Approximate solution of boundary layer problems with injection or suction

Zusammenfassung Der grundlegende linearisierte Ansatz zur Näherungslösung von Grenzschichtproblemen wird auf neue Anwendungen erweitert, um die Behandlung von Problemen mit Massenaustausch durch die Oberfläche zu ermöglichen und die Beschränkung auf die Prandtl-Zahl 1 zu mildern. Das klassische Problem der konstanten, d. h. nicht ähnlichen Geschwindigkeitsverteilung an der Oberfläche wird behandelt, und die Ergebnisse werden mit der exakten numerischen Lösung verglichen. Es ergibt sich eine ausgezeichnete Übereinstimmung. Sodann wird eine Lösung des schwierigen und praktisch wichtigen Problems einer Stufenfunktion für die Oberflächengeschwindigkeit gegeben. Die freie Konvektion über einer vertikalen Platte mit konstanter Temperatur und Oberflächengeschwindigkeit wird erstmalig gelöst. Schliesslich wird das der Schlitzeinspritzung entsprechende Anfangswertproblem unter Milderung der bisherigen AnnahmeP _r =1 behandelt.

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This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, Grant No. GK-310,     

Single-pot derivatisation strategy for enhanced gliotoxin detection by HPLC and MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry

Gliotoxin is produced by non-ribosomal peptide synthesis and secreted from certain fungi, including Aspergillus fumigatus. It is an epipolythiodioxopiperazine that contains an intact disulphide bridge and is the focus of intense research as a consequence of its negative immunomodulatory properties. Gliotoxin detection is generally enabled by reversed-phase–high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), with absorbance detection (220–280 nm), or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, yet detection is not readily achievable by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation–time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-ToF MS). We have developed a single-pot derivatisation strategy which uses sodium borohydride-mediated reduction of gliotoxin followed by immediate alkylation of exposed thiols by 5′-iodoacetamidofluorescein to yield a stable product, diacetamidofluorescein-gliotoxin (GT-(AF)₂), of molecular mass 1103.931 Da ((M + H)+). This product is readily detectable by RP-HPLC and exhibits a 6.8-fold increase in molar absorptivity compared with gliotoxin, which results in a higher sensitivity of detection (40 ng; 125 pmoL). GT-(AF)₂ also fluoresces (excitation/emission, 492:518 nm). Unlike free gliotoxin, the product (>800 fmol) is detectable by MALDI-ToF MS. Sporidesmin A can also be detected by RP-HPLC and MALDI-ToF MS (>530 fmol) using this strategy. We also demonstrate that the strategy facilitates detection of gliotoxin (mean ± SD = 3.55 ± 0.07 μg 100 μL⁻¹; n = 2) produced by A. fumigatus, without the requirement for organic extraction of culture supernatants and associated solvent removal. GT-(AF)₂ is also detectable (150 ng; 460 pmol) by thin-layer chromatography.     

Hybrid electrokinetic manipulation in high-conductivity media

This study reports a hybrid electrokinetic technique for label-free manipulation of pathogenic bacteria in biological samples toward medical diagnostic applications. While most electrokinetic techniques only function in low-conductivity buffers, hybrid electrokinetics enables effective operation in high-conductivity samples, such as physiological fluids (～1 S m(-1)). The hybrid electrokinetic technique combines short-range electrophoresis and dielectrophoresis, and long-range AC electrothermal flow to improve its effectiveness. The major technical hurdle of electrode instability for manipulating high conductivity samples is tackled by using a Ti-Au-Ti sandwich electrode and a 3-parallel-electrode configuration is designed for continuous isolation of bacteria. The device operates directly with biological samples including urine and buffy coats. We show that pathogenic bacteria and biowarfare agents can be concentrated for over 3 orders of magnitude using hybrid electrokinetics.     

Justification of the drift-flux model for two-phase flow in a circular pipe

A flow of a gas-liquid dispersed mixture in a circular pipe with a variable inclination to the horizon, as applied to oil and gas flows in wells, is considered. Within the framework of a multi- fluid approach, the equations of an asymptotic drift-flux model, which contains an algebraic relation between the phase velocities and one momentum equation for the volume-averaged velocity of the mixture, are derived. It is shown that the drift-flux model in this formulation strictly follows from the balance laws under assumption of inertialess velocity slip of the phases in case of validity of one of the following conditions: (i) the dispersed-phase volume fraction is small; (ii) the phase velocity slip may be neglected; or (iii) the flow regime is inertialess and the acceleration of the mixture can be neglected. A numerical algorithm based on the SIMPLE method is implemented for solving the obtained equations of the drift-flux model. The possibility of modeling the gravitational segregation and the pressure buildup in a shut-in well and transient slug flows is demonstrated.     

Photochromism of indoline spiropyrans of the coumarin series in polymeric matrices

The photochromic properties and aggregation processes of merocyanine forms of indoline spiropyrans of the coumarin series in the block and film poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were studied and compared by spectral and kinetic methods. Photochromism of the synthesized compounds depends on their structure. The efficient formation of J-aggregates was observed for indoline spiropyrans of the coumarin series based on 8-formyl-7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin and 3-formyl-4-hydroxycoumarin. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 5, pp. 870–875, May, 2007.     

Separation and fragmentation study of isocoproporphyrin derivatives by UHPLC‐ESI‐exact mass MS/MS and identification of a new isocoproporphyrin sulfonic acid metabolite

Isocoproporphyrin and its derivatives are commonly used as biomarkers of porphyria cutanea tarda, heavy metal toxicity and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) intoxication in humans and animals. However, most are isobaric with other porphyrins and reference materials are unavailable commercially. The structural characterisation of these porphyrins is important but very little data is available. We report here the separation and characterisation of isocoproporphyrin, deethylisocoproporphyrin, hydroxyisocoproporphyrin and ketoisocoproporphyrin, isolated in the faeces of rats fed with a diet containing HCB, by ultra high performance liquid chromatography‐exact mass tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC‐MS/MS). Furthermore, we report the identification and characterisation of a previously unreported porphyrin metabolite, isocoproporphyrin sulfonic acid isolated in the rat faeces. The measured mass‐to‐charge ratio (m/z) of the precursor ion was m/z 735.2338, corresponding to a molecular formula of C₃₆H₃₉N₄O₁₁S with an error of 0.3 ppm from the calculated m/z 735.2336. The MS/MS data was consistent with an isocoproporphyrin sulfonic acid structure, derived from dehydroisocoproporphyrinogen by sulfonation of the vinyl group. The metabolite was present in a greater abundance than other isocoproporphyrin derivatives and may be a more useful biomarker for HCB intoxication. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthetic biohybrid peptidoglycan oligomers enable pan-bacteria-specific labeling and imaging: in vitro and in vivo

Peptidoglycan is the core component of the bacterial cell wall, which makes it an attractive target for the development of bacterial targeting agents. Intercepting its enzymatic assembly with synthetic substrates allows for labeling and engineering of live bacterial cells. Over the past two decades, small-molecule-based labeling agents, such as antibiotics, d-amino acids or monosaccharides have been developed for probing biological processes in bacteria. Herein, peptidoglycan oligomers, substrates for transglycosylation, are prepared for the first time using a top-down approach, which starts from chitosan as a cheap feedstock. A high efficiency of labeling has been observed in all bacterial strains tested using micromolar substrates. In contrast, uptake into mammalian cells was barely observable. Additional mechanistic studies support a hypothesis of bacteria-specific metabolic labeling rather than non-specific binding to the bacterial surface. Eventually, its practicality in bacterial targeting capability is demonstrated in resistant strain detection and in vivo infection models.

Peptidoglycan oligomers have been derived from chitosan, using a top-down bio-hybrid strategy, as highly bacteria-specific substrates.     

An inverse vibration problem in estimating the spatial and temporal-dependent external forces for cutting tools

An inverse forced vibration problem, based on the conjugate gradient method (CGM), (or the iterative regularization method), is examined in this study to estimate the unknown spatial and temporal-dependent external forces for the cutting tools by utilizing the simulated beam displacement measurements. The tool is represented by an Euler–Bernoulli beam. The accuracy of the inverse analysis is examined by using the simulated exact and inexact displacement measurements. The numerical experiments are performed to test the validity of the present algorithm by using different types of external forces, sensor arrangements and measurement errors. Results show that excellent estimations on the external forces can be obtained with any arbitrary initial guesses.     

The approximate solutions to the non-linear heat conduction problems in a semi-infinite medium

The approximate solutions to the non-linear heat conduction problems in a semi-infinite medium are investigated. The entire temperature range is divided into a number of small sub-regions where the thermal properties can be approximated to be constant. The resulting problems can be considered as the Stefan’s problem of a multi-phase with no latent heat and the exact solutions called Neumann’s solution are available. In order to obtain the solutions, however, a set of highly non-linear equations in determining the phase boundaries should be solved simultaneously. This work presents a semi-analytic algorithm to determine the phase boundaries without solving the highly non-linear equations. Results show that the solutions for a set of highly non-linear equations depend strongly on the initial guess, bad initial guess leads to the wrong solutions. However, the present algorithm does not require the initial guess and always converges to the correct solutions.