Active control of supersonic impingement tones using steady and pulsed microjets

In recent years, it has been demonstrated that direct microjet injection into the shear layer of the main jet disrupts the feedback loop inherent in high speed impinging jet flows, thereby significantly reducing the adverse effects. The amount of noise reduced by microjet actuation is known to be dependent on nozzle operating conditions. In this paper, two active control strategies using microjets are suggested to maintain a uniform, reliable, and optimal reduction of these tones over the entire range of operating conditions. In the first method, a quasi-closed loop control strategy is proposed using steady microjet injection and the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) algorithm. The most energetic spatial mode of the unsteady pressure along the nozzle diameter is captured using the POD, which in turn is used to determine the distribution of microjet intensity along the nozzle exit. Preliminary experimental results from a STOVL supersonic jet facility at Mach 1.5 show that the quasi-closed loop control strategy, in some cases, provides an additional 8–10 dB reduction compared to axisymmetric injection at the desired operating conditions. The second method consists of a pulsed microjet injection, motivated by the need to further improve the noise suppression. It was observed that the pulsed microjet was able to bring about the same noise reduction as steady injection using approximately 40% of the corresponding mass flow rate of the steady microjet case. Moreover, as the duty cycle increased, the performance of pulsed injection was further enhanced and was observed to completely eliminate the impinging tones at all operating conditions.     

Comparative analysis of cleavable azobenzene-based affinity tags for bioorthogonal chemical proteomics

The advances in bioorthogonal ligation methods have provided new opportunities for proteomic analysis of newly synthesized proteins, posttranslational modifications, and specific enzyme families using azide/alkyne-functionalized chemical reporters and activity-based probes. Efficient enrichment and elution of azide/alkyne-labeled proteins with selectively cleavable affinity tags are essential for protein identification and quantification applications. Here, we report the synthesis and comparative analysis of Na?S?O?-cleavable azobenzene-based affinity tags for bioorthogonal chemical proteomics. We demonstrated that ortho-hydroxyl substituent is required for efficient azobenzene-bond cleavage and show that these cleavable affinity tags can be used to identify newly synthesized proteins in bacteria targeted by amino acid chemical reporters as well as their sites of modification on endogenously expressed proteins. The azobenzene-based affinity tags are compatible with in-gel, in-solution, and on-bead enrichment strategies and should afford useful tools for diverse bioorthogonal proteomic applications.     

Electric field gradient in transition metal — scandium

Electric field gradient inhcp transition metal scandium has been calculated as the sum of contributions from lattice ions and conduction electrons. For the lattice contributionq _latt, a point-charge model has been assumed. The contribution from conduction electronsq _el, on the other hand, has been evaluated by carrying out an energy-band calculation using non-local transition-metal model potential. The results obtained are:q _el=−106.11×10¹³ esu/cm³ andq _latt=122.17×10¹³ esu/cm³. The net field gradient (q _el+q _latt) of 16.06×10¹³ esu/cm³ agrees quite well with the experimental result, |q _expt|=13×10¹³ esu/cm³. Directions of further improvement in the theory are discussed.     

Stability and emissions control using air injection and H2 addition in premixed combustion

We experimentally study lean premixed combustion stabilized behind a backward-facing step. For a propane–air mixture, the lean blowout limit is associated with strong pressure fluctuation arising simultaneously with strong flame–vortex interactions, which have been shown to constitute the mechanism of heat release dynamics in this flow. A high-speed air jet, issuing from a small slot and injected perpendicular to the main flow near the step, is used to disrupt this mechanism. For momentum ratio of jet to main flow below unity, the jet dilutes the mixture, further destabilizing the flame or leading to complete blowout. Above unity, the flame becomes more stable, and the pressure oscillations are suppressed. Flow visualization and OH*/CH* chemiluminescence measurements show that a strong jet produces a more compact flame that is less driven by the wake vortex, anchored closer to the step, and deflected upwards away from the lower wall of the channel. This renders the flame less vulnerable to heat loss and strong strains, which improves its stability and extends the flammability limit. Adding hydrogen to the main fuel improves the flame stability over the entire range of the air jet mass flow, with better results for momentum ratio larger than 1; H₂ pulls the flame further upstream, away from the shear zone and the unsteady vortex. NO_x emission benefits from the air jet, while, with H₂ addition, NO_x concentration is higher in the products as the overall burning temperature rises. However, hydrogen addition enables extending the flammability limit further by increasing air supply in the primary stream, hence achieving lower NO_x. The study suggests a simpler, almost passive, multi-objective combustion control technique and indicates that hydrogen addition can be a successful in situ approach for NO_x reduction.     

Optical absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy of the growth of silver nanoparticles

Results obtained from the optical absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy experiments have shown the formation of excitons in the silver-exchanged glass samples. These findings are reported here for the first time. Further, we investigate the dramatic changes in the photoemission properties of the silver-exchanged glass samples as a function of postannealing temperature. Observed changes are thought to be due to the structural rearrangements of silver and oxygen bonding during the heat treatments of the glass matrix. In fact, photoelectron spectroscopy does reveal these chemical transformations of silver-exchanged soda glass samples caused by the thermal effects of annealing in a high vacuum atmosphere. An important correlation between temperature-induced changes of the PL intensity and thermal growth of the silver nanoparticles has been established in this Letter through precise spectroscopic studies.     

Intergranular percolation in granular YBCO/BaTiO3 composites

Ferroelectrics and high temperature superconductors are two promising materials for future electronic devices. Both being perovskite ceramic structures with similar crystal chemistry a set of samples were prepared from the composite of (1−x)YBa₂Cu₃0_7−δ −(x)BaTiO₃ (YBCO/BT). These samples were investigated with temperature dependent resistance, FTIR, X-ray diffraction and SEM-EDX analysis. It has been found that the critical exponent in the T _c0 (R = 0) region is in agreement with the percolation theory. A long-range superconducting order results from thermally assisted percolation process through weak-links between the grains. The connectivity in the coherent transition region can be explained by a power law.      

Trace element analysis of fly ash samples by EDXRF technique

Trace element analysis of some fly ash samples and soil samples have been carried out by Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence technique. Fourteen elements namely K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, Se, Rb, Sr and Pb have been quantified in the fly ash samples by this technique. It was found that there is no huge concentration difference between the fly ash and soil samples as a result of which fly ash can be used as soil manure without any adverse impact on the plants.      

Age-related waning of in vitro Interferon-γ levels against r32kDaBCG in BCG vaccinated children

Background  

Mycobacterium bovis BCG vaccine has displayed inconsistent efficacy in different trials conducted in various geographical regions. Nevertheless, it significantly reduces the risk of severe childhood tuberculosis and continues to be used to prevent tuberculosis in many countries. Many studies revealed that efficacy of vaccine wanes with age. Most of the studies were based on in vivo and in vitro responses to tuberculin. With the advent of newer tests such as in vitro interferon-γ assays and identification of potent immunogenic mycobacterial proteins there is a need to corroborate the observations. This study aims at ascertaining the need for a booster at a later age as indicated by in vitro release of IFN-γ while evaluating Ag85A as an antigen.     

Minimal classical communication and measurement complexity for quantum information splitting of a two-qubit state

We investigate the usefulness of the highly entangled five-partite cluster and Brown states for the quantum information splitting (QIS) of a special kind of two-qubit state using remote state preparation. In our schemes, the information that is to be shared is known to the sender. We show that, QIS can be accomplished with just two classical bits, as opposed to four classical bits, when the information that is to be shared is unknown to the sender. The present algorithm, demonstrated through the cluster and Brown states is deterministic as compared to the previous works in which it was probabilistic.