15 research outputs found
Theory of light-activated catalytic Janus particles
We study the dynamics of active Janus particles that self-propel in solution
by light-activated catalytic decomposition of chemical "fuel." We develop an
analytical model of a photo-active self-phoretic particle that accounts for
"self-shadowing" of the light by the opaque catalytic face of the particle. We
find that self-shadowing can drive "phototaxis" (rotation of the catalytic cap
towards the light source) or "anti-phototaxis," depending on the properties of
the particle. Incorporating the effect of thermal noise, we show that the
distribution of particle orientations is captured by a Boltzmann distribution
with a nonequilibrium effective potential. Furthermore, the mean vertical
velocity of phototactic (anti-phototactic) particles exhibits a superlinear
(sublinear) dependence on intensity. Overall, our findings show that
photo-active particles exhibit a rich "tactic" response to light, which could
be harnessed to program complex three-dimensional trajectories
Self-propulsion of a catalytically active particle near a planar wall: from reflection to sliding and hovering
Micron-sized particles moving through solution in response to self-generated
chemical gradients serve as model systems for studying active matter. Their
far-reaching potential applications will require the particles to sense and
respond to their local environment in a robust manner. The self-generated
hydrodynamic and chemical fields, which induce particle motion, probe and are
modified by that very environment, including confining boundaries. Focusing on
a catalytically active Janus particle as a paradigmatic example, we predict
that near a hard planar wall such a particle exhibits several scenarios of
motion: reflection from the wall, motion at a steady-state orientation and
height above the wall, or motionless, steady "hovering." Concerning the steady
states, the height and the orientation are determined both by the proportion of
catalyst coverage and the interactions of the solutes with the different
"faces" of the particle. Accordingly, we propose that a desired behavior can be
selected by tuning these parameters via a judicious design of the particle
surface chemistry
Effective squirmer models for self-phoretic chemically active spherical colloids
Various aspects of self-motility of chemically active colloids in Newtonian
fluids can be captured by simple models for their chemical activity plus a
phoretic slip hydrodynamic boundary condition on their surface. For particles
of simple shapes (e.g., spheres) -- as employed in many experimental studies --
which move at very low Reynolds numbers in an unbounded fluid, such models of
chemically active particles effectively map onto the well studied so-called
hydrodynamic squirmers [S. Michelin and E. Lauga, J. Fluid Mech. \textbf{747},
572 (2014)]. Accordingly, intuitively appealing analogies of
"pusher/puller/neutral" squirmers arise naturally. Within the framework of
self-diffusiophoresis we illustrate the above mentioned mapping and the
corresponding flows in an unbounded fluid for a number of choices of the
activity function (i.e., the spatial distribution and the type of chemical
reactions across the surface of the particle). We use the central collision of
two active particles as a simple, paradigmatic case for demonstrating that in
the presence of other particles or boundaries the behavior of chemically active
colloids may be \textit{qualitatively} different, even in the far field, from
the one exhibited by the corresponding "effective squirmer", obtained from the
mapping in an unbounded fluid. This emphasizes that understanding the
collective behavior and the dynamics under geometrical confinement of
chemically active particles necessarily requires to explicitly account for the
dependence of the hydrodynamic interactions on the distribution of chemical
species resulting from the activity of the particles.Comment: 26 pages, 11 figure
Boundaries can steer active Janus spheres
The advent of autonomous self-propulsion has instigated research towards making colloidal machines that can deliver mechanical work in the form of transport, and other functions such as sensing and cleaning. While much progress has been made in the last 10 years on various mechanisms to generate self-propulsion, the ability to steer self-propelled colloidal devices has so far been much more limited. A critical barrier in increasing the impact of such motors is in directing their motion against the Brownian rotation, which randomizes particle orientations. In this context, here we report directed motion of a specific class of catalytic motors when moving in close proximity to solid surfaces. This is achieved through active quenching of their Brownian rotation by constraining it in a rotational well, caused not by equilibrium, but by hydrodynamic effects. We demonstrate how combining these geometric constraints can be utilized to steer these active colloids along arbitrary trajectories
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Herpes Simplex Virus Infection in Infants Undergoing Meningitis Evaluation
BACKGROUND:Although neonatal herpes simplex virus (HSV) is a potentially devastating infection requiring prompt evaluation and treatment, large-scale assessments of the frequency in potentially infected infants have not been performed. METHODS:We performed a retrospective cross-sectional study of infants ≤60 days old who had cerebrospinal fluid culture testing performed in 1 of 23 participating North American emergency departments. HSV infection was defined by a positive HSV polymerase chain reaction or viral culture. The primary outcome was the proportion of encounters in which HSV infection was identified. Secondary outcomes included frequency of central nervous system (CNS) and disseminated HSV, and HSV testing and treatment patterns. RESULTS:Of 26 533 eligible encounters, 112 infants had HSV identified (0.42%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.35%-0.51%). Of these, 90 (80.4%) occurred in weeks 1 to 4, 10 (8.9%) in weeks 5 to 6, and 12 (10.7%) in weeks 7 to 9. The median age of HSV-infected infants was 14 days (interquartile range: 9-24 days). HSV infection was more common in 0 to 28-day-old infants compared with 29- to 60-day-old infants (odds ratio 3.9; 95% CI: 2.4-6.2). Sixty-eight (0.26%, 95% CI: 0.21%-0.33%) had CNS or disseminated HSV. The proportion of infants tested for HSV (35%; range 14%-72%) and to whom acyclovir was administered (23%; range 4%-53%) varied widely across sites. CONCLUSIONS:An HSV infection was uncommon in young infants evaluated for CNS infection, particularly in the second month of life. Evidence-based approaches to the evaluation for HSV in young infants are needed