Numerical investigations of supercavitation around blunt bodies of submarine shape

Cavitation occurs when liquid is subjected to rapid changes of pressure. If the local pressure is lower than the liquid saturation pressure, the liquid changes its phase into vapor. A fast moving solid body underwater will reduce the local pressure around the body. Under certain conditions, the local pressure can be lower than the water saturation pressure, accordingly causing cavitation. If the velocity of the moving body increases further, a supercavitation will occur. In this paper, the cavitation and supercavitation were studied by the SST k–ω turbulence model combined with a finite-rate mass transfer modeling under the mixture assumption. The validations of these models were performed through comparisons between numerical simulations and experiments. After the validations, the supercavitation generated by a high speed moving body, which can be described as a large bubble, was studied. The studies were on several blunt bodies, such as a submarine hull shape, a submarine hull shape with appendages and a full submarine shape with sail and appendages. It was found that the naked submarine hull is difficult to have the supercavitation covering the whole body. The sail and appendages can help supercavitation occurs earlier. Furthermore the effects of the supercavitation on the submarine and generation mechanism of the supercavitation is discussed based on the simulations.     

城市河网尺度的水体光谱指数适宜性分析研究

城市地表水是城市生态环境的重要组成部分,地表水环境高光谱遥感是高光谱遥感的重要应用方向,水体提取是地表水环境高光谱遥感的第一步,其主要任务是从高光谱遥感数据中提取地表水水体轮廓。基于光谱指数的水体提取方法充分利用光谱信息,计算简单,实现容易,提取效果优异。归一化植被指数(NDVI)、归一化水体指数(NDWI)、高光谱差异化水体指数(HDWI)和基于指数的水体指数(IWI)等光谱指数已经广泛应用于湖泊、大江大河等开阔水体提取。近些年来,随着成像光谱技术的发展,高光谱遥感数据的获取能力也突飞猛进,空间分辨率和光谱分辨率不断提高。与江河湖基本在流域内沿地形分布不同,城市地表水一般细小,纵横交错,形成河网。在高光谱遥感数据用于城市体表水提取时,其面临的图像空间分辨率、地物类型和地物复杂等,与江河湖水体提取有很大不同。因此,需要对这些常用的光谱指数在城市地表水提取中的适宜性进行评价。以此做为出发点和目标,以河网密布的江南水乡中国浙江省嘉兴市为研究对象,以应用型航空成像光谱仪(Airborne imaging spectrometer for applications, AISA)获取的高空间分辨率机载高光谱遥感数据为数据源,通过Youden指数确定最佳阈值,将总体分类精度、错分误差、漏分误差、Kappa系数作为衡量指标,分析评价了NDVI,NDWI,HDWI和IWI 4种光谱指数在城市河网提取中的适宜性。结果表明,阴影与水体光谱变化趋势类似,是造成水体提取过程中高错分误差的主要因素。四种指数都可以准确抑制落在植被中的阴影,但无法有效抑制落在建筑物中的阴影。HDWI虽然可以在一定程度上抑制建筑物中的阴影,但是无法有效地抑制亮建筑物背景。通过对不同类型水体和阴影（笼罩下地物）光谱的进一步分析,虽然水体和阴影光谱曲线变化趋势相似,均在560～600 nm附近存在波峰,但是水体和阴影波峰高度存在差异,水体波峰值较大而阴影波峰值较低。因此,通过充分挖掘水体和阴影在560～600 nm处光谱反射信息,有望进一步抑制建筑物阴影,提高城市河网水体提取精度。     

磁场对含稀土铝锂合金断裂特征的影响

以含铈铝锂合金为研究对象，研究了磁场对含稀土铝锂合金时效过程的影响，从断裂特征及微观组织两方面分析了磁场作用规律。实验结果表明：未加磁场时，合金的断裂特征以理断裂为主；扁平晶粒厚度不匀，在磁场作用下，此合金的断裂特征与微观组织发生明显改观，随磁感应强度增强，合金主断裂面上准解理断裂特征减弱，同时二次裂纹增多，分层比较升高；扁平晶粒厚度变薄，尺寸趋于均匀。用少体物理理论，探讨了磁场对含稀土合金原子扩散过程的影响，为进一步研究稀土元素在磁场中的行为及其局域效应提供了一定的实验依据。     

Determination of acyclovir in horse plasma and body fluids by high-performance liquid chromatography combined with fluorescence detection and heated electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

Two methods are presented for the determination of 'respectively' the plasma protein unbound and total concentration of acyclovir in horse plasma and body fluids: first, a liquid-liquid extraction was performed on plasma, combined with HPLC-fluorescence detection for the total plasma concentration; second a more sensitive method using high-performance liquid chromatography combined with heated electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-HESI-MS/MS) was described for plasma and for body fluids analysis. To obtain the unbound concentration of acyclovir in plasma, a simple deproteinization step using a Microcon filter was performed. Ganciclovir was used as an internal standard. Analysis was carried out on an Inertsil 5 ODS-3 column for the HPLC-fluorescence method. For the LC-HESI-MS/MS method a PLRP-S column was used. The limit of quantification (LOQ) for the total concentration was set at 50 and 2 ng mL(-1) for the HPLC-fluorescence method and the LC-HESI-MS/MS method, respectively. The limit of quantification for the unbound concentration was set at 5 ng mL(-1) and at 2 ng mL(-1) for body fluids. The methods were successfully used to perform pharmacokinetic and clinical studies in horses after intravenous and oral dosage of acyclovir and its prodrug valacyclovir.     

Wall shear stress and near-wall convective transport: Comparisons with vascular remodelling in a peripheral graft anastomosis

Fluid dynamic properties of blood flow are implicated in cardiovascular diseases. The interaction between the blood flow and the wall occurs through the direct transmission of forces, and through the dominating influence of the flow on convective transport processes. Controlled, in vitro testing in simple geometric configurations has provided much data on the cellular-level responses of the vascular walls to flow, but a complete, mechanistic explanation of the pathogenic process is lacking. In the interim, mapping the association between local haemodynamics and the vascular response is important to improve understanding of the disease process and may be of use for prognosis. Moreover, establishing the haemodynamic environment in the regions of disease provides data on flow conditions to guide investigations of cellular-level responses.     

A study for quality evaluation of Taxilli Herba from different hosts based on fingerprint-activity relationship modeling and multivariate statistical analysis

In this study, a fingerprint-activity relationship modeling between chemical fingerprints and antirheumatic activity was established, and multivariate statistical analysis was used to evaluate the quality of Taxilli Herba (TH) from different hosts. Characteristic fingerprints of 20 batches of TH samples were generated by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole-time of flight tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-Triple TOF-MS/MS), and the similarity analysis was calculated based on thirteen common characteristic peaks by hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA). Subsequently, nine efficacy markers were discovered by combining fingerprints and antirheumatic activity through grey correlation analysis (GCA) and bivariate correlation analysis (BCA). Meanwhile, the content of 5 constituents in 9 markers was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole-linear ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-QTRAP-MS/MS). The comprehensive quality of TH was assessed using multivariate statistical analysis, including principal components analysis (PCA) and technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS). The results showed that a high dose of TH extract could markedly ameliorate arthritis damage compared to other doses, with flavonoids playing an important role in the antirheumatic activity. The comprehensive quality of samples from Morus alba L. (SS) was superior to those from Liquidambar formosana Hance (FXS). The present study will demonstrate the markers associated with efficacy, and provide an applicable strategy for more comprehensive quality control and evaluation of TH.     

Millettia ferruginea extract attenuates cisplatin-induced alterations in kidney functioning,DNA damage,oxidative stress,and renal tissue morphology

This study aimed to investigate the beneficial role of Millettia ferruginea extract (MF) in preventing cisplatin (Cisp) induced nephrotoxicity in rats. A total of 55 metabolites were identified using LC-MS analysis. The in vivo results indicated that MF pretreatment for 4 weeks (20 mg/kg b.w.) remarkably attenuated the altered renal biomarkers by decreasing the levels of plasma creatinine, urea, and uric acid when compared to the Cisp-group. The nephroprotective capacity of MF was further strengthened by histopathological observations, where Cisp + MF treated rats showed lower number of inflammatory cells and tubular degenerative changes than the Cisp-group. The harmful effects of cisplatin on renal oxidative stress indicators (MDA, SOD, CAT, and GPx), were restored by the treatment of MF. In addition, the reduction of inflammatory markers (IL-6 and TNF-α), associated with alleviating DNA fragmentation, highlighted the preventive effect of MF in kidney tissue. Additionally, MF components presented lower binding energies when docked into the active site of TNF-α and IL-6. The present findings concluded that M. ferruginea extract exhibited nephroprotective potential, which may be attributed to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Further work is recommended to confirm the current results, explore the involved mechanism of action, and determine the therapeutic doses and time.     

Molecular chaperones, folding catalysts, and the recovery of active recombinant proteins fromE. coli

The high-level expression of recombinant gene products in the gramnegative bacteriumEscherichia coli often results in the misfolding of the protein of interest and its subsequent degradation by cellular proteases or its deposition into biologically inactive aggregates known as inclusion bodies. It has recently become clear that in vivo protein folding is an energy-dependent process mediated by two classes of folding modulators. Molecular chaperones, such as the DnaK-DnaJ-GrpE and GroEL-GroES systems, suppress off-pathway aggregation reactions and facilitate proper folding through ATP-coordinated cycles of binding and release of folding intermediates. On the other hand, folding catalysts (foldases) accelerate rate-limiting steps along the protein folding pathway such as thecis/trans isomerization of peptidyl-prolyl bonds and the formation and reshuffling of disulfide bridges. Manipulating the cytoplasmic folding environment by increasing the intracellular concentration of all or specific folding modulators, or by inactivating genes encoding these proteins, holds great promise in facilitating the production and purification of heterologous proteins. Purified folding modulators and artificial systems that mimic their mode of action have also proven useful in improving the in vitro refolding yields of chemically denatured polypeptides. This review examines the usefulness and limitations of molecular chaperones and folding catalysts in both in vivo and in vitro folding processes.     

Application of magnetic solid phase extraction in separation and enrichment of glycoproteins and glycopeptides

The analysis of endogenous glycoproteins and glycopeptides in human body fluids is of great importance for screening and discovering disease biomarkers with clinical significance. However, the presence of interfering substances makes the direct quantitative detection of low-abundance glycoproteins and glycopeptides in human body fluids one of the great challenges in analytical chemistry. Magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE) has the advantages of easy preparation, low cost and good magnetic responsiveness. Magnetic adsorbents are the core of MSPE technology, and magnetic adsorbents based on different functional materials are widely used in the quantitative analysis of glycoproteins and glycopeptides in human body fluids, making it possible to analyze glycoproteins and glycopeptides with low abundance as well as multiple types, which provides a technical platform for screening and evaluating glycoproteins and glycopeptides in body fluids as disease biomarkers. In this paper, we focus on the recent advances in the application of MSPE technology and magnetic adsorbents for the separation and enrichment of glycoproteins and glycopeptides in human body fluids, and the future trends and application prospects in this field are also presented.     

Modulation of Foreign Body Reaction against PDMS Implant by Grafting Topographically Different Poly(acrylic acid) Micropatterns

The surface of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) is grafted with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) layers via surface‐initiated photopolymerization to suppress the capsular contracture resulting from a foreign body reaction. Owing to the nature of photo‐induced polymerization, various PAA micropatterns can be fabricated using photolithography. Hole and stripe micropatterns ≈100‐µm wide and 3‐µm thick are grafted onto the PDMS surface without delamination. The incorporation of PAA micropatterns provides not only chemical cues by hydrophilic PAA microdomains but also topographical cues by hole or stripe micropatterns. In vitro studies reveal that a PAA‐grafted PDMS surface has a lower proliferation of both macrophages (Raw 264.7) and fibroblasts (NIH 3T3) regardless of the pattern presence. However, PDMS with PAA micropatterns, especially stripe micropatterns, minimizes the aggregation of fibroblasts and their subsequent differentiation into myofibroblasts. An in vivo study also shows that PDMS samples with stripe micropatterns polarized macrophages into anti‐inflammatory M2 macrophages and most effectively inhibits capsular contracture, which is demonstrated by investigation of inflammation score, transforming‐growth‐factor‐β expression, number of macrophages, and myofibroblasts as well as the collagen density and capsule thickness.