This study investigates the influence of the porosity of fiber mesh scaffolds obtained from a blend of starch and poly(epsilon-caprolactone) on the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of marrow stromal cells cultured under static and flow perfusion conditions. For this purpose, biodegradable scaffolds were fabricated by a fiber bonding method into mesh structures with two different por...

Scaffolds from poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(butylene terephthalate), PEOT/PBT, with a PEO molecular weight of 1,000 and a PEOT content of 70 weight% (1000PEOT70PBT30) were prepared by leaching salt particles (425-500 microm). Scaffolds of 73.5, 80.6 and 85.0% porosity were treated with a CO(2) gas plasma and seeded with rat bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs). After in vitro culture for 7 days (...

In this research the composition of polyurethane closed cell (PUCC) with two different concentrations of SiO2 nanoparticles (1.0 and 2.0 wt%) have been prepared. Optical microscopy and SEM imaging, watering uptake, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy of the synthesized samples were carried out. The optical microscopy imaging of samples showed differences in the appearance of matrix produ...

BACKGROUND Explaining the reduction of hydrolysis rate during lignocellulose hydrolysis is a challenge for the understanding and modelling of the process. This article reports the changes of cellulose and lignin surface areas, porosity and the residual cellulase activity during the hydrolysis of autohydrolysed wheat straw and delignified wheat straw. The potential rate-constraining mechanisms a...

Tillage operations disrupt surface layers of agricultural soils, creating a loosened structure with a substantial proportion of interaggregate porosity that enhances liquid and gaseous exchange properties favorable for plant growth. Unfortunately, such desirable soil tilth is structurally unstable and is susceptible to change by subsequent wetting and drying processes and other mechanical stres...

Harvest traffic with heavy equipment causes damage to forest soils. Whereas increased soil damage has been reported with increasing harvest equipment traffic and on increasing slope gradients, it is unclear how much soil damage is caused by different directions of skidding. We examined the effects of traffic frequency, skid trail slope and skidding direction on the dry bulk density and total po...

Cryogenic scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM), image analysis (IA) of SEM micrographs and X-ray microtomography (XMT) were used to obtain new information about the morphology of iron ore green pellets in this work. Cryo-SEM and freeze fracturing was used to observe entrapped air bubbles and arrangement of particles around the bubbles and in the matrix of wet green pellets. The observations ...

The porosity of a zone can be estimated either from a single “porosity log” (sonic, density, neutron, or magnetic resonance log) or a combination of porosity logs, in order to correct for variable lithology effects in complex reservoirs. In the carbonates, mineral mixtures are primarily drawn from calcite, dolomite, and quartz (either as sand grains or as chert); anhydrite and gypsum may also o...

permeability is a key parameter in reservoir characterization. in fact, without accurate information about reservoir permeability, there is no good solution for reservoir engineering problems. up to now, permeability values of a reservoir have been calculated through laboratory measurements or well testing methods. these methods are useful but they cannot describe a reservoir reliably and preci...

Pores in archaeological ceramics can form in a number of different ways, and reflect both deliberate choices and uncontrollable factors. Characterizing porosity by digital image analysis of thin sections holds a number of advantages as well as limitations. We present the results of experiments aimed at improving this method, focusing on high-resolution scans of entire thin sections. We examine ...