An approach of dynamic mesh adaptation for simulating 3‐dimensional unsteady moving‐immersed‐boundary flows

In this paper, we present an approach of dynamic mesh adaptation for simulating complex 3‐dimensional incompressible moving‐boundary flows by immersed boundary methods. Tetrahedral meshes are adapted by a hierarchical refining/coarsening algorithm. Regular refinement is accomplished by dividing 1 tetrahedron into 8 subcells, and irregular refinement is only for eliminating the hanging points. Merging the 8 subcells obtained by regular refinement, the mesh is coarsened. With hierarchical refining/coarsening, mesh adaptivity can be achieved by adjusting the mesh only 1 time for each adaptation period. The level difference between 2 neighboring cells never exceeds 1, and the geometrical quality of mesh does not degrade as the level of adaptive mesh increases. A predictor‐corrector scheme is introduced to eliminate the phase lag between adapted mesh and unsteady solution. The error caused by each solution transferring from the old mesh to the new adapted one is small because most of the nodes on the 2 meshes are coincident. An immersed boundary method named local domain‐free discretization is employed to solve the flow equations. Several numerical experiments have been conducted for 3‐dimensional incompressible moving‐boundary flows. By using the present approach, the number of mesh nodes is reduced greatly while the accuracy of solution can be preserved.     

A sensitive and efficient method for trace analysis of some phenolic compounds using simultaneous derivatization and air‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction from human urine and plasma samples followed by gas chromatography–nitrogen phosphorous detection

In present study, a simultaneous derivatization and air‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction method combined with gas chromatography–nitrogen phosphorous detection has been developed for the determination of some phenolic compounds in biological samples. The analytes are derivatized and extracted simultaneously by a fast reaction with 1‐flouro‐2,4‐dinitrobenzene under mild conditions. Under optimal conditions low limits of detection in the range of 0.05–0.34 ng mL^?1 are achievable. The obtained extraction recoveries are between 84 and 97% and the relative standard deviations are less than 7.2% for intraday (n = 6) and interday (n = 4) precisions. The proposed method was demonstrated to be a simple and efficient method for the analysis of phenols in biological samples. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

3D‐morphology reconstruction of nanoscale phase‐separation in polymer memory blends

In many organic electronic devices functionality is achieved by blending two or more materials, typically polymers or molecules, with distinctly different optical or electrical properties in a single film. The local scale morphology of such blends is vital for the device performance. Here, a simple approach to study the full 3D morphology of phase‐separated blends, taking advantage of the possibility to selectively dissolve the different components is introduced. This method is applied in combination with AFM to investigate a blend of a semiconducting and ferroelectric polymer typically used as active layer in organic ferroelectric resistive switches. It is found that the blend consists of a ferroelectric matrix with three types of embedded semiconductor domains and a thin wetting layer at the bottom electrode. Statistical analysis of the obtained images excludes the presence of a fourth type of domains. The criteria for the applicability of the presented technique are discussed. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 1231–1237     

Morphology and microphase separation of star copolymers

Star copolymers have attracted significant interest due to their different characteristics compared with diblock copolymers, including higher critical micelle concentration, lower viscosity, unique spatial shape, or morphologies. Development of synthetic skills such as anionic polymerization and controlled radical polymerization have made it possible to make diverse architectures of polymers. Depending on the molecular architecture of the copolymer, numerous morphologies are possible, for instance, Archimedean tiling patterns and cylindrical microdomains at symmetric volume fraction for miktoarm star copolymers as well as asymmetric lamellar microdomains for star‐shaped copolymers, which have not been reported for linear block copolymers. In this review, we focus on morphologies and microphase separations of miktoarm (A_mB_n and ABC miktoarm) star copolymers and star‐shaped [(A‐b‐B)_n] copolymers with nonlinear architecture. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 1–21     

Experimental and numerical analysis of cylindrical turbulators in a double pipe heat exchanger under turbulent flow conditions

In the present work, the use of cylindrical turbulators in a double pipe heat exchanger has been investigated. Cylindrical fin type of turbulators has been placed circumferentially separated by 90° on the outer side of an inner pipe at a regular pitch. Experimental studies were undertaken for different air flow rates in a turbulent regime whose Reynolds number range between 2500 and 10000. Heat transfer characteristics like Nu and friction factor have been experimentally determined. Parametric studies were conducted by changing the pitch and also the orientation of the turbulators. Nu and friction factor were found to increase as the pitch is reduced. A model with alternatively changed orientation outperformed others by exhibiting highest Nu and reduced friction factor.     

Identification of metabolic markers in patients with type 2 Diabetes by Ultrafast gas chromatography coupled to electronic nose. A pilot study

Metabolomics is a potential tool for the discovery of new biomarkers in the early diagnosis of diseases. An ultra-fast gas chromatography system equipped to an electronic nose detector (FGC eNose) was used to identify the metabolomic profile of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in type 2 diabetes (T2D) urine from Mexican population. A cross-sectional, comparative, and clinical study with translational approach was performed. We recruited twenty T2D patients and twenty-one healthy subjects. Urine samples were taken and analyzed by FGC eNose. Eighty-eight compounds were identified through Kovats's indexes. A natural variation of 30% between the metabolites, expressed by study groups, was observed in Principal Component 1 and 2 with a significant difference (p < 0.001). The model, performed through a Canonical Analysis of Principal coordinated (CAP), allowed a correct classification of 84.6% between healthy and T2D patients, with a 15.4% error. The metabolites 2-propenal, 2-propanol, butane- 2,3-dione and 2-methylpropanal, were increased in patients with T2D, and they were strongly correlated with discrimination between clinically healthy people and T2D patients. This study identified metabolites in urine through FGC eNose that can be used as biomarkers in the identification of T2D patients. However, more studies are needed for its implementation in clinical practice.     

光寻址电位传感器的正交相位检波检测方法

光寻址电位传感器的幅度检测方法易受噪声干扰,灵敏度差,信噪比和精度低,且受调制光源的影响较大,影响检测结果的准确性.为此提出了一种基于正交相位检波的光寻址电位传感器检测方法.该方法是将光寻址电位传感器的输出光电流信号分别与两路正交信号相乘,通过低通滤波提取直流分量并相除,即可得到光寻址电位传感器的输出信号相位信息.与已有的光寻址电位传感器相位检测方法相比,该方法具有算法复杂度低、实时性高的优点.实验研究了调制光源光强对光寻址电位传感器幅度检测和相位检测的影响,对比分析了光寻址电位传感器的传统幅度检测方法与正交相位检波检测方法对pH检测的灵敏度、线性度及信噪比.结果表明,相比于幅度检测方法,调制光源光强对光寻址电位传感器的相位检测影响更小,在频率为10 kHz,pH的范围为1.68~10.01的情况下,相位检测方法比幅度检测方法测得的灵敏度增加了7 mV/pH,精度提高了14.9 mpH,非线性误差减小了0.003%,均方差减少了0.1051×10^-5,信噪比增加了8.2827 dB.该方法特别适用于弱光下的光寻址电位传感器检测.     

Atmospheric oxidation chemistry of 1–methoxy 2–propyl acetate initiated by OH radicals: kinetics and mechanisms

Kinetics and mechanism of the gas-phase reaction of CH₃C(O)OCH(CH₃)CH₂OCH₃ (MPA) with OH radicals in the presence of O₂ and NO have been investigated theoretically by performing a high and reliable level of theory, viz., CCSD(T)/6-311?+?G(d,p)//BH&HLYP/6-311++G(d,p)?+?0.9335×ZPE. The calculations predict that the H-abstraction from the ?CH₂?O? position of MPA is the most facile channel, which leads to the formation of the corresponding alkoxy radicals CH₃C(O)OCH(CH₃)C(O ?)HOCH₃ under atmospheric conditions. This activated radicals CH₃C(O)OCH(CH₃)C(O ?)HOCH₃ will undergo further rearrangement, fragmentation and oxidative reactions and predominantly leads to the formation of various products (methyl formate HC(O)OCH₃ and acetic anhydride CH₃C(O)OC(O)CH₃). In the presence of water, acetic anhydride can convert into acetic acid CH₃C(O)OH via the hydrolysis reaction. The calculated total rate constants over the temperature range 263–372?K are used to derive a negative activation energy (E_a= ?5.88 kJ/mol) and an pre-exponential factor (A?=?1.78×10^?12 cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1). The obtained Arrhenius parameters presented here are in strong agreement with the experimental values. Moreover, the temperature dependence of the total rate constant over a temperature range of 263?1000?K can be described by k?=?5.60 × 10^?14×(T/298?K)^3.4×exp(1725.7?K/T) cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1.