Effects of compressibility and transition to turbulence on flow through microchannels

A detailed experimental study of flow through long microchannels of hydraulic diameter ranging from 60.5 to 211 μm has been carried out. The internal pressure distribution along the length of the channel has been measured to analyze the local flow behaviour. The effects of compressibility and transition to turbulence occurring in the microchannel flow were investigated in detail. In addition, the resulting flow has been analyzed numerically using a commercially available CFD code, FLUENT. It has been shown that there are no special micro-scale effects, including early transition to turbulence at least in the present range of hydraulic diameters after the significant effects of compressibility are accounted appropriately.     

Genetics Matters: Voyaging from the Past into the Future of Humanity and Sustainability

The understanding of how genetic information may be inherited through generations was established by Gregor Mendel in the 1860s when he developed the fundamental principles of inheritance. The science of genetics, however, began to flourish only during the mid-1940s when DNA was identified as the carrier of genetic information. The world has since then witnessed rapid development of genetic technologies, with the latest being genome-editing tools, which have revolutionized fields from medicine to agriculture. This review walks through the historical timeline of genetics research and deliberates how this discipline might furnish a sustainable future for humanity.     

Safety,Pharmacokinetics and Biodistribution Studies of a β-galactoside Prodrug of Doxorubicin for Improvement of Tumor Selective Chemotherapy

Anthracycline antibiotics, particularly doxorubicin (DOX) and daunorubicin, have been used extensively in the treatment of human malignancies. However, cardiotoxicity and multidrug resistance are significant problems that limit the clinical efficacy of such agents. Rational design to avoid these side effects includes strategies such as drug targeting and prodrug synthesis. The DOX prodrug N-(β-D-glucopyranosylbenzyloxycarbonyl)-doxorubicin (prodrug 1) was synthesized for specific activation by β-galactosidase, which is expected to release in necrotic areas of tumor lesions. Described here is the safety, pharmacokinetics, and biodistribution studies of a β-galactoside prodrug of DOX. In vivo safety evaluation was done in the Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma (EAC) tumor model. The dose of DOX was 8 mg/kg and the dose of prodrug was 8 mg/kg and 24 mg/kg of DOX equivalents. Our results on cytotoxicity, which demonstrated compression in the number of EAC cells and their viability, substantiate these data. Prodrug 1 was safe up to a dose of 24 mg/kg of DOX equivalents in EAC mice. The pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of prodrug (300 mg/kg) in normal mice were determined and compared with DOX (20 mg/kg). Administration of DOX in normal mice resulted in a peak plasma concentration of 19.45 μM (t = 30 minutes). Prodrug injection resulted in 3- to 16-fold lower concentrations in the tissues of normal mice. As it is more polar, lower levels were observed in tissues and plasma in contrast to the parent compound DOX. In vivo safety studies have shown that prodrug 1 had a maximum tolerated dose compared with DOX and led to improved pharmacokinetics in normal mice.     

Circadian Rhythms in Legumes: What Do We Know and What Else Should We Explore?

The natural timing devices of organisms, commonly known as biological clocks, are composed of specific complex folding molecules that interact to regulate the circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms, the changes or processes that follow a 24-h light–dark cycle, while endogenously programmed, are also influenced by environmental factors, especially in sessile organisms such as plants, which can impact ecosystems and crop productivity. Current knowledge of plant clocks emanates primarily from research on Arabidopsis, which identified the main components of the circadian gene regulation network. Nonetheless, there remain critical knowledge gaps related to the molecular components of circadian rhythms in important crop groups, including the nitrogen-fixing legumes. Additionally, little is known about the synergies and trade-offs between environmental factors and circadian rhythm regulation, especially how these interactions fine-tune the physiological adaptations of the current and future crops in a rapidly changing world. This review highlights what is known so far about the circadian rhythms in legumes, which include major as well as potential future pulse crops that are packed with nutrients, particularly protein. Based on existing literature, this review also identifies the knowledge gaps that should be addressed to build a sustainable food future with the reputed “poor man’s meat”.     

KCNK3 Mutation Causes Altered Immune Function in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Patients and Mouse Models

Loss of function KCNK3 mutation is one of the gene variants driving hereditary pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). KCNK3 is expressed in several cell and tissue types on both membrane and endoplasmic reticulum and potentially plays a role in multiple pathological process associated with PAH. However, the role of various stressors driving the susceptibility of KCNK3 mutation to PAH is unknown. Hence, we exposed kcnk3^fl/fl animals to hypoxia, metabolic diet and low dose lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and performed molecular characterization of their tissue. We also used tissue samples from KCNK3 patients (skin fibroblast derived inducible pluripotent stem cells, blood, lungs, peripheral blood mononuclear cells) and performed microarray, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and mass cytometry time of flight (CyTOF) experiments. Although a hypoxic insult did not alter vascular tone in kcnk3^fl/fl mice, RNASeq study of these lungs implied that inflammatory and metabolic factors were altered, and the follow-up diet study demonstrated a dysregulation of bone marrow cells in kcnk3^fl/fl mice. Finally, a low dose LPS study clearly showed that inflammation could be a possible second hit driving PAH in kcnk3^fl/fl mice. Multiplex, IHC and CyTOF immunophenotyping studies on human samples confirmed the mouse data and strongly indicated that cell mediated, and innate immune responses may drive PAH susceptibility in these patients. In conclusion, loss of function KCNK3 mutation alters various physiological processes from vascular tone to metabolic diet through inflammation. Our data suggests that altered circulating immune cells may drive PAH susceptibility in patients with KCNK3 mutation.     

Gamma Radiation-Induced Graft Copolymerization of Acrylonitrile Onto Sodium Salt of Partially Carboxymethylated Amylose

The graft copolymerization of acrylonitrile onto Sodium salt of Partially Carboxymethylated Amylose (Na-PCMA, DA=0.313) in aqueous and in water: methanol mixed solvents system has been studied using gamma rays from Co⁶⁰ source as a means of initiation by the mutual method. The optimum condition for affording maximum percentage of grafting of acrylonitrile onto Na-PCMA has been obtained by varying different reaction parameters such as total dose, monomer concentration, amount of water and composition of solvents system. The mechanism of grafting has been postulated. The resulting graft copolymer has been characterized by chemical, spectroscopic, thermogravimetric and scanning electron microscopic methods.     

Pulsed laser deposition of hydroxyapatite on titanium substrate with titania interlayer

Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) has been used to deposit hydroxyapatite (HA) ceramic over titanium substrate with an interlayer of titania. PLD has been identified as a potential candidate for bioceramic coatings over metallic substrates to be used as orthopedic and dental implants because of better process control and preservation of phase identity of the coating component. However, direct deposition of hydroxyapatite on titanium at elevated temperature results in the formation of natural oxide layer along with some perovskites like calcium titanate at the interface. This leads to easy debonding of ceramic layer from the metal and thereby affecting the adhesion strength. In the present study, adherent and stable HA coating over Ti6Al4V was achieved with the help of an interlayer of titania. The interlayer was made to a submicron level and HA was deposited consecutively to a thickness of around one micron by exposing to laser ablation at a substrate temperature of 400°C. The deposited phase was identified to be phase pure HA by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, and inductively coupled plasma spectrometry. The mechanical behavior of coating evaluated by scratch test indicates that the adhesion strength of HA coating was improved with the presence of titania interlayer.     

A quantitative model for efficient maintenance of plastered and painted façades

Building owners are faced with increasing maintenance costs incurred to rectify defects on different building elements and systems. With a significant proportion of maintenance costs spent on upkeep of building façades, there is a need for cost‐effective approaches for façade maintenance. A quantitative model is developed for effective evaluation, optimization and management of costs of maintenance of plastered and painted façades. Visual surveys were used to collect information about defects on the external plaster and paint finish for public housing apartment blocks in Singapore. The data were used to develop ‘defect index models’ for each type of defect to predict its onset and propagation. The output from these models was incorporated into a life cycle cost model that can be used to predict and optimise the timing and magnitude of maintenance/repair costs incurred on plastered and painted façades during their intended lifetime.     

FPGA Implementation of FFT Algorithm for OFDM Based IEEE 802.16d （Fixed WiMAX） Communications

The IEEE 802.16d communication standard uses orthogonal frequency division multiplexing （OFDM）. In the widely used OFDM systems, the fast Fourier transform （FFT） and inverse fast Fourier transform pairs are used to modulate and demodulate the data constellation on the sub-carriers. In this paper, a high level implementation of a high performance FFT for OFDM modulator and demodulator is presented. The design has been coded in Verilog and targeted into Xilinx Spartan3 field programmable gate arrays. Radix-22 algorithm is proposed and used for the OFDM communication system. The design of the FFT is implemented and applied to fixed WiMAX--IEEE 802.16d communi- cation standard. The results are tabulated and the hardware parameters are compared. The proposed architecture is least in number of multipliers used and the memory size, and second to the least in number of adders used.