Neutron activation analysis for determination of metal ions in biological fluids of patients after CoCrMo arthroplasty

Determination of metals and trace elements in patients with total knee or hip arthroplasty with CoCrMo alloy was performed. Blood, urine and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were analyzed and compared with samples from healthy people. Levels of Co, Cr as well as Na, Ca, Fe, Zn, Se, Rb, Sb and Br were determined by means of neutron activation analysis. The values of Cr and Co of the blood and urine measurements were elevated in patients with replacement, and according to the statistical analysis, significant differences of the elements Zn, Br, Co and Sb were found in the CSF (p?<?0.05).

     

Kinetic Investigation of Poly(ethylene glycol) Hydrogel Formation via Perfusion‐Based Frontal Photopolymerization: Influence of Free‐Radical Polymerization Conditions on Frontal Velocity and Swelling Gradients

Poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogels are extensively used as scaffolds in tissue engineering. The ability to spatially control hydrogel properties is critical for designing scaffolds that direct cell behavior and tissue regeneration. To this end, we have recently developed a polymerization technique, perfusion‐based frontal photopolymerization, to generate tunable gradients in PEG hydrogels. This study explores the effects of polymerization conditions on the velocity of the propagating front and its influence on gradients in hydrogel swelling. Alterations in photoinitiator perfusion rate result in the largest variations in frontal velocity and in the magnitude of the swelling gradient among all polymerization conditions investigated.

     

Retrocrural masses of extramedullary hemopoiesis in beta-thalassemia

A case of extramedullary hemopoiesis in an 18-yr-old girl suffering from beta-thalassemia is reported. Extramedullary hemopoietic masses were localized apart from the paraspinal region in the retrocrural areas as well as the presacral region associated with massive destruction of the sacrum. The importance of recognition of hemopoietic masses in these regions in conditions other than hereditary hemolytic anaemias is briefly discussed.     

Parallel and distributed computing for stochastic dual dynamic programming

Computational Management Science - We study different parallelization schemes for the stochastic dual dynamic programming (SDDP) algorithm. We propose a taxonomy for these parallel algorithms,...     

Mathematical Model for Vinyl‐Divinyl Polymerization

A mathematical model for the crosslinking copolymerization of a vinyl and divinyl monomer was developed and applied to the case of methyl methacrylate and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate batch polymerization. Model results compare favorably to the experimental findings of Li and Hamielec 23 for the system investigated. The model presented utilizes the numerical fractionation technique 15 and is capable of predicting a broad range of distributional properties both for pre‐ and post‐gel operating conditions as well as polymer properties that were not experimentally determined from the experimental findings of Li and Hamielec, such as crosslink density and branching frequency. The effects of divinyl monomer fraction and chain transfer agent level on the polymer properties and the dynamics of gelation were also investigated.

     

Parameter estimation and asymptotic stability in stochastic filtering

In this paper, we study the problem of estimating a Markov chain X$X$ (signal) from its noisy partial information Y$Y$, when the transition probability kernel depends on some unknown parameters. Our goal is to compute the conditional distribution process P{_Xn∣_Yn,…,_Y1}$\mathbb{P}\{X_n\mid Y_n,\dots ,Y_1\}$, referred to hereafter as the optimal filter. Following a standard Bayesian technique, we treat the parameters as a non-dynamic component of the Markov chain. As a result, the new Markov chain is not going to be mixing, even if the original one is. We show that, under certain conditions, the optimal filters are still going to be asymptotically stable with respect to the initial conditions. Thus, by computing the optimal filter of the new system, we can estimate the signal adaptively.     

Reconstruction of the Chain Length Distribution for Vinyl‐Divinyl Copolymerization Using the Numerical Fractionation Technique

A proposed theory for evaluating the chain length distribution (CLD) using the numerical fractionation (NF) technique was extended to the vinyl‐divinyl (VDV) copolymerization. The CLD is reconstructed for this system, in which pendant double bond propagation leads to crosslinking and gel formation. The method was earlier developed for a non‐linear free‐radical polymerization scheme where chain transfer to polymer and termination by combination resulted in gel formation. The VDV study presented indicates that the proposed method of weighted summation (WS) accurately predicts the resulting CLDs evaluated using NF.

Comparison of the overall polymer NF and the direct solution CLDs near the gel point.     

Phosphate‐Loaded Hydrogel Nanoparticles for Sepsis Prevention Prepared via Inverse Miniemulsion Polymerization

Local depletion of intestinal phosphate triggers changes in bacterial phenotypes that adversely affect the health of the host. This article describes a process for encapsulating phosphates in crosslinked poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) nanoparticles using inverse miniemulsion polymerization as a drug delivery approach for sustained release of phosphates to the intestinal epithelium. The effects of crosslinker, PEGDA co‐monomer, N‐vinyl pyrrolidone, (NVP) and surfactant concentrations on the nanoparticle size distribution, swelling ratio and monomer conversion are investigated. Increased surfactant and PEGDA concentrations result in smaller particle size and swelling ratio. A copolymerization model of crosslinking is used to predict conversion and gelation dynamics as a function of polymerization conditions. The model assumes that bulk polymerization can be used to approximate inverse miniemulsion polymerization with an aqueous‐phase initiator. The initiator efficiency is used as an adjustable parameter to simulate the conversion dynamics, thus accounting for radical confinement effects and interaction with emulsifier molecules.