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The development of advanced biomaterials is a crucial step to enhance the efficacy of tissue engineering strategies for treatment of myocardial infarction. Specific characteristics of ...biomaterials including electrical conductivity, mechanical robustness and structural integrity need to be further enhanced to promote the functionalities of cardiac cells. In this work, we fabricated UV-crosslinkable gold nanorod (GNR)-incorporated gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) hybrid hydrogels with enhanced material and biological properties for cardiac tissue engineering. Embedded GNRs promoted electrical conductivity and mechanical stiffness of the hydrogel matrix. Cardiomyocytes seeded on GelMA-GNR hybrid hydrogels exhibited excellent cell retention, viability, and metabolic activity. The increased cell adhesion resulted in abundance of locally organized F-actin fibers, leading to the formation of an integrated tissue layer on the GNR-embedded hydrogels. Immunostained images of integrin β-1 confirmed improved cell-matrix interaction on the hybrid hydrogels. Notably, homogeneous distribution of cardiac specific markers (sarcomeric α-actinin and connexin 43), were observed on GelMA-GNR hydrogels as a function of GNRs concentration. Furthermore, the GelMA-GNR hybrids supported synchronous tissue-level beating of cardiomyocytes. Similar observations were also noted by, calcium transient assay that demonstrated the rhythmic contraction of the cardiomyocytes on GelMA-GNR hydrogels as compared to pure GelMA. Thus, the findings of this study clearly demonstrated that functional cardiac patches with superior electrical and mechanical properties can be developed using nanoengineered GelMA-GNR hybrid hydrogels.
In this work, we developed gold nanorod (GNR) incorporated gelatin-based hydrogels with suitable electrical conductivity and mechanical stiffness for engineering functional cardiac tissue constructs (e.g. cardiac patches). The synthesized conductive hybrid hydrogels properly accommodated cardiac cells and subsequently resulted in excellent cell retention, spreading, homogeneous distribution of cardiac specific markers, cell-cell coupling as well as robust synchronized (tissue-level) beating behavior.
This article considers sources of opposition to allowing access to medical assistance in dying for individuals with mental illness. It originated with an observation by members of the University of ...Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics that in mainstream Canadian culture - as well as in political, academic, and professional circles - such opposition remains widespread (and often reflexive). This opposition exists even in light of broad support for access to assisted dying for individuals with illness manifesting in physical suffering. Most Canadians treat the prospect of assisted dying for those with mental illness with suspicion, and it is worth exploring why this opposition persists, what arguments can be leveled to support it, and whether those arguments can be sustained. To that end, I identify five objections to assisted dying for the mentally ill that seem to characterize the public debate, and argue that none are sustainable. They either rely on false premises or otherwise fail to secure the conclusion that assisted dying should be off limits to people suffering from mental illness, even when such mental illness is their sole underlying condition.
ABSTRACT Our three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of starbursts examine the formation of superbubbles over a range of driving luminosities and mass loadings that determine superbubble growth ...and wind velocity. From this we determine the relationship between the velocity of a galactic wind (GW) and the power of the starburst. We find a threshold for the formation of a wind, above which the speed of the wind is not affected by grid resolution or the temperature floor of our radiative cooling. We investigate the effect that two different temperature floors in our radiative cooling prescription have on wind kinematics and content. We find that cooling to 10 K instead of to 104 K increases the mass fraction of cold neutral and hot X-ray gas in the GW, while halving that in warm H . Our simulations show that the mass of cold gas transported into the lower halo does not depend on the starburst strength. Optically bright filaments form at the edge of merging superbubbles, or where a cold dense cloud has been disrupted by the wind. Filaments formed by merging superbubbles will persist and grow to > 400 pc in length if anchored to a star forming complex. Filaments embedded in the hot GW contain warm and cold gas that moves 300−1200 km s−1 slower than the surrounding wind, with the coldest gas hardly moving with respect to the Galaxy. Warm and cold matter in the GW show asymmetric absorption profiles consistent with observations, with a thin tail up to the wind velocity.
•Granular sludge stability in the treatment of brewery wastewater was studied.•Short duration cycle produced unstable granules independently from the OLR.•Extended famine conditions and low OLRs ...improved the AGS structure.•A proper feast/famine balance is crucial for maintaining stable aerobic granules.
Results obtained from three aerobic granular sludge reactors treating brewery wastewater are presented. Reactors were operated for 60d days in each of the two periods under different cycle duration: (Period I) short 6h cycle, and (Period II) long 12h cycle. Organic loading rates (OLR) varying from 0.7kgCODm−3d−1 to 4.1kgCODm−3d−1 were tested. During Period I, granules successfully developed in all reactors, however, results revealed that the feast and famine periods were not balanced and the granular structure deteriorated and became irregular. During Period II at decreased 12h cycle time, granules were observed to develop again with superior structural stability compared to the short 6h cycle time, suggesting that a longer starvation phase enhanced production of proteinaceous EPS. Overall, the extended famine conditions encouraged granule stability, likely because long starvation period favours bacteria capable of storage of energy compounds.
A 60 kpc Galactic Wind Cone in NGC 3079 Hodges-Kluck, Edmund J.; Yukita, Mihoko; Tanner, Ryan ...
The Astrophysical journal,
11/2020, Letnik:
903, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Galactic winds are associated with intense star formation and active galactic nuclei. Depending on their formation mechanism and velocity, they may remove a significant fraction of gas from their ...host galaxies, thus suppressing star formation, enriching the intergalactic medium, and shaping the circumgalactic gas. However, the long-term evolution of these winds remains mostly unknown. We report the detection of a wind from NGC 3079 to at least 60 kpc from the galaxy. We detect the wind in far-ultraviolet (FUV) line emission to 60 kpc (as inferred from the broad FUV filter in the Galaxy Evolution Explorer) and X-rays to at least 30 kpc. The morphology, luminosities, temperatures, and densities indicate that the emission comes from shocked material, and the O/Fe ratio implies that the X-ray-emitting gas is enriched by Type II supernovae. If so, the speed inferred from simple shock models is about 500 km s−1, which is sufficient to escape the galaxy. However, the inferred kinetic energy in the wind from visible components is substantially smaller than canonical hot superwind models.
A set of 66 3D hydrodynamical simulations explores how galactic stellar mass affects three-phase, starburst-driven outflows. Simulated velocities are compared to two basic analytic models: with and ...without a gravitational potential. For stellar mass <1010M , simulated velocities match those of both analytical models and are unaffected by the potential; above they reduce significantly as expected from the analytic model with gravity. Gravity also affects total outflow mass and each of the three phases differently. Outflow masses in the hot, warm, and cold phases each scale with stellar mass as −0.25, −0.97, and −1.70, respectively. Thus, the commonly used Chevalier & Clegg analytic model should be modified to include gravity when applied to higher-mass galaxies. In particular, using M82 as the canonical galaxy to interpret hydrodynamical simulations of starburst-driven outflows from higher-mass galaxies will underestimate the retarding effect of gravity. Using the analytic model of Johnson & Axford with realistic thermalization efficiency and mass loading, I find that only galaxy masses 1011.5M can outflow.
In this study, three different aerobic granular sludge (AGS) reactors fed with anaerobically pre-treated brewery wastewater were studied. The AGS reactors were operated under different conditions ...including organic loading rates (OLR) between 0.8 and 4.1 kg COD m
d
, C:N:P ratios (100:10:1 and 100:6:1) and food to microorganism ratios (F/M) between 0.8 ± 0.6 and 1.2 ± 0.5 and 0.9 ± 0.3 kg-TCOD kg-VSS
d
. Stable granulation was achieved within two weeks and the size of the granules increased according to the OLR applied. The results indicated that low C:N:P and F/M ratios were favorable to achieve stable aerobic granules in the long term. The carbon removal rate was load-independent in the range examined (TCOD removal >80%), whereas TN removals were inversely proportional to the OLRs. Overall, a longer aeration reaction time with a lower OLR was beneficial to granular structure, which exhibited a compact and defined architecture. Performance results within the other conditions studied further indicated that the microbial community and its complex functionality in nutrient removal was efficient at operational parameters of OLR at 0.8 ± 0.2 kg-TCOD m
d
and F/M ratio at 0.5 ± 0.2 kg-TCOD VSS
d
. Moreover, the protein to polysaccharide ratio increased as OLR decreased, leading to a stable granular structure.
Three parallel reactors (i.e. R1-R3) were operated with 340 mg-COD L
−1
, 42 mg-TN L
−1
, and 7 mg-TP L
−1
at 20 ± 1°C. A mature granular sludge developed in 40 d and was stable for the 120 d ...experimentation period at an average food to microorganism ratio of 0.25 ± 0.08 g-COD g-VSS
−1
d
−1
. Reactor biomass had higher inorganic content (i.e. 0.78-0.80 g-VSS g-TSS
−1
) than effluent biomass (i.e. 0.88-0.92 g-VSS g-TSS
−1
). Average granule diameter was 0.7-1.0 mm. Maximum phosphorus uptake and release rates averaged 4 ± 3 and 4 ± 2 mg-P g-VSS
−1
h
−1
, respectively. Maximum observed nitrification rates averaged 1.9 ± 0.6 mg-N g-VSS
−1
h
−1
. Phosphorus kinetics were similar between R1-R3 (i.e. P = 0.5309-0.6870) while nitrification kinetics varied significantly (i.e. P = 0.0002) even though conditions were the same. Effluent phosphate was on average 0.2 ± 0.4 mg-P L
−1
while total inorganic nitrogen removal averaged 60 ± 10% resulting in an average effluent of 17 mg-N L
−1
. Aerobic granular sludge was capable of reliable nutrient removal from low-strength wastewater without volatile fatty acid source and at high dissolved oxygen concentrations.
A methodology has been developed for optimizing building supervisory control strategies, employing building models that incorporate stochastic models of occupant behaviour and serve as the objective ...function evaluator in a stochastic model predictive control (SMPC) architecture. The SMPC architecture accounts for variability in building performance due to occupant behaviour and is shown to generate a sequence of automatic window opening decisions for a mixed mode building which lead to more robust building performance in the face of occupant window use than a heuristic controller. A set of receding optimization time horizons are described which enable the use of complex building models in simulated SMPC. Results of a case study show that deterministic optimization predicts a 50% increase in building performance, while stochastic optimization leads to a more conservative and more reliable 33% performance improvement, which takes into consideration the impact of occupant behaviour.
Abstract
Using a series of 3D relativistic hydrodynamical simulations of active galactic nuclei (AGN) we investigate how AGN power, a clumpy interstellar medium (ISM) structure, and AGN jet angle ...with respect to the galactic disk affect the morphology and content of the resulting galactic outflow. For low-power AGN across three orders of magnitude of AGN luminosities (10
41
–10
43
erg s
−1
) our simulations did not show significant changes to either the morphology or total mass of the outflow. Changing the angle of the AGN jet with respect to the galaxy did show small changes in the total outflow mass of a factor of 2–3. Jets perpendicular to the galactic disk created hot single-phase outflows, while jets close to parallel with the disk created multiphase outflows with equal parts warm and hot, and significant cold gas. Overall the final morphology of low-power AGN outflows depends primarily on how the jet impacts and interacts with large, dense clouds in the clumpy ISM. These clouds can disrupt, deflect, split, or suppress the jet, preventing it from leaving the galactic disk as a coherent structure. But for simulations with AGN luminosities > 10
44
erg s
−1
the ISM played a minor role in determining the morphology of the outflow with an undisrupted jet leaving the disk. The final morphology of AGN outflows is different for low-power AGNs versus high-power AGNs with the final morphology of low-power AGN outflows dependent on the ISM structure within the first kiloparsec surrounding the AGN.
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