Directing Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Periodontal Regeneration

Background: Directing autogenous Mesenchymal Stem Cell (MSC) to defect sites has a great promise in bone regeneration. We designed a MSC specific, bone affinity peptide (E7HA7) by conjugating E7 with a polyglutamate hydroxyapatite (HA) binding motif. We sought to characterize the in-vivo releasing pattern and bioactivity of E7HA7. Methods: HA discs were coated with fluorescent labeled peptides E7HA7, E7HA2 or E7 were subcutaneously implanted in Sprague Dawley rats. In an ectopic bone formation model was used to test the in-vivo bioactivity of E7HA7 conjugated to DBM. Results: E7HA7 showed slower peptide release from scaffolds in comparison to other groups, being statistically significant at week 2 compared to E7, and to E7HA2 at week 4 and 8. In ectopic model, the medians for new bone formation in each group were: iDBM=0.041mm3, iDBM-E7=0.071mm3, aDBM=0.138mm3, and aDBM-E7=0.192mm3. Conclusions: Conjugation of E7 to polyglutamate bone binding domain showed slow releasing kinetics and osteoinductive potential

Development and Optimization of a Multimedia Product

This article presents a new concept of a multimedia interactive product. It is a multiuser versatile platform that can be used for different purposes. The first implementation of the platform is a multiplayer game called Texas Hold 'em, which is a very popular community card game. The paper shows the product's multimedia structure where Hardware and Software work together in creating a realistic feeling for the users.Comment: 6 pages, exposed on 5th International Conference "Actualities and Perspectives on Hardware and Software" - APHS2009, Timisoara, Romani

Nyku: A Social Robot for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

The continued growth of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) around the world has spurred a growth in new therapeutic methods to increase the positive outcomes of an ASD diagnosis. It has been agreed that the early detection and intervention of ASD disorders leads to greatly increased positive outcomes for individuals living with the disorders. Among these new therapeutic methods, Robot-Assisted Therapy (RAT) has become a hot area of study. Recent works have shown that high functioning ASD children have an affinity for interacting with robots versus humans. It is proposed that this is due to a less complex set of communication modes present in a robotic system as opposed to the complex non-verbal communications present in human to human interactions. As such, the Computer Vision and Robotics Lab at the University of Denver has embarked on developing a social robot for children with ASD. This thesis presents the design of this social robot; Nyku (Figure 1). It begins with an investigation of what the needs of ASD children are, what existing therapies help with, and what, if any, roles a robot can play in these treatment plans. From the literature examined, it is clear that robots designed specifically for ASD children have a core set of goals, despite the varied nature of the disorder\u27s spectrum. These goals aim to reduce the stress of non-verbal communications that may occur during standard therapies, as well as providing capabilities to reinforce typical areas of weakness in an ASD persons social repertoire, such as posture mimicry and eye contact. A goal of this thesis is to show the methodology behind arriving at these design goals so that future designers may follow and improve upon them. Nyku\u27s hardware and software design requirements draw from this foundation. Using this needs first design methodology allows for informed design such that the final product is actually useful to the ASD population. In this work, the information collected is used to design the mechanical components of Nyku. These elements consist of Nyku\u27s Body, Neck & Head, and Omni-wheel base. As with all robots, the mechanical needs then spawn electronics requirements, which are, in turn, presented. In order to tie these systems together, the control architecture is coded. Notably, this thesis results in a novel kinematic model of a spherical manipulation system present in the Omni-wheel Base. This solution is then presented in detail, along with the testing conducted to ensure the model\u27s accuracy. To complete the thesis, overall progress on Nyku is highlighted alongside suggestions for a continuation of the work. Here, the engineering work is compared against the design goals which it tries to fulfill in an effort to ensure that the work has stayed on track. In continuation, this examination maps out future steps needed to optimize the engineering work on Nyku for reliable performance during therapeutic sessions. Finally, a therapeutic plan is proposed given the hardware capabilities of Nyku and the needs of ASD children against the background of modern therapeutic methods

WELL PRODUCTION WITH CASING SAND BRIDGE

Many reservoirs comprised of relatively young sediments are so poorly consolidated that sand will be produced along with the reservoir fluids unless the rate is restricted significantly. The mathematical modelling of the flow of the sanded well uses the continuity equation written in cylindrical coordinates, Darcy's law admitting its availability and the solutions of these equations obtained for the boundary conditions in the case of a crude oil well that produces sand floods. In this article we have created a numerical model based on the variation of fluid flow from the productive layer, depending on the pressure drop between the productive layer and the wellbore, as well as the permeability of the layer. As a function of the flows extracted from the well, we rewrote the flow variation equations as polynomial relations of order 5, the error being a maximum of 0.04%. After determining the flow through the two relationships and confronting the reality in the field, the article confirms the type of flow through sand

THE INFLUENCE OF THE PERFORATION DENSITY AND DAMAGED ZONE PERMEABILITY ON A GAS WELL PRODUCTION

The exploitation of wellbore condensate deposits must be carried out in such a way that both water and condensate from the productive layer are not entrained during extraction. That is precisely why the article analyzes the effect of the density of perforations of the productive layer on the amount of extracted gas. The effect of the area affected by the drilling on the produced gas flow is also studied. After 50 years since the first use of the mechanical realization of the perforations of the productive layers of the gas wells, there is little data regarding the influence of the perforation geometry of a gas well, namely the way of communication between the production layer and the borehole, on its production. The aim of this paper is to simulate the operation of the well for different values specific to the drilling mode, highlighting its production. The problem is addressed by nodal analysis. The numerical simulators were used to simulate the flow of the mixture through the layer-well system and respectively through the mixture pipe