779 research outputs found
Performance of a micro-engineered ultrasonic particle manipulator
No full textAn ultrasonic microfluidic particle manipulator has been modeled and its experimentally measured separation performance has been compared with the modeled results for 1 µm latex particles, and yeast particles in water
Dynamics of inertial disk particles in turbulent channel flow
No full textA suspension of oblate spheroidal (disk-like) particles in turbulent channel flow has been investigated with focus on the translational and rotational particle statistics. The effects of particle aspect ratio and inertia have been explored. The disk-like particles exhibited a significant preferential orientation in the plane of the mean shear. The influence of the particle shape on the orientation and rotation diminished as translational inertia increased from Stokes number 1 to 30. Isotropization of both orientation and rotation could be observed in the core region of the channel. Keywords: oblate spheroids, preferential orientation, shape effects, inertia effects
Inertial effects on non-spherical particle rotation on turbulent channel flow
No full textWe investigated the rotation of non-spherical particles (rod-like and disk-like) in turbulent channel flow with focus on inertial effects. A direct numerical simulation (DNS) with an Eulerian-Lagrangian approach was performed. A wide range of particle aspect ratios, λ, ranging from 0.01 to 50 were considered for Stokes numbers St equal to 1 and 30. In the particle reference frame, statistical results reveal the importance of shape effect on the particle rotation. The rods (λ > 1) are spinning (rotation about their symmetry axis) more than tumbling (rotation about other axes) whereas disks (λ < 1) behave oppositely. With increasing particle inertia, i.e. higher St, the preferential tumbling of the disks and the spinning of the rods are reduced. We ascribe these observations to the varying degree of alignment of the particle symmetry axis with the fluid vorticity vector
Towards a quantitative concession-based classification method of negotiation strategies
No full textIn order to successfully reach an agreement in a negotiation, both parties rely on each other to make concessions. The willingness to concede also depends in large part on the opponent. A concession by the opponent may be reciprocated, but the negotiation process may also be frustrated if the opponent does not concede at all.This process of concession making is a central theme in many of the classic and current automated negotiation strategies. In this paper, we present a quantitative classification method of negotiation strategies that measures the willingness of an agent to concede against different types of opponents. The method is then applied to classify some well-known negotiating strategies, including the agents of ANAC 2010. It is shown that the technique makes it easy to identify the main characteristics of negotiation agents, and can be used to group negotiation strategies into categories with common negotiation characteristics. We also observe, among other things, that different kinds of opponents call for a different approach in making concession
A comparison of rosseland-mean opacities from op and opal
No full textMonochromatic opacities from the Opacity Project (OP) have been augmented by hitherto missing inner-shell contributions. OP Rosseland-mean opacities, κR, are compared with results from OPAL for the six elements H, He, C, O, S and Fe. The OPAL data are obtained from the project's website. Agreement for H is close everywhere except for the region of log(T) 6 and log(R) −1 (R=ρ/T36 where ρ is mass density in g cm3 and T6= 106×T with T in K). In that region κR(OPAL) is larger than κR(OP) by up to 13 per cent. The differences are caused by different equations of state (EOS). In the region concerned, OP has the H ground state undergoing dissolution, leading to a small H-neutral ionization fraction, while OPAL has larger values for that fraction. A similar difference occurs for He at log(R) −1 and log(T) 6.4, where OP has the He+ ground state undergoing dissolution. The OPAL website does not provide single-element Rosseland means for elements other than H and He. Comparisons between OP and OPAL are made for mixtures with X= 0.9, Z= 0.1 and Z containing pure C, O or S. There are some differences: at the lower temperatures, say log(T) ≤ 5.5, owing to differences in atomic data, with the OP R-matrix data probably being the more accurate; and at higher temperatures mainly owing to differences in level populations resulting from the use of different EOS theories. In the original OP work, R-matrix data for iron were supplemented by data obtained using the configuration-interaction (CI) code superstructure. The experiment is made of replacing much of the original iron data with new data from the CI code autostructure. Inclusion of intercombination lines gives an increase in κR of up to 18 per cent. The OPAL website does not allow for Z containing pure iron. Comparisons are made for an iron-rich mixture, X= 0.9, Z= 0.1 and Z containing C and Fe with C:Fe = 2:1 by number fraction. There are some differences between OP and OPAL for that case: the OP 'Z-bump' in κR is shifted to slightly higher temperatures, compared with OPAL. Overall, there is good agreement between OP and OPAL Rosseland-mean opacities for the six elements, but there are some differences. Recent work has shown that helioseismology measurements give a very accurate value for the depth of the solar convective zone, RCZ, and that, taking account of recent revisions in abundances, solar models give agreement with that value only if opacities at RCZ are about 20 per cent larger than OPAL values. For the six-element mix at RCZ we obtain κR(OP) to be larger than κR(OPAL) by 5 per cent
Author Correction: Rapid increase in the risk of heat-related mortality.
No full textCorrection to: Nature Communicationshttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40599-x, published online 24 August 2023 The original version of this Article omitted from the author list the 17th author, “Multi-Country Multi-City (MCC) collaborative research network”, which is the consortium providing the mortality data. A list of consortium authors and their affiliations are provided in the HTML version of this Correction. Part of the Author Contributions statement was incorrectly given and should have read ‘A.M.V.C., E.M.F., B.A., M.D.S.Z.S.C., Y.L.G., Y.G., Y.H., V.H., J.K., E.L., D.R., N.R., N.S., S.S., A.U., A.G. and the MCC were involved in resources and data curation.’ In addition, the primary affiliation ‘Climate Research Foundation (FIC), Madrid, Spain’ for Dominic Roye was missing
The role of philosophical context in the development of research methodology and theory
No full textThe research strategy dictates the major direction of the research and
constitutes one of the important decisions made by the researcher. However, researchers’
understanding on theory at the outset of the research guides the design of the research. The
paper presents an overview of the involvement of theory within different research
philosophies, approaches and methods. The relationship between data and theory is an issue
that has been long debated. Moving from data to theory is commonly discussed in social
constructionism with inductive approach and ideographic methods. However, within
positivism philosophy with deductive approach and nomothetic methods, moving from theory
to data is common. However, the growing concept of philosophical pluralism and
methodological pluralism challenges the polarised views on philosophies and approaches,
which suggests that methodologies are best used in complementary way
The plasma protein fetuin: common structural features of the mammalian fetuin family
No full textThe structure and tissue-specific expression of the bovine plasma glycoprotein fetuin and its homologues in other species has been examined. From the known partial amino acid sequence of bovine fetuin, degenerate oligonucleotide probes were designed. These probes were end-labelled using 14 polynucleotide kinase and were used to screen an adult bovine liver cDNA library by plaque hybridisation. A cDNA encoding the whole of the plasma protein was obtained and was fully sequenced on both strands. The deduced amino acid sequence was confirmed by protein sequence data in the literature [Christie et al., (1987), FEES Letts. 214, 45-49]. The bovine fetuin cDNA was labelled by the random-primer technique and w#s used to screen a fetal sheep liver (pooled 40-60 cDNA library. A cDNA encoding the whole of sheep fetuin was obtained and was fully sequenced. The sheep fetuin cDNA was similarly labelled and was used to screen an adult pig liver cDNA library. An almost full-length pig fetuin clone was obtained and was sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequences were confirmed by amino-terminal protein sequence analysis by Dr. D.L. Christie of the glycoproteins purified from plasma. During this project it was reported that the protein encoded kyf rat clone pp(# [Auberger et ai., (1989), Cell 58, 631-640] showed strong homology to bovine fetuin and human ag-HS glycoprotein. Further analysis, reported in this thesis, demonstrates that clone pp63 encodes rat fetuin.The three fetuin sequences reported in this thesis are compared with the other known members of the mammalian fetuin family: human ag-HS glycoprotein, the rat protein encoded by clone pp63 and mouse fetuin. Sequence analysis reveals that fetuins comprise three domains: at the amino-terminus two cystatin-like domains and a unique carboxyl-terminal domain. A series of actual or potential sites for post-translational modification are apparent in the sequences.By the techniques used (northern blot, RNAase protection assay and polymerase chain reaction) fetuin expression could only be detected in the liver. No fetuin mRNA could be detected in the fetal brain, although the protein can be immunocytochemically localised there. Data reported here show that in cattle, fetuin is a positive acute phase protein. It has been reported that human aj-HS glycoprotein and rat fetuin are negative acute phase proteins
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