RSS 1.0Bradford Scholars is the University of Bradford online research archive. Access is free to anyone interested in research being conducted at Bradford. In the repository you will find a range of materials from journal articles and conference papers to research reports and theses.
Contact the repository team via openaccess@bradford.ac.uk with any queries about Open Access or how to deposit your research papers.
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Demonstrating the Potential of Using Bio-Based Sustainable Polyester Blends for Bone Tissue Engineering ApplicationsHealthcare applications are known to have a considerable environmental impact and the use of bio-based polymers has emerged as a powerful approach to reduce the carbon footprint in the sector. This research aims to explore the suitability of using a new sustainable polyester blend (Floreon™) as a scaffold directed to aid in musculoskeletal applications. Musculoskeletal problems arise from a wide range of diseases and injuries related to bones and joints. Specifically, bone injuries may result from trauma, cancer, or long-term infections and they are currently considered a major global problem in both developed and developing countries. In this work we have manufactured a series of 3D-printed constructs from a novel biopolymer blend using fused deposition modelling (FDM), and we have modified these materials using a bioceramic (wollastonite, 15% w/w). We have evaluated their performance in vitro using human dermal fibroblasts and rat mesenchymal stromal cells. The new sustainable blend is biocompatible, showing no differences in cell metabolic activity when compared to PLA controls for periods 1-18 days. FloreonTM blend has proven to be a promising material to be used in bone tissue regeneration as it shows an impact strength in the same range of that shown by native bone (just under 10 kJ/m2) and supports an improvement in osteogenic activity when modified with wollastonite.
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Reduction of scour around circular piers using collarsRiver dynamics and sediment transport play an important role in river bed morphology. Building a bridge pier along the river alters the cross-section of the river and causes the change in flow processes. These changes are mainly responsible for pier scour. In this paper, the usage of collars to reduce scour around circular piers has been investigated. The collars with different diameters and depth positions have been studied using previous data and additional data collected in the present study to assess their effectiveness in reducing scour. Using a wide range of measured data, an empirical equation to compute the maximum scour depth around the circular piers in the presence of collars has been proposed. The proposed equation has been validated and proven to be applicable to a wide range of pier layouts. It has been found that the maximum efficiency can be achieved by fixing the collar at bed level and adopting a collar diameter 1.5–2.5 times of pier diameter.
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Improving bond of fiber-reinforced polymer bars with concrete through incorporating nanomaterialsThe bond between FRP bars and concrete, the foremost performance for implementation of such reinforcements to corrosion-free concrete structures, is still unsatisfied due to the weak nature of duplex film in the interface. The existing approaches show low efficiency in improving the microstructures and bond between FRP bars and concrete. To address these issues, this paper provided a new approach for improving the bond between FRP bars and concrete by incorporating nanomaterials, as well as explored the modifying mechanisms and established the bond-slip models. For these purposes, the pull-out test, scanning electron microscope observation, as well as energy dispersive spectrometry analysis were performed. The experimental results demonstrated that the presence of nanomaterials increased the ultimate bond strengths between glass/carbon FRP bars and concrete by up to 16.2% and 37.8%, while the corresponding slips decreased by 28.7% and 35.4%, respectively. Such modification effects can be attributed to the optimized intrinsic composition and the reduced pore content of hydration products in the interface, especially in the duplex film, through the nanomaterial enrichment and nano-core effects. The bond-slip relationship between FRP bars and concrete with nanomaterials can be accurately predicted by the mBPE model.
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Preservation of Smooth Muscle Cell Integrity and Function: A Target for Limiting Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Expansion?(1) Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a silent, progressive disease with significant mortality from rupture. Whilst screening programmes are now able to detect this pathology early in its development, no therapeutic intervention has yet been identified to halt or retard aortic expansion. The inability to obtain aortic tissue from humans at early stages has created a necessity for laboratory models, yet it is essential to create a timeline of events from EARLY to END stage AAA progression. (2) We used a previously validated ex vivo porcine bioreactor model pre-treated with protease enzyme to create "aneurysm" tissue. Mechanical properties, histological changes in the intact vessel wall, and phenotype/function of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMC) cultured from the same vessels were investigated. (3) The principal finding was significant hyperproliferation of SMC from EARLY stage vessels, but without obvious histological or SMC aberrancies. END stage tissue exhibited histological loss of α-smooth muscle actin and elastin; mechanical impairment; and, in SMC, multiple indications of senescence. (4) Aortic SMC may offer a therapeutic target for intervention, although detailed studies incorporating intervening time points between EARLY and END stage are required. Such investigations may reveal mechanisms of SMC dysfunction in AAA development and hence a therapeutic window during which SMC differentiation could be preserved or reinstated.
