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Modular tissue engineering is a novel approach to creating scalable, self-assembling three-dimensional tissue constructs with inherent vascularisation. Under initial methods, the subcutaneous implantation of human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC)-covered collagen modules in immunocompromised mice resulted in significant host inflammation and limited HUVEC survival. Subsequently, a minimally-invasive injection technique was developed to minimize surgery-related inflammation, and cell death was attributed to extensive apoptosis within 72 hours of implantation. In confirmation of in vitro results, coating collagen modules with fibronectin (Fn) was shown in vivo to reduce short-term HUVEC apoptosis by nearly 40%, while increasing long-term HUVEC survival by 30% to 45%. Consequently, a 100% increase in the number of HUVEC-lined vessels was observed with Fn-coated modules, as compared to collagen-only modules, at 7 and 14 days post-implantation. Furthermore, vessels appeared to be perfused with host erythrocytes by day 7, and vessel maturation and stabilization was evident by day 14.

Modular tissue engineering is a novel approach to creating scalable, self-assembling three-dimensional tissue constructs with inherent vascularisation. Under initial methods, the subcutaneous implantation of human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC)-covered collagen modules in immunocompromised mice resulted in significant host inflammation and limited HUVEC survival. Subsequently, a minimally-invasive injection technique was developed to minimize surgery-related inflammation, and cell death was attributed to extensive apoptosis within 72 hours of implantation. In confirmation of in vitro results, coating collagen modules with fibronectin (Fn) was shown in vivo to reduce short-term HUVEC apoptosis by nearly 40%, while increasing long-term HUVEC survival by 30% to 45%. Consequently, a 100% increase in the number of HUVEC-lined vessels was observed with Fn-coated modules, as compared to collagen-only modules, at 7 and 14 days post-implantation. Furthermore, vessels appeared to be perfused with host erythrocytes by day 7, and vessel maturation and stabilization was evident by day 14.

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In this thesis, a concept for a modular assembly direct drive permanent magnetgenerator is presented. The maximum forces that act on the different parts of thegenerator during normal operation have been calculated and used in solid mechanicsimulations in SolidWorks. The result is a rough first draft of a generator designwhere the stator has been divided into five modules and the rotor into six modules.This division is done in order to avoid symmetries in the generator that could lead toproblems with self-oscillation.The modulization of the stator brings about certain difficulties, both for the magneticcircuit and for the winding scheme. Different solutions for optimization of themagnetic circuit are analyzed from both a physical and a construction technicalperspective. A winding scheme is produced and the winding process tested in awinding dummy produced according to the conceptual generator design.

Design options have been evaluated for the Modular Helium Reactor (MHR) for higher temperature operation. An alternative configuration for the MHR coolant inlet flow path is developed to reduce the peak vessel temperature (PVT). The coolant inlet path is shifted from the annular path between reactor core barrel and vessel wall through the permanent side reflector (PSR). The number and dimensions of coolant holes are varied to optimize the pressure drop, the inlet velocity, and the percentage of graphite removed from the PSR to create this inlet path. With the removal of ~10% of the graphite from PSR the PVT is reduced from 541 0C to 421 0C. A new design for the graphite block core has been evaluated and optimized to reduce the inlet coolant temperature with the aim of further reduction of PVT. The dimensions and number of fuel rods and coolant holes, and the triangular pitch have been changed and optimized. Different packing fractions for the new core design have been used to conserve the number of fuel particles. Thermal properties for the fuel elements are calculated and incorporated into these analyses. The inlet temperature, mass flow and bypass flow are optimized to limit the peak fuel temperature (PFT) within an acceptable range. Using both of these modifications together, the PVT is reduced to ~350 0C while keeping the outlet temperature at 950 0C and maintaining the PFT within acceptable limits. The vessel and fuel temperatures during low pressure conduction cooldown and high pressure conduction cooldown transients are found to be well below the design limits. The reliability and availability studies for coupled nuclear hydrogen production processes based on the sulfur iodine thermochemical process and high temperature electrolysis process have been accomplished. The fault tree models for both these processes are developed. Using information obtained on system configuration, component failure probability, component repair time and system operating modes and conditions, the system reliability and availability are assessed. Required redundancies are made to improve system reliability and to optimize the plant design for economic performance. The failure rates and outage factors of both processes are found to be well below the maximum acceptable range.

Spectral methods have been widely used in various fields of engineering and applied mathematics. In the field of computer arithmetic: data compression, polynomial multiplication and the spectral integer multiplication of Sch&uml / onhage and Strassen are among the most important successful utilization. Recent advancements in technology report the spectral methods may also be beneficial for modular operations heavily used in public key cryptosystems. In this study, we evaluate the use of spectral methods in modular multiplication. We carefully compare their timing performances with respect to the full return algorithms. Based on our evaluation, we introduce new approaches for spectral modular multiplication for polynomials and exhibit standard reduction versions of the spectral modular multiplication algorithm for polynomials eliminating the overhead of Montgomery&rsquo / s method. Moreover, merging the bipartite method and standard approach, we introduce the bipartite spectral modular multiplication to improve the hardware performance of spectral modular multiplication for polynomials. Finally, we introduce Karatsuba combined bipartite method for polynomials and its spectral version.

Jointless bridges are advantageous in removing mechanical joints which are a known cause of bridge deterioration. Elimination of joints provides a smoother riding surface and removes the possibility of de-icing salts penetrating the deck and corroding the deck reinforcing and underlying bridge superstructure. Jointless bridges are traditionally constructed by monolithically casting the entire bridge deck on beams after they have been erected. However, this process requires extensive in-field formwork and lengthy traffic closures. The Texas Department of Transportation proposes a new method of constructing jointless bridges using prefabricated girder-and-deck units connected on-site with cast-in-place closure pours. This new system will expedite construction and reduce disturbances to the traveling public. The objective of this experimental study was to investigate the behavior of the cast-in-place closure pour slab and to determine if it responds to wheel loads in the same way as a traditional monolithic continuous deck. The effects of the cold joints and discontinuous steel details are the focus of the research work.

<p>Modular decompositions of protein interaction networks can be used to identify modules of cooperating proteins. The biological plausibility off these modules might be questioned though. This report describes how a modular decomposition can be completed with semantic information in the visual representation. Possible methods for creating modules of functionally related proteins are also proposed in this work. The results show that such modules, with advantage can be combined with modules from a graph decomposition, to find proteins that are likely to cooperate to perform certain functions in organisms</p>

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