Search results for "surface"
showing 10 items of 9345 documents
Sexual dimorphism in the vertebral wedging of the human lumbar vertebrae and its importance as a comparative framework for understanding the wedging …
2020
Lumbar lordosis is a key element of the upright posture, being interpreted as a consequence of bipedal locomotion. There is consensus that the generic modern human pattern of metameric vertebral body wedging is sexually dimorphic in modern humans. However, recently published studies have compared this pattern with other hominins, such as Neanderthals. These tried to establish whether the (male) Neanderthal lumbar vertebrae express a pattern that falls within or outside the range of modern human males. In the present study, data collected by 3D landmarks of the lumbar vertebrae of modern humans from different geographic regions and Neanderthals (Ntotal = 505 individual vertebrae) are used to…
Physiological incongruity of the humero-ulnar joint: a functional principle of optimized stress distribution acting upon articulating surfaces?
1993
Investigations into the distribution of subchondral bone density in the human elbow have suggested that the geometry of the trochlear notch deviates from a perfect fit with the trochlea, and that the load is transmitted ventrally and dorsally rather than through the centre of the humero-ulnar joint. We therefore decided to make a quantitative assessment of the degree of incongruity between the two components in 15 human specimens (age distribution 60 to 93 years) with different types of joint surface. Polyether casts of the joint cavity were prepared under loads of 10, 40, 160 and 640 N. The thickness of the casts was then measured at 50 predetermined points, and an area distribution of the…
Chromogenic detection of nerve agent mimics
2008
The current rise in international concern over criminal terrorist attacks via chemical warfare (CW) agents has resulted in an increasing interest in the detection of these lethal chemicals. Among CW species, nerve agents are extremely dangerous and their high toxicity and ease of production underscore the need to detect these deadly chemicals via quick and reliable procedures. A number of detection systems have been developed, most of them based on enzymatic and physical methodologies. However, these usually show limitations such as low selectivity, lack of portability and a certain complexity in their use. An alternative to these classical methods that has been gaining interest in recent y…
Multiphoton Absorption of Myoglobin Nitric-Oxide complex: Relaxation by D-NEMD of a Stationary State
2012
ABSTRACT: The photodissociation and geminate recombination of nitric oxide in myoglobin, under continuous illumination, is modeled computationally. The relaxation of the photon energy into the protein matrix is also considered in a single simulation scheme that mimics a complete experimental setup. The dynamic approach to non-equilibrium molecular dynamics is used, starting from a steady state, to compute its relaxation to equilibrium. Simulations are conducted for the native form of sperm whale myoglobin and for two other mutants, V68W and L29F, illustrating a fair diversity of spatial and temporal geminate recombination processes. Energy flow to the heme and immediate protein environment …
La métallurgie du fer au Sahel : Répartition spatiale de bas fourneaux au Sud-Ouest du Niger. Premiers résultats
2010
International audience; A 15 km à l'Est de Niamey (Sud-Ouest du Niger), une prospection pédestre exhaustive a permis de dénombrer plus de 4000 bas-fourneaux sur un bassin versant de 24 km². Ils sont identifiables par la présence de scories correspondant aux résidus de réduction du fer. Ce grand nombre de structures de réduction est lié au fonctionnement à usage unique des bas-fourneaux, qui est peu étudié dans la région ouest africaine. Les premières études de répartition spatiale montrent que l'implantation de ces bas-fourneaux est principalement soumise à la géomorphologie. Les forgerons ont installé leurs sites de réduction à proximité des talus de plateaux où affleure le minerai de fer …
Hyaluronan‐coated poly(propylene imine) dendrimers as biomimetic nanocarriers of doxorubicin
2022
A coating technology based on low molecular weight hyaluronic acid (HA) and ferulic acid (FA) was applied to the coating of low generation poly(propylene imine) dendrimers through a biocompatible hexa(ethylene glycol) spacer. The ensuing HA-FA-HEG-PPID dendrimeric materials showed interesting loading capability (between 7.65% and 9.08%) regarding anticancer agent doxorubicin, and their interactions with the drug appeared to hamper the drug release in the physiological environment. Thus, the stable nanostructured loaded delivery systems were able to internalize into cells expressing the HA receptor CD44 and to demonstrate high cytotoxicity comparable to that shown by equivalent amounts of fr…
Review on the Processing and Properties of Polymer Nanocomposites and Nanocoatings and Their Applications in the Packaging, Automotive and Solar Ener…
2017
For the last decades, nanocomposites materials have been widely studied in the scientific literature as they provide substantial properties enhancements, even at low nanoparticles content. Their performance depends on a number of parameters but the nanoparticles dispersion and distribution state remains the key challenge in order to obtain the full nanocomposites’ potential in terms of, e.g., flame retardance, mechanical, barrier and thermal properties, etc., that would allow extending their use in the industry. While the amount of existing research and indeed review papers regarding the formulation of nanocomposites is already significant, after listing the most common applications, this r…
Supramolecular Modification of ABC Triblock Terpolymers in Confinement Assembly
2018
The self-assembly of AB diblock copolymers in three-dimensional (3D) soft confinement of nanoemulsions has recently become an attractive bottom up route to prepare colloids with controlled inner morphologies. In that regard, ABC triblock terpolymers show a more complex morphological behavior and could thus give access to extensive libraries of multicompartment microparticles. However, knowledge about their self-assembly in confinement is very limited thus far. Here, we investigated the confinement assembly of polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine)-block-poly(tert-butyl methacrylate) (PS-b-P4VP-b-PT or SVT) triblock terpolymers in nanoemulsion droplets. Depending on the block weight fractio…
Bright Visible Luminescence in Silica Nanoparticles
2011
International audience; We demonstrate that a porous film of silica nanoparticles emits a bright visible luminescence associated with defects stabilized by oxygen chemisorption at oxygen deficient center sites. Time-resolved spectra excited by a tunable laser allow us to distinguish the luminescence at 1.99 eV, characteristic of the nonbridging oxygen hole center (NBOHC) (Si-O)3 Si-O*, and a fast and a slow emission: the first (lifetime τ ≈ 25 ns) is peaked at 2.27 eV with an excitation spectrum centered at 5.5 eV; the second (τ ≈ 7.5 μs) is peaked at 2.41 eV and is excited around 3.2 and 5.2 eV. Reaction in an air atmosphere leads to the disappearance of the NBOHC luminescence and of the …
Etude en champ proche et en champ lointain de composants périodiquement nanostructurés : cristaux photoniques et tamis à photons
2004
Recently, a new class of optical components is appeared. Its main characteristic is to be formed by a periodical sub-wavelength pattern, leading to the apparition of a spectral domain where propagation of light inside the structure is forbidden -- a photonic bandgap. This work is devoted to the study in the near- and far-field of two kinds of periodical optical components: photonic crystals (PCs) and nanostructured metallic films that exhibit the so-called enhanced transmission. First, we study two-dimensional PCs with a scanning near-field optical microscope (SNOM) in collection mode. With this SNOM, we directly map the intensity distribution inside PC-based microcavities. We also evidence…