Parametric test of a zirconium (4) oxide-polyacrylic acid dual layer hyperfiltration membrane with spacecraft washwater

Performance data consisting of solute rejections and product flux were measured, as dependent on the operation parameters. These parameters and ranges were pressure (500,000 n/m2 to 700,000 n/m2), temperature (74 C to 95 C), velocity (1.6 M/sec to 10 M/sec), and concentration (up to 14x). Tests were carried out on analog washwater. Data presented include rejections of organic materials, ammonia, urea, and an assortment of ions. The membrane used was deposited in situ on a porcelain ceramic substrate

Accuracy of Ultrasound Diagnosis after Blunt Scrotal Trauma (10 Years Experience)

Objectives: To evaluate the role of ultrasonography (US) and its accuracy, sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of testicular rupture after blunt scrotal trauma. Moreover, tunica albuginea breach, testicular hematoma, testis avulsion, epididymal injuries and hematocele are particularly examined.Patients and Methods: Between 1998 and 2008, 24 patients presented to Suez Canal University Hospital after blunt scrotal trauma and underwent surgical exploration. All patients had an emergency scrotal US examination with the use of a 7.5-10 MHz linear transducer. US findings were compared with the surgical findings to calculate the sensitivity and specificity of US for each type of lesion.Results: Out of 24 patients, 12 were diagnosed as having testicular rupture and tunica albuginea breach was visualized on US in 6 patients. Sensitivity and specificity of US were 92% and 50% for testicular rupture, 85% and 75% for hematocele, 80% and 79% for testicular hematoma, and 100% and 96% for testicular avulsion, respectively. US diagnosis of epididymal injuries was poor as it failed to detect 3 out of 5 epididymal lesions.Conclusion: US was highly sensitive in the diagnosis of testis rupture. This can provide information on the integrity of the scrotal contents that can help the physician to determine the optimal treatment.Key Words: Ultrasonography, scrotal blunt trauma, testis ruptur

Analytical calculation of the transition to complete phase synchronization in coupled oscillators

Here we present a system of coupled phase oscillators with nearest neighbors coupling, which we study for different boundary conditions. We concentrate at the transition to total synchronization. We are able to develop exact solutions for the value of the coupling parameter when the system becomes completely synchronized, for the case of periodic boundary conditions as well as for an open chain with fixed ends. We compare the results with those calculated numerically.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Analytic Determination of the Critical Coupling for Oscillators in a Ring

We study a model of coupled oscillators with bidirectional first nearest neighbours coupling with periodic boundary conditions. We show that a stable phase-locked solution is decided by the oscillators at the borders between the major clusters, which merge to form a larger one of all oscillators at the stage of complete synchronization. We are able to locate these four oscillators as well as the size of major clusters in the vicinity of the stage of full synchronization which we show to depend only on the set of initial frequencies. Using the method presented here, we are able to obtain an analytic form of the critical coupling, at which the complete synchronization state occurs.Comment: 5 pages and 3 figure

Comparison Between Different Algorithms for Maximum PPT in Photovoltaic Systems and its Implementation on Microcontroller

This paper presents the practical implementation of fuzzy logic control algorithm for maximum power point tracking (MPPT) in photovoltaic (PV) systems. A prototyping PV system is implemented with a boost DC-DC converter using Microchip® PIC18F452 microcontroller to execute the MPPT algorithms. The common algorithms like perturbation and observation (P&O) and incremental conductance (IncCon.) as well as the proposed fuzzy logic control algorithm are implemented and tested under different conditions, and the test results are analyzed and compared. The results show that the proposed fuzzy logic control algorithm can give better performance than perturbation and observation and incremental conductance algorithms. Keywords: Photovoltaic, Maximum power point tracking, Fuzzy logic control, Microcontrollers

Transition to complete synchronization in phase coupled oscillators with nearest neighbours coupling

We investigate synchronization in a Kuramoto-like model with nearest neighbour coupling. Upon analyzing the behaviour of individual oscillators at the onset of complete synchronization, we show that the time interval between bursts in the time dependence of the frequencies of the oscillators exhibits universal scaling and blows up at the critical coupling strength. We also bring out a key mechanism that leads to phase locking. Finally, we deduce forms for the phases and frequencies at the onset of complete synchronization.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, to appear in CHAO

Metabolomic profile, anti-trypanosomal potential and molecular docking studies of <i>Thunbergia grandifolia</i>

Trypanosomiasis is a protozoan disease transmitted via Trypanosoma brucei. This study aimed to examine the metabolic profile and anti-trypanosomal effect of methanol extract of Thunbergia grandifolia leaves. The liquid chromatography-high resolution electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (LC-HRESIMS) revealed the identification of fifteen compounds of iridoid, flavonoid, lignan, phenolic acid, and alkaloid classes. The extract displayed a promising inhibitory activity against T. brucei TC 221 with MIC value of 1.90 μg/mL within 72 h. A subsequent in silico analysis of the dereplicated compounds (i.e. inverse docking, molecular dynamic simulation, and absolute binding free energy) suggested both rhodesain and farnesyl diphosphate synthase as probable targets for two compounds among those dereplicated ones in the plant extract (i.e. diphyllin and avacennone B). The absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET) profiling of diphyllin and avacennone were calculated accordingly, where both compounds showed acceptable drug-like properties. This study highlighted the antiparasitic potential of T. grandifolia leaves

Percolation in Models of Thin Film Depositions

We have studied the percolation behaviour of deposits for different (2+1)-dimensional models of surface layer formation. The mixed model of deposition was used, where particles were deposited selectively according to the random (RD) and ballistic (BD) deposition rules. In the mixed one-component models with deposition of only conducting particles, the mean height of the percolation layer (measured in monolayers) grows continuously from 0.89832 for the pure RD model to 2.605 for the pure RD model, but the percolation transition belong to the same universality class, as in the 2- dimensional random percolation problem. In two- component models with deposition of conducting and isolating particles, the percolation layer height approaches infinity as concentration of the isolating particles becomes higher than some critical value. The crossover from 2d to 3d percolation was observed with increase of the percolation layer height.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Range expansion with mutation and selection: dynamical phase transition in a two-species Eden model

The colonization of unoccupied territory by invading species, known as range expansion, is a spatially heterogeneous non-equilibrium growth process. We introduce a two-species Eden growth model to analyze the interplay between uni-directional (irreversible) mutations and selection at the expanding front. While the evolutionary dynamics leads to coalescence of both wild-type and mutant clusters, the non-homogeneous advance of the colony results in a rough front. We show that roughening and domain dynamics are strongly coupled, resulting in qualitatively altered bulk and front properties. For beneficial mutations the front is quickly taken over by mutants and growth proceeds Eden-like. In contrast, if mutants grow slower than wild-types, there is an antagonism between selection pressure against mutants and growth by the merging of mutant domains with an ensuing absorbing state phase transition to an all-mutant front. We find that surface roughening has a marked effect on the critical properties of the absorbing state phase transition. While reference models, which keep the expanding front flat, exhibit directed percolation critical behavior, the exponents of the two-species Eden model strongly deviate from it. In turn, the mutation-selection process induces an increased surface roughness with exponents distinct from that of the classical Eden model