Fractal grooves applied to passive micro-mixers

[[abstract]]The purpose of the present work is to study on the application of a navel fractal pattern to passives micro-mixers. The SU-8 soft lithography is used to transfer the fractal grooves and the micro channel to PDMS mold on a glass. The authors also used numerical software Fluent to simulate the flow fields of the new passive micro-mixers. The 3 kinds of fractal configurations, three flow conditions (Re=0.64, 6.4, and 64) have been compared with the experimental mixing indices. The simulation results show that the novel fractal pattern do create lateral mass transport to improve mixing. With the same fractal patterns, the lower Reynolds number flow (0.64) has the higher mixing index. The branch with fractal patterns for two times (type III) is also better than other cases with high mixing performance.[[incitationindex]]EI[[conferencetype]]國際[[conferencedate]]20110220~20110223[[iscallforpapers]]Y[[conferencelocation]]Kaohsiung, Taiwa

The Neutron Electric Dipole Moment and CP-violating Couplings in the Supersymmetric Standard Model without R-parity

We analyze the neutron electric dipole moment (EDM) in the Minimal Supersymmetric Model with explicit R-parity violating terms. The leading contribution to the EDM occurs at the 2-loop level and is dominated by the chromoelectric dipole moments of quarks, assuming there is no tree-level mixings between sleptons and Higgs bosons or between leptons and gauginos. Based on the experimental constraint on the neutron EDM, we set limits on the imaginary parts of complex couplings ${\lambda'}_{ijk}$ and ${\lambda}_{ijk}$ due to the virtual b-loop or tau-loop.Comment: final manuscript to appear in Phys. Rev. D, 15 pages, latex, 4 figures include

Lumican Expression in Diaphragm Induced by Mechanical Ventilation

Diaphragmatic dysfunction found in the patients with acute lung injury required prolonged mechanical ventilation. Mechanical ventilation can induce production of inflammatory cytokines and excess deposition of extracellular matrix proteins via up-regulation of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1. Lumican is known to participate in TGF-β1 signaling during wound healing. The mechanisms regulating interactions between mechanical ventilation and diaphragmatic injury are unclear. We hypothesized that diaphragmatic damage by short duration of mechanical stretch caused up-regulation of lumican that modulated TGF-β1 signaling.Male C57BL/6 mice, either wild-type or lumican-null, aged 3 months, weighing between 25 and 30 g, were exposed to normal tidal volume (10 ml/kg) or high tidal volume (30 ml/kg) mechanical ventilation with room air for 2 to 8 hours. Nonventilated mice served as control groups.High tidal volume mechanical ventilation induced interfibrillar disassembly of diaphragmatic collagen fiber, lumican activation, type I and III procollagen, fibronectin, and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) mRNA, production of free radical and TGF-β1 protein, and positive staining of lumican in diaphragmatic fiber. Mechanical ventilation of lumican deficient mice attenuated diaphragmatic injury, type I and III procollagen, fibronectin, and α-SMA mRNA, and production of free radical and TGF-β1 protein. No significant diaphragmatic injury was found in mice subjected to normal tidal volume mechanical ventilation.Our data showed that high tidal volume mechanical ventilation induced TGF-β1 production, TGF-β1-inducible genes, e.g., collagen, and diaphragmatic dysfunction through activation of the lumican

Lepton Dipole Moments and Rare Decays in the CP-violating MSSM with Nonuniversal Soft-Supersymmetry Breaking

We investigate the muon anomalous magnetic dipole moment (MDM), the muon electric dipole moment (EDM) and the lepton-flavour-violating decays of the $\tau-$lepton, $\tau \to \mu \gamma$ and $\tau\to 3\mu$, in the CP-violating Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) with nonuniversal soft-supersymmetry breaking. We evaluate numerically the muon EDM and the branching ratios $B(\tau \to \mu\gamma)$ and $B(\tau \to 3\mu)$, after taking into account the experimental constraints from the electron EDM and muon MDM. Upon imposition of the experimental limits on our theoretical predictions for the aforementioned branching ratios and the muon MDM, we obtain an upper bound of about $10^{-23} e\cdot cm$ on the muon EDM which lies well within the explorable reach of the proposed experiment at BNL.Comment: Latex, 26 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

γ-H2AX Kinetics as a Novel Approach to High Content Screening for Small Molecule Radiosensitizers

Persistence of γ-H2AX after ionizing radiation (IR) or drug therapy is a robust reporter of unrepaired DNA double strand breaks in treated cells.DU-145 prostate cancer cells were treated with a chemical library ±IR and assayed for persistence of γ-H2AX using an automated 96-well immunocytochemistry assay at 4 hours after treatment. Hits that resulted in persistence of γ-H2AX foci were tested for effects on cell survival. The molecular targets of hits were validated by molecular, genetic and biochemical assays and in vivo activity was tested in a validated Drosophila cancer model.We identified 2 compounds, MS0019266 and MS0017509, which markedly increased persistence of γ-H2AX, apoptosis and radiosensitization in DU-145 cells. Chemical evaluation demonstrated that both compounds exhibited structurally similar and biochemical assays confirmed that these compounds inhibit ribonucleotide reductase. DNA microarray analysis and immunoblotting demonstrates that MS0019266 significantly decreased polo-like kinase 1 gene and protein expression. MS0019266 demonstrated in vivo antitumor activity without significant whole organism toxicity.MS0019266 and MS0017509 are promising compounds that may be candidates for further development as radiosensitizing compounds as inhibitors of ribonucleotide reductase

Different atmospheric moisture divergence responses to extreme and moderate El Niños

On seasonal and inter-annual time scales, vertically integrated moisture divergence provides a useful measure of the tropical atmospheric hydrological cycle. It reflects the combined dynamical and thermodynamical effects, and is not subject to the limitations that afflict observations of evaporation minus precipitation. An empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of the tropical Pacific moisture divergence fields calculated from the ERA-Interim reanalysis reveals the dominant effects of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on inter-annual time scales. Two EOFs are necessary to capture the ENSO signature, and regression relationships between their Principal Components and indices of equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) demonstrate that the transition from strong La Niña through to extreme El Niño events is not a linear one. The largest deviation from linearity is for the strongest El Niños, and we interpret that this arises at least partly because the EOF analysis cannot easily separate different patterns of responses that are not orthogonal to each other. To overcome the orthogonality constraints, a self-organizing map (SOM) analysis of the same moisture divergence fields was performed. The SOM analysis captures the range of responses to ENSO, including the distinction between the moderate and strong El Niños identified by the EOF analysis. The work demonstrates the potential for the application of SOM to large scale climatic analysis, by virtue of its easier interpretation, relaxation of orthogonality constraints and its versatility for serving as an alternative classification method. Both the EOF and SOM analyses suggest a classification of “moderate” and “extreme” El Niños by their differences in the magnitudes of the hydrological cycle responses, spatial patterns and evolutionary paths. Classification from the moisture divergence point of view shows consistency with results based on other physical variables such as SST

A colliding maxillary sinus cancer of adenosquamous carcinoma and small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma - a case report with EGFR copy number analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (SNEC) of maxillary sinus is a rare and aggressive malignancy. A tumor with squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma and SNEC co-existence is extremely rare.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We present a colliding tumor of squamous cell, adenocarcinoma and SNEC in maxillary sinus. The clinical features, diagnosis and EGFR flourescence in situ hybridization (FISH) study are presented. A 52-year-old female had a 1-month history of progressing left cheek swelling and purulent rhinorrhea. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a tumor involving left maxilla and orbital floor. Excision of tumor was done and the defect was reconstructed with free flap. The pathology revealed a malignant tumor composed of squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma and SNEC components. EGFR FISH study showed no gene amplification in 3 components of this tumor. The tumor progressed rapidly and the patient expired at 8 months after surgery.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A colliding tumor of squamous cell, adenocarcinoma and neuroendocrine carcinoma in maxillary sinus was aggressive in behavior and the treatment response was poor due to the complexity of tumor.</p

Size-Tailored Physicochemical Properties of Monodisperse Polystyrene Nanoparticles and the Nanocomposites Made Thereof

The latex monodisperse polystyrene (PS) colloids are important for different advanced applications (e.g. in coating, biotechnology etc.). However, the size dependency of their structural properties that impacts the characteristics of the nanocomposites composed thereof is largely unknown. Here, monodisperse PS nanoparticles (MPNPs) are synthesized via emulsion polymerization in five sizes (50, 150, 300, 350, and 450 nm). The size of the PS MPNPs is tailored by controlling the reaction time, temperature, and amount of surfactant and initiator. The correlation between the particle size and structural properties of the PS MPNPs is established by different thermomechanical and optical characterizations. The smaller particles (50 and 150 nm) show a lower glass transition (Tg) and thermal decomposition temperature and a lower Raman peak intensity. Yet, they trigger a higher IR absorption, thanks to a larger surface area. When incorporated in a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix, the smaller particles impart the resulting nanocomposite a higher tensile strength, and elastic and storage moduli. Whereas, they decline the elongation and loss factor. The very few examples of the MPNPs incorporated polymeric nanocomposites have been unstudied from this perspective. Thus, these tangible knowledge can profit scalable production of this kind of nanocomposite materials for different applications in a cost/energy efficient manner.Peer reviewe