Electroosmotic Flow of Viscoelastic Fluid Through a Constriction Microchannel

Electroosmotic flow (EOF) has been widely used in various biochemical microfluidic applications, many of which use viscoelastic non-Newtonian fluid. This study numerically investigates the EOF of viscoelastic fluid through a 10:1 constriction microfluidic channel connecting two reservoirs on either side. The flow is modelled by the Oldroyd-B (OB) model coupled with the Poisson–Boltzmann model. EOF of polyacrylamide (PAA) solution is studied as a function of the PAA concentration and the applied electric field. In contrast to steady EOF of Newtonian fluid, the EOF of PAA solution becomes unstable when the applied electric field (PAA concentration) exceeds a critical value for a fixed PAA concentration (electric field), and vortices form at the upstream of the constriction. EOF velocity of viscoelastic fluid becomes spatially and temporally dependent, and the velocity at the exit of the constriction microchannel is much higher than that at its entrance, which is in qualitative agreement with experimental observation from the literature. Under the same apparent viscosity, the time-averaged velocity of the viscoelastic fluid is lower than that of the Newtonian fluid

The role of FTO, a human RNA demethylase in perennial grass development and abiotic stress responses

The integration of the human fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene into turfgrass is a novel approach at improving cell proliferation and abiotic stress resistance. The FTO protein is an RNA demethylase responsible for epigenetic regulation of the genome. In related rice, the gene is associated with increased crop yield, tiller number, and aerial biomass. It is proposed to work via demethylation of repeat RNA associated with chromatin remodeling, causing widespread transcriptional activation. In this study, the feasibility of using FTO for plant trait modification in perennial grasses is being investigated. Potentially transformed embryogenic calli of creeping bentgrass with FTO gene have been developed and are awaiting regeneration into plants, which can be assessed for FTO gene expression as well as abiotic stress resistance. Responsible application of transgenic FTO turfgrass is also being explored via a novel sterility mechanism that involves knockout of the gene responsible for flowering

Tunable-Focus Liquid Lens through Charge Injection

Liquid lenses are the simplest and cheapest optical lenses, and various studies have been conducted to develop tunable-focus liquid lenses. In this study, a simple and easily implemented method for achieving tunable-focus liquid lenses was proposed and experimentally validated. In this method, charges induced by a corona discharge in the air were injected into dielectric liquid, resulting in “electropressure” at the interface between the air and the liquid. Through a 3D-printed U-tube structure, a tunable-focus liquid lens was fabricated and tested. Depending on the voltage, the focus of the liquid lens can be adjusted in large ranges (−∞ to −9 mm and 13.11 mm to ∞). The results will inspire various new liquid-lens applications

Research on characteristics of removing particles in ship exhaust gas by charged droplet

A traditional water scrubber is able to remove particles with a size over 200 μm in ship engine exhaust effectively. However, as the size of the particles decreases, the removal efficiency of the particles is gradually reduced, especially when the particle size is less than 50 μm, the method almost has little effect. This paper presents a study of charging particles in exhaust gas and water droplets to improve water scrubber’s efficiency in removing fine particles. The charging of the particles is mainly achieved through corona discharge, while the water droplets are charged by passing the high-voltage electricity to the nozzle. However, the feasibility and economics of these two methods have not been verified in other researches, so they are numerically simulated by Comsol Multiphysics software in this paper. The simulation results show that both particles and droplets can be charged steadily by the two methods. The numerical simulation results also indicate that the removal efficiency of particles in ship exhaust gas can be greatly improved by adding charges to droplets and particles at the same time. And a line chart of particle capture efficiency map under different particle sizes and change of droplets is obtained

On real-time optical subcarrier management in P2MP networks with mixed-strategy gaming

We developed a mixed-strategy gaming approach for distributed and real-time optical subscarrier management in point-to-multipoint networks, achieving traffic loss rates close to those by ILP-based centralized optimization.This work was supported in part by NSFC under Project 62201627, by the European Commission though the HORIZON SEASON (G.A. 101096120) projects, by the MICINN IBON (PID2020-114135RB-I00) project and from the ICREA institution.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Low-Protein Diet Supplemented with Keto Acids Is Associated with Suppression of Small-Solute Peritoneal Transport Rate in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients

Objective. We investigate whether low-protein diet would show benefits in suppressing peritoneal transport rate in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Methods. This is a supplemented analysis of our previously published trial, which randomized 60 PD patients to receive low- (LP: dietary protein intake of 0.6–0.8 g/kg/d), keto-acid-supplemented low- (sLP: 0.6–0.8 g/kg/d with 0.12 g/kg/d of keto acids), or high- (HP: 1.0–1.2 g/kg/d) protein diet and lasted for one year. In this study, the variations of peritoneal transport rate were assessed. Results. While baseline D/Pcr (dialysate-to-plasma concentration ratio for creatinine at 4 hour) and D/D0glu (dialysate glucose at 4 hour to baseline dialysate glucose concentration ratio) were similar, D/Pcr in group sLP was lower, and D/D0glu was higher than those in the other two groups (P < 0.05) at 12th month. D/D0glu increased (P < 0.05), and D/Pcr tended to decrease, (P = 0.071) in group sLP. Conclusions. Low-protein diet with keto acids may benefit PD patients by maintaining peritoneum at a lower transport rate

ETM Toolkit: A development tool based on Extended Topic Map

By research on Topic Map standard, the Extended Topic Map (ETM) is proposed as a novel model for better organization and management of the massive knowledge resources in E-learning. Based on the model, an Extended Topic Map Toolkit is designed and implemented, which supports exploration, search, consistency check and etc. The ETM Toolkit not only provides learners with visual navigation and search on massive E-learning resources, but also offers a way for instructors to collaboratively build the shareable and reusable domain knowledge efficiently. By ETM Toolkit, an extended topic map with a certain scale on Computer Networks has been built and is currently available for students in our university

High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein: An Independent Risk Factor for Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Patients with Lupus Nephritis

Objective. To determine the prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and its associated risk factors in lupus nephritis (LN) patients. Methods. 287 LN patients (age: 38.54 ± 13.31, 262 female) were recruited. Echocardiography and serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were measured. Their relationship was evaluated by univariate correlation analysis and multivariate regression analysis. Results. The prevalence of LVH in this cohort was 21.25% (n = 61). Serum hs-CRP level was significantly elevated in patients with LVH compared to those without (8.03 (3.22–30.95) versus 3.93 (1.48–9.48) mg/L, P < .01), and correlated with left ventricular mass index (LVMI) (r = 0.314, P = .001). Multivariate regression analysis further confirmed that hs-CRP was an independent risk factor (β = 0.338, P = .002) for LVH in patients with LN. Conclusions. Our findings demonstrated that serum hs-CRP level is independently correlated with LVMI and suggested that measurement of hs-CRP may provide important clinical information to investigate LVH in LN patients