Co-electrospun poly(lactide-co-glycolide), gelatin, and elastin blends for tissue engineering scaffolds

In this study, we describe composite scaffolds composed of synthetic and natural materials with physicochemical properties suitable for tissue engineering applications. Fibrous scaffolds were co-electrospun from a blend of a synthetic biodegradable polymer (poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid), PLGA, 10% solution) and two natural proteins, gelatin (denatured collagen, 8% solution) and (x-elastin (20% solution) at ratios of 3:1:2 and 2:2:2 (v/v/v). The resulting PLGA-gelatin-elastin (PGE) fibers were homogeneous in appearance with an average diameter of 380 80 mn, which was considerably smaller than fibers made under identical conditions from the starting materials (PLGA, 780 +/- 200 nm; gelatin, 447 +/- 1.23 nm; elastin, 1060 170 nm). Upon hydration, PGE fibers swelled to an average fiber diameter of 963 +/- 132 nm, but did not disintegrate. Importantly, PGE scaffolds were stable in an aqueous environment without crosslinking, and were more elastic than those made of pure elastin fibers. To investigate the cytocompatibility of PGE, we cultured H9c2 rat cardiac myoblasts and rat bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) on fibrous PGE scaffolds. We found that myoblasts grew equally as well or slightly better on the scaffolds than on tissue-culture plastic. Microscopic evaluation confirmed that myoblasts reached confluence on the scaffold surfaces while simultaneously growing into the scaffolds.

Review of genetic engineering of Laminaria japonica (Laminariales, Phaeophyta) in China

Progress has been made in establishing a genetic transformation model for Laminaria japonica (Phaeophyta, Laminariales). The model includes introduction of foreign genes by biolistic bombardment, use of promoter SV40 to drive gene expression, algal regeneration by parthenogenesis and selection by chloramphenicol or hygromycin.

Mechanism for Giycinebetaine to Improve Plant Salt Resistance and Its Research Advances in Genetic Engineering

The paper systematically discusses the mechanism for glycinebetaine to improve plant salt resistance and its research advances in genetic engineering at home and abroad as well as summarizing the research progresses about the key enzymes and their genetic engineering in glycinebetaine biosynthesis. It suggests that on the basis of further understanding the mechanism for glycinebetaine to improve plant salt resistance,the transformation of the genes relating to glycinebetaine biosynthesis should be carried out in major crops so that new plant varieties resistant to salt can be obtained.

External Examining: an Engineering Subject Centre guide.

This handbook was prepared for external examiners and for use in training workshops for newly appointed external examiners.

Evolution feature oriented model driven product line engineering approach for synergistic and dynamic service evolution in Clouds: four kinds of schema.

The proposed research will focus on developing a novel approach to solve Software Service Evolution problems in Computing Clouds. The approach will support dynamic evolution of the software service in clouds via a set of discovered evolution patterns. An initial survey informed us that such an approach does not exist yet and is in urgent need. Evolution Requirement can be classified into evolution features; researchers can describe the whole requirement by using evolution feature typology, the typology will define the relation and dependency between each features. After the evolution feature typology has been constructed, evolution model will be created to make the evolution more specific. Aspect oriented approach can be used for enhance evolution feature-model modularity. Aspect template code generation technique will be used for model transformation in the end. Product Line Engineering contains all the essential components for driving the whole evolution process.

Experiences with a knowledge engineering toolkit: an assessment in industrial robotics

V. Robinson, N. W. Hardy, D. P. Barnes, C. J. Price, M. H. Lee. Experiences with a knowledge engineering toolkit: an assessment in industrial robotics. Knowledge Engineering Review, 2 (1):43-54, 1987.

Knowledge engineering in robot control

N. W. Hardy, M. H. Lee, and D. P. Barnes. Knowledge engineering in robot control. In Proceedings of Expert Systems '83, pages 70-77, Cambridge, 1983.

Model-Based Reasoning: A Principled Approach for Software Engineering

Lee M.H., Model-Based Reasoning: A Principled Approach for Software Engineering, Software - Concepts and Tools,19(4), pp179-189, 2000.

Qualitative Modelling of Linear Networks in Engineering Applications

Lee M.H., Qualitative Modelling of Linear Networks in Engineering Applications, in Proc. ECAI?2000, 14th European Conf. on Artificial Intelligence, Berlin, August 19th - 25th 2000, pp161-5.

Metabolic Engineering, metabolite profiling and machine learning to investigate the phloem-mobile signal in systemic acquired resistance in tobacco

Draper, J., Darby, R.M., Beckmann, M., Maddison, A.L., Mondhe, M., Sheldrick, C., Taylor, J., Goodacre, R., and Kell, D.B. (2002) Metabolic Engineering, metabolite profiling and machine learning to investigate the phloem-mobile signal in systemic acquired resistance in tobacco. First International Congress on Plant Metabolomics, Wageningen, The Netherlands

Diminishing Returns of Engineering Effort in Telerobotic Systems

Wilson, M.S. and Neal, M.J., 'Diminishing Returns of Engineering Effort in Telerobotic Systems', IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics - Part A:Systems and Humans, 2001, September, volume 31, number 5, pp 459-465, IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, ed. Dautenhahn,K., Special Issue on Socially Intelligent Agents - The Human in the Loop

Using hybrid knowledge engineering and image processing in color virtual restoration of ancient murals

IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, vol. 15, no. 5, pp. 1338-1343, 2003.

Developing the untapped wealth of Britain's ?Celtic Fringe? : Water engineering and the Welsh landscape, 1870 ? 1960

Roberts, O. (2006). Developing the untapped wealth of Britain's ?Celtic fringe?: water engineering and the Welsh landscape, 1870-1960. Landscape Research. 31(2), pp.121-133. RAE2008

Integrating Sensor-Network Research and Development into a Software Engineering Curriculum

The emergence of a sensor-networked world produces a clear and urgent need for well-planned, safe and secure software engineering. It is the role of universities to prepare graduates with the knowledge and experience to enter the work-force with a clear understanding of software design and its application to the future safety of computing. The snBench (Sensor Network WorkBench) project aims to provide support to the programming and deployment of Sensor Network Applications, enabling shared sensor embedded spaces to be easily tasked with various sensory applications by different users for simultaneous execution. In this report we discus our experience using the snBench research project as the foundation for semester-long project in a graduate level software engineering class at Boston University (CS511).

Crystal engineering: exploiting variation of sulfur oxidation for the control of the solid state structure of organosulfur compounds

This thesis is focused on the design and synthesis of a diverse range of novel organosulfur compounds (sulfides, sulfoxides and sulfones), with the objective of studying their solid state properties and thereby developing an understanding of how the molecular structure of the compounds impacts upon their solid state crystalline structure. In particular, robust intermolecular interactions which determine the overall structure were investigated. These synthons were then exploited in the development of a molecular switch. Chapter One provides a brief overview of crystal engineering, the key hydrogen bonding interactions utilized in this work and also a general insight into “molecular machines” reported in the literature of relevance to this work. Chapter Two outlines the design and synthetic strategies for the development of two scaffolds suitable for incorporation of terminal alkynes, organosulfur and ether functionalities, in order to investigate the robustness and predictability of the S=O•••H-C≡C- and S=O•••H-C(α) supramolecular synthons. Crystal structures and a detailed analysis of the hydrogen bond interactions observed in these compounds are included in this chapter. Also the biological activities of four novel tertiary amines are discussed. Chapter Three focuses on the design and synthesis of diphenylacetylene compounds bearing amide and sulfur functionalities, and the exploitation of the N-H•••O=S interactions to develop a “molecular switch”. The crystal structures, hydrogen bonding patterns observed, NMR variable temperature studies and computer modelling studies are discussed in detail. Chapter Four provides the overall conclusions from chapter two and chapter three and also gives an indication of how the results of this work may be developed in the future. Chapter Five contains the full experimental details and spectral characterisation of all novel compounds synthesised in this project, while details of the NCI (National Cancer Institute) biological test results are included in the appendix.