201,243 research outputs found
Particle-based simulation of ellipse-shaped particle aggregation as a model for vascular network formation
Computational modelling is helpful for elucidating the cellular mechanisms
driving biological morphogenesis. Previous simulation studies of blood vessel
growth based on the Cellular Potts model (CPM) proposed that elongated,
adhesive or mutually attractive endothelial cells suffice for the formation of
blood vessel sprouts and vascular networks. Because each mathematical
representation of a model introduces potential artifacts, it is important that
model results are reproduced using alternative modelling paradigms. Here, we
present a lattice-free, particle-based simulation of the cell elongation model
of vasculogenesis. The new, particle-based simulations confirm the results
obtained from the previous Cellular Potts simulations. Furthermore, our current
findings suggest that the emergence of order is possible with the application
of a high enough attractive force or, alternatively, a longer attraction
radius. The methodology will be applicable to a range of problems in
morphogenesis and noisy particle aggregation in which cell shape is a key
determining factor.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures, 2 supplementary videos (on Youtube), submitted
to Computational Particle Mechanics, special issue: Jos\'e-Manuel Garcia
Aznar (Ed.) Particle-based simulations on cell and biomolecular mechanic
Driving Simulation & Virtual Reality: Introduction to the Special issue of TRF
With the advent of more and more sophisticated driving assistance systems on the market, the use of driving simulators to test them has become nearly compulsory. The number of research papers involving simulator studies that were published in recent years testifies such importance. This popularity is also demonstrated through large investments performed by major car manufacturers to acquire state-of-the-art high performance simulators. The current Special Issue gathers 9 high-quality studies. The contributions were chosen among the best papers of the 17th Driving Simulation & Virtual Reality Conference, a now well-established conference in the driving simulation community and published as two-page abstracts in the proceedings of the conference. These contributions cover a wide range of aspects related to the use of driving simulators
Classical orbital paramagnetism in non-equilibrium steady state
We report the results of our numerical simulation of classical-dissipative
dynamics of a charged particle subjected to a non-markovian stochastic forcing.
We find that the system develops a steady-state orbital magnetic moment in the
presence of a static magnetic field. Very significantly, the sign of the
orbital magnetic moment turns out to be {\it paramagnetic} for our choice of
parameters, varied over a wide range. This is shown specifically for the case
of classical dynamics driven by a Kubo-Anderson type non-markovian noise.
Natural spatial boundary condition was imposed through (1) a soft (harmonic)
confining potential, and (2) a hard potential, approximating a reflecting wall.
There was no noticeable qualitative difference. What appears to be crucial to
the orbital magnetic effect noticed here is the non-markovian property of the
driving noise chosen. Experimental realization of this effect on the laboratory
scale, and its possible implications are briefly discussed. We would like to
emphasize that the above steady-state classical orbital paramagnetic moment
complements, rather than contradicts the Bohr-van Leeuwen (BvL) theorem on the
absence of classical orbital diamagnetism in thermodynamic equilibrium.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Has appeared in Journal of Astrophysics and
Astronomy special issue on 'Physics of Neutron Stars and Related Objects',
celebrating the 75th birth-year of G. Srinivasa
Development of limiting dilution viability pcr method to assess the effectiveness of selected biocides to treat indoor fungi growth
Indoor fungal contamination should be treated with cost-effective and green methods.
Biocides have direct biological effect on living organisms but the evidence on their
control of indoor fungal contamination is scarce. Using conventional cultivation to
evaluate their effectiveness is time consuming while polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
provides a fast and reliable alternative. The incorporation of serial dilution technique
and viability information in PCR has made it suitable to evaluate the effectiveness of
biocides. Thus, this study aimed to assess the antifungal ability of biocides, zinc
salicylate (ZS), calcium benzoate (CB) and potassium sorbate (KS) to treat indoor
fungal contamination through developing limiting dilution viability PCR (vPCR).
These biocides were selected as they successfully controlled the growth of indoor
waterborne fungi previously. Indoor air sampling revealed that higher educational
building of computer studies (Building A) and of civil engineering studies (Building
B) were contaminated by 509 CFU/m3 and 805.7 CFU/m3 of indoor airborne fungi,
respectively. Two indoor fungi, Talaromyces spp. and Aspergillus niger were
identified. They were subjected to biocides-treatment and subsequent conventional
cultivation and limiting dilution vPCR due to their potential risks against humans’
health. The limiting dilution vPCR was developed by incorporating the pre-treatment
of propidium monoazide (PMA) before deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) extraction and
the serial dilution of the DNA template in PCR. This approach was proven to
effectively enumerate the effectiveness of biocides to treat indoor fungi. KS was
shown to have the best effectiveness (100%) to prevent the growth of Talaromyces
spp, followed by ZS (80.8%) and CB (no effect). KS also showed the best
effectiveness against A. niger (100%) at the early stage of the study but its effect
reduced with time. ZS showed durable effect (66.67%) against A. niger Day 9
cultures. Inconstant results were indicated by cultivation method. This study has
provided a cheaper, more accurate and suitable approach to determine the
effectiveness of treatment of indoor fungi than cultivation methods
Application of palm shell activated carbon filter as a medium of indoor air contaminant adsorbent for indoor air quality improvement
For decades, the inclusion of activated carbon (AC) adsorption technique through
filtration has gained significant interest on improvement of indoor air quality (IAQ)
by reducing level of pollutant. The interest of reseachers in palm shell AC (PSAC)
keep increase owing to the fact that this material has superior characteristic as
compared to commercial AC. However, the investigation of PSAC performance for
air filtration are still limited and no research could be found on relating the effect of
burner for carbonization on PSAC properties. Therefore, the current research was
focused on producing PSAC by using new fabricated burner, exploring the effect of
combination of physical and chemical activation towards PSAC properties and
investigating of PSAC air filter performance used in Mechanical Ventilation Air
Conditioning (MVAC) system. Preliminary studies began with IAQ monitoring in
different building condition. The present data revealed that at certain situation, the
buildings environment was below than satisfactory level and required mitigation plan
by introducing new air filtration media in MVAC system. The best quality of charcoal
was obtained by Horizontal burner with less fume formation during carbonization
process compare to other design. The physical properties analysis of palm shell
charcoal showed the carbonization time (CT) 2 hours gained better charcoal properties
and highly recommended to continue into the activation process. After the activation
process, PSAC physical+chemical shows significantly higher pore development,
surface area and adsorption capacity compare to the other process. The lowest density
and the highest porosity up to 0.4632 g/cm
and 7.11% was calculated while the
highest Iodine number of 1091.05 mg/g and BET surface area of 713.7 m
3
/g was
obtained respectively in PSAC physical+chemical. Meanwhile, microstructure and
composition analysis shows that, PSAC physical+chemical fully produced honeycomb
form of porosity and comprised of C, O, K and Ca contents for high adsorption
capacity. The improvement of IAQ in the buildings was achieved with the application
of PSAC air filter which shows low concentration of CO2 with 302 ppm, CO with 0.4
ppm , TVOC with 0.1 ppm and PM10 with 0.02mg/m
2
respectively compare to the
commercial filter
Advances in Heat and Mass Transfer in Micro/Nano Systems
The miniaturization of components in mechanical and electronic equipment has been the driving force for the fast development of micro/nanosystems. Heat and mass transfer are crucial processes in such systems, and they have attracted great interest in recent years. Tremendous effort, in terms of theoretical analyses, experimental measurements, numerical simulation, and practical applications, has been devoted to improve our understanding of complex heat and mass transfer processes and behaviors in such micro/nanosystems. This Special Issue is dedicated to showcasing recent advances in heat and mass transfer in micro- and nanosystems, with particular focus on the development of new models and theories, the employment of new experimental techniques, the adoption of new computational methods, and the design of novel micro/nanodevices. Thirteen articles have been published after peer-review evaluations, and these articles cover a wide spectrum of active research in the frontiers of micro/nanosystems
Performance and Safety Enhancement Strategies in Vehicle Dynamics and Ground Contact
Recent trends in vehicle engineering are testament to the great efforts that scientists and industries have made to seek solutions to enhance both the performance and safety of vehicular systems. This Special Issue aims to contribute to the study of modern vehicle dynamics, attracting recent experimental and in-simulation advances that are the basis for current technological growth and future mobility. The area involves research, studies, and projects derived from vehicle dynamics that aim to enhance vehicle performance in terms of handling, comfort, and adherence, and to examine safety optimization in the emerging contexts of smart, connected, and autonomous driving.This Special Issue focuses on new findings in the following topics:(1) Experimental and modelling activities that aim to investigate interaction phenomena from the macroscale, analyzing vehicle data, to the microscale, accounting for local contact mechanics; (2) Control strategies focused on vehicle performance enhancement, in terms of handling/grip, comfort and safety for passengers, motorsports, and future mobility scenarios; (3) Innovative technologies to improve the safety and performance of the vehicle and its subsystems; (4) Identification of vehicle and tire/wheel model parameters and status with innovative methodologies and algorithms; (5) Implementation of real-time software, logics, and models in onboard architectures and driving simulators; (6) Studies and analyses oriented toward the correlation among the factors affecting vehicle performance and safety; (7) Application use cases in road and off-road vehicles, e-bikes, motorcycles, buses, trucks, etc
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Reinventing discovery learning: a field-wide research program
© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature. Whereas some educational designers believe that students should learn new concepts through explorative problem solving within dedicated environments that constrain key parameters of their search and then support their progressive appropriation of empowering disciplinary forms, others are critical of the ultimate efficacy of this discovery-based pedagogical philosophy, citing an inherent structural challenge of students constructing historically achieved conceptual structures from their ingenuous notions. This special issue presents six educational research projects that, while adhering to principles of discovery-based learning, are motivated by complementary philosophical stances and theoretical constructs. The editorial introduction frames the set of projects as collectively exemplifying the viability and breadth of discovery-based learning, even as these projects: (a) put to work a span of design heuristics, such as productive failure, surfacing implicit know-how, playing epistemic games, problem posing, or participatory simulation activities; (b) vary in their target content and skills, including building electric circuits, solving algebra problems, driving safely in traffic jams, and performing martial-arts maneuvers; and (c) employ different media, such as interactive computer-based modules for constructing models of scientific phenomena or mathematical problem situations, networked classroom collective “video games,” and intercorporeal master–student training practices. The authors of these papers consider the potential generativity of their design heuristics across domains and contexts
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