Structure and dynamics of round turbulent jets

Laser‐induced fluorescence and particle streak velocity measurements were conducted to investigate the structure and dynamics of round turbulent jets. The results suggest that the far‐field region of the jet is dominated by large‐scale vortical structures, which appear to be axisymmetric or helical a large part of the time. Entrainment and mixing of the reservoir fluid with the jet fluid is found to be intimately connected with the kinematics of these structures. Unmixed reservoir fluid is found to reach and cross the jet axis

Magnetic susceptibility of vanadium carbide

Magnetic susceptibility of vanadium carbide from 77 to 300 K measured by magnetomete

Physiology, environmental change, and anuran conservation

This paper reviews diverse ways in which the emerging discipline of conservation physiology may contribute to the conservation of anuran amphibians. We first present a summary of the goals of conservation physiology. Then, we review five specific sources of environmental change that are known to affect anurans: introduced pathogens (highlighting the case of chytridiomycosis) and exotic species, pollutants, habitat fragmentation, and global climate change. We discuss these types of environmental change in the context of how and why altered environments may become stressing to anurans and cause population declines. We also discuss synergism among variables that may worsen the effect of environmental alterations, and emphasize the importance of conservation physiology for Brazilian anurans

Minimally-destructive detection of magnetically-trapped atoms using frequency-synthesised light

We present a technique for atomic density measurements by the off-resonant phase-shift induced on a two-frequency, coherently-synthesised light beam. We have used this scheme to measure the column density of a magnetically trapped atom cloud and to monitor oscillations of the cloud in real time by making over a hundred non-destructive local density measurments. For measurements using pulses of 10,000-100,000 photons lasting ~10 microsecond, the precision is limited by statistics of the photons and the photodiode avalanche. We explore the relationship between measurement precision and the unwanted loss of atoms from the trap and introduce a figure of merit that characterises it. This method can be used to probe the density of a BEC with minimal disturbance of its phase.Comment: Submitted to New Journal of Physic

Ultra scale-down approaches to enhance the creation of bioprocesses at scale: impacts of process shear stress and early recovery stages

The sensitivity of biological materials to shear stress conditions encountered during large-scale bioprocessing makes successful scale up from the bench challenging. Ultra scale-down technologies seek to use just millilitre quantities to enhance our understanding of the impact of the process environment as a basis for process optimisation. They can help speed translation of new biological discoveries to market and reduce risks encountered in scale up. They are important both as process discovery tools and as preparative tools to yield material for study of subsequent stages. In this review the focus is on the early recovery stages post fermentation or cell culture and in particular the use of continuous-flow and dead-end centrifugation integrated with preparative stages (e.g. flocculation) and subsequent depth filtration. Examples range from therapeutic antibodies, to rationally engineered (synthetic biology) host strains, to stem cells for therapy

Economics and quality attributes of hMSC production in xeno-free bioprocessing media

Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells (hMSCs) are key raw material in Regenerative Medicine and are widely used for therapeutics, engineered tissues, and medical devices. Yet, achieving an economical bioprocess for hMSC production remains a significant challenge for industry. Bioprocess economic modeling highlights media as a major cost driver in cell manufacturing. Hence, the availability of efficient and robust xeno-free bioprocessing media will not only reduce manufacturing cost, but also decrease regulatory burden associated with bovine serum components found in traditional culture media. Here, we evaluated and compared hMSCs quality parameters in bovine serum-containing and xeno-free bioprocess media formulations and assessed quality parameters such as cell identity, potency and functionality. Cells in xeno-free media maintained critical hMSC functional properties including angiogenic cytokine (FGF, HGF, IL8, TIMP1, TIMP2, and VEGF) secretion, trilineage differentiation, and immunomodulatory potential. In addition, hMSCs cultured in xeno-free media expanded rapidly and achieved confluency within 4-5 days of culture without media exchange. The economics of hMSC expansion in this xeno-free media were modeled and compared to other competitive hMSC cell or media systems where it consistently outperformed traditional hMSC systems by more than 8 fold on the critical productivity metric of Million cells per Liter, making it ideal for industrial-scale manufacturing of hMSCs

Classical noise and flux: the limits of multi-state atom lasers

By direct comparison between experiment and theory, we show how the classical noise on a multi-state atom laser beam increases with increasing flux. The trade off between classical noise and flux is an important consideration in precision interferometric measurement. We use periodic 10 microsecond radio-frequency pulses to couple atoms out of an F=2 87Rb Bose-Einstein condensate. The resulting atom laser beam has suprising structure which is explained using three dimensional simulations of the five state Gross-Pitaevskii equations.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Automated liquid-handling operations for robust, resilient, and efficient bio-based laboratory practices

Increase in the adoption of liquid handling devices (LHD) can facilitate experimental activities. Initially adopted by businesses and industry-based laboratories, the practice has also moved to academic environments, where a wide range of non-standard/non-typical experiments can be performed. Current protocols or laboratory analyses require researchers to transfer liquids for the purpose of dilution, mixing, or inoculation, among other operations. LHD can render laboratories more efficient by performing more experiments per unit of time, by making operations robust and resilient against external factors and unforeseen events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and by remote operation. The present work reviews literature that reported the adoption and utilisation of LHD available in the market and presents examples of their practical use. Applications demonstrate the critical role of automation in research development and its ability to reduce human intervention in the experimental workflow. Ultimately, this work will provide guidance to academic researchers to determine which LHD can fulfil their needs and how to exploit their use in both conventional and non-conventional applications. Furthermore, the breadth of applications and the scarcity of academic institutions involved in research and development that utilise these devices highlights an important area of opportunity for shift in technology to maximize research outcomes

The prediction of the operating conditions on the permeate flux and on protein aggregation during membrane processing of monoclonal antibodies

The lack of available material during early stage bioprocess development poses numerous processing challenges such as limiting the number of full-scale experiments. Extended fundamental process understanding could be gained with the use of an ultra scale-down (USD) device using as little as 1.7 mL per experimental run. The USD system is used to predict diafiltration and ultrafiltration/diafiltration (UF/DF) performance of a pilot-scale tangential flow filtration (TFF) system, fitted with a flat-sheet cassette, operating at 500-fold larger scale. Both systems were designed by maintaining a volumetric loading of 8.1 L of feed per m2. Permeate flux was predicted for monoclonal antibody solutions with the USD system across a range of transmembrane pressure drops, feed concentrations and flow conditions during diafiltration, and desired retentate concentrations during UF/DF operations. The resulting USD data were in good agreement with the pilot-scale TFF when scaled based on similar shear rates over the membrane surface. Little change in soluble aggregates was observed in both systems but there were significantly higher increases in product turbidity in the USD system. A correlation was established to relate turbidity increase based on the volume fraction of high shear stress zone for USD systems and various pilot-scale TFF systems. The correlation was extended to encompass the processing time and concentration for a wide range of membrane processing challenges in both scales

Disorder-enhanced phase coherence in trapped bosons on optical lattices

The consequences of disorder on interacting bosons trapped in optical lattices are investigated by quantum Monte Carlo simulations. At small to moderate strengths of potential disorder a unique effect is observed: if there is a Mott plateau at the center of the trap in the clean limit, phase coherence {\it increases} as a result of disorder. The localization effects due to correlation and disorder compete against each other, resulting in a partial delocalization of the particles in the Mott region, which in turn leads to increased phase coherence. In the absence of a Mott plateau, this effect is absent. A detailed analysis of the uniform system without a trap shows that the disordered states participate in a Bose glass phase.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure