Numerical comparison between Maxwell stress method and equivalent multipole approach for calculation of the dielectrophoretic force in octupolar cell traps

This work presents detailed numerical calculations of the dielectrophoretic force in octupolar traps designed for single-cell trapping. A trap with eight planar electrodes is studied for spherical and ellipsoidal particles using an indirect implementation of the boundary element method (BEM). Multipolar approximations of orders one to three are compared with the full Maxwell stress tensor (MST) calculation of the electrical force on spherical particles. Ellipsoidal particles are also studied, but in their case only the dipolar approximation is available for comparison with the MST solution. The results show that the full MST calculation is only required in the study of non-spherical particles.Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA

How do Doctors Decide When to Prescribe Antibiotics in Upper Respiratory Tract Infections?

Purpose: To examine the predictive features which doctors use when prescribing antibiotics in upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs). Method: This is a cross sectional, prospective study done in a teaching university primary care centre in Kuala Lumpur from June to August 2000. Twelve primary care practitioners participated in the study. Each practitioner was asked to record clinical data and prescriptions given to twenty consecutive patients with URTIs using a structured questionnaire for each patient

A Comparison Of The Performances Of Various Single Variable Charts.

Control charts are used for process monitoring and improvement in industries. Two charts are usually used in the monitoring of both the mean and variance separately

Model Order Reduction for Determining Bubble Parameters to Attain a Desired Fluid Surface Shape

In this paper, a new methodology for predicting fluid free surface shape using Model Order Reduction (MOR) is presented. Proper Orthogonal Decomposition combined with a linear interpolation procedure for its coefficient is applied to a problem involving bubble dynamics near to a free surface. A model is developed to accurately and efficiently capture the variation of the free surface shape with different bubble parameters. In addition, a systematic approach is developed within the MOR framework to find the best initial locations and pressures for a set of bubbles beneath the quiescent free surface such that the resultant free surface attained is close to a desired shape. Predictions of the free surface in two-dimensions and three-dimensions are presented.Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA

Design and Characterization of a Non-Linear Variable Inerter in Vehicle Suspension System

Inerter is a two-terminal component in suspension system such that the force at the two terminals is directly proportional to the relative acceleration of these two points. Studies have shown that the inerter can provide satisfactory vibration isolation for a number of suspension applications, including train suspension, building suspension and vehicle suspension. In the context of vehicle suspension, the existing passive inerter has been shown to provide benefits to vehicle dynamics performance measures, such as ride comfort and road holding ability. However, a basic passive inerter has fixed characteristic, and hence its potential is limited. This study overcome this limitation by incorporating variable inertia in inerter flywheel, however its non-linear characteristic needs to be determined. The method of achieving variable inertia in inerter flywheel is through introduction of movable masses or sliders attached with springs into inerter flywheel. The change of moment of inertia is caused by position change of sliders due to centrifugal force when the flywheel is rotating. Results showed that the proposed variable inerter exhibits a non-linear force-acceleration relationship with respect to its operating rotational speed. A vehicle suspension system equipped with a variable inerter is also able to further reduce vertical vehicle body acceleration and vehicle’s dynamic tire load when compared with vehicle suspension system without inerter and equipped with a passive inerter, which indirectly relates to a better vehicle ride and handling performance improvements. Hence, it can be proved that the proposed variable inerter is better than a passive inerter and is able to provide better ride comfort and road holding ability to a vehicle

Design and Characterization of a Non-Linear Variable Inerter in Vehicle Suspension System

Inerter is a two-terminal component in suspension system such that the force at the two terminals is directly proportional to the relative acceleration of these two points. Studies have shown that the inerter can provide satisfactory vibration isolation for a number of suspension applications, including train suspension, building suspension and vehicle suspension. In the context of vehicle suspension, the existing passive inerter has been shown to provide benefits to vehicle dynamics performance measures, such as ride comfort and road holding ability. However, a basic passive inerter has fixed characteristic, and hence its potential is limited. This study overcome this limitation by incorporating variable inertia in inerter flywheel, however its non-linear characteristic needs to be determined. The method of achieving variable inertia in inerter flywheel is through introduction of movable masses or sliders attached with springs into inerter flywheel. The change of moment of inertia is caused by position change of sliders due to centrifugal force when the flywheel is rotating. Results showed that the proposed variable inerter exhibits a non-linear force-acceleration relationship with respect to its operating rotational speed. A vehicle suspension system equipped with a variable inerter is also able to further reduce vertical vehicle body acceleration and vehicle’s dynamic tire load when compared with vehicle suspension system without inerter and equipped with a passive inerter, which indirectly relates to a better vehicle ride and handling performance improvements. Hence, it can be proved that the proposed variable inerter is better than a passive inerter and is able to provide better ride comfort and road holding ability to a vehicle

Respiratory dysfunction in myotonic dystrophy type 1: A systematic review

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is one of the most common muscular dystrophies in adults. This review summarises the current literature regarding the natural history of respiratory dysfunction in DM1, the role of central respiratory drive and peripheral respiratory muscle involvement and its significance in respiratory function, and investigates the relationship between genetics (CTG repeat length) and respiratory dysfunction. The review included all articles that reported spirometry on 10 or more myotonic dystrophy patients. The final review included 55 articles between 1964 and 2017. The major conclusions of this review were (1) confirmation of the current consensus that respiratory dysfunction, predominantly a restrictive ventilatory pattern, is common in myotonic dystrophy and is associated with alveolar hypoventilation, chronic hypercapnia, and sleep disturbance in the form of sleep apnoea and sleep related disordered breathing; (2) contrary to commonly held belief, there is no consensus in the literature regarding the relationship between CTG repeat length and severity of respiratory dysfunction and a relationship has not been established; (3) the natural history and time-course of respiratory functional decline is very poorly understood in the current literature; (4) there is a consensus that there is a significant involvement of central respiratory drive in this alveolar hypoventilation however the current literature does not identify the mechanism for this

Soluble E-Cadherin: An Early Marker of Severity in Acute Pancreatitis

Background/Aims. At present, there is no simple test for predicting severity in acute pancreatitis. We investigated the use of an assay of soluble E-cadherin (sE-cadherin). Methods. Concentrations of sE-cadherin, from 19 patients with mild acute pancreatitis, 7 patients with severe acute pancreatitis, 11 patients with other acute gastrointestinal pathologies, and 12 healthy subjects were measured using a commercially available sandwich ELISA kit based on two monoclonal antibodies specific to the extracellular fragment of human E-cadherin. Measurements were made at 12 hours or less from onset of pain and also at 24 and 48 hours after onset of pain. Results. Mean (standard deviation) concentration of sE-cadherin in patients with severe acute pancreatitis at <12 hours was 17780 ng/mL (7853), significantly higher than that of healthy volunteers 5180 ng/mL (1350), P = .0039, patients with other gastrointestinal pathologies 7358 ng/mL (6655), P = .0073, and also significantly higher than that of patients with mild pancreatitis, 7332 ng/mL (2843), P = .0019. Discussion. Serum sE-cadherin could be an early (within 12 hours) objective marker of severity in acute pancreatitis. This molecule warrants further investigation in the form of a large multicentre trial

Boron Nitride Monolayer: A Strain-Tunable Nanosensor

The influence of triaxial in-plane strain on the electronic properties of a hexagonal boron-nitride sheet is investigated using density functional theory. Different from graphene, the triaxial strain localizes the molecular orbitals of the boron-nitride flake in its center depending on the direction of the applied strain. The proposed technique for localizing the molecular orbitals that are close to the Fermi level in the center of boron nitride flakes can be used to actualize engineered nanosensors, for instance, to selectively detect gas molecules. We show that the central part of the strained flake adsorbs polar molecules more strongly as compared with an unstrained sheet.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figure

Guide to transverse projections and mass-constraining variables

This paper seeks to demonstrate that many of the existing mass-measurement variables proposed for hadron colliders (mT, mEff, mT2, missing pT, hT, rootsHatMin, etc.) are far more closely related to each other than is widely appreciated, and indeed can all be viewed as a common mass bound specialized for a variety of purposes. A consequence of this is that one may understand better the strengths and weaknesses of each variable, and the circumstances in which each can be used to best effect. In order to achieve this, we find it necessary first to revisit the seemingly empty and infertile wilderness populated by the subscript "T" (as in pT) in order to remind ourselves what this process of transversification actually means. We note that, far from being simple, transversification can mean quite different things to different people. Those readers who manage to battle through the barrage of transverse notation distinguishing mass-preserving projections from velocity preserving projections, and `early projection' from `late projection', will find their efforts rewarded towards the end of the paper with (i) a better understanding of how collider mass variables fit together, (ii) an appreciation of how these variables could be generalized to search for things more complicated than supersymmetry, (iii) will depart with an aversion to thoughtless or naive use of the so-called `transverse' methods of any of the popular computer Lorentz-vector libraries, and (iv) will take care in their subsequent papers to be explicit about which of the 61 identified variants of the `transverse mass' they are employing.Comment: 47 pages, 15 figures. v2: Title change for journal, and minor typographical correction