Fluid flow and mixing in a novel intermittently rotating bioreactor for CAR-T cell therapy manufacturing

This work explores the mixing and fluid dynamics in a novel bioreactor currently used for the automated manufacturing of CAR-T cell therapy, which offers a single-dose cure for several forms of advanced blood cancer. The cylindrical bioreactor has a low aspect ratio and a free surface. Agitation is achieved by intermittent rotation of the entire vessel around its central axis. No engineering characterisation has been conducted to date for this system in a bioprocessing context. The study examines the fluid dynamics problems of spin-up from rest and spin-down to rest. Novel Particle Image Velocimetry and Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence data is presented alongside reflective flakes results, shedding light on the different transient flow regions inside the intermittently rotating bioreactor, and determining the timescales of macro- and micromixing. The results presented can be used to design a custom rotation pattern of the bioreactor for improved mixing performance during the cell expansion step

A risk society? Environmental hazards, risk and resilience in the later Middle Ages in Europe

Modern society is said to have restructured in reaction to contemporary hazards with the aim of improving its management of risk. This implies that pre-industrial societies were somehow fundamentally different. In this paper, we challenge that hypothesis by examining the ways in which risks associated with environmental hazards were managed and mitigated during the Middle Ages (defined here as the period from 1000 to 1550 AD). Beginning with a review of the many case studies of rapid onset disasters across Europe, we draw upon both historical and archaeological evidence and architectural assessments of structural damage for what is a pre-instrumental period. Building upon this, the second part of the paper explores individual outlooks on risk, emphasising the diversity of popular belief and the central importance of Christianity in framing attitudes. Despite their religious perspectives, we find that medieval communities were not helpless in the face of serious environmental hazards. We argue instead that the response of society to these threats was frequently complex, considered and, at times, surprisingly modern