A size-modified poisson–boltzmann ion channel model in a solvent of multiple ionic species: Application to voltage-dependent anion channel

We present a new size-modified Poisson–Boltzmann ion channel (SMPBIC) model and use it to calculate the electrostatic potential, ionic concentrations, and electrostatic solvation free energy for a voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) on a biological membrane in a solution mixture of multiple ionic species. In particular, the new SMPBIC model adopts a membrane surface charge density and a natural Neumann boundary condition to reflect the charge effect of the membrane on the electrostatics of VDAC. To avoid the singularity difficulties caused by the atomic charges of VDAC, the new SMPBIC model is split into three submodels such that the solution of one of the submodels is obtained analytically and contains all the singularity points of the SMPBIC model. The other two submodels are then solved numerically much more efficiently than the original SMPBIC model. As an application of this SMPBIC submodel partitioning scheme, we derive a new formula for computing the electrostatic solvation free energy. Numerical results for a human VDAC isoform 1 (hVDAC1) in three different salt solutions, each with up to five different ionic species, confirm the significant effects of membrane surface charges on both the electrostatics and ionic concentrations. The results also show that the new SMPBIC model can describe well the anion selectivity property of hVDAC1, and that the new electrostatic solvation free energy formula can significantly improve the accuracy of the currently used formula. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Total Chemical Synthesis of Biologically Active Fluorescent Dye‐Labeled Ts1 Toxin

Ts1 toxin is a protein found in the venom of the Brazilian scorpion Tityus serrulatus. Ts1 binds to the domain II voltage sensor in the voltage‐gated sodium channel Nav and modifies its voltage dependence. In the work reported here, we established an efficient total chemical synthesis of the Ts1 protein using modern chemical ligation methods and demonstrated that it was fully active in modifying the voltage dependence of the rat skeletal muscle voltage‐gated sodium channel rNav1.4 expressed in oocytes. Total synthesis combined with click chemistry was used to label the Ts1 protein molecule with the fluorescent dyes Alexa‐Fluor 488 and Bodipy. Dye‐labeled Ts1 proteins retained their optical properties and bound to and modified the voltage dependence of the sodium channel Nav. Because of the highly specific binding of Ts1 toxin to Nav, successful chemical synthesis and labeling of Ts1 toxin provides an important tool for biophysical studies, histochemical studies, and opto‐pharmacological studies of the Nav protein.     

3,4-二氯-1,2,5-噻二唑的结构及其振动光谱

实验测量了3,4-二氯-1,2,5-噻二唑分子4000～400 cm-1区域内的红外光谱和3700～100 cm-1范围内的拉曼光谱,使用密度泛函理论计算了分子的稳定结构和振动频率.以实验测定频率为标准采用简正振动分析方法得到了各振动谱带的总能量分布,从而对该分子的振动频率做出了全面归属.     

紧凑型X-pinch装置探头标定

 介绍了紧凑型X-pinch脉冲功率装置的电流电压测量设计方法。根据该装置的同轴传输线结构特点,研制了一种利用金属膜连接传输线外筒与负载外筒,构成回路测量负载电流的探头。在传输线末端设计电容分压器作为测量负载电压的探头,并利用电路模拟软件对此过程进行模拟,同时这两个探头需要进行在线标定。实验研究结果表明,该探头性能稳定、响应快,是测量负载电流与电压的理想工具。     

Performance of two-hop infrastructure based multi-antenna regenerative relaying in Rayleigh fading channel

Cooperative relaying is considered as an effective technique to enlarge the coverage area and enhance the system capacity for the future wireless systems. In this paper, an infrastructure based multi-antenna cooperative relay network has been investigated. Closed form expressions of outage probability and average error rate have been derived, when the relay and the destination perform selection combining of the signals. The relay is assumed to operate in the adaptive decode and forward mode. The effect of number of antennas installed on the relay and their placement has also been studied.     

Global optimization of a class of nonconvex quadratically constrained quadratic programming problems

In this paper we study a class of nonconvex quadratically constrained quadratic programming problems generalized from relaxations of quadratic assignment problems. We show that each problem is polynomially solved. Strong duality holds if a redundant constraint is introduced. As an application, a new lower bound is proposed for the quadratic assignment problem.     

地震期间应急资源调度方案的优化选取

应急资源的调度是地震救援工作的重点,为解决这个难题,本文构建了以时效性、伤亡性和经济性为三大分量的多目标函数,然后经过无量纲和Delphi加权处理,将其转化为单目标函数,并将其中的决策效用函数看成运筹学中指派问题的效率函数,最后运用匈牙利法计算出最大的目标函数值,从而得出最优的资源调度方案.与其他多目标的应急资源调度方法相比,本文构建的这种算法具有简易、实用的优点,可以说为地震期间应急资源调度方案的优化选取工作提供了一种切实、可行的途径.     

A numerical and experimental study to evaluate performance of vascularized cooling plates

The present paper reports on a numerical simulation and experimental validation of fluid flow and conjugate heat transfer characteristics of new vascular channels, whose cross-sections are semi-circular. The numerical analysis covers the Reynolds number range of 30−2000, with a cooling channel volume fraction of 0.04, pressure drop range of 30−10⁵ Pa. Six flow configurations were considered: first, second, and third constructal structures with optimized hydraulic diameters and non-optimized hydraulic diameter for each system size 10 × 10, 20 × 20, and 50 × 50, respectively. The numerical results of the proposed vascular channels show that the channel configurations of the optimized constructs show much lower flow resistance and temperature distribution than those of the non-optimized constructs. It is also shown that the power component in the power-law relationship between mass flow rate and pressure drop decreases as the system size and mass flow rates increase. The numerical results are validated by experimental data, and with the two exhibiting excellent agreement in all cases. The validation study against the experimental data shows that the presented numerical model is a reliable tool for predicting the performance of cooling plates under practical operating conditions and for the design of self healing or cooling system.     

Visualized study on specific points on demand curves and flow patterns in a single-side heated narrow rectangular channel

A simultaneous visualization and measurement study on some specific points on demand curves, such as onset of nucleate boiling (ONB), onset of significant void (OSV), onset of flow instability (OFI), and two-phase flow patterns in a single-side heated narrow rectangular channel, having a width of 40 mm and a gap of 3 mm, was carried out. New experimental approaches were adopted to identify OSV and OFI in a narrow rectangular channel. Under experimental conditions, the ONB could be predicted well by the Sato and Matsumura model. The OSV model of Bowring can reasonably predict the OSV if the single-side heated condition is considered. The OFI was close to the saturated boiling point and could be described accurately by Kennedy’s correlation. The two-phase flow patterns observed in this experiment could be classified into bubbly, churn, and annular flow. Slug flow was never observed. The OFI always occurred when the bubbles at the channel exit began to coalesce, which corresponded to the beginning of the bubbly–churn transition in flow patterns. Finally, the evolution of specific points and flow pattern transitions were examined in a single-side heated narrow rectangular channel.     

Transport and deposition of neutral particles in magnetohydrodynamic turbulent channel flows at low magnetic Reynolds numbers

The effect of Lorentz force on particle transport and deposition is studied by using direct numerical simulation of turbulent channel flow of electrically conducting fluids combined with discrete particle simulation of the trajectories of uncharged, spherical particles. The magnetohydrodynamic equations for fluid flows at low magnetic Reynolds numbers are adopted. The particle motion is determined by the drag, added mass, and pressure gradient forces. Results are obtained for flows with particle ensembles of various densities and diameters in the presence of streamwise, wall-normal or spanwise magnetic fields. It is found that the particle dispersion in the wall-normal and spanwise directions is decreased due to the changes of the underlying fluid turbulence by the Lorentz force, while it is increased in the streamwise direction. The particle accumulation in the near-wall region is diminished in the magnetohydrodynamic flows. In addition, the tendency of small inertia particles to concentrate preferentially in the low-speed streaks near the walls is strengthened with increasing Hartmann number. The particle transport by turbophoretic drift and turbulent diffusion is damped by the magnetic field and, consequently, particle deposition is reduced.