Dispersion of Polydisperse Droplets in a Pulsating Flow Field

AbstractThe dispersion of polydisperse droplets in a pulsating air stream has been analyzed. The grouping and segregation of droplets in both steady and oscillating flow field has been studied. The effect of evaporation on the grouping process has also been investigated. Eulerian-Eulerian multiphase framework has been used to model the polydisperse drop phase. The model is employed to study the dynamics in a 1D plug flow evaporator. The variation in dispersion process of the droplets along the channels has been observed both without and with presence of evaporation of the droplets. It has been found that the larger size droplets responses weekly with the oscillating flow field whereas, the smaller size droplets clustered differently at different locations depending upon the phase angles of the oscillating flow field

Continuum Representation for Simulating Discrete Events of Battery Operation

A mathematical approach for representing the discrete events in the cycling studies of lithium-ion batteries as a continuum event has been proposed to generate charge/discharge curves for N number of battery cycles. Simulations of up to 5000 cycles have been performed using this technique using the solid-phase diffusion model. A nonlinear electrochemical engineering model, which describes the galvanostatic charge/open-circuit/discharge processes of a thin-film nickel electrode, has also been investigated to test and validate the computational performance of the continuum representation technique. Finally, the tested technique is implemented for an existing full-order pseudo-two-dimensional lithium-ion battery model that has several coupled and nonlinear partial differential equations in multiple domains. The continuum representation, which is expressed as a function of a dependent variable in time t, works efficiently for several cycles with very minimal model initialization efforts and computation cost. However, it is not ideal for state detection. The mathematical simulation approaches that are currently followed for the modeling of charge/discharge cycles of lithium-ion batteries involve different computational schemes. 1-10 The complexity arises because of steep variations in the dependent variables ͑concentrations and potentials͒ between charge and discharge processes, difficulty in obtaining consistent initial values for the model equations, solver failure after a certain number of cycles due to high charge/discharge cutoff voltages, thermal effects, etc. We came up with a shooting method in a spatial direction 11 based on the steadystate model equations that work well for providing consistent initialization during a charge or discharge process. Wu and White 12 devised an initialization subroutine called differential algebraic equation initialization subroutine ͑DAEIS͒ to overcome numerical inconsistency and discussed in detail the initialization problems of battery models. Consistent initial values of the dependent variables for index-1 differential algebraic equation ͑DAE͒ systems can be obtained using DAEIS. DAEIS is effective in handling a DAE system with combined continuous processes and discrete events that are frequently encountered in battery operations. Before the advancement of computation capability, Tafel approximation of the electrokinetic expression and Ohm's law in electrolyte were used to calculate initial guesses for algebraic variables. 13 In this work, the complete protocol that includes many discrete events to constitute one cycle of lithium-ion battery was reformulated as a single continuous process. Then, this continuous process was repeatedly simulated up to the desired number of cycles. This was achieved by carefully changing the model variables that directly influence the cycling parameters, for example, changing the independent variable ͑in time͒ or the dependent variable ͑in solid-phase concentration at the surface of the intercalating particles͒ and expressing the same as an additional algebraic equation in terms of the number of battery cycles. This approach was attempted to overcome the difficulties mentioned during the conventional cycle studies, and it was an efficient method for many situations. Adding an additional nonlinear algebraic equation does not contribute to the significant computation cost for the model simulation; rather, it helps in effectively handling large cycle numbers and in generating the cycle data for further analysis. The proposed mathematical representation has been demonstrated for models with different degrees of complexity and in comparison with the results from those using the conventional approach. 14-16 The combination of this continuum representation and this efficient reformulated model helps in the use of meaningful models of batteries for emerging applications such as satellites, military, hybrid electric vehicles, etc. The combination of the continuum representation and the reformulated model is helpful in a way that solving the full-order physicsbased lithium-ion battery model with less computation cost was facilitated by the reformulated version of the full-order model that does not require a large system of differential and algebraic equations to be solved for each parameter in a cycle, for example, charge or discharge. Though the objective of this investigation is to devise a continuum representation for generating cycle data using a fullorder physics-based lithium-ion battery model, two other simple electrochemical models ͑mentioned above͒ are also discussed with the intention to provide more details and insight into the proposed continuum approach that can help readers to easily adopt the approach for other interesting cases

Promotion of access to essential medicines for Non-Communicable Diseases: Practical implications of the UN Political Declaration

Access to medicines and vaccines to prevent and treat non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is unacceptably low worldwide. In the 2011 UN political declaration on the prevention and control of NCDs, heads of government made several commitments related to access to essential medicines, technologies, and vaccines for such diseases. 30 years of experience with policies for essential medicines and 10 years of scaling up of HIV treatment have provided the knowledge needed to address barriers to long-term effective treatment and prevention of NCDs. More medicines can be acquired within existing budgets with efficient selection, procurement, and use of generic medicines. Furthermore, low-income and middle-income countries need to increase mobilisation of domestic resources to cater for the many patients with NCDs who do not have access to treatment. Existing initiatives for HIV treatment offer useful lessons that can enhance access to pharmaceutical management of NCDs and improve adherence to long-term treatment of chronic illness; policy makers should also address unacceptable inequities in access to controlled opioid analgesics. In addition to off-patent medicines, governments can promote access to new and future on-patent medicinal products through coherent and equitable health and trade policies, particularly those for intellectual property. Frequent conflicts of interest need to be identified and managed, and indicators and targets for access to NCD medicines should be used to monitor progress. Only with these approaches can a difference be made to the lives of hundreds of millions of current and future patients with NCDs

Tuberculosis chemotherapy: current drug delivery approaches

Tuberculosis is a leading killer of young adults worldwide and the global scourge of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis is reaching epidemic proportions. It is endemic in most developing countries and resurgent in developed and developing countries with high rates of human immunodeficiency virus infection. This article reviews the current situation in terms of drug delivery approaches for tuberculosis chemotherapy. A number of novel implant-, microparticulate-, and various other carrier-based drug delivery systems incorporating the principal anti-tuberculosis agents have been fabricated that either target the site of tuberculosis infection or reduce the dosing frequency with the aim of improving patient outcomes. These developments in drug delivery represent attractive options with significant merit, however, there is a requisite to manufacture an oral system, which directly addresses issues of unacceptable rifampicin bioavailability in fixed-dose combinations. This is fostered by the need to deliver medications to patients more efficiently and with fewer side effects, especially in developing countries. The fabrication of a polymeric once-daily oral multiparticulate fixed-dose combination of the principal anti-tuberculosis drugs, which attains segregated delivery of rifampicin and isoniazid for improved rifampicin bioavailability, could be a step in the right direction in addressing issues of treatment failure due to patient non-compliance

Rare pathogenic variants in WNK3 cause X-linked intellectual disability

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordData availability: All data are available upon request. The sequence variants in WNK3 (NM_004656.3) reported in the paper have been deposited in ClinVar database. Their respective accession numbers (SCV002107163 to SCV002107168) are indicated in Tables 1 and S1.Purpose WNK3 kinase (PRKWNK3) has been implicated in the development and function of the brain via its regulation of the cation-chloride cotransporters, but the role of WNK3 in human development is unknown. Method We ascertained exome or genome sequences of individuals with rare familial or sporadic forms of intellectual disability (ID). Results We identified a total of 6 different maternally-inherited, hemizygous, 3 loss-of-function or 3 pathogenic missense variants (p.Pro204Arg, p.Leu300Ser, p.Glu607Val) in WNK3 in 14 male individuals from 6 unrelated families. Affected individuals had identifier with variable presence of epilepsy and structural brain defects. WNK3 variants cosegregated with the disease in 3 different families with multiple affected individuals. This included 1 large family previously diagnosed with X-linked Prieto syndrome. WNK3 pathogenic missense variants localize to the catalytic domain and impede the inhibitory phosphorylation of the neuronal-specific chloride cotransporter KCC2 at threonine 1007, a site critically regulated during the development of synaptic inhibition. Conclusion Pathogenic WNK3 variants cause a rare form of human X-linked identifier with variable epilepsy and structural brain abnormalities and implicate impaired phospho-regulation of KCC2 as a pathogenic mechanism.Estonian Research CouncilNational Natural Science Foundation of ChinaRoyal SocietySouth Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (SCDDSN)National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS