In vitro and in vivo degradability,biocompatibility and antimicrobial characteristics of Cu added iron-manganese alloy

In recent years,iron(Fe)based degradable metal is explored as an alternative to permanent fracture fixation devices.In the present work,copper(Cu)is added in Fe-Mn system to enhance the degradation rate and antimicrobial properties.Fe-Mn-xCu(x=0.9,5 and 10 wt.％)alloys are prepared by the melting-casting-forging route.XRD analysis confirms austenite phase stabilization due to the presence of Mn and Cu.As predicted by Thermo-Calc calculations,Cu rich phase precipitations are noticed along the austen-ite grain boundaries.Degradation behaviours of Cu added Fe-Mn alloys are investigated through static immersion and electrochemical polarization where enhanced degradation is found for higher Cu added alloys.When challenged against E.Coli bacteria,the Fe-Mn-Cu alloy media extract shows a significant bac-tericidal effect compare to the base alloy.In vitro cytocompatibility studies,as determined using MG63 and MC3T3-E1 cell lines,indicate increased cell density as a function of time for all the alloys.When implanted in rabbit femur,the newly developed alloy does not show any kind of tissue necrosis around the implants.Better osteogenesis and higher new bone formation are observed with Fe-Mn-10Cu alloy as evident from micro-computed tomography(μ-CT)and fluorochrome labelling.     

Role of additives in fabrication of soy-based rigid polyurethane foam for structural and thermal insulation applications

Environmental concerns continue to pose the challenge to replace petroleum-based products with renewable ones completely or at least partially while maintaining comparable properties. Herein, rigid polyurethane (PU) foams were prepared using soy-based polyol for structural and thermal insulation applications. Cell size, density, thermal resistivity, and compression force deflection (CFD) values were evaluated and compared with that of petroleum-based PU foam Baydur 683. The roles of different additives, that is, catalyst, blowing agent, surfactants, and different functionalities of polyol on the properties of fabricated foam were also investigated. For this study, dibutyltin dilaurate was employed as catalyst and water as environment friendly blowing agent. Their competitive effect on density and cell size of the PU foams were evaluated. Five different silicone-based surfactants were employed to study the effect of surface tension on cell size of foam. It was also found that 5 g of surfactant per 100 g of polyol produced a foam with minimum surface tension and highest thermal resistivity (R value: 26.11 m²·K/W). However, CFD values were compromised for higher surfactant loading. Additionally, blending of 5 g of higher functionality soy-based polyol improved the CFD values to 328.19 kPa, which was comparable to that of petroleum-based foam Baydur 683.     

Effect of the Time and Temperature of Isothermal Quenching on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Bainitic Gray Cast Iron

Metal Science and Heat Treatment - Mechanical properties of copper-alloyed bainitic gray cast iron are studied after isothermal quenching for bainite at different temperatures and holds. The...     

Wind turbine drives — Test results from the ‘falcon’

A wind turbine drive has been designed and built for full scale trials in order to assess the use of this type of propulsion for commercial craft. This wind turbine rig is fitted to the 5.6m long Blackwater sloop ‘Falcon’.

Test results from this boat are presented over a range of operating wind conditions up to Beaufort force 6 (11.5m/s) for two different wind turbine rotors. Maximum boatspeeds reached were 3.5 knots upwind (in 7.2m/s wind), 5.0 knots across the wind (9.8m/s wind) and 5.2 knots downwind (8m/s wind). The ‘hull speed’ of this boat is around 5.0 knots.     

Optimising Residual Energy Transmission Head with SNR Value in Multiple Clusters

WSN consists of independent device spatially distributed in the wireless network with sensor that observes the environment conditions. In this paper we propose a new algorithm for transmission head and its function. The cluster head (CH) activities, the role of transmission head (TH) and the selection of TH in various scenarios are discussed. Moreover the residual energy of the head nodes, signal–noise ratio for CH and TH are analysed with simulation results. Section 3 defines the cluster region and the active nodes of the cluster. It defines the identity of each cluster node. Section 3 deals with the selection of CH and the role of TH. Also, the algorithmic approach of TH is explained in this section. Section 4 explains the process of TH to TH communication. The communication of the various clusters is discussed in this section. The final section presents the analysis of TH and CH work with a comparison based on simulation.

     

An implementation of Min–Max optimization for multipath SCTP through bandwidth estimation based resource pooling technique

Multipath transport protocols like Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) and Multipath TCP (MPTCP) have been introduced in the past as alternatives to traditional single path transport protocols like TCP and UDP. Various approaches to divide the flow on multiple paths have also been proposed in the literature. In this work, we show that the bandwidth estimation based resource pooling (BERP) congestion control algorithm is a practical implementation of the Min–Max optimization approach for flow division and verify this through ns-2 based simulations.     

Comparative study of the physico-chemical parameters of the coastal waters in rivers Matla and Saptamukhi: Impacts of coastal water coastal pollution

A qualitative and quantitative research has been performed on the physico-chemical parameters of the neighboring coastal waters of the rivers Matla and Saptamukhi in the Sunderban district, West Bengal. The distribution pattern of eight physico-chemical parameters, namely pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, suspended solids, nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations (inorganic and total) has been graphed and compared for the two rivers over a time period of ten years (??90s decade). A statistical analysis has been carried out and the correlation data between these parameters has been rationalized based on both natural and man-made activities during that time. This has pointed to various causes behind coastal pollution of river waters. The changes in water quality have been related to flood impacts, storm surge, eutrophication, domestic sewage, agricultural and industrial wastes. In order to avoid coastal degradation and maintain environmental balance, it is very important to understand the impact of these parameters on coastal zones.     

Investigation of in vitro bone cell adhesion and proliferation on Ti using direct current stimulation

Our objective was to establish an in vitro cell culture protocol to improve bone cell attachment and proliferation on Ti substrate using direct current stimulation. For this purpose, a custom made electrical stimulator was developed and a varying range of direct currents, from 5 to 25 μA, was used to study the current stimulation effect on bone cells cultured on conducting Ti samples in vitro. Cell–material interaction was studied for a maximum of 5 days by culturing with human fetal osteoblast cells (hFOB). The direct current was applied in every 8 h time interval and the duration of electrical stimulation was kept constant at 15 min for all cases. In vitro results showed that direct current stimulation significantly favored bone cell attachment and proliferation in comparison to nonstimulated Ti surface. Immunochemistry and confocal microscopy results confirmed that the cell adhesion was most pronounced on 25 μA direct current stimulated Ti surfaces as hFOB cells expressed higher vinculin protein with increasing amount of direct current. Furthermore, MTT assay results established that cells grew 30% higher in number under 25 μA electrical stimulation as compared to nonstimulated Ti surface after 5 days of culture period. In this work we have successfully established a simple and cost effective in vitro protocol offering easy and rapid analysis of bone cell–material interaction which can be used in promotion of bone cell attachment and growth on Ti substrate using direct current electrical stimulation in an in vitro model.