Manual of the arts employed in the fabrication of the Cathedral of Washington.

Pt. 1. On stained glass.

Fabrication of U. S. S. stainless and heat resisting steels.

"Seventh printing, 1957."

Noise study, fabrication of noise measuring equipment and data collection and collation program. Interim engineering report no. 16, Sept. 1-Nov. 30, 1952.

Mode of access: Internet.

Gene expression profiles in murine hematopoietic stem cells revisited: Analysis of cDNA libraries reveals high levels of translational and metabolic activities

Gene expression studies from hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) populations purified to variable degrees have defined a set of sternness genes. Unexpectedly, results also hinted toward a HSC chromatin poised in a wide-open state. With the aim of providing a robust tool for further studies into the molecular biology of HSCs, the studies herein describe the construction and comparative molecular analysis of A-phage cDNA libraries from highly purified HSCs that retained their long-term repopulating activities (long-term HSCs [LT-HSCs]) and from short-term repopulating HSCs that were largely depleted of these activities. Microarray analysis of the libraries confirmed the previous results but also revealed an unforeseen preferential expression of translation- and metabolism-associated genes in the LT-HSCs. Therefore, these data indicate that HSCs are quiescent only in regard of proliferative activities but are in a state of readiness to provide the metabolic and translational activities required after induction of proliferation and exit from the HSC pool.

Systematic selection of solvents for the fabrication of 3D combined macro- and microporous polymeric scaffolds for soft tissue engineering

In this study, we investigate the fabrication of 3D porous poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) scaffolds using the thermally-induced phase separation technique. The current study focuses on the selection of alternative solvents for this process using a number of criteria, including predicted solubility. toxicity, removability and processability. Solvents were removed via either vacuum freeze-drying or leaching, depending on their physical properties. The residual solvent was tested using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A large range of porous, highly interconnected scaffold architectures with tunable pore size and alignment was obtained, including combined macro- and microporous structures and an entirely novel 'porous-fibre' structure. The morphological features of the most promising poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) scaffolds were analysed via scanning electron microscopy and X-ray micro-computed tomography in both two and three dimensions. The Young's moduli of the scaffolds under conditions of temperature, pH and ionic strength similar to those found in the body were tested and were found to be highly dependent on the architectures.

Novel formulation strategies for the fabrication of lyophilised orally disintegrating tablets

Orally disintegrating Tablets (ODTs), also known as fast-disintegrating, fast-melt or fast-dissolving tablets, are a relatively novel dosage technology that involves the rapid disintegration or dissolution of the dosage form into a solution or suspension in the mouth without the need for water. The solution containing the active ingredients is swallowed, and the active ingredients are then absorbed through the gastrointestinal epithelium to reach the target and produce the desired effect. Formulation of ODTs was originally developed to address swallowing difficulties of conventional solid oral dosage forms (tablets and capsules) experienced by wide range of patient population, especially children and elderly. The current work investigates the formulation and development of ODTs prepared by freeze drying. Initial studies focused on formulation parameters that influence the manufacturing process and performance of lyophilised tablets based on excipients used in commercial products (gelatin and saccharides). The second phase of the work was followed up by comprehensive studies to address the essential need to create saccharide free ODTs using naturally accruing amino acids individually or in combinations. Furthermore, a factorial design study was carried out to investigate the feasibility of delivering multiparticulate systems of challenging drugs using a novel formulation that exploited the electrostatic associative interaction between gelatin and carrageenan. Finally, studies aimed to replace gelatin with ethically and morally accepted components to the end users were performed and the selected binder was used in factorial design studies to investigate and optimise ODT formulations that incorporated drugs with varies physicochemical properties. Our results show that formulation of elegant lyophilised ODTs with instant disintegration and adequate mechanical strength requires carful optimisation of gelatin concentration and bloom strength in addition to saccharide type and concentration. Successful formulation of saccharides free lyophilised ODTs requires amino acids that crystallise in the frozen state or display relatively high Tg', interact and integrate completely with the binder and, also, display short wetting time with the disintegrating medium. The use of an optimised mixture of gelatin, carrageenan and alanine was able to create viscous solutions to suspend multiparticulate systems and at the same time provide tablets with short disintegration times and adequate mechanical properties. On the other hand, gum arabic showed an outstanding potential for use as a binder in the formulation of lyophilised ODTs. Compared to gelatin formulations, the use of gum arabic simplified the formulation stages, shortened the freeze drying cycles and produced tablets with superior performance in terms of the disintegration time and mechanical strength. Furthermore, formulation of lyophilised ODTs based on gum arabic showed capability to deliver diverse range of drugs with advantages over commercial products.

Design and fabrication of a nonlinear micro impact oscillator

In this paper we describe the design and fabrication of a mechanical autonomous impact oscillator with a MEMS resonator as the frequency control element. The design has been developed with scalability to large 2-D arrays of coupled oscillators in mind. The dynamic behaviour of the impact oscillator was numerically studied and it was found that the geometry nonlinearity has an effect on the static pull-in voltage and equilibrium position. The external driving power can alter the frequency of the impact oscillator. The autonomous nature of the oscillator simplifies the complexity of the drive circuitry and is essential for large 2-D arrays.

Design and fabrication of fibre Bragg gratings with V-shaped dispersion profile for multi-channel signal processing

We have designed and fabricated a new type of fibre Bragg grating (FBG) with a V-shaped dispersion profile for multi-channel dispersion compensation in communication links.

Design and fabrication of fiber Bragg gratings with V-shaped dispersion profile

We propose a new type of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) with a V-shaped dispersion profile. We demonstrate that such V-shaped FBGs bring advantages in manipulation of optical signals compared to conventional FBGs with a constant dispersion, e.g., they can produce larger chirp for the same input pulsewidth and/or can be used as pulse shapers. Application of the proposed V-shaped FBGs for signal prechirping in fiber transmission is examined. The proposed design of the V-shaped FBG can be easily extended to embrace multichannel devices.

Fabrication of micro-channels in optical fibers using femtosecond laser pulses and selective chemical etching

The fabrication of micro-channels in single-mode optical fibers is demonstrated using focused femtosecond laser processing and chemical etching. Straight line micro-channels are achieved based on a simple technique which overcomes limitations imposed by the fiber curved surface.

The fabrication of biodegradable nanospheres from novel hydroxalkanoates for the delivery of actives of pharmaceutical and agricultural interest

This work describes the fabrication of nanospheres from a range of novel polyhydroxyalkanoates supplied by Monsanto, St Louis, Missouri, USA for the delivery of selected actives of both pharmaceutical and agricultural interest. Initial evaluation of established microsphere and nanosphere fabrication techniques resulted in the adoption and optimisation of a double sonication solvent evaporation method involving the synperonic surfactant F68. Nanospheres could be consistently generated with this method. Studies on the incorporation and release of the surrogate protein Bovine Serum Albumin V demonstrated that BSA could be loaded with between 10-40% w/w BSA without nanosphere destabilisation. BSA release from nanospheres into Hanks Balanced Salts Solution, pH 7.4, could be monitored for up to 28 days at 37°C. The incorporation and release of the Monsanto actives - the insecticide Admire® ({ 1-[(6-chloro-3-pyridinyl)methyIJ-N-nitro-2-imidazolidinimine}) and the plant growth hormone potassium salt Gibberellic acid (GA3K) from physico-chemically characterised polymer nanospheres was monitored for up to 37 days and 28 days respectively, at both 4°C and 23°C. Release data was subsequently fitted to established kinetic models to elaborate the possible mechanisms of release of actives from the nanospheres. The exposure of unloaded nanospheres to a range of physiological media and rural rainwater has been used to investigate the role polymer biodegradation by enzymatic and chemical means might play in the in vivo release of actives and agricultural applications. The potential environmental biodegradation of Monsanto polymers has been investigated using a composting study (International Standard ISO/FDIS 14855) in which the ultimate aerobic biodegradation of the polymers has been monitored by the analysis of evolved carbon dioxide. These studies demonstrated the potential of the polymers for use in the environment, for example as a pesticide delivery system.

Design and fabrication of fibre Bragg gratings with V-shaped dispersion profile for multi-channel signal processing

We propose a new type of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) with a V-shaped dispersion profile. We demonstrate that such V-shaped FBGs bring advantages in manipulation of optical signals compared to conventional FBGs with a constant dispersion, e.g., they can produce larger chirp for the same input pulsewidth and/or can be used as pulse shapers. Application of the proposed V-shaped FBGs for signal prechirping in fiber transmission is examined. The proposed design of the V-shaped FBG can be easily extended to embrace multichannel devices.

Fabrication of high aspect ratio microfluidic devices using direct FS ablation

We present a single stage direct fs ablation results which show that it is possible to make high quality and high aspect ratio devices in a single stage process using a CAD optimised approach.