Simple and accurate methods for quantifying deformation,disruption, and development in biological tissues

When mechanical factors underlie growth, development, disease or healing, they often function through local regions of tissue where deformation is highly concentrated. Current optical techniques to estimate deformation can lack precision and accuracy in such regions due to challenges in distinguishing a region of concentrated deformation from an error in displacement tracking. Here, we present a simple and general technique for improving the accuracy and precision of strain estimation and an associated technique for distinguishing a concentrated deformation from a tracking error. The strain estimation technique improves accuracy relative to other state-of-the-art algorithms by directly estimating strain fields without first estimating displacements, resulting in a very simple method and low computational cost. The technique for identifying local elevation of strain enables for the first time the successful identification of the onset and consequences of local strain concentrating features such as cracks and tears in a highly strained tissue. We apply these new techniques to demonstrate a novel hypothesis in prenatal wound healing. More generally, the analytical methods we have developed provide a simple tool for quantifying the appearance and magnitude of localized deformation from a series of digital images across a broad range of disciplines.     

Tuneable Singlet Exciton Fission and Triplet–Triplet Annihilation in an Orthogonal Pentacene Dimer

Fast and highly efficient intramolecular singlet exciton fission in a pentacene dimer, consisting of two covalently attached, nearly orthogonal pentacene units is reported. Fission to triplet excitons from this ground state geometry occurs within 1 ps in isolated molecules in solution and dispersed solid matrices. The process exhibits a sensitivity to environmental polarity and competes with geometric relaxation in the singlet state, while subsequent triplet decay is strongly dependent on conformational freedom. The near orthogonal arrangement of the pentacene units is unlike any structure currently proposed for efficient singlet exciton fission and may lead to new molecular design rules.     

Component sizing for an autonomous wind-driven desalination plant

Objective of this paper is to provide insight in the component selection criteria of an autonomous wind-driven desalination plant. For this purpose, a suitable logistic model of such a system is developed, which simulates its steady-state operation, taking into account the power and energy equilibrium in the system. The simulation of the system operation is performed employing two alternative control strategies and a variety of different configurations with respect to the size of its main components (wind turbine, desalination plant and batteries). For each case, the annual water production is calculated and an economic assessment is performed to estimate the expected water production cost, which is the ultimate measure of the feasibility of the stand-alone system. Other important factors, such as the desalination unit start/stop operations are also calculated. Based on the simulation results, conclusions are drawn regarding the optimal sizing of the system components and its recommended operating strategy.     

Dose-Dependent Cytotoxicity of Polypropylene Microplastics (PP-MPs) in Two Freshwater Fishes

The massive accumulation of plastics over the decades in the aquatic environment has led to the dispersion of plastic components in aquatic ecosystems, invading the food webs. Plastics fragmented into microplastics can be bioaccumulated by fishes via different exposure routes, causing several adverse effects. In the present study, the dose-dependent cytotoxicity of 8–10 μm polypropylene microplastics (PP-MPs), at concentrations of 1 mg/g (low dose) and 10 mg/g dry food (high dose), was evaluated in the liver and gill tissues of two fish species, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) and the freshwater perch (Perca fluviatilis). According to our results, the inclusion of PP-MPs in the feed of D. rerio and P. fluviatilis hampered the cellular function of the gills and hepatic cells by lipid peroxidation, DNA damage, protein ubiquitination, apoptosis, autophagy, and changes in metabolite concentration, providing evidence that the toxicity of PP-MPs is dose dependent. With regard to the individual assays tested in the present study, the biggest impact was observed in DNA damage, which exhibited a maximum increase of 18.34-fold in the liver of D. rerio. The sensitivity of the two fish species studied differed, while no clear tissue specificity in both fish species was observed. The metabolome of both tissues was altered in both treatments, while tryptophan and nicotinic acid exhibited the greatest decrease among all metabolites in all treatments in comparison to the control. The battery of biomarkers used in the present study as well as metabolomic changes could be suggested as early-warning signals for the assessment of the aquatic environment quality against MPs. In addition, our results contribute to the elucidation of the mechanism induced by nanomaterials on tissues of aquatic organisms, since comprehending the magnitude of their impact on aquatic ecosystems is of great importance.     

Reprint of: Rod bundle vortex networks, gap vortex streets, and gap instability: A nomenclature and some comments on available methodologies

This note introduces the following terms, which apply to large-scale, vortical, coherent structures, appearing in flows through tightly packed rod bundles and other channels that have narrow gap regions: the term gap instability describes the mechanism of generation of such structures in the gap region in laminar and turbulent flows; the term gap vortex street describes the chain of counter-rotating vortices which from on either side of a single gap; and the term rod bundle vortex network describes the set of mutually dependent gap vortex streets that appear in rod bundles and other channels with multiple gaps. Moreover, this notes summarizes the capabilities and limitations of available CFD methods for simulating flows in rod bundles.     

The discovery and structure-activity relationships of nonpeptide, low molecular weight antagonists selective for the endothelin ET(B) receptor

The systematic modification of the ETA selective N-(5-isoxazolyl)benzene-sulfonamide endothelin antagonists to give ETB selective antagonists is reported. The reversal in selectivity was brought about by substitution of the 4-position with aryl and substituted aryl groups. Of all the aromatic substituents studied, the para-tolyl group gave rise to the most active and selective ETB antagonist. Larger substituents caused a decrease in both ETB activity and selectivity. A similar trend was observed by substitution at the 5-position of the N-(5-isoxazolyl)-2-thiophenesulfonamide ETA receptor antagonists. The para-tolyl group was again found to be optimal for the ETB activity and selectivity. The structural features that were found to be favorable for binding to the ETB receptor, that is, the presence of a linear, conjugated pi-system of definite shape and size, have been successfully incorporated into the design of ETB selective polycyclic aromatic sulfonamides antagonists.     

Convective heat-transfer measurements in liquid metals under different fluid flow conditions

In this study an experimental method to measure convective heat transfer characteristics in liquid metals is presented. This method involves the immersion into a metal bath of a solid specimen whose melting point is equal to or lower than that of the metal or alloy in the metal bath, and which will not react chemically with the liquid metal or alloys used. The specimen should have a hollow bore whose opening is held above the surface of the liquid metal; immersion continues until such a time as the liquid metal penetrates the hollow bore. The apparent weight of the specimen is monitored to determine the rate at which the net downward force changes. Experimental results are reported for liquid aluminum, liquid copper, and liquid steel. Those experimental results were conducted under different fluid flow conditions. The applicability of this method to liquid slags is also discussed. Formerly Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Department of Metallurgy and Materials Science, University of Toronto     

Checking Timed Büchi Automata Emptiness Efficiently

This paper presents an on-the-fly and symbolic technique for efficiently checking timed automata emptiness. It is symbolic because it uses the simulation graph (instead of the region graph). It is on-the-fly because the simulation graph is generated during the test for emptiness. We have implemented a verification tool called Profounder based on this technique. To our knowledge, Profounder is the only available tool for checking emptiness of timed Büchi automata. To illustrate the practical interest of our approach, we show the performances of the tool on a non-trivial case study.