Head-on collision of normal shock waves with rigid porous materials

The head-on collision of a planar shock wave with a rigid porous material has been investigated experimentally in a 75 mm × 75 mm shock tube. The experimental study indicated that unlike the reflection from a flexible porous material (e.g., polyurethane foam) where the transmitted compression waves do not converge to a sharp shock wave, in the case of a rigid porous material (e.g., alumina) the transmitted compression waves do converge to a sharp shock wave, which decays as it propagates along the porous material. In addition to this major difference, many other differences were observed. They are outlined in the following sections.Based on these observations a suggestion modifying the phenomenology of the reflection/interaction process in the case a porous material with large permeability is proposed.     

Preserving the activity of enzymes under harsh oxidizing conditions: sol–gel entrapped alkaline phosphatase exposed to bromine

Chemically reactive sol–gel matrices hold the ability of protecting entrapped enzymes from destruction by external harsh chemicals. We show this concept by exposing alkaline phosphatase (AlP) to a strong oxidizing agent—bromine. In solution, AlP is immediately destroyed by this oxidant. When AlP was entrapped in hybrid silica sol–gel materials carrying double bonds, the reactivity of AlP was preserved after exposure to bromine under conditions which totally destroy it in solution. The matrices studied were vinylated and allylated silicas, and their protectability was compared to n-alkylated silicas and to silica itself. For instance, the reactivity of AlP entrapped in allylated silica after exposure to 25.6 mM bromine solution is 40 times higher than its reactivity when entrapped in pure silica; and in solution the enzyme is totally destroyed at this concentration. Molecular level mechanisms for these observations are proposed.     

pyAIR—A New Software Tool for Breathomics Applications—Searching for Markers in TD-GC-HRMS Analysis

Volatile metabolites in exhaled air have promising potential as diagnostic biomarkers. However, the combination of low mass, similar chemical composition, and low concentrations introduces the challenge of sorting the data to identify markers of value. In this paper, we report the development of pyAIR, a software tool for searching for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) markers in multi-group datasets, tailored for Thermal-Desorption Gas-Chromatography High Resolution Mass-Spectrometry (TD-GC-HRMS) output. pyAIR aligns the compounds between samples by spectral similarity coupled with retention times (RT), and statistically compares the groups for compounds that differ by intensity. This workflow was successfully tested and evaluated on gaseous samples spiked with 27 model VOCs at six concentrations, divided into three groups, down to 0.3 nL/L. All analytes were correctly detected and aligned. More than 80% were found to be significant markers with a p-value < 0.05; several were classified as possibly significant markers (p-value < 0.1), while a few were removed due to background level. In all group comparisons, low rates of false markers were found. These results showed the potential of pyAIR in the field of trace-level breathomics, with the capability to differentially examine several groups, such as stages of illness.     

On the Eulerian–Lagrangian formulation of balance equations in porous media

The article presents a general approach to modeling the transport of extensive quantities in the case of flow of multiple multicomponent fluid phases in a deformable porous medium domain under nonisothermal conditions. The models are written in a modified Eulerian–Lagrangian formulation. In this modified formulation, the material derivatives are written in terms of modified velocities. These are the velocities at which the various phase and component variables propagate in the domain, along their respective characteristic curves. It is shown that these velocities depend on the heterogeneity of various solid matrix and fluid properties. The advantage of this formulation, with respect to the usually employed Eulerian one, is that numerical dispersion, associated with the advective fluxes of extensive quantities, are eliminated. The methodology presented in the article shows how the Eulerian–Lagrangian formulation is written in terms of the relatively small number of primary variables of a transport problem. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 13: 505–530, 1997     

Shock wave interaction with cellular materials

The equations governing the head-on collision of a planar shock wave with a cellular material and a numerical scheme for solving the set of the governing equations were outlined. In addition, the condition for the transmitted compression waves to transform into a shock wave, inside the cellular material was introduced. It was proved analytically that a cellular material cannot be used as a means of reducing the pressure load acting on the end-wall of the shock tube. In subsequent papers, the interaction of planar shock waves with specific cellular materials, e.g., foams and honeycombs will be described in detail.This article was processed using Springer-Verlag T_EX Shock Waves macro package 1.0 and the AMS fonts, developed by the American Mathematical Society.     

Modeling the Flow Pattern at the Fractured Granites in Porto Alegre, Brazil

The studied 25 by 30 km site of Porto Alegre Southern Brazil fractured granites, accounts for surface lineaments assumed to mimic its fractures. Observations address the lineaments spatial characteristics, significant deviations between stationary groundwater levels condensed at part of the domain while sparse at most of the area, and no pumping/injection rates. Fractured media feature, e.g., dead end pathways, lack of flow interconnections, and preferential infiltration paths. These characteristics are not in line with the implementation of continuum-based macroscopic balance equations. Subject to such data and the inherent features, the objective was to verify if with lumped parameter modeling (LPM) following a flow directed graph approach we can assess a groundwater flow pattern. We at first addressed the site lineaments layout for which the evaluation of the hydraulic heads revealed the existence of isolated lineament clusters, leading to flow or no-flow zones. Aiming at better spatial distribution of flow distributions and based on the site surface lineaments, we established a virtual fracture network (VFN) for which the domain was subdivided into representative elementary area (REA) cells. Each REA was chosen so that the ratio of all its lineament lengths over that of the cell area remained practically unchanged between two consecutive subdivisions. Within each REA, lineaments with similar geometrical characteristics were considered as segment groups. The VFN was established upon elongating segments that created intersection points with other stretched segments from cells at the circumference of a considered REA. The evaluated steady state hydraulic head was compared between two LPM solutions: (1) Referring to flow along the VFN branches between intersection points, and (2) Using a flux interconnected network (FIN) for which each REA was replaced by a pole communicating flow to other poles. Computation of the FIN approach was significantly less intense. Both of these approaches resolved with hydraulic head isolines consistently similar to those obtained by interpolation between the observed groundwater levels. One reported event of a Nitrate polluted well and its plausible contaminating source within the study domain, show that it is in line with the predicted resultant flow direction following the FIN map.     

A Lipophilic 4-Phenylbutyric Acid Derivative That Prevents Aggregation and Retention of Misfolded Proteins

Chemical chaperones prevent protein aggregation. However, the use of chemical chaperones as drugs against diseases due to protein aggregation is limited by the very high active concentrations (mm range) required to mediate their effect. One of the most common chemical chaperones is 4-phenylbutyric acid (4-PBA). Despite its unfavorable pharmacokinetic properties, 4-PBA was approved as a drug to treat ornithine cycle diseases. Here, we report that 2-isopropyl-4-phenylbutanoic acid ( 5 ) has been found to be 2–10-fold more effective than 4-PBA in several in vitro models of protein aggregation. Importantly, compound 5 reduced the secretion rate of autism-linked Arg451Cys Neuroligin3 (R451C NLGN3).     

K+ uptake by root systems grown in soil under salinity: I. A mathematical model

A novel theoretical model is proposed for K⁺ uptake by intact root systems from saline soil considering interactions with Na⁺, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺. The model assumes radial movement of ions towards the root governed by advection and diffusion flux mechanisms, and chemical exchange of the four cations according to Gapon isotherms, with Cl^? as the accompanying anion. Influx of K⁺ to the root surface is assumed as a function of its concentration in the soil solution at the root. This influx is governed by a saturable-cooperative term and a linear term for low and high K⁺ concentrations, respectively. Influx of Na⁺, above a critical value of its concentration, increases linearly with its concentration in the soil solution at the root surface. Uptake of Ca^{+ 2+} is controlled by the balance between influxes of anions and cations, which induces efflux of H⁺ or HCO ₃ ^? , and interacts with calcite in a calcareous soil. The model may provide information about the behavior of ions at the root-soil interface which cannot be measuredin situ.