of patterning and interfacial gradients on the cellular response has numerous applications in tissue engineering and basic cell science. Various methods for fabricating small‐scale patterns and interfacial gradients as well as their potential and limitations are described. Furthermore, the impact of patterns and gradients on cellular function for numerous cell types and the use of these techniques to address biological questions in in vitro environments are illustrated. Future perspectives are also provided.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97492/1/23275_ftp.pd

Vapor-Based Polymer Gradients

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) co-polymerization was used to fabricate polymer coatings, which comprise of reactive surface composition gradients. Two functionalized derivatives of [2.2]paracyclophane were fed into a two-source CVD system at a 180 ° angle, then copolymerized and deposited as a polymer gradient. Infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed the compositional changes within the bulk polymer and at the surface. By manipulating process parameters, gradients of tailored compositional slope can be deposited on a wide range of substrates. We also were able to selectively immobilize fluorescence-labeled ligands onto the reactive polymer gradients, making CVD-based gradient surfaces a flexible platform for fabricating biomolecular substrates.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61454/1/57_ftp.pd

Авария на японской АЭС "Фукусима"

В данной статье приведено краткое описание АЭС Фукусима. Рассматривается крупнейшее землетрясение в Японии 2011 года и авария на АЭС Фукусима. Представлена хроника событий аварии, ее ликвидация, а также проанализированы последствия данной аварии. This article provides a brief description of the Fukushima nuclear power plant. It is considered the largest earthquake in Japan 2011 and the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Presentation of the chronicle of events of the accident, its elimination, as well as analyzed the consequences of the accident