Trajectory analyses of uncontrolled circular parachutes in random spatial wind fields

The present paper explores the trajectories of two uncontrolled circular parachute models which differ in size and mass in random spatial wind fields. The wind velocity components were generated through three-dimensional inverse fast Fourier transforms; and the correlations of the simulation data compared with the theoretical functions to confirm the accuracy of the wind model. The parachute systems are modelled as six-degrees-of-freedom rigid bodies, on which the aerodynamic forces and moments are applied. The dynamics model was validated before being used to study the drop trajectories of the parachute systems in spatial wind fields. Analyzing the drop trajectories and the impact point dispersion characteristics of the two parachute systems, the paper shows that the smaller one oscillates at a higher frequency and is affected more strongly by the wind. While descending at low altitude, there could be resonance between the dynamics of the larger parachute model and the wind turbulence. Moreover, it is found that the use of simplified vertical wind profiles, which include only the variation of the wind velocity against the altitude, may cause significant error in the simulation results.

     

An absorption capacity investigation of new absorbent based on polyurethane foams and rice straw for oil spill cleanup

Spilled oil has been considering as extremely serious disaster in the maritime field and oil exploration, and its effects lasted for decades, even hundreds of years. Oil spill treatment and recovery were the difficult and complicated issues due to the conditions of nature environment. In this work, rice straw- agricultural residue in Vietnam – with 205 k g/m³ of low density was filled in porous polyurethan matrix in fabrication process of absorbent. The experimental results about oil absorption capacity for this new absorbent material showed that, the absorbed oil mass in case of filling 25% of rice straw mass with 0.5 mm of size was highest, equal to 12.012 g oil/ g absorbent material after 120 minutes of treatment. The result of oil absorption capacity was around 3–4 times higher than that of material fabricated by pristine polyurethan or xenlulozo/lignocellulosic. Besides, fabrication process and SEM analysis were also experimentally carried out in this work.     

Remodeling Osteoarthritic Articular Cartilage under Hypoxic Conditions

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the leading joint diseases induced by abnormalities or inflammation in the synovial membrane and articular cartilage, causing severe pain and disability. Along with the cartilage malfunction, imbalanced oxygen uptake occurs, changing chondrocytes into type I collagen- and type X collagen-producing dedifferentiated cells, contributing to OA progression. However, mounting evidence suggests treating OA by inducing a hypoxic environment in the articular cartilage, targeting the inhibition of several OA-related pathways to bring chondrocytes into a normal state. This review discusses the implications of OA-diseased articular cartilage on chondrocyte phenotypes and turnover and debates the hypoxic mechanism of action. Furthermore, this review highlights the new understanding of OA, provided by tissue engineering and a regenerative medicine experimental design, modeling the disease into diverse 2D and 3D structures and investigating hypoxia and hypoxia-inducing biomolecules and potential cell therapies. This review also reports the mechanism of hypoxic regulation and highlights the importance of activating and stabilizing the hypoxia-inducible factor and related molecules to protect chondrocytes from mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis occurring under the influence of OA.     

Development of a Rapid Fluorescent Diagnostic System for Early Detection of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5 Clade 2.3.4.4 Viruses in Chicken Stool

Rapid diagnosis is essential for the control and prevention of H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs). However, highly sensitive and rapid diagnostic systems have shown limited performance due to specific antibody scarcity. In this study, two novel specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for clade 2.3.4.4 H5Nx viruses were developed by using an immunogen from a reversed genetic influenza virus (RGV). These mAbs were combined with fluorescence europium nanoparticles and an optimized lysis buffer, which were further used for developing a fluorescent immunochromatographic rapid strip test (FICT) for early detection of H5Nx influenza viruses on chicken stool samples. The result indicates that the limit of detection (LoD) of the developed FICT was 40 HAU/mL for detection of HPAIV H5 clade 2.3.4.4b in spiked chicken stool samples, which corresponded to 4.78 × 10⁴ RNA copies as obtained from real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). An experimental challenge of chicken with H5N6 HPAIV is lethal for chicken three days post-infection (DPI). Interestingly, our FICT could detect H5N6 in stool samples at 2 DPI earlier, with 100% relative sensitivity in comparison with RT-PCR, and it showed 50% higher sensitivity than the traditional colloidal gold-based rapid diagnostic test using the same mAbs pair. In conclusion, our rapid diagnostic method can be utilized for the early detection of H5Nx 2.3.4.4 HPAIVs in avian fecal samples from poultry farms or for influenza surveillance in wild migratory birds.     

A 0.13 μm CMOS UWB RF Transmitter with an On‐Chip T/R Switch

This paper presents a fully integrated 0.13 μm CMOS MB‐OFDM UWB transmitter chain (mode 1). The proposed transmitter consists of a low‐pass filter, a variable gain amplifier, a voltage‐to‐current converter, an I/Q up‐mixer, a differential‐to‐single‐ended converter, a driver amplifier, and a transmit/receive (T/R) switch. The proposed T/R switch shows an insertion loss of less than 1.5 dB and a Tx/Rx port isolation of more than 27 dB over a 3 GHz to 5 GHz frequency range. All RF/analog circuits have been designed to achieve high linearity and wide bandwidth. The proposed transmitter is implemented using IBM 0.13 μm CMOS technology. The fabricated transmitter shows a ?3 dB bandwidth of 550 MHz at each sub‐band center frequency with gain flatness less than 1.5 dB. It also shows a power gain of 0.5 dB, a maximum output power level of 0 dBm, and output IP3 of +9.3 dBm. It consumes a total of 54 mA from a 1.5 V supply.     

Photocatalytic Disinfection of E. coli Using Silver-Doped TiO2 Coated on Cylindrical Cordierite Honeycomb Monolith Photoreactor Under Artificial Sunlight Irradiation

In this paper, TiO₂ and Ag-doped TiO₂ photocatalysts were coated on the cylindrical cordierite honeycomb monolith (CHM) to evaluate their photocatalytic disinfection against Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria under artificial sunlight irradiation. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns showed a single-phase anatase structure for TiO₂ samples calcined at 500 °C for 2 h. With the presence of Ag, the bandgap of TiO₂ becomes narrower, and the absorption edge shifts toward the visible region. 6 mol% Ag-doped TiO₂ (6Ag-T) showed a reduction of bandgap energy to 2.2 eV. TiO₂ and Ag-doped TiO₂ solutions were prepared and coated on the channels’ surface of CHM for antibacterial applications. Although monolithic TiO₂ caused a slight decrease in the number of alive E. coli, Ag dopant showed significant improvement in antibacterial properties. 6 mol% Ag-doped TiO₂ coated on CHM (6Ag-T/S10/M) showed strong antibacterial effectiveness against E. coli that the bacterial cell concentration dropped to zero after 1 h of exposure. Impressively, reusability tests with these materials showed superior performance, where the antibacterial remains unchanged after five or seven successive operation cycles.

Graphical Abstract

     

Clarification on phase transition behaviors by local strain engineering in Bi1/2Na1/2TiO3–SrTiO3-based ternary ceramics

The stabilization of ergodicity plays an important role in realizing large strain in a Bi_1/2Na_1/2TiO₃ (BNT)-based relaxor, which is strongly related to the degree of random fields with respect to the randomly distributed different cations. To clarify the effects of different ionic radii, this study investigated and compared the microstructures, crystal structures, phase transition behaviors, and electrical properties of BNT–ST-based ternary ceramics by modifying BiMeO₃ (where Me = Al and Fe). It was observed that the stabilized relaxor states are different between BiFeO₃-/and BiAlO₃-modified BNT–ST ternary ceramics. As a result, it is suggested that phase transition (more precisely, the stabilization of ergodicity) can be influenced by the different internal strain in BNT–ST-based ternary ceramics.     

Time-evolution of electrical resistance-strain hysteresis curve of embroidered stretch sensors and their application in reliable human motion tracking

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - In this study, resistive-type stretch sensors based on embroidered conductive threads were investigated to determine the best combinations of various...     

Unlocking the Potential of Lithium Metal Batteries With a Sulfite-Based Electrolyte

Lithium metal batteries (LMBs) have the potential to significantly increase the energy density of advanced batteries in the future. Nonetheless, the dendritic lithium structures and low Coulombic efficiency (CE) of LMBs currently impede their applied implementation. Herein, a sulfite-based electrolyte (SBE/FEC), including 1.0 m lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide in a blend of ethylene sulfite and diethyl sulfite, and 5 wt% fluoroethylene carbonate is proposed. SBE/FEC is a highly efficient inhibitor against the growth of lithium dendrites through the formation of robust solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer. Raman spectroscopy and theoretical calculation indicate that in SBE/FEC, a significant portion of FSI⁻ exists in associated complexes, playing a vital role in the creation of LiF-rich passivation. Besides, the sulfite solvents decompose and yield polysulfide complexes in the SEI layer. A direct correlation between the proportion of cation–anion complexes and the contact angle between electrolyte and separator is elucidated through molecular dynamics simulations. The SBE/FEC system exhibits high CEs (98.3%) with Li||Cu cells, along with a steady discharge capacity of ≈137 mA h g⁻¹ in Li||LiFePO₄ cell. This study presents an effective approach for enhancing LMBs with sulfite-based electrolytes, which can lead to high-energy-density next-generation rechargeable batteries.