Mechanism of droplet-formation in a supersonic microfluidic spray device

Spray drying is an approach employed in automotive, food, and pharmaceutical industries as a robust and cost efficient liquid atomization technique offering direct control over droplet dimensions. The majority of commercially available spray nozzles are designed for large throughput spray drying applications or uniform surface coating, but microfluidic nebulizers have recently been developed as small scale alternatives. Here, we explore the physical parameters that define the droplet size and formation under supersonic flow conditions commonly found in microfluidic spray drying systems. We examined the spray nozzle operation using high speed imaging and laser scattering measurements, which allowed us to describe the spray regimes and droplet size distributions. It was determined that by using this spray nozzle device, droplets with diameters of 4–8 μm could be generated. Moreover, we show that the supersonic de Laval nozzle model can be used to predict the average droplet size. Our approach can be used as a platform for interfacing fluid microprocessing with gas phase detection and characterization

Global MHD simulation of flux transfer events at the high-latitude magnetopause observed by the cluster spacecraft and the SuperDARN radar system

A global magnetohydrodynamic numerical simulation is used to study the large-scale structure and formation location of flux transfer events (FTEs) in synergy with in situ spacecraft and ground-based observations. During the main period of interest on the 14 February 2001 from 0930 to 1100 UT the Cluster spacecraft were approaching the Northern Hemisphere high-latitude magnetopause in the postnoon sector on an outbound trajectory. Throughout this period the magnetic field, electron, and ion sensors on board Cluster observed characteristic signatures of FTEs. A few minutes delayed to these observations the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) system indicated flow disturbances in the conjugate ionospheres. These “two-point” observations on the ground and in space were closely correlated and were caused by ongoing unsteady reconnection in the vicinity of the spacecraft. The three-dimensional structures and dynamics of the observed FTEs and the associated reconnection sites are studied by using the Block-Adaptive-Tree-Solarwind-Roe-Upwind-Scheme (BATS-R-US) MHD code in combination with a simple open flux tube motion model (Cooling). Using these two models the spatial and temporal evolution of the FTEs is estimated. The models fill the gaps left by measurements and allow a “point-to-point” mapping between the instruments in order to investigate the global structure of the phenomenon. The modeled results presented are in good correlation with previous theoretical and observational studies addressing individual features of FTEs

GIS-Based Forage Species Adaptation Mapping

Selecting forage crops adapted to the climatic and edaphic conditions of specific locations is essential for economic sustainability and environmental protection. Yet, currently, proper selection is difficult due to the absence of advanced selection tools. Significant improvements are being made in the process through Geographic Information System (GIS)-based mapping. Climate and soil GIS layers are being matched with forage characteristics through rules describing species tolerances. Better matching will reduce economic risks and environmental hazards associated with sub-optimal crop selection and subsequent performance. Once developed, these forage crop selection strategies and tools can be adapted for use with other crops. A matrix of species characteristics is being assembled for 6 major forage crops. GIS-based climate and soils maps are being developed and reviewed. Base layer climate and soils maps and the species adaptation maps will be placed on a CD-ROM to help educators, consultants, farmers, and ranchers match their conditions to suitable forage crop species. A WWW segment is being developed to provide a source of current information and links to original data and supplementary materials

Fine-time energetic electron behavior observed by Cluster/RAPID in the magnetotail associated with X-line formation and subsequent current disruption

Energetic electrons with 90deg pitch angle have been observed in the magnetotail at ~19 <i>R<sub>E</sub></i> near local midnight during the recovery phase of a substorm event on 27 August 2001 (Baker et al., 2002). Based on auroral images Baker et al. (2002) placed the substorm expansion phase between ~04:06:16 and ~04:08:19 UT. The electron enhancements perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field occurred while the Cluster spacecraft were on closed field lines in the central plasma sheet approaching the neutral sheet. Magnetic field and energetic particle measurements have been employed from a number of satellites, in order to determine the source and the subsequent appearance of these electrons at the Cluster location. It is found that ~7.5 min after an X-line formation observed by Cluster (Baker et al., 2002) a current disruption event took place inside geosynchronous orbit and subsequently expanded both in local time and tailward, giving rise to field-aligned currents and the formation of a current wedge. A synthesis of tail reconnection and the cross-tail current disruption scenario is proposed for the substorm global initiation process: When a fast flow with northward magnetic field, produced by magnetic reconnection in the midtail, abruptly decelerates at the inner edge of the plasma sheet, it compresses the plasma populations earthward of the front, altering dynamically the B<sub>z</sub> magnetic component in the current sheet. This provides the necessary and sufficient conditions for the kinetic cross-field streaming/current (KCSI/CFCI) instability (Lui et al., 1990, 1991) to initiate. As soon as the ionospheric conductance increases over a threshold level, the auroral electrojet is greatly intensified (see Fig. 2 in Baker et al., 2002), which leads to the formation of the substorm current wedge and dipolarization of the magnetic field. This substorm scenario combines the near-Earth neutral line and the current disruption for the initiation of substorms, at least during steady southward IMF. One can conclude the following: The observations suggest that the anisotropic electron increases observed by Cluster are not related to an acceleration mechanism associated with the X-line formation in the midtail, but rather these particles are generated in the dusk magnetospheric sector due to the longitudinal and tailward expansion of a current disruption region and subsequently observed at the Cluster location with no apparent energy dispersion.<br><br> <b>Keywords.</b> Magnetospheric physics (Magnetotail; Plasma convection; Storms and substorms

Demanding stories: television coverage of sustainability, climate change and material demand

This paper explores the past, present and future role of broadcasting, above all via the medium of television, in shaping how societies talk, think about and act on climate change and sustainability issues. The paper explores these broad themes via a focus on the important but relatively neglected issue of material demand and opportunities for its reduction. It takes the outputs and decision-making of one of the world’s most influential broadcasters, the BBC, as its primary focus. The paper considers these themes in terms of stories, touching on some of the broader societal frames of understanding into which they can be grouped. Media decision-makers and producers from a range of genres frequently return to the centrality of ‘story’ in the development, commissioning and production of an idea. With reference to specific examples of programming, and drawing on interviews with media practitioners, the paper considers the challenges of generating broadcast stories that can inspire engagement in issues around climate change, and specifically material demand. The concluding section proposes actions and approaches that might help to establish material demand reduction as a prominent way of thinking about climate change and environmental issues more widely. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Material demand reduction’

Biochemical Characterization of a Filtered Synaptoneurosome Preparation from Guinea Pig Cerebral Cortex: Cyclic Adenosine 3’:5’-Monophosphate-generating Systems, Receptors, and Enzymes

A particulate preparation was obtained by low speed centrifugation of guinea pig cerebral cortical homogenates prepared with a Krebs-Henseleit buffer. Light microscopic examination, using a reflected light differential interference contrast system, reveals the presence of intact neurons, axonal fragments, glial cells, and erythrocytes along with an abundance of small spherical entities (diameter about 1.1 μm) and snowman-shaped entities (diameter of larger sphere about 1.1 μm, diameter of attached smaller sphere about 0.6 μm). Many unattached smaller spherical entities are also present (diameter about 0.6 μm). Pressure filtration through 5 or l0-μm Millipore filters, followed by low speed centrifugation and resuspension, removes most of the larger entities to afford a suspension composed mainly of the small spherical and snowman-shaped entities. Electron microscopic examination reveals the presence of many synaptosomes with attached resealed postsynaptic entities. It is proposed that these correspond to the snowman-shaped entities to be termed synaptoneurosomes. Accumulations of cyclic AMP elicited by 2-chloroadenosine and histamine, and by combinations of 2-chloroadenosine, histamine, norepinephrine, and forskolin, are lower in filtered than in unfiltered preparations, whereas accumulations elicited by forskolin are unchanged. Levels of adenylate cyclase are reduced by filtration, whereas levels of phosphodiesterase are unchanged. Filtration reduces levels of markers for whole cells and endothelial cells, whereas neuronal markers such as acetylcholinesterase activity and norepinephrine uptake are increased. Levels of S-100 protein, a marker for glial cells, are not significantly decreased. There is no apparent change in the density of many receptors or ion channels. Levels of A1-adenosine and H1-histamine receptors are increased, whereas levels of so-called peripheral benzodiazepine-binding sites are decreased

Constraints on Dark Energy Models from Weak Gravity Conjecture

We study the constraints on the dark energy model with constant equation of state parameter $w=p/\rho$ and the holographic dark energy model by using the weak gravity conjecture. The combination of weak gravity conjecture and the observational data gives $w<-0.7$ at the $3\sigma$ confidence level. The holographic dark energy model realized by a scalar field is in swampland.Comment: 4 two column pages, 3 figures, accepted by Chin. Phys. Let

Data Acquisition and Analysis at the Structural Biology Center

The Structural Biology Center (SBC), a national user facility for macromolecular crystallography located at Argonne National Laboratory`s Advanced Photon Source, is currently being built and commissioned. SBC facilities include a bending-magnet beamline, an insertion-device beamline, laboratory and office space adjacent to the beamlines, and associated instrumentation, experimental apparatus, and facilities. SBC technical facilities will support anomalous dispersion phasing experiments, data collection from microcrystals, data collection from crystals with large molecular structures and rapid data collection from multiple related crystal structures for protein engineering and drug design. The SBC Computing Systems and Software Engineering Group is tasked with developing the SBC Control System, which includes computing systems, network, and software. The emphasis of SBC Control System development has been to provide efficient and convenient beamline control, data acquisition, and data analysis for maximal facility and experimenter productivity. This paper describes the SBC Control System development, specifically data acquisition and analysis at the SBC, and the development methods used to meet this goal

Microscopic modeling of photoluminescence of strongly disordered semiconductors

A microscopic theory for the luminescence of ordered semiconductors is modified to describe photoluminescence of strongly disordered semiconductors. The approach includes both diagonal disorder and the many-body Coulomb interaction. As a case study, the light emission of a correlated plasma is investigated numerically for a one-dimensional two-band tight-binding model. The band structure of the underlying ordered system is assumed to correspond to either a direct or an indirect semiconductor. In particular, luminescence and absorption spectra are computed for various levels of disorder and sample temperature to determine thermodynamic relations, the Stokes shift, and the radiative lifetime distribution.Comment: 35 pages, 14 figure