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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Degradable Plastics And Their Potential To Affect Solid Waste Systems, Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes Jan 2014

Degradable Plastics And Their Potential To Affect Solid Waste Systems, Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Plastic waste forms a substantial part of municipal solid waste and has caused environmental concerns, particularly due to chemical contamination of the environment and effects from persistent litter. Plastics also complicate waste management processes, such as by having poor recovery rates through recycling, and causing contamination in composting operations. One potential means to address some of these challenges is through degradable plastics which, unlike conventional plastics, are designed to decompose at an accelerated rate in specific environments. Degradable plastics aim to address the end-of-life of plastic products and are intended to reduce the environmental impacts associated with their use and …


Computational Optogenetics: Empirically-Derived Voltage- And Light-Sensitive Channelrhodopsin-2 Model, John C. Williams, Jianjin Xu, Zhongju Lu, Aleksandra Klimas, Xuxin Chen, Christina M. Ambrosi, Ira S. Cohen, Emilia Entcheva Sep 2013

Computational Optogenetics: Empirically-Derived Voltage- And Light-Sensitive Channelrhodopsin-2 Model, John C. Williams, Jianjin Xu, Zhongju Lu, Aleksandra Klimas, Xuxin Chen, Christina M. Ambrosi, Ira S. Cohen, Emilia Entcheva

Department of Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Channelrhodospin-2 (ChR2), a light-sensitive ion channel, and its variants have emerged as new excitatory optogenetic tools not only in neuroscience, but also in other areas, including cardiac electrophysiology. An accurate quantitative model of ChR2 is necessary for in silicoprediction of the response to optical stimulation in realistic tissue/organ settings. Such a model can guide the rational design of new ion channel functionality tailored to different cell types/tissues. Focusing on one of the most widely used ChR2 mutants (H134R) with enhanced current, we collected a comprehensive experimental data set of the response of this ion channel to different irradiances and voltages, …