Dynamical analysis of age-structured pertussis model with covert infection

An age-structured pertussis model with covert infection is proposed to understand the effect of covert infection on the recurrence of pertussis. It is found that vaccination only for young children does not have a decisive effect on whooping cough control. It is shown that although the vaccine coverage rate is relatively high, the model has a backward bifurcation for a larger covert infection rate. In addition, sufficient conditions for the disease-free steady state to be globally asymptotically stable are obtained.     

Defect Engineering on Boron Nitride for O2 Activation and Subsequent Oxidative Desulfurization

The rational design of highly active hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) catalysts at the atomic level is urgent for aerobic reactions. Herein, a doping impurity atom strategy is adopted to increase its catalytic activities. A series of doping systems involving O, C impurities and B, N antisites are constructed and their catalytic activities for molecular O₂ have been studied by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. It is demonstrated that O₂ is highly activated on O_N and B_N defects, and moderately activated on C_B and C_N defects, however, it is not stable on N_B and O_B defects. The subsequent application in oxidative desulfurization (ODS) reactions proves the O_N and C-doped (C_B, C_N) systems to be good choice for sulfocompounds oxidization, especially for dibenzothiophene (DBT). While the B_N antisite is not suitable for such aerobic reaction due to the extremely stable B−O^*−B species formed during the oxidation process.     

Global bifurcation of solutions for a predator–prey model with prey‐taxis

We study pattern formations in a predator–prey model with prey‐taxis. It is proved that a branch of nonconstant solutions can bifurcate from the positive equilibrium only when the chemotactic is repulsive. Furthermore, we find the stable bifurcating solutions near the bifurcation point under suitable conditions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exact tail asymptotics for fluid models driven by an M/M/c queue

Queueing Systems - In this paper, we investigate exact tail asymptotics for the stationary distribution of a fluid model driven by the M / M / c queue, which is...     

Traveling wave solutions of Lotka–Volterra type two predators‐one prey model

In this work, we consider a model with one basal resource and two species of predators feeding by the same resource. There are three non‐trivial boundary equilibria. One is the saturated state E_K of the prey without any predator. Other two equilibria, E₁ and E₂, are the coexistence states of the prey with only one species of predators. Using a high‐dimensional shooting method, the Wazewski' principle, we establish the conditions for the existence of traveling wave solutions from E_K to E₂ and from E₁ to E₂. These results show that the advantageous species v₂ always win in the competition and exclude species v₁ eventually. Finally, some numerical simulations are presented, and biological interpretations are given. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Self-assembling Dimeric and Trimeric Aggregates Based on Solvophobic and Charge-pairing Interactions

Self-assembly processes based on shape complementarity and noncovalent binding interactions are widely recognized as a fundamental principle in nature. Besides charge pairing and hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interactions play a crucial role in water. Here we report the self-assembly of structurally simple monomers to yield defined dimeric and trimeric aggregates in highly polar media, based on ionic and solvophobic interactions. NMR, mass spectrometry and curve fitting were used to characterize these supramolecular assemblies in water–methanol solutions.     

The characteristics of surface arc plasma and its control effect on supersonic flow

The characteristic of surface arc plasma included millisecond and microsecond actuation in supersonic flow is investigated both experimentally and numerically. In the experiment, the discharge characteristic of surface arc plasma in quiescent air and supersonic flow is recorded. The stable oblique shock could be observed with millisecond actuation. And the unstable compressive wave could be also observed with microsecond actuation. In the numerical investigation, plasma actuation is defined as a source term with input power density from discharge V–I characteristic, which is expected to better describe the influence of heating process. The numerical results are coincident with experimental results. In order to confirm the capability of surface arc plasma actuation to control supersonic flow, experimental investigations on control shock induced by ramp and separation of boundary layer induced by impinging shock are performed. All the results demonstrate the control effect of surface arc plasma actuation onto supersonic flow.     

The Effect of Wettability on Waterflood Oil Recovery in Carbonate Rock Samples: A Systematic Multi-scale Experimental Investigation

Transport in Porous Media - On the basis of a well-based model (Model I) developed in a previous work (Liu and Valkó in SPE J 2019. https://doi.org/10.2118/197049-PA ), in which a fractional...     

Measurement of heterogeneous reaction rates: three strategies for controlling mass transport and their application to indium-mediated allylations

We describe three new strategies for determining heterogeneous reaction rates using photomicroscopy to measure the rate of retreat of metal surfaces: (i) spheres in a stirred solution, (ii) microscopic powder in an unstirred solution, and (iii) spheres on a rotating shaft. The strategies are applied to indium-mediated allylation (IMA), which is a powerful tool for synthetic chemists because of its stereoselectivity, broad applicability, and high yields. The rate-limiting step of IMA, reaction of allyl halides at indium metal surfaces, is shown to be fast, with a minimum value of the heterogeneous rate constant of 1 × 10(-2) cm/s, an order of magnitude faster than the previously determined minimum value. The strategies described here can be applied to any reaction in which the surface is retreating or advancing, thereby broadening the applicability of photomicroscopy to measuring heterogeneous reaction kinetics.