Development of optimisation schemes for ultrasound particle sizing and concentration measurements

Particle size is a critical indicator of product quality, significantly affecting product stability, solubility, and flowability. With the advancement of science and technology and the improvement of industrial standards, particle size measurement has become increasingly important in many fields, such as chemical engineering, pharmaceuticals, and materials science. Among the numerous particle size distribution measurement techniques, ultrasonic attenuation spectroscopy has attracted the attention of many researchers due to its strong penetration ability, wide frequency range, fast response speed, and non-contact advantages. The most classic theoretical model in ultrasonic attenuation is the ECAH model, which is widely applicable because it covers most comprehensively the attenuation mechanisms. However, a major limitation of the ECAH model is that it requires many material properties parameters, many of which are unknown or inaccurate. Given some test run results, it is possible to use a retrofitting process to determine what those unknown/inaccurate values should be to minimise the error between the measured and ECAH predicted results. The aim of this project is to compare error minimisation algorithms and evaluate how they perform in different scenarios. The main novelty of the research is that both unknown/inaccurate material properties and particle size distribution (PSD) parameters can be determined simultaneously through an optimisation process. The tested optimisation algorithms include Genetic Algorithm (GA) optimisation, Particle Swarm (PS) optimisation and Parallel Traversal (PT) algorithm. This research will have a significant impact on the field of ultrasonic attenuation spectroscopy for PSD measurement. Firstly, for the first time, a systematic sensitivity analysis has performed for all the optimisable parameters. This is useful in narrowing the range of values a parameter can have when it is being optimised, thus helping to speed up the optimisation process. Secondly, the simultaneous optimisation of both material properties and PSD parameters has been shown to give more accurate results than optimising parameters and PSD separately. Finally, test result have indicated that if the number of parameters to be optimised is small (e.g., <=3), PT is the quickest among the three for comparable setups; for more parameters, GA runtime is more predictable than PS

A multi-port current-limiting hybrid DC crcuit breaker

Recently the hybrid multi-port DC circuit breaker (MP-DCCB) is becoming popular in protecting HVDC grids, thanks to their re-duction of power electronics devices. In this paper, an enhanced multi-port current-limiting DCCB (MP-CLCB) for multiple line protection is proposed. The integrated fault current limiter (FCL) inside the MP-CLCB can clear the fault faster with slightly in-creased costs. To reduce the energy dissipation requirement for the surge arresters caused by the newly added current-limiting path, an energy transfer path which provides a loop with the in-ductors during the current decay stage is designed. The theoreti-cal analysis of the pre-charging, current-limiting, fault interrup-tion and energy dissipation of the MP-CLCB is carried out. Moreover, the design principles of the energy dissipation and the key parameters of the MP-CLCB are provided. The proposed approaches are verified through simulations in PSCAD/EMTDC. The results show that the MP-CLCB can replace multiple DCCBs, accelerate the fault current interruption and reduce the energy dissipation requirement for the surge arresters

Extreme long-lifetime self-assembled monolayer for air-stable molecular junctions

The molecular electronic devices based on self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on metal surfaces demonstrate novel electronic functions for device minimization yet are unable to realize in practical applications, due to their instability against oxidation of the sulfur-metal bond. This paper describes an alternative to the thiolate anchoring group to form stable SAMs on gold by selenides anchoring group. Because of the formation of strong selenium-gold bonds, these stable SAMs allow us to incorporate them in molecular tunnel junctions to yield extremely stable junctions for over 200 days. A detailed structural characterization supported by spectroscopy and first-principles modeling shows that the oxidation process is much slower with the selenium-gold bond than the sulfur-gold bond, and the selenium-gold bond is strong enough to avoid bond breaking even when it is eventually oxidized. This proof of concept demonstrates that the extraordinarily stable SAMs derived from sel-enides are useful for long-lived molecular electronic devices and can possibly become important in many air-stable applications involving SAMs.</p

PANoptosis-related molecular subtype and prognostic model associated with the immune microenvironment and individualized therapy in pancreatic cancer

BackgroundPANoptosis is an inflammatory type of programmed cell death regulated by PANopotosome. Mounting evidence has shown that PANoptosis could be involved in cancer pathogenesis and the tumor immune microenvironment. Nevertheless, there have been no studies on the mechanism of PANoptosis on pancreatic cancer (PC) pathogenesis.MethodsWe downloaded the data on transcriptomic and clinical features of PC patients from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus databases. Additionally, the data on copy number variation (CNV), methylation and somatic mutations of genes in 33 types of cancers were obtained from TCGA. Next, we identified the PANoptosis-related molecular subtype using the consensus clustering analysis, and constructed and validated the PANoptosis-related prognostic model using LASSO and Cox regression analyses. Moreover, RT-qPCR was performed to determine the expression of genes involved in the model.ResultsWe obtained 66 PANoptosis-related genes (PANRGs) from published studies. Of these, 24 PC-specific prognosis-related genes were identified. Pan-cancer analysis revealed complex genetic changes, including CNV, methylation, and mutation in PANRGs were identified in various cancers. By consensus clustering analysis, PC patients were classified into two PANoptosis-related patterns: PANcluster A and B. In PANcluster A, the patient prognosis was significantly worse compared to PANcluster B. The CIBERSORT algorithm showed a significant increase in the infiltration of CD8+ T cells, monocytes, and naïve B cells, in patients in PANcluster B. Additionally, the infiltration of macrophages, activated mast cells, and dendritic cells were higher in patients in PANcluster A. Patients in PANcluster A were more sensitive to erlotinib, selumetinib and trametinib, whereas patients in PANcluster B were highly sensitive to irinotecan, oxaliplatin and sorafenib. Moreover, we constructed and validated the PANoptosis-related prognostic model to predict the patient’s survival. Finally, the GEPIA and Human Protein Atlas databases were analyzed, and RT-qPCR was performed. Compared to normal tissues, a significant increase in CXCL10 and ITGB6 (associated with the model) expression was observed in PC tissues.ConclusionWe first identified the PANoptosis-related molecular subtypes and established a PANoptosis-related prognostic model for predicting the survival of patients with PC. These results would aid in exploring the mechanisms of PANoptosis in PC pathogenesis

Distinguishing two-component anomalous Hall effect from topological Hall effect in magnetic topological insulator MnBi2Te4

In transport, the topological Hall effect (THE) is widely interpreted as a sign of chiral spin textures, like magnetic skyrmions. However, the co-existence of two anomalous Hall effects (AHE) could give rise to similar non-monotonic features or "humps", making it difficult to distinguish between the two. Here we demonstrate that the "artifact" two-component anomalous Hall effect can be clearly distinguished from the genuine topological Hall effect by three methods: 1. Minor loops 2. Temperature dependence 3. Gate dependence. One of the minor loops is a single loop that cannot fit into the full AHE loop under the assumption of AHE+THE. In addition, by increasing the temperature or tuning the gate bias, the emergence of humps is accompanied by a polarity change of the AHE. Using these three methods, one can find the humps are from another AHE loop with a different polarity. Our material is a magnetic topological insulator MnBi2Te4 grown by molecular beam epitaxy, where the presence of the secondary phase MnTe2 on the surface contributes to the extra positive AHE component. Our work may help future researchers to exercise cautions and use these three methods to examine carefully in order to ascertain genuine topological Hall effect

Axonal Fiber Terminations Concentrate on Gyri

Convoluted cortical folding and neuronal wiring are 2 prominent attributes of the mammalian brain. However, the macroscale intrinsic relationship between these 2 general cross-species attributes, as well as the underlying principles that sculpt the architecture of the cerebral cortex, remains unclear. Here, we show that the axonal fibers connected to gyri are significantly denser than those connected to sulci. In human, chimpanzee, and macaque brains, a dominant fraction of axonal fibers were found to be connected to the gyri. This finding has been replicated in a range of mammalian brains via diffusion tensor imaging and high–angular resolution diffusion imaging. These results may have shed some lights on fundamental mechanisms for development and organization of the cerebral cortex, suggesting that axonal pushing is a mechanism of cortical folding

Atomic Force Microscopy as a Tool to Study Transport Phenomena in Biological Systems

Biological interactions often involve the transport of molecules, ions, or other species across biological membranes or between interacting proteins. The understanding of these transport phenomena is crucial for the development of therapies for various diseases. Atomic force microscopy is a powerful tool that has been increasingly used to study biological systems at the nano scale. The high resolution, quantitative measurements, and the ability to probe biological interactions under near-physiological conditions make AFM an attractive tool for investigating transport phenomena in biological systems. In this article, we focus on the use of AFM in the study of the transport phenomena in biological systems. We discuss the principles of AFM, its instrumentation, and its application in the study of biomolecules and biological systems. We also provide a comprehensive overview of recent articles that have utilized AFM in the study of biomarkers in biological systems

Marketing and Price strategies for China Telecom Company : a case study of differences between broadband price and area in China

Purpose: The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the relationship between the cities’ GDP and prices. We would like to find out the differences between China Telecom’s broadband prices and areas. If there are differences, are those differences considered from the cities’ GDP? The outcome of this dissertation will provide information about new project price of China Telecom after Network three in one. Design/methodology/approach: The study deals with the relationship between China Telecom Company telecommunication prices and areas. This refers to the use of China Telecom Company’s broadband prices and the information from three different areas. The hypotheses are tested with survey data from three different areas in China. Findings: The results show that the cities’ GDP and the price of China Telecom service are related. Originality/value: This thesis will explore the influencing factors the price in telecommunication industry