Optimal concentration of mesenchymal stem cells for fracture healing in a rat model with long bone fracture

BACKGROUND There is still no consensus on which concentration of mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs)to use for promoting fracture healing in a rat model of long bone fracture.AIM To assess the optimal concentration of MSCs for promoting fracture healing in a rat model.METHODS Wistar rats were divided into four groups according to MSC concentrations:Normal saline(C),2.5×10^(6)(L),5.0×10^(6)(M),and 10.0×10^(6)(H)groups.The MSCs were injected directly into the fracture site.The rats were sacrificed at 2 and 6 wk post-fracture.New bone formation[bone volume(BV)and percentage BV(PBV)]was evaluated using micro-computed tomography(CT).Histological analysis was performed to evaluate fracture healing score.The protein expression of factors related to MSC migration[stromal cell-derived factor 1(SDF-1),transforming growth factor-beta 1(TGF-β1)]and angiogenesis[vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)]was evaluated using western blot analysis.The expression of cytokines associated with osteogenesis[bone morphogenetic protein-2(BMP-2),TGF-β1 and VEGF]was evaluated using real-time polymerase chain reaction.RESULTS Micro-CT showed that BV and PBV was significantly increased in groups M and H compared to that in group C at 6 wk post-fracture(P=0.040,P=0.009;P=0.004,P=0.001,respectively).Significantly more cartilaginous tissue and immature bone were formed in groups M and H than in group C at 2 and 6 wk post-fracture(P=0.018,P=0.010;P=0.032,P=0.050,respectively).At 2 wk post fracture,SDF-1,TGF-β1 and VEGF expression were significantly higher in groups M and H than in group L(P=0.031,P=0.014;P<0.001,P<0.001;P=0.025,P<0.001,respectively).BMP-2 and VEGF expression were significantly higher in groups M and H than in group C at 6 wk postfracture(P=0.037,P=0.038;P=0.021,P=0.010).Compared to group L,TGF-β1 expression was significantly higher in groups H(P=0.016).There were no significant differences in expression levels of chemokines related to MSC migration,angiogenesis and cytokines associated with osteogenesis between M and H groups at 2 and 6 wk post-fracture.CONCLUSION The administration of at least 5.0×10^(6)MSCs was optimal to promote fracture healing in a rat model of long bone fractures.

Analysis of minimum specific energy consumption and optimal transport concentration of slurry pipeline transport systems

Slurry pipeline transport is widely used in several industrial processes.Calculating the specific power consumption(SPC)and determining the best working conditions are important for the design and operation of transportation systems.Based on the Shanghai Jiao Tong University high-concentration multi-sized slurry pressure drop(SJTU-HMSPD)pipeline-resistance-calculation model,the SJTU-SPC model for calculating the power required to transport a unit volume of solid materials over a unit pipeline length is established for a slurry transport system.The said system demonstrates a uniformity coefficient in the 1.26–7.98 range,median particle size of 0.075–4 mm,particle volume concentration of 10–60%,and pipeline diameter of 0.203–0.8 m.The results obtained were successfully verified against existing experimental data.The influence of parameters,such as particle-gradation uniformity coefficient,median particle size,pipe diameter,and particle volume concentration,on the SPC were analysed.The results revealed that the greater is the uniformity coefficient,the smaller is the minimum specific energy consumption and the larger the optimal transport concentration for a constant,median particle size slurry.As observed,the optimal transport concentration for broad-graded sand equalled approximately 48%.These results supplement the conclusions of existing research,indicating that the optimal transport concentration is approximately 30%and provides theoretical support for high concentration transportation of broad graded slurry.

Optimized the vanadium electrolyte with sulfate-phosphoric mixed acids to enhance the stable operation at high-temperature

Herein, the influence of the concentration design and comprehensive performance of the sulfate-phosphoric mixed acid system electrolyte is investigated to realize an electrolyte that maintains high energy density and stable operation at high temperatures. Static stability tests have shown that VOPO4 precipitation occurs only with vanadium(V) electrolyte. The concentration of vanadium ion of 2.0–2.2 mol·L^(–1), phosphoric acid of 0.10–0.15 mol·L^(–1), and sulfuric acid of 2.5–3.0 mol·L^(–1) are suitable for a vanadium redox flow battery in the temperature range from –20 to 50 ℃. The equations for predicting the viscosity and conductivity of electrolytes are obtained by the response surface method. The optimized electrolyte overcomes precipitation generation. It has 2.8 times higher energy density than the non-phosphate electrolyte, and a coulomb efficiency of 94.0% at 50 ℃. The sulfate-phosphoric mixed acid system electrolyte promotes the electrode reaction process, increases the current density, and reduces the resistance. This work systematically optimizes the concentrations of composition of positive and negative vanadium electrolytes with mixed sulfate-phosphoric acid. It provides a basis for the different valence states and comprehensive properties of sulfate-phosphoric mixed acid system vanadium electrolytes under extreme environments, guiding engineering applications.

Minimizing stress concentrations around an elliptical hole by concentrated forces acting on the uniaxially loaded plate

When concentrated forces are applied at any points of the outer region of an ellipse in an infinite plate, the complex potentials are determined using the conformal mapping method and Cauchy＇s integral formula. And then, based on the superposition principle, the analyt- ical solutions for stress around an elliptical hole in an infinite plate subjected to a uniform far-field stress and concentrated forces, are obtained. Tangential stress concentration will occur on the hole boundary when only far-field uniform loads are applied. When concen- trated forces are applied in the reversed directions of the uniform loads, tangential stress concentration on the hole boundary can be released significantly. In order to minimize the tangential stress concentration, we need to determine the optimum positions and values of the concentrated forces. Three different optimization methods are applied to achieve this aim. The results show that the tangential stress can be released significantly when the op- timized concentrated forces are applied.

Structural optimization of uniaxial symmetry non-circular bolt clearance hole on turbine disk

This study proposes a parameterized model of a uniaxial symmetry non-circular hole, to improve conventional circular bolt clearance holes on turbine disks. The profile of the model consists of eight smoothly connected arcs, the radiuses of which are determined by 5 design variables.By changing the design variables, the profile of the non-circular hole can be transformed to accommodate different load ratios, thereby improving the stress concentration of the area near the hole and that of the turbine disk. The uniaxial symmetry non-circular hole is optimized based on finite element method（FEM）, in which the maximum first principal stress is taken as the objective function. After optimization, the stress concentration is evidently relieved; the maximum first principal stress and the maximum von Mises stress on the critical area are reduced by 30.39% and 25.34%respectively, showing that the uniaxial symmetry non-circular hole is capable of reducing the stress level of bolt clearance holes on the turbine disk.