In vitro three-dimensional cancer metastasis modeling:Past,present, and future

Metastasis is the leading cause of most cancer deaths, as opposed to dysregulated cell growth of the primary tumor.Molecular mechanisms of metastasis have been studied for decades and the findings have evolved our understanding of the progression of malignancy. However, most of the molecular mechanisms fail to address the causes of cancer and its evolutionary origin, demonstrating an inability to find a solution for complete cure of cancer. After being a neglected area of tumor biology for quite some time, recently several studies have focused on the impact of the tumor microenvironment on cancer growth. The importance of the tumor microenvironment is gradually gaining attention, particularly from the perspective of biophysics. In vitro three-dimensional(3-D) metastatic models are an indispensable platform for investigating the tumor microenvironment, as they mimic the in vivo tumor tissue. In 3-D metastatic in vitro models, static factors such as the mechanical properties, biochemical factors, as well as dynamic factors such as cell–cell, cell–ECM interactions, and fluid shear stress can be studied quantitatively. With increasing focus on basic cancer research and drug development, the in vitro 3-D models offer unique advantages in fundamental and clinical biomedical studies.     

Recent technical advancements enabled atomic resolution Cryo EM

With recent breakthroughs in camera and image processing technologies single-particle electron cryo-microscopy(CryoEM) has suddenly gained the attention of structural biologists as a powerful tool able to solve the atomic structures of biological complexes and assemblies. Compared with x-ray crystallography, Cryo EM can be applied to partially flexible structures in solution and without the necessity of crystallization, which is especially important for large complexes and assemblies. This review briefly explains several key bottlenecks for atomic resolution Cryo EM, and describes the corresponding solutions for these bottlenecks based on the recent technical advancements. The review also aims to provide an overview about the technical differences between its applications in biology and those in material science.     

Three-dimensional flow of Powell–Eyring nanofluid with heat and mass flux boundary conditions

This article investigates the three-dimensional flow of Powell–Eyring nanofluid with thermophoresis and Brownian motion effects. The energy equation is considered in the presence of thermal radiation. The heat and mass flux conditions are taken into account. Mathematical formulation is carried out through the boundary layer approach. The governing partial differential equations are transformed into the nonlinear ordinary differential equations through suitable variables. The resulting nonlinear ordinary differential equations have been solved for the series solutions. Effects of emerging physical parameters on the temperature and nanoparticles concentration are plotted and discussed. Numerical values of local Nusselt and Sherwood numbers are computed and examined.     

Parasitic effects of air-gap through-silicon vias in high-speed three-dimensional integrated circuits

In this paper,ground-signal-ground type through-silicon vias(TSVs) exploiting air gaps as insulation layers are designed,analyzed and simulated for applications in millimeter wave.The compact wideband equivalent-circuit model and passive elements(RLGC) parameters based on the physical parameters are presented with the frequency up to 100 GHz.The parasitic capacitance of TSVs can be approximated as the dielectric capacitance of air gaps when the thickness of air gaps is greater than 0.75 μm.Therefore,the applied voltage of TSVs only needs to achieve the flatband voltage,and there is no need to indicate the threshold voltage.This is due to the small permittivity of air gaps.The proposed model shows good agreement with the simulation results of ADS and Ansoft's HFSS over a wide frequency range.     

三维氮掺杂碳纳米带的制备及其在锂硫电池中的应用

锂硫电池凭借其高的理论能量密度（2600 W·h·kg^-1）、丰富廉价的材料来源、且对环境友好等优势,而引起了人们的广泛关注.然而,锂硫电池活性物质导电性差、多硫化物易溶于有机电解液等问题所导致的硫正极倍率性能和循环稳定性差,仍然是困扰锂硫电池发展的挑战性难题.我们设计并以廉价易得的小分子化合物对苯二酚和甲醛为原料,通过缩聚反应、与氧化石墨烯原位复合、高温氮化制备了一类新型氮掺杂的碳纳米带固硫载体材料（NCNB-NG）.通过NCNB-NG复合纳米硫进一步得到的碳-硫复合正极材料（S@NCNB-NG）表现出更优异的倍率性能和循环稳定性,这主要得益于该碳质载体独特的微结构以及改善的导电性.     

THREE-DIMENSIONAL WETTING DEFORMATION FOR CONCRETE FACED ROCKFILL DAM CONSIDERING TIME-EFFECT

针对堆石料浸水后的湿化变形并不是瞬时产生,而是一个渐进发展过程这一现象,建议将湿化变形进行时变计算. 首先采用Prandtl-Reuss 流动法则推导了湿化剪切应变分量,然后叠加湿化体积应变分量,获得三维湿化应变分量;通过分析三维湿化应变分量和单轴应力状态下的湿化应变的关系,指出有关文献推导的三维湿化应变分量计算公式不严谨;然后类比于堆石料流变变形计算公式,推导了湿化变形时变计算公式. 实例分析表明,湿化引起坝顶沉降随时间逐渐增大,变形稳定的时间与湿化变形速率呈反比关系.     

三维计算断裂力学

断裂力学理论从1921年Griffith研究玻璃的脆性断裂问题开始,经历了从线弹性体系到弹塑性以及蠕变理论体系、从单参数到多参数体系和从理想的二维平面理论到实际三维含裂纹结构的三维断裂理论的发展历程。针对应力强度因子K和J积分以及C(t)积分的计算方法从理想化模型的理论计算发展到实际复杂工程结构裂纹体计算的各种商业软件平台以及专业的断裂理论分析平台。尤其是随着计算机技术的发展,对三维含裂结构的静态和扩展裂纹的计算模拟已经能够融入计算机辅助设计。结合本研究组近30年来在三维疲劳断裂理论和应用研究方面的体会,简述了三维计算断裂力学从裂纹体应力应变分析和断裂参数计算到三维蠕变断裂和疲劳裂纹扩展模拟的国内外进展,并对涉及的计算方法,包括原子尺度和跨尺度的计算模拟,以及目前面临的挑战性问题作了简要介绍和分析。     

三维光滑接触界面上的分配参数滑移面算法

针对三维滑移界面上的分配参数滑移算法,提出一种三维滑移面光滑目的 ,仅根据单元面顶点的坐标和法向等局部信息,构造出曲面片边界G¹连续(切平面连续),曲面片内C¹连续的三维光滑曲面,此目的 为实际的滑移面提供一个准确的几何表达.在此光滑曲面上构建了具有C¹连续的法向压力场和质量面密度场.然后在光滑滑移界面上通过Newton-Raphson迭代计算接触点,依据分配参数滑移算法施加接触约束和接触计算.数值算例显示光滑的接触滑移面可以减少滑移节点的振动,提高计算的收敛性.     

X射线光场成像技术研究

X射线三维成像技术是目前国内外X射线成像研究领域的一个研究热点.但针对一些特殊成像目标,传统X射线计算层析(CT)成像模式易出现投影信息缺失等问题,影响CT重建的图像质量,使得CT成像的应用受到一定的限制.本文主要研究了基于光场成像理论的X射线三维立体成像技术.首先从同步辐射光源模型出发,对X射线光场成像进行建模;然后,基于光场成像数字重聚焦理论,对成像目标场在深度方向上进行切片重建.结果表明:该方法可以实现对成像目标任一视角下任一深度的内部切片重建,但是由于光学聚焦过程中的离焦现象,会引入较为严重的背景噪声.当对其原始数据进行滤波后,再进行X射线光场重聚焦,可以有效消除重建伪影,提高图像的重建质量.本研究既有算法理论意义,又可应用于工业、医疗等较复杂目标的快速检测,具有较大的应用价值.