Computed Tomographic Investigation of the Influence of Gas Sparger Design on Gas Holdup Distribution in a Bubble Column

The Effect of Gas Sparger Design on the Gas Holdup Radial Profile in a Bubble Column (With a Diameter of 0.162 M) Has Been Studied using Γ-Ray Computed Tomography (CT). Six Different Configurations of Gas Spargers Were Examined, using an Air-Water System for Selected Superficial Gas Velocities from 2 Cm/s to 30 Cm/s, Covering the Homogeneous and Heterogeneous (Churn-Turbulent) Flow Regimes. Two Operating Pressures Were Used: 1 and 4 Atm. Differences Were Found between the Gas Holdup Distributions Produced by Different Spargers at Dimensionless Radii of R/R \u3c 0.8 in the Central Region of the Column. the Cross and Single Nozzle Spargers Produced Closely Similar Gas Holdup Distributions, While the Perforated Plate Sparger Produced a Higher Gas Holdup When Compared to Other Spargers with the Same Percentage Open Area (POA). at 4 Atm, the Sparger Design Did Not Have a Significant Effect on the Gas Holdup Profiles, Compared to Atmospheric Pressure, Except for the Case of the Single-Hole Sparger, Which Was Found to Yield a Higher Gas Holdup. © 2009 American Chemical Society

Quantifying the effects of antibiotic treatment on the extracellular polymer network of antimicrobial resistant and sensitive biofilms using multiple particle tracking

Novel therapeutics designed to target the polymeric matrix of biofilms requires innovative techniques to accurately assess their efficacy. Here, multiple particle tracking (MPT) was developed to characterize the physical and mechanical properties of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacterial biofilms and to quantify the effects of antibiotic treatment. Studies employed nanoparticles (NPs) of varying charge and size (40–500 nm) in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) biofilms and also in polymyxin B (PMB) treated Escherichia coli biofilms of PMB-sensitive (PMBSens) IR57 and PMB-resistant (PMBR) PN47 strains. NP size-dependent and strain-related differences in the diffusion coefficient values of biofilms were evident between PAO1 and MRSA. Dose-dependent treatment effects induced by PMB in PMBSens E. coli biofilms included increases in diffusion and creep compliance (P < 0.05), not evident in PMB treatment of PMBR E. coli biofilms. Our results highlight the ability of MPT to quantify the diffusion and mechanical effects of antibiotic therapies within the AMR biofilm matrix, offering a valuable tool for the pre-clinical screening of anti-biofilm therapies

Strengths and Weaknesses for Climate Change: Adaptation in Water Governance: A Comparison Across Six European Regions

This chapter comparatively analyses the policy and governance contexts of six European regions that are affected by different hydrological impacts of climate change. The results demonstrate that a major governance strength across regions lies in the organization of management capacities to deal with existing water-related risks. For example, the Dutch context focuses on water safety, Cyprus has a clear policy framework to deal with water scarcity and in the Norwegian city of Bergen, wastewater is well managed. As a consequence of this focus on present-day risks, climate adaptation governance also focuses on historical risks. New or exacerbated risks posed by climate change remain largely untreated, and responsibilities for dealing with climate-related risks remain unspecified, as also becomes clear in the German and Spanish cases. A high degree of governmental fragmentation is identified as another point of weakness. Identified most clearly in the Portuguese case but recognizable in all regional contexts, different subdomains of water management are dealt with under separate policies and are governed by different responsible agencies. Consequently, information about current performance of the water system is scattered and coordinative efforts, which are key to developing adaptation strategies, are hampered

Topical, immunomodulatory epoxy-tiglianes induce biofilm disruption and healing in acute and chronic skin wounds

Bacterial biofilms pose a therapeutic challenge to managing chronic wounds and contribute to antimicrobial resistance. Here, Powell et al. investigated the structure/activity relationships of epoxy-tigliane compounds derived from the blushwood tree with respect to their role in wound healing. The compounds interacted with the cell wall of bacteria but showed variable permeabilization in Gram-negative versus Gram-positive cultures. They disrupted established biofilms by interacting with the extracellular polymeric substance matrix, activated immune cells to induce reactive oxygen species, and promoted wound healing in infected thermal injuries in calves when applied topically. In chronic wounds in diabetic mice, the semisynthetic compound EBC-1013 up-regulated host-defense peptides, altered cytokine expression, activated immune cells, and led to greater wound closure. Results help uncover the mechanism by which epoxy-tiglianes promote wound healing and support further development of EBC-1013

Internet of Things Services Orchestration Framework Based on Kubernetes and Edge Computing

Presented work is fanalysis of how the microservices paradigm can be used to design and implement distributed edge services for Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Basically, IoT is a platform where integrated services are associated with the common network, thus all devices are able to gather and exchange data among each other. Typically, monolithic user mobility research services are developed for the unified ETSI MEC system reference architecture centers. ETSI MEC considers microservices as a tool for breaking monolithic applications into a set of loosely coupled distributed components. It is expected that this architecture will facilitate the dynamic adaptation during the application execution. However, increased modularity can also increase the burden on orchestration and system management. In MEC, user hardware is connected through gateways to microservices running on the edge host.There are three levels in each of the edge systems: 1) microservices perform a logical operation with components for motion track analysis, 2) movement foresight and 3) outcome visualization. The distributed service is realized with Docker containers and calculated on actual world adjustment with low capacity edge servers and real user mobility information. The results demonstrate the fact that the edge perspective of low latency may be encountered in this sort of implementation. The integration of a software creation technology with a standardized edge system supplies respectable basis for subsequent development. The paper considers the application of the boundary computing architecture and Kubernetes as an orchestration and management of network applications. © 2021 IEEE