Dark Energy with Phantom Crossing and the H0 Tension

We investigate the possibility of phantom crossing in the dark energy sector and the solution for the Hubble tension between early and late universe observations. We use robust combinations of different cosmological observations, namely the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), local measurement of Hubble constant (H0), Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) and SnIa for this purpose. For a combination of CMB+BAO data that is related to early universe physics, phantom crossing in the dark energy sector was confirmed at a 95% confidence level and we obtained the constraint H0=71.0−3.8+2.9 km/s/Mpc at a 68% confidence level, which is in perfect agreement with the local measurement by Riess et al. We show that constraints from different combinations of data are consistent with each other and all of them are consistent with phantom crossing in the dark energy sector. For the combination of all data considered, we obtained the constraint H0=70.25±0.78 km/s/Mpc at a 68% confidence level and the phantom crossing happening at the scale factor am=0.851−0.031+0.048 at a 68% confidence level.     

Flow-induced shear stress and deformation of a core–shell-structured microcapsule in a microchannel

A numerical model was developed and validated to investigate the fluid–structure interactions between fully developed pipe flow and core–shell-structured microcapsule in a microchannel. Different flow rates and microcapsule shell thicknesses were considered. A sixth-order rotational symmetric distribution of von Mises stress over the microcapsule shell can be observed on the microcapsule with a thinner shell configuration, especially at higher flow rate conditions. It is also observed that when being carried along in a fully developed pipe flow, the microcapsule with a thinner shell tends to accumulate stress at a higher rate compared to that with a thicker shell. In general, for the same microcapsule configuration, higher flow velocity would induce a higher stress level over the microcapsule shell. The deformation gradient was used to capture the microcapsule's deformation in the present study. The effect of Young's modulus on the microcapsule shell on the microcapsule deformation was investigated as well. Our findings will shed light on the understanding of the stability of core–shell-structured microcapsule when subjected to flow-induced shear stress in a microfluidic system, enabling a more exquisite control over the breakup dynamics of drug-loaded microcapsule for biomedical applications.     

仿生多胞薄壁管耐撞性分析及优化

为提高薄壁管结构耐撞性，以雀尾螳螂虾螯为仿生原型，结合仿生学设计方法，设计一种含正弦胞元的多胞薄壁管结构。以初始峰值载荷、比吸能和碰撞力效率为耐撞性指标，通过有限元数值模拟分析了不同碰撞角度（0o、10o、20o和30o）条件下，仿生胞元数对薄壁管耐撞性的影响，通过多目标的复杂比例评估法获取仿生薄壁管的最优胞元数。基于不同碰撞角度权重因子组合，设置了4种单一角度工况和3种多角度工况，采用多目标粒子群优化方法获取了不同工况下薄壁管结构最优胞元高宽比和壁厚。复杂比例评估结果表明，胞元数为4的薄壁管为最优晶胞数仿生薄壁管。优化结果表明，单一角度工况下，最优结构参数高宽比的范围为0.88～1.50，壁厚的范围为0.36～0.60 mm，碰撞角度为0o和10o的最优高宽比明显小于碰撞角度为20o和30o的；多角度工况下，最优高宽比范围为1.01～1.10，壁厚范围为0.49～0.57 mm。     

Self-emulsification in chemical and pharmaceutical technologies

The interest in the low energy self-emulsification techniques has exploded in the recent years, driven by three main trends: by the transition to “greener” technologies in both its aspects—less energy consumption and replacement of the petrochemicals by natural ingredients; by the costly and maintenance demanding equipment for nanoemulsification; and by the quest for efficient and robust self-emulsifying formulations for oral drug delivery. Here, we first present a brief overview of the main known low-energy methods for nanoemulsion formation, focusing on their mechanistic understanding and discussing some recent advances in their development and applications. Next, we review three conceptually new approaches for self-emulsification in chemical technologies, discovered in the last several years. The colloidal features and the specific requirements of the self-emulsifying drug-delivery systems (SEDDS) are also discussed briefly. Finally, we summarize the current trends and the main challenges in this vivid research area.