896 resultados para HOLLOW CAPSULES
Resumo:
In Australia, plantation forests have increased in area by around 50% in the last 10 years. While this expansion has seen a modest 8% increase for softwoods, hardwood plantations have dramatically increased by over 150%. Hardwood plantations grown for high quality sawn timber are slow to mature, with a crop rotation time potentially reaching 35 years. With this long lead-time, each year the risk from fire, pests and adverse weather events dramatically increases, while not translating into substantially higher financial returns to the grower. To justify continued expansion of Australia's current hardwood plantation estate, it is becoming necessary to develop higher value end-uses for both pulpwood and smaller 'sawlog' resources. The use of the low commercial value stems currently culled during thinning appears to be a necessary option to improve the industry profitability and win new markets. This paper provides background information on Australian forests and plantations and gives an overview of potential uses of Australian hardwood plantation thinning logs, as their mechanical properties. More specifically, this paper reports on the development of structural Veneer Based Composite (VBC) products from hardwood plantation thinning logs, taking advantage of a recent technology developed to optimise the processing of this resource. The process used to manufacture a range of hollow-form veneer laminated structural products is presented and the mechanical characteristics of these products are investigated in the companion paper. The market applications and future opportunities for the proposed products are also discussed, as potential benefits to the timber industry. © RILEM 2014.
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This paper presents the results of an experimental and numerical program to investigate the circular hollow section (CHS) beams, strengthened using Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) sheets. The circular hollow shaped steel beams bonded with different CFRP layer orientations were tested under four-point bending. The mid-span deflection, service load and failure load were recorded. The LHL (where L, first inner longitudinal layer, H, second hoop layer and L, third outer longitudinal layer) and LLH (where L, first inner longitudinal layer, L, second longitudinal layer and H, third outer hoop layer) layer oriented strengthened beams perform slightly better than HHL (where H, first inner hoop layer, H, second hoop layer and L, third outer longitudinal layer) layer oriented strengthened beams. The LHL and LLH layer oriented treated beams showed very similar structural behaviour. Numerical analyses were then conducted on the CFRP strengthened steel CHS beams. The validity of the models has been assessed by comparing the failure loads and mid-span deflections. The effects of various parameters such as bond length, section types, tensile modulus of CFRP, adhesive layer thickness and adhesive types have been studied.
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Context Most studies assess pollination success at capsule maturity, and studies of pre-zygotic processes are often lacking. Aims This study investigates the suitability of controlled pollination for a potential forestry plantation species, Eucalyptus argophloia, by examining pre- and post-zygotic pollination success. Methods Pollen tube development, capsule set and seed set are compared following three-stop pollination, artificially induced protogyny (AIP), AIP unpollinated and open pollination. The fecundity of stored pollen was compared with that of fresh pollen. Results Three-stop pollination, AIP and open pollination had similar numbers of pollen tubes, but AIP unpollinated had none. Open pollination produced significantly more capsules and total number of seeds than the other treatments. There were significantly more seeds per retained capsule for the open pollination and three-stop pollination treatments than for the AIP and AIP unpollinated pollination treatments. There were no significant differences relative to the age of pollen. Conclusions Pre-zygotic success in terms of pollen tubes was similar for open-pollinated, three stop and AIP, but was not reflected in post-zygotic success when the open pollination and three-stop method produced significantly more seeds per retained capsule than the AIP treatments and open pollination yielded more seeds. Capsule set and total seed set for open pollination, and fewer capsules in controlled pollinations, may reflect physical damage to buds because of the small E. argophloia flowers. Suitable alternative breeding strategies other than controlled pollinations are discussed for this species.
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The integration of hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs in the polymer microcapsule offers the possibility of developing a new drug delivery system that combines the best features of these two distinct classes of material. Recently, we have reported the encapsulation of an uncharged water-insoluble drug in the polymer membrane. The hydrophobic drug is deposited using a layer-by-layer (LbL) technique, which is based on the sequential adsorption of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes onto a charged substrate. In this paper, we report the encapsulation of two different drugs, which are invariably different in structure and in their solubility in water. We have characterized these dual drug vehicular capsules by confocal laser scanning microscopy, atomic force microscopy, visible microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The growth of a thin film on a flat substrate by LbL was monitored by UV−vis spectra. The desorption kinetics of two drugs from the thin film was modeled by a second-order rate model.
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Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus (BVDV) is one of the most serious pathogen, which causes tremendous economic loss to the cattle industry worldwide, meriting the development of improved subunit vaccines. Structural glycoprotein E2 is reported to be a major immunogenic determinant of BVDV virion. We have developed a novel hollow silica vesicles (SV) based platform to administer BVDV-1 Escherichia coli-expressed optimised E2 (oE2) antigen as a nanovaccine formulation. The SV-140 vesicles (diameter 50 nm, wall thickness 6 nm, perforated by pores of entrance size 16 nm and total pore volume of 0.934 cm(3)g(-1)) have proven to be ideal candidates to load oE2 antigen and generate immune response. The current study for the first time demonstrates the ability of freeze-dried (FD) as well as non-FD oE2/SV140 nanovaccine formulation to induce long-term balanced antibody and cell mediated memory responses for at least 6 months with a shortened dosing regimen of two doses in small animal model. The in vivo ability of oE2 (100 mu g)/SV-140 (500 mu g) and FD oE2 (100 mu g)/SV-140 (500 mu g) to induce long-term immunity was compared to immunisation with oE2 (100 mu g) together with the conventional adjuvant Quil-A from the Quillaja saponira (10 mu g) in mice. The oE2/SV-140 as well as the FD oE2/SV-140 nanovaccine generated oE2-specific antibody and cell mediated responses for up to six months post the final second immunisation. Significantly, the cell-mediated responses were consistently high in mice immunised with oE2/SV-140 (1,500 SFU/million cells) at the six-month time point. Histopathology studies showed no morphological changes at the site of injection or in the different organs harvested from the mice immunised with 500 mu g SV-140 nanovaccine compared to the unimmunised control. The platform has the potential for developing single dose vaccines without the requirement of cold chain storage for veterinary and human applications.
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The need for special education (SE) is increasing. The majority of those whose problems are due to neurodevelopmental disorders have no specific aetiology. The aim of this study was to evaluate the contribution of prenatal and perinatal factors and factors associated with growth and development to later need for full-time SE and to assess joint structural and volumetric brain alterations among subjects with unexplained, familial need for SE. A random sample of 900 subjects in full-time SE allocated into three levels of neurodevelopmental problems and 301 controls in mainstream education (ME) provided data on socioeconomic factors, pregnancy, delivery, growth, and development. Of those, 119 subjects belonging to a sibling-pair in full-time SE with unexplained aetiology and 43 controls in ME underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Analyses of structural brain alterations and midsagittal area and diameter measurements were made. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis provided detailed information on regional grey matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) volume differences. Father’s age ≥ 40 years, low birth weight, male sex, and lower socio-economic status all increased the probability of SE placement. At age 1 year, one standard deviation score decrease in height raised the probability of SE placement by 40% and in head circumference by 28%. At infancy, the gross motor milestones differentiated the children. From age 18 months, the fine motor milestones and those related to speech and social skills became more important. Brain MRI revealed no specific aetiology for subjects in SE. However, they had more often ≥ 3 abnormal findings in MRIs (thin corpus callosum and enlarged cerebral and cerebellar CSF spaces). In VBM, subjects in full-time SE had smaller global white matter, CSF, and total brain volumes than controls. Compared with controls, subjects with intellectual disabilities had regional volume alterations (greater grey matter volumes in the anterior cingulate cortex bilaterally, smaller grey matter volume in left thalamus and left cerebellar hemisphere, greater white matter volume in the left fronto-parietal region, and smaller white matter volumes bilaterally in the posterior limbs of the internal capsules). In conclusion, the epidemiological studies emphasized several factors that increased the probability of SE placement, useful as a framework for interventional studies. The global and regional brain MRI findings provide an interesting basis for future investigations of learning-related brain structures in young subjects with cognitive impairments or intellectual disabilities of unexplained, familial aetiology.
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Nature is a school for scientists and engineers. Inherent multiscale structures of biological materials exhibit multifunctional integration. In nature, the lotus, the water strider, and the flying bird evolved different and optimized biological solutions to survive. In this contribution, inspired by the optimized solutions from the lotus leaf with superhydrophobic self-cleaning, the water strider leg with durable and robust superhydrophobicity, and the lightweight bird bone with hollow structures, multifunctional metallic foams with multiscale structures are fabricated, demonstrating low adhesive superhydrophobic self-cleaning, striking loading capacity, and superior repellency towards different corrosive solutions. This approach provides an effective avenue to the development of water strider robots and other aquatic smart devices floating on water. Furthermore, the resultant multifunctional metallic foam can be used to construct an oil/water separation apparatus, exhibiting a high separation efficiency and long-term repeatability. The presented approach should provide a promising solution for the design and construction of other multifunctional metallic foams in a large scale for practical applications in the petro-chemical field. Optimized biological solutions continue to inspire and to provide design idea for the construction of multiscale structures with multifunctional integration. Inspired by the optimized biological solutions from the lotus leaf with superhydrophobic self-cleaning, the water strider leg with durable and robust superhydrophobicity, and the lightweight bird bone with hollow structures, multifunctional metallic foams with multiscale structures are fabricated, demonstrating low adhesive superhydrophobic self-cleaning, striking loading capacity, stable corrosion resistance, and oil/water separation.
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Infectious diseases put an enormous burden on both children and the elderly in the forms of respiratory, gastrointestinal and oral infections. There is evidence suggesting that specific probiotics may be antagonistic to pathogens and may enhance the immune system, but the clinical evidence is still too sparce to make general conclusions on the disease-preventive effects of probiotics. This thesis, consisting of four independent, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials, investigated whether Lactobacillus GG (LGG) or a specific probiotic combination containing LGG would reduce the risk of common infections or the prevalence of pathogens in healthy and infection-prone children and in independent and institutionalised elderly people. In healthy day-care children, the 7-month consumption of probiotic milk containing Lactobacillus GG appeared to postpone the first acute respiratory infection (ARI) by one week (p=0.03, adjusted p=0.16), and to reduce complicated infections (39% vs. 47%, p<0.05, adjusted p=0.13), as well as the need for antibiotic treatment (44% vs. 54%, p=0.03, adjusted p=0.08) and day-care absences (4.9 vs. 5.8 days, p=0.03, adjusted p=0.09) compared to the placebo milk. In infection-prone children, the 6-month consumption of a combination of four probiotic bacteria (LGG, L. rhamnosus LC705, Propionibacterium freudenreichii JS, Bifidobacterium breve 99) taken in capsules appeared to reduce recurrent ARIs (72% vs. 82%, p<0.05; adjusted p=0.06), and the effect was particularly noticeable in a subgroup of children with allergic diseases (12% vs. 33%, p=0.03), although no effect on the presence of nasopharyngeal rhinovirus or enterovirus was seen. The 5-month consumption of the same probiotic combination did not show any beneficial effects on the respiratory infections in frail, institutionalised elderly subjects. In healthy children receiving Lactobacillus GG, the reduction in complications resulted in a marginal reduction in the occurrence of acute otitis media (AOM) (31% vs. 39%, p=0.08; adjusted p=0.19), and the postponement of the first AOM episode by 12 days (p=0.04; adjusted p=0.09). However, in otitis-prone children, a probiotic combination did not reduce the occurrence of AOM or the total prevalence of common AOM pathogens (Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis), except in the case of children with allergic diseases, in whom probiotics reduced recurrent AOM episodes (0% vs. 14%, p=0.03). In addition, interaction between probiotics and bacterial carriage was seen: probiot-ics reduced AOM in children who did not carry any bacterial pathogens (63% vs. 83%), but the effect was the reverse in children carrying bacteria in the nasopharynx (74% vs 62%) (p<0.05). Long-term probiotic treatment, either LGG given in milk to healthy children for 7 months or a combination of probiotics given in capsules to institutionalised elderly subjects for 5 months, did not reduce the occurrence of acute diarrhoea. However, when the probiotic combination (LGG, L. rhamnosus LC705, Propionibacterium JS) was given in cheese to independent elderly subjects for 4 months, the oral carriage of high Candida counts was reduced in the probiotic group vs. the placebo group (21% vs. 34%, p=0.01, adjusted p=0.004). The risk of hyposalivation was also reduced in the probiotic group (p=0.05). In conclusion, probiotics appear to slightly alleviate the severity of infections by postponing their appearance, by reducing complications and the need for antimicrobial treatments. In addition, they appear to prevent recurrent infections in certain subgroups of children, such as in infection-prone children with allergic diseases. Alleviating ARI by probiotics may lead to a marginal reduction in the occurrence of AOM in healthy children but not in infection-prone children with disturbed nasopharyngeal microbiota. On the basis of these results it could be supposed that Lactobacillus GG or a specific combination containing LGG are effective against viral but not against bacterial otitis, and the mechanism is probably mediated through the stimulation of the immune system. A specific probiotic combination does not reduce respiratory infections in frail elderly subjects. Acute diarrhoea, either in children or in the elderly, is not prevented by the continuous, long-term consumption of probiotics, but the consumption of a specific probiotic combination in a food matrix is beneficial to the oral health of the elderly, through the reduction of the carriage of Candida.
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Hollow Microspheres of hydroxyapatite-polymer composite can be used as carriers in drug delivery and fillers in tissue engineering. Based on the concept of soft chemistry, a battery of technique is available in the literature to synthesize hollow microspheres, however, an economically viable synthesis route, having good control over the microarchitect and easy to be scaled up, is yet to be developed. Polymer matrix mediated synthesis of inorganic nanoparticles is known to synthesize nanoparticles with controlled morphology and dimensions. It is termed as biomimetic synthesis. Integrating the biomimetic synthesis of nano-particles and spray drying techniques, a novel process of producing hydroxyapatite-polymer composite hollow microspheres is briefly discussed here.
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The ever-increasing demand for faster computers in various areas, ranging from entertaining electronics to computational science, is pushing the semiconductor industry towards its limits on decreasing the sizes of electronic devices based on conventional materials. According to the famous law by Gordon E. Moore, a co-founder of the world s largest semiconductor company Intel, the transistor sizes should decrease to the atomic level during the next few decades to maintain the present rate of increase in the computational power. As leakage currents become a problem for traditional silicon-based devices already at sizes in the nanometer scale, an approach other than further miniaturization is needed to accomplish the needs of the future electronics. A relatively recently proposed possibility for further progress in electronics is to replace silicon with carbon, another element from the same group in the periodic table. Carbon is an especially interesting material for nanometer-sized devices because it forms naturally different nanostructures. Furthermore, some of these structures have unique properties. The most widely suggested allotrope of carbon to be used for electronics is a tubular molecule having an atomic structure resembling that of graphite. These carbon nanotubes are popular both among scientists and in industry because of a wide list of exciting properties. For example, carbon nanotubes are electronically unique and have uncommonly high strength versus mass ratio, which have resulted in a multitude of proposed applications in several fields. In fact, due to some remaining difficulties regarding large-scale production of nanotube-based electronic devices, fields other than electronics have been faster to develop profitable nanotube applications. In this thesis, the possibility of using low-energy ion irradiation to ease the route towards nanotube applications is studied through atomistic simulations on different levels of theory. Specifically, molecular dynamic simulations with analytical interaction models are used to follow the irradiation process of nanotubes to introduce different impurity atoms into these structures, in order to gain control on their electronic character. Ion irradiation is shown to be a very efficient method to replace carbon atoms with boron or nitrogen impurities in single-walled nanotubes. Furthermore, potassium irradiation of multi-walled and fullerene-filled nanotubes is demonstrated to result in small potassium clusters in the hollow parts of these structures. Molecular dynamic simulations are further used to give an example on using irradiation to improve contacts between a nanotube and a silicon substrate. Methods based on the density-functional theory are used to gain insight on the defect structures inevitably created during the irradiation. Finally, a new simulation code utilizing the kinetic Monte Carlo method is introduced to follow the time evolution of irradiation-induced defects on carbon nanotubes on macroscopic time scales. Overall, the molecular dynamic simulations presented in this thesis show that ion irradiation is a promisingmethod for tailoring the nanotube properties in a controlled manner. The calculations made with density-functional-theory based methods indicate that it is energetically favorable for even relatively large defects to transform to keep the atomic configuration as close to the pristine nanotube as possible. The kinetic Monte Carlo studies reveal that elevated temperatures during the processing enhance the self-healing of nanotubes significantly, ensuring low defect concentrations after the treatment with energetic ions. Thereby, nanotubes can retain their desired properties also after the irradiation. Throughout the thesis, atomistic simulations combining different levels of theory are demonstrated to be an important tool for determining the optimal conditions for irradiation experiments, because the atomic-scale processes at short time scales are extremely difficult to study by any other means.
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Fabrication of multilayer microcapsules via layer-by-layer approach through hydrogen bonding has attracted enormous interest due to its strong response to pH. In this communication, we have prepared hydrogen-bonded multilayer microcapsule without using any cross-linking agent by using DNA base pair (adenine and thymine) modified biocompatible polymers. The growth of the self-assembly on colloidal (melamine formaldehyde: MF) particles has been monitored with zeta potential measurement. The capsules were obtained on dissolution of MF particles at 0.1N HCl. The capsules were characterized with scanning electron microscopy. Moreover, we have observed the salt induced microscopic change in self-assembly of this system on the surface of colloidal particles.
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Earlier phylogenetic studies, including species belonging to the Neckeraceae, have indicated that this pleurocarpous moss family shares a strongly supported sister group relationship with the Lembophyllaceae, but the family delimitation of the former needs adjustment. To test the monophyly of the Neckeraceae, as well as to redefine the family circumscription and to pinpoint its phylogenetic position in a larger context, a phylogenetic study based on molecular data was carried out. Sequence data were compiled, combining data from all three genomes: nuclear ITS1 and 2, plastid trnS-rps4-trnT-trnL-trnF and rpl16, and mitochondrial nad5 intron. The Neckeraceae have sometimes been divided into the two families, Neckeraceae and Thamnobryaceae, a division rejected here. Both parsimony and Bayesian analyses of molecular data revealed that the family concept of the Neckeraceae needs several further adjustments, such as the exclusion of some individual species and smaller genera as well as the inclusion of the Leptodontaceae. Within the family three well-supported clades (A, B and C) can be distinguished. Members of clade A are mainly non-Asiatic and nontropical. Most species have a weak costa and immersed capsules with reduced peristomes (mainly Neckera spp.) and the teeth at the leaf margins are usually unicellular. Clade B members are also mainly non-Asiatic. They are typically fairly robust, distinctly stipilate, having a single, at least relatively strong costa, long setae (capsules exserted), and the peristomes are well developed or only somewhat reduced. Members of clade C are essentially Asiatic and tropical. The species of this clade usually have a strong costa and a long seta, the seta often being mammillose in its upper part. The peristome types in this clade are mixed, since both reduced and unreduced types are found. Several neckeraceous genera that were recognised on a morphological basis are polyphyletic (e.g. Neckera, Homalia, Thamnobryum, Porotrichum). Ancestral state reconstructions revealed that currently used diagnostic traits, such as the leaf asymmetry and costa strength are highly homoplastic. Similarly, the reconstructions revealed that the 'reduced' sporophyte features have evolved independently in each of the three clades.
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Large quantities of single-crystalline ZnO nanorods and nanotubes have been prepared by the microwave, irradiation of a metalorganic complex of zinc, in the presence of a surfactant. The method is simple, fast, and inexpensive (as it uses a domestic microwave oven), and yields pure nanostructures of the hexagonal wurtzite phase of ZnO in min, and requires no conventional templating. The ZnO nanotubes formed have a hollow core with inner diameter varying from 140-160 nm and a wall of thickness, 40-50 nm. The length of nanorods and nanotubes varies in the narrow range of 500-600 nm. These nanostructures have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). The ZnO nanorods and nanotubes are found by SAED to be single-crystalline. The growth process of ZnO nanorods and nanotubes has been investigated by varying the surfactant concentration and microwave irradiation time. Based on the various results obtained, a tentative and plausible mechanism for the formation of ZnO nanostructures is proposed.
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We report a general method for the synthesis of hollow structures of a variety of functional inorganics by partial sintering of mesoporous nanocrystal aggregates. The formation of a thin shell initiates the transport of mass from the interior leading to growth of the shell. The principles are general and the hollow structures thus produced are attractive for many applications including catalysis, drug delivery and biosensing.
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Soilla on merkittävä rooli ilmastonmuutoksen hillitsemisessä suuren hiilivarastonsa sekä ekosysteemin ja ilmakehän välisen kaasunvaihdon ansiosta. Ilmastonmuutoksen ennustetaan vaikuttavan suokasvillisuuteen ja suon toimintaan epäsuorasti. Vedenpinnan ennustetaan laskevan 14–21 cm johtuen kasveista ja avoimilta pinnoilta tapahtuvan haihdunnan lisääntymisestä lämpötilan noustessa, mikäli sadanta ei lisäänny. Aiemmat vedenpinnan laskun jälkeistä kasvillisuutta seuranneet tutkimukset ovat osoittaneet, että putkilokasvit hyötyvät alhaisemmasta vedenpinnan tasosta ja että kuljuun sopeutuneet rahkasammalet kärsivät kuivuneista oloista. Kasvillisuuden runsaussuhteiden muuttumisen lisäksi kasviyhteisöjen monimuotoisuus vähenee. Erityisen herkkiä vedenpinnan laskulle ovat olleet välipinta- ja kuljurahkasammalet ja sarat. Funktionaalisten kasviryhmien vasteiden selvittämiksesi käytettiin BACI (before-after-control-impact) –tutkimusotetta. Tutkimuksessa oli kolme verrokkialaa ja kolme käsittelyalaa, joissa vedenpintaa oli laskettu 14–21 senttimetriin. Lisäksi vertailukohdaksi tutkimuksessa oli mukana kolme alaa, joissa oli tehty metsäojitus n. 50 vuotta sitten. Nämä toistot sijaitsivat meso-, oligo ombrotrofisilla suotyypeillä Oriveden Lakkasuolla. Kasvillisuus kartoitettiin ja vedenpinnat mitattiin aloilta ennen käsittelyä vuonna 2000 sekä vuosina 2001–2003 ja 2009. Aineisto analysoitiin TWINSPAN- (PC-Ord), PRC ja DCA (CANOCO)-monimuuttujamenetelmillä. Tulokset osoittivat, että verrokki- ja käsittelyalat olivat samanlaisia lähtökohdiltaan, joten niitä voitiin käsittelyn jälkeen verrata toisiinsa. Kasvillisuuden rakenne vaihteli vuosien välillä myös verrokkialoilla, mikä osoittaa kasvien sopeutumiskyvyn muuttuviin sääoloihin (lämpötila, sademäärä). Vuosi 2003 erottui tutkimuksessa alhaisella vedenpinnantasolla, mutta toisaalta myös ainavihantien varpujen suuren peittävyyden osalta. Vuoteen 2009 mennessä kasvillisuuden erityisesti sarojen peittävyys väheni. Ravinteikkaimmilla toistoilla kasvillisuuden vasteet vaikuttivat olevan vahvemmat kuin vähäravinteisilla toistoilla. Kasviryhmistä kulju- ja välipintasammalilla oli vahvimmat vasteetvedenpinnan laskuun ja mätäslajeilla heikoimmat. Tulosten mukaan kasviryhmien vasteet vaihtelevat riippuen tarkasteltavasta aikajaksosta: ensimmäiset kolme vuotta käsittelyn jälkeen suo oli häiriötilassa ja vasta sen jälkeen kasvillisuus sopeutui muuttuneisiin oloihin.