Vortex-scalar element calculations of a diffusion flame stabilized on a plane mixing layer

The vortex-scalar element method, a scheme which utilizes vortex elements to discretize the region of high vorticity and scalar elements to represent species or temperature fields, is utilized in the numerical simulations of a two-dimensional reacting mixing layer. Computations are performed for a diffusion flame at high Reynolds and Peclet numbers without resorting to turbulence models. In the nonreacting flow, the mean and fluctuation profiles of a conserved scalar show good agreement with experimental measurements. Results for the reacting flow indicate that for temperature independent kinetics, the chemical reaction begins immediately downstream of the splitter plate where mixing starts. Results for the reacting flow with Arrhenius kinetics show an ignition delay, which depends on reactant temperature, before significant chemical reaction occurs. Harmonic forcing changes the structure of the layer, and concomitantly the rates of mixing and reaction, in accordance with experimental results. Strong stretch within the braids in the nonequilibrium kinetics case causes local flame quenching due to the temperature drop associated with the large convective fluxes

Lipid coated liquid crystal droplets for the on-chip detection of antimicrobial peptides

We describe a novel biosensor based on phospholipid-coated nematic liquid crystal (LC) droplets and demonstrate the detection of Smp43, a model antimicrobial peptide (AMP) from the venom of North African scorpion Scorpio maurus palmatus. Mono-disperse lipid-coated LC droplets of diameter 16.7 ± 0.2 μm were generated using PDMS microfluidic devices with a flow-focusing configuration and were the target for AMPs. The droplets were trapped in a bespoke microfluidic trap structure and were simultaneously treated with Smp43 at gradient concentrations in six different chambers. The disruption of the lipid monolayer by the Smp43 was detected (<6 μM) at concentrations well within its biologically active range, indicated by a dramatic change in the appearance of the droplets associated with the transition from a typical radial configuration to a bipolar configuration, which is readily observed by polarizing microscopy. This suggests the system has feasibility as a drug-discovery screening tool. Further, compared to previously reported LC droplet biosensors, this LC droplet biosensor with a lipid coating is more biologically relevant and its ease of use in detecting membrane-related biological processes and interactions has the potential for development as a reliable, low-cost and disposable point of care diagnostic tool

Dynamic structure factor of Luttinger liquids with quadratic energy dispersion and long-range interactions

We calculate the dynamic structure factor S (omega, q) of spinless fermions in one dimension with quadratic energy dispersion k^2/2m and long range density-density interaction whose Fourier transform f_q is dominated by small momentum-transfers q << q_0 << k_F. Here q_0 is a momentum-transfer cutoff and k_F is the Fermi momentum. Using functional bosonization and the known properties of symmetrized closed fermion loops, we obtain an expansion of the inverse irreducible polarization to second order in the small parameter q_0 / k_F. In contrast to perturbation theory based on conventional bosonization, our functional bosonization approach is not plagued by mass-shell singularities. For interactions which can be expanded as f_q = f_0 + f_0^{2} q^2/2 + O (q^4) with finite f_0^{2} we show that the momentum scale q_c = 1/ | m f_0^{2} | separates two regimes characterized by a different q-dependence of the width gamma_q of the collective zero sound mode and other features of S (omega, q). For q_c << q << k_F we find that the line-shape in this regime is non-Lorentzian with an overall width gamma_q of order q^3/(m q_c) and a threshold singularity at the lower edge.Comment: 33 Revtex pages, 17 figure

Computer-aided discovery of a metal-organic framework with superior oxygen uptake.

Current advances in materials science have resulted in the rapid emergence of thousands of functional adsorbent materials in recent years. This clearly creates multiple opportunities for their potential application, but it also creates the following challenge: how does one identify the most promising structures, among the thousands of possibilities, for a particular application? Here, we present a case of computer-aided material discovery, in which we complete the full cycle from computational screening of metal-organic framework materials for oxygen storage, to identification, synthesis and measurement of oxygen adsorption in the top-ranked structure. We introduce an interactive visualization concept to analyze over 1000 unique structure-property plots in five dimensions and delimit the relationships between structural properties and oxygen adsorption performance at different pressures for 2932 already-synthesized structures. We also report a world-record holding material for oxygen storage, UMCM-152, which delivers 22.5% more oxygen than the best known material to date, to the best of our knowledge

Characterization of the microvascular cerebral blood flow response to obstructive apneic events during night sleep

Altres ajuts: This work was funded by the "Severo Ochoa" Programme for Centres of Excellence in R&D (Grant No. SEV-2015-0522), the Obra Social "la Caixa" Foundation (Grant Nos. LlumMedBcn, Programa de Matemàtica Col·laborativa), LASERLABEUROPE IV (Grant No. EU-H2020 654148), Marie Curie initial training network (Grant No. OILTEBIA 317526), Societat Catalana de Pneumologia (SOCAP), and Sociedad Española de Neumología y Cirugía Torácica (SEPAR).Obstructive apnea causes periodic changes in cerebral and systemic hemodynamics, which may contribute to the increased risk of cerebrovascular disease of patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome. The improved understanding of the consequences of an apneic event on the brain perfusion may improve our knowledge of these consequences and then allow for the development of preventive strategies. Our aim was to characterize the typical microvascular, cortical cerebral blood flow (CBF) changes in an OSA population during an apneic event. Sixteen patients (age , 75% male) with a high risk of severe OSA were measured with a polysomnography device and with diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) during one night of sleep with 1365 obstructive apneic events detected. All patients were later confirmed to suffer from severe OSA syndrome with a mean of apneas and hypopneas per hour. DCS has been shown to be able to characterize the microvascular CBF response to each event with a sufficient contrast-to-noise ratio to reveal its dynamics. It has also revealed that an apnea causes a peak increase of microvascular CBF () at the end of the event followed by a drop () similar to what was observed in macrovascular CBF velocity of the middle cerebral artery. This study paves the way for the utilization of DCS for further studies on these populations

Iridium(III) N-heterocyclic carbene complexes: an experimental and theoretical study of structural, spectroscopic, electrochemical and electrogenerated chemiluminescence properties

Four cationic heteroleptic iridium(III) complexes have been prepared from methyl- or benzyl-substituted chelating imidazolylidene or benzimidazolylidene ligands using a Ag(I) transmetallation protocol. The synthesised iridium(III) complexes were characterised by elemental analysis, (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy and the molecular structures for three complexes were determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. A combined theoretical and experimental investigation into the spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of the series was performed in order to gain understanding into the factors influencing photoluminescence and electrochemiluminescence efficiency for these complexes, with the results compared with those of similar NHC complexes of iridium and ruthenium. The N^C coordination mode in these complexes is thought to stabilise thermally accessible non-emissive states relative to the case with analogous complexes with C^C coordinated NHC ligands, resulting in low quantum yields. As a result of this and the instability of the oxidised and reduced forms of the complexes, the electrogenerated chemiluminescence intensities for the compounds are also low, despite favourable energetics. These studies provide valuable insights into the factors that must be considered when designing new NHC-based luminescent complexes

Evaluation of the antioxidant effects of zolpidem in the rat model of cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity

Introduction: Nephrotoxicity is one of the most important side effects of cisplatin which has limited its use. Production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of this drug. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant effect of zolpidem on the reduction of nephrotoxicity associated with cisplatin. Materials and Methods: In this study, 40 adult male rats were divided into 4 groups; 1) healthy group, 2) control group, 3, 4) cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity + different doses of zolpidem. After a certain period of time, the urine, spinal cord and kidney samples of rats were collected. Then, urine levels of functional factors including urea, creatinine and albumin/creatinine ratio, antioxidant enzymes and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were estimated. Consequently, histological studies were conducted with the collected samples. Results: Zolpidem reduced levels of urea, creatinine, albumin/creatinine ratio, and MDA. It also increased the amount of antioxidant enzymes of the kidney including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and moderated the tubular damage caused by the use of cisplatin. Conclusion: Zolpidem is able to improve the nephrotoxicity by reducing oxidative stress