Simulation and experimental study of rheological properties of CeO2 – water nanofluid

Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.Metal oxide nanoparticles offer great merits over controlling rheological, thermal, chemical and physical properties of solutions. The effectiveness of a nanoparticle to modify the properties of a fluid depends on its diffusive properties with respect to the fluid. In this study, rheological properties of aqueous fluids (i.e. water) were enhanced with the addition of CeO2 nanoparticles. This study was characterized by the outcomes of simulation and experimental results of nanofluids. The movement of nanoparticles in the fluidic media was simulated by a large-scale molecular thermal dynamic program (i.e. LAMMPS). The COMPASS force field was employed with smoothed particle hydrodynamic potential (SPH) and discrete particle dynamics potential (DPD). However, this study develops the understanding of how the rheological properties are affected due to the addition of nanoparticles in a fluid and the way DPD and SPH can be used for accurately estimating the rheological properties with Brownian effect. The rheological results of the simulation were confirmed by the convergence of the stress autocorrelation function, whereas experimental properties were measured using a rheometer. These rheological values of simulation were obtained and agreed within 5 % of the experimental values; they were identified and treated with a number of iterations and experimental tests. The results of the experiment and simulation show that 10 % CeO2 nanoparticles dispersion in water has a viscosity of 2.0–3.3 mPasPeer reviewedFinal Published versio

Prompt Photon Identification in the ALICE Experiment: The Isolation Cut Method

Submitted for publication in NIMThe ALICE experiment at LHC will detect and identify prompt photons and light neutral mesons with the PHOS and EMCal detectors. Charged particles will be detected and identified by the central tracking system. In this paper, a method to identify prompt photons and to separate them from the background of hadrons and decay photons in PHOS with the help of isolation cuts is presented

A Critical View of Current State of Phytotechnologies to Remediate Soils: Still a Promising Tool?

Phytotechnologies are often shown as an emerging tool to remediate contaminated soils. Research in this field has resulted in many important findings relating to plant and soil sciences. However, there have been scant private and public investments and little commercial success with this technology. Here, we investigate the barriers to the adoption of phytotechnologies and determine whether it is still a fertile area for future research. The terminology used in phytotechnologies includes a confusing mish-mash of terms relating to concepts and processes increasing the difficulty of developing a unique commercial image. We argue that the commercial success of phytotechnologies depends on the generation of valuable biomass on contaminated land, rather than a pure remediation technique that may not compare favourably with the costs of inaction or alternative technologies. Valuable biomass includes timber, bioenergy, feedstock for pyrolosis, biofortified products, or ecologically important species

Identification of photon-tagged jets in the ALICE experiment

The ALICE experiment at LHC will detect and identify prompt photons and light neutral-mesons with the PHOS detector and the additional EMCal electromagnetic calorimeter. Charged particles will be detected and identified by the central tracking system. In this article, the possibility of studying the interaction of jets with the nuclear medium, using prompt photons as a tool to tag jets, is investigated by simulations. New methods to identify prompt photon-jet events and to distinguish them from the jet-jet background are presented.Comment: NIM A: accepted manuscrip

Transcriptional responses are oriented towards different components of the rearing environment in two Drosophila sibling species

Background The chance to compare patterns of differential gene expression in related ecologically distinct species can be particularly fruitful to investigate the genetics of adaptation and phenotypic plasticity. In this regard, a powerful technique such as RNA-Seq applied to ecologically amenable taxa allows to address issues that are not possible in classic model species. Here, we study gene expression profiles and larval performance of the cactophilic siblings Drosophila buzzatii and D. koepferae reared in media that approximate natural conditions and evaluate both chemical and nutritional components of the diet. These closely related species are complementary in terms of host-plant use since the primary host of one is the secondary of the other. D. koepferae is mainly a columnar cactus dweller while D. buzzatii prefers Opuntia hosts. Results Our comparative study shows that D. buzzatii and D. koepferae have different transcriptional strategies to face the challenges posed by their natural resources. The former has greater transcriptional plasticity, and its response is mainly modulated by alkaloids of its secondary host, while the latter has a more canalized genetic response, and its transcriptional plasticity is associated with the cactus species. Conclusions Our study unveils a complex pleiotropic genetic landscape in both species, with functional links that relate detox responses and redox mechanisms with developmental and neurobiological processes. These results contribute to deepen our understanding of the role of host plant shifts and natural stress driving ecological specialization

Attitudes to kidney donation among primary care patients in rural Crete, Greece

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In Greece, there is limited research on issues related to organ donation, and the low rate of registration as donors requires explanation. This study reports the findings of a survey of knowledge and attitudes to kidney donation among primary care patients in rural Crete, Greece.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Two rural primary care settings in the island of Crete, Anogia Health Centre and Vrachasi Practice, were involved in a questionnaire survey. This was conducted among primary care patients (aged 18 years and over) with routine appointments, to assess their knowledge and attitudes to kidney donation. General practitioners (GPs) recruited patients and questionnaires were completed following the patients' medical consultation. Pearson's chi square tests were used and crude odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated in order to investigate into the possible associations between the respondents' knowledge, attitudes and specific concerns in relation to their socio-demographic features. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine differences by geographical location.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The 224 (92.5%) of the 242 primary care attenders who were approached agreed to participate. Only 2.2% (5/224) of the respondents carried a donor card. Most participants (84.4%, 189/224) did not feel well informed about registering as a kidney donor. More than half of the respondents (54.3%, 121/223) were unwilling to register as a kidney donor and donate kidneys for transplant after death. Over a third of respondents (35.4%, 79/223) were not confident that medical teams would try as hard as possible to save the life of a person who has agreed to donate organs. People with a higher level of education were more likely to be willing to register as kidney donors [(OR: 3.3; 95% CI: 1.8–6.0), p < 0.001)] and to be less worried about their kidneys being removed after death [(OR: 0.3; 95% CI: 0.1–0.5), p < 0.001)] than those having a lower level of education.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Lack of knowledge and information regarding organ donation and negative attitudes related to registration as donors were the main findings of this study. Efforts should be based on targeting the attitudes to organ donation of individuals and population groups.</p

Effect of heavy-quark energy loss on the muon differential production cross section in Pb-Pb collisions at \sqrtsNN=5.5 TeV

We study the nuclear modification factors RAA and RCP of the high transverse momentum 5<pt<60 GeV/c distribution of muons in Pb--Pb collisions at LHC energies. We consider two pseudo-rapidity ranges covered by the LHC experiments: $|\eta|<2.5$ and $2.5<\eta<4$. Muons from semi-leptonic decays of heavy quarks (c and b) and from leptonic decays of weak gauge bosons (W and Z) are the main contributions to the muon pt distribution above a few GeV/c. We compute the heavy quark contributions using available pQCD-based programs. We include the nuclear shadowing modification of the parton distribution functions and the in-medium radiative energy loss for heavy quarks, using the mass-dependent BDMPS quenching weights. Muons from W and Z leptonic decays, that dominate the yield at high pt, can be used as a medium-blind reference to observe the medium-induced suppression of beauty quarks

RNAseq analysis of Aspergillus fumigatus in blood reveals a just wait and see resting stage behavior

Background: Invasive aspergillosis is started after germination of Aspergillus fumigatus conidia that are inhaled by susceptible individuals. Fungal hyphae can grow in the lung through the epithelial tissue and disseminate hematogenously to invade into other organs. Low fungaemia indicates that fungal elements do not reside in the bloodstream for long. Results: We analyzed whether blood represents a hostile environment to which the physiology of A. fumigatus has to adapt. An in vitro model of A. fumigatus infection was established by incubating mycelium in blood. Our model allowed to discern the changes of the gene expression profile of A. fumigatus at various stages of the infection. The majority of described virulence factors that are connected to pulmonary infections appeared not to be activated during the blood phase. Three active processes were identified that presumably help the fungus to survive the blood environment in an advanced phase of the infection: iron homeostasis, secondary metabolism, and the formation of detoxifying enzymes. Conclusions: We propose that A. fumigatus is hardly able to propagate in blood. After an early stage of sensing the environment, virtually all uptake mechanisms and energy-consuming metabolic pathways are shut-down. The fungus appears to adapt by trans-differentiation into a resting mycelial stage. This might reflect the harsh conditions in blood where A. fumigatus cannot take up sufficient nutrients to establish self-defense mechanisms combined with significant growth