Liverpool Visual Assessment Team 1985-1989: 5 years on

An update of the work of the Liverpool Visual Assessment Team. This is a multi-disciplinary team for the assessment, remediation and management of severely visually impaired children in Liverpool and the surrounding region.     

Thermal modelling using ASTEC3 software

This paper describes the application of ASTEC3, a general purpose analogue electronic circuit simulation package, to the analysis of thermal properties of given structures. The modelling of each system is considered for both conduction and convection mechanisms, radiation being assumed to play a very minor role in heat dissipation from most electrical circuits. A procedure is given for the modelling of one-, two- and three-dimensional thermal problems which is then used for the simulation of relatively simple examples. The results obtained with ASTEC3 are compared with results determined by using more traditional and independent techniques.     

The effects of topical treatments with 6-pentyl-2-pyrone and structural analogues on stem end postharvest rots in kiwifruit due to Botrytis cinerea

The picking wounds in kiwifruit formed by breaking off the pedicels at harvest were treated topically with the naturally occurring lactones 6-pentyl-2-pyrone (6PP), decano-δ-lactone (DL) and 2-deceno-δ-lactone (massoialacetone: ML), and with the synthetic fungicide vinclozolin. 6PP was applied at rates from 0·4 to 4 mg, neat or diluted in oil, water or acetone. 6PP treatments consistently reduced the incidence of Botrytis cinerea storage rots to low levels in both inoculated and naturally infected fruit. For inoculated fruit, control was achieved even when treatment was delayed up to 2 days from inoculation. ML gave significant but lesser control than 6PP, while DL was not generally effective. DL was also less effective than ML or 6PP at suppressing B cinerea inoculum germination in vitro. Much lower rates of vinclozolin (8 or 70 μg) also gave significant control of storage rots. Such topical treatment methods permit control of storage diseases with similar application quantities to currently accepted preharvest fungicide treatments. © 1998 SCI.     

Opposing Roles of GSK3α and GSK3β Phosphorylation in Platelet Function and Thrombosis

One of the mechanisms by which PI3 kinase can regulate platelet function is through phosphorylation of downstream substrates, including glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3)α and GSK3β. Platelet activation results in the phosphorylation of an N-terminal serine residue in GSK3α (Ser21) and GSK3β (Ser9), which competitively inhibits substrate phosphorylation. However, the role of phosphorylation of these paralogs is still largely unknown. Here, we employed GSK3α/β phosphorylation-resistant mouse models to explore the role of this inhibitory phosphorylation in regulating platelet activation. Expression of phosphorylation-resistant GSK3α/β reduced thrombin-mediated platelet aggregation, integrin α_IIbβ₃ activation, and α-granule secretion, whereas platelet responses to the GPVI agonist collagen-related peptide (CRP-XL) were significantly enhanced. GSK3 single knock-in lines revealed that this divergence is due to differential roles of GSK3α and GSK3β phosphorylation in regulating platelet function. Expression of phosphorylation-resistant GSK3α resulted in enhanced GPVI-mediated platelet activation, whereas expression of phosphorylation-resistant GSK3β resulted in a reduction in PAR-mediated platelet activation and impaired in vitro thrombus formation under flow. Interestingly, the latter was normalised in double GSK3α/β KI mice, indicating that GSK3α KI can compensate for the impairment in thrombosis caused by GSK3β KI. In conclusion, our data indicate that GSK3α and GSK3β have differential roles in regulating platelet function.     

Viscoelastic flows in mixing-separating cells

The flow of Newtonian and viscoelastic fluids in a mixing-separating geometry that consists of two opposed channel flows interacting through a gap in the common separating wall is investigated. The flow in this type of geometry was studied experimentally by Cochrane et al. (Philos Trans R Soc Lond A301:163–181, 1981) using Newtonian and viscoelastic fluids at low Reynolds numbers (Re < 50). In this numerical study, by use of a finite-volume method, the effects of Deborah (De) and Reynolds numbers and gap size on the two-dimensional flow dynamics are assessed. The normalized gap size varies between 0 and 5, Re varies between 0 and 50 and De varies between 0 and the maximum attainable value. Due to the anti-symmetry of the fully developed inlet conditions and the symmetry of the flow geometry, the Newtonian creeping flow is anti-symmetric. Increasing the gap size of the separating walls leads to an increase of the reversed flow-rate ratio (R _r ), which is defined as the ratio of the reversed and the total flow rate. For creeping flow of viscoelastic fluids, here described by the upper-convected Maxwell model, two distinct flow patterns are observed. Below a critical gap size, the reversed flow is slightly enhanced when the Deborah number increases. Further increase of De leads to a subsequent decrease in R _r towards zero. For a supercritical gap size, increasing the Deborah number leads to a monotonic increase in R _r .     

Encapsulation of Indomethacin Using Coaxial Ultrasonic Atomization Followed by Solvent Evaporation

We have encapsulated indomethacin into poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) using coaxial ultrasonic atomization technique. The specific aims of this study were to evaluate the effect of drug loading and a change in relative concentration of polymer in the inner and outer layers of coflowing spray liquids on the physicochemical characteristics of the particles. Indomethacin, a non steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, was selected as a model compound. The micro/nanocapsules prepared using a drug free PLGA solution as an outer layer showed higher encapsulation efficiency. Thermal analysis of the formulations indicated that indomethacin was dissolved within the PLGA matrix. The formulations prepared with 25mg indomethacin showed relatively smaller particle size compared with the formulations prepared with 50 mg indomethacin. The particles, in general, showed bi- and tri-modal distribution. Irrespective of the compositions of the liquids 1 and 2, all the particles were smooth and spherical. A cross-section view of the particles revealed the presence of three different internal morphologies. These formulations were a mixture of hollow or solid spheres, and single or multiple spheres encapsulated into a larger sphere. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study revealing the cross-sectional view of particles prepared with coaxial ultrasonic atomization technique.     

A generic framework for handling constraints with agent-based optimization algorithms and application to aerodynamic design

A generic constraint handling framework for use with any swarm-based optimization algorithm is presented. For swarm optimizers to solve constrained optimization problems effectively modifications have to be made to the optimizers to handle the constraints, however, these constraint handling frameworks are often not universally applicable to all swarm algorithms. A constraint handling framework is therefore presented in this paper that is compatible with any swarm optimizer, such that a user can wrap it around a chosen swarm algorithm and perform constrained optimization. The method, called separation-sub-swarm, works by dividing the population based on the feasibility of individual agents. This allows all feasible agents to move by existing swarm optimizer algorithms, hence promoting good performance and convergence characteristics of individual swarm algorithms. The framework is tested on a suite of analytical test function and a number of engineering benchmark problems, and compared to other generic constraint handling frameworks using four different swarm optimizers; particle swarm, gravitational search, a hybrid algorithm and differential evolution. It is shown that the new framework produces superior results compared to the established frameworks for all four swarm algorithms tested. Finally, the framework is applied to an aerodynamic shape optimization design problem where a shock-free solution is obtained.