Interfacial tension is an essential physical property in two phase flow and it changes due to the mass transfer. The measurement of dynamic interfacial tension (DIFT) in such condition is a difficult problem. In previous study (Zhou at al., Chem Eng Sci. 2019; 197:172-183), we presented the quantitative relation between the droplet breakup frequency function (DBFF) and interfacial tension. It is found that the DBFF is highly depends on interfacial tension. Therefore the DBFF is a suitable parameter to quantitatively characterize the interfacial tension. Based on this concept, the DIFT in the column is determined by regression method after the DBFF under mass transfer condition is measured. It is found that the DIFT is smaller than the static interfacial tension. This result indicates that interphase mass transfer leads to decreasing of the interfacial tension. The decreasing extent of the DIFT has a positive correlation with the mass transfer flux.

Temperature is one of the most important abiotic factors defining the yield potential of temperate cereal crops such as barley. The regulators of heat shock response (HSR); Heat shock factors (HSFs) modulate the transcription level of heat responsive genes in order to protect the plants against heat stress. In the present study, a heat shock factor from wheat (TaHSFA6b) is overexpressed in barley for providing thermotolerance. Transgenic barley lines overexpressing TaHSFA6b showed significant improvement in thermotolerance. The constitutive overexpression of TaHSFA6b gene upregulated the expression of major heat shock protein genes as well as other abiotic stress responsive genes. RNA-seq and qRT-PCR analysis showed upregulation of HSPs, chaperonins, DNAJ, LEA proteins and genes related to anti-oxidative enzymes in transgenic lines. Excessive generation and accumulation of ROS occurred in wild type plants during heat stress; however, the transgenic lines reflected improved ROS homeostasis mechanisms in the form of significantly low ROS accumulation under high temperature. There were no negative phenotypic changes in overexpression lines. The present study suggests that TaHSFA6b is one of the major regulators of HSR as it showed the capacity to alter the expression patterns of main defense related genes and enhance the thermotolerance of this cereal crops.

Deciphering the genetic basis of phenotypic plasticity and genotype x environment interaction (GxE) is of primary importance for plant breeding in the context of global climate change. Tomato is a widely cultivated crop that can grow in different geographical habitats and which evinces a great capacity of expressing phenotypic plasticity. We used a multi-parental advanced generation intercross (MAGIC) tomato population to explore GxE and plasticity for multiple traits measured in a multi-environment trial (MET) design comprising optimal cultural conditions and water deficit, salinity and heat stress over 12 environments. Substantial GxE was observed for all the traits measured. Different plasticity parameters were estimated through the Finlay-Wilkinson and factorial regression models and used together with the genotypic means for quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping analyses. Mixed linear models were further used to investigate the presence of interactive QTLs (QEI). The results highlighted a complex genetic architecture of tomato plasticity and GxE. Candidate genes that might be involved in the occurrence of GxE were proposed, paving the way for functional characterization of stress response genes in tomato and breeding for climate-adapted crop.

Jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.) is an oil bearing crop growing in tropical and subtropical parts of the world. The present study was undertaken to establish a protocol for in vitro callusing of three Jatropha accessions namely; Metema, Adami Tulu and Shewa Robit accession from leaf explants. The experiment was laid out in CRD with five replications in factorial arrangement. The medium supplemented with combination of 1.0 mg/L BAP and 1.0 mg/L 2,4-D resulted in maximum percentage of callus (100%) formed for all accessions. The maximum shoot regeneration (66.67%) from callus with 10.13 number of shoot was obtained from Shewa Robit accession in MS medium fortified with TDZ (0.5 mg/L) and IBA (0.1 mg/L). The presence of TDZ in the shoot regeneration medium has greater influence on the induction of adventitious shoot buds, whereas MS supplemented with BAP alone and combination with IBA did not induce shoot regeneration from callus culture. The results obtained in the present study would facilitate the high callus induction and regeneration responses in Jatropha for its improvement using biotechnological tools.

In this research, the specification of 3-dimensional flow stagnation point of hybrid Nano fluids passing through circular cylinder with sinusoidal radius are analyzed. C2H6O2, H2O and Engine oil are used as an ordinary liquid, while nano-particles include SWCNT and MWCNT. Fluid stream is taken into account with/without considering the effect of thermal slippage. Higher order non-linear phrases are transformed to ordinary prime-order differential equations and then solved applying the Analytical Method (HPM) in Matlab-14 software. Graphical analysis of the impressive parameters like: Prandtl number, thermal slip parameter, CNTs volume fraction is precisely checked on the profiles of velocity and temperature for various carbon nano-tubes. Consequences display that: cooling process or heat transfer rate can be increased by employing smaller thermal slippage parameter. Further, due to the better thermal conductivity of SWCNT carbon nanotube, the temperature increase in these carbon nanotubes is more than that of MWCNT.

The aim of this work is to present new approach to study weighted pseudo almost periodic functions with infinite delay using the measure theory. We study the existence and uniqueness of (μ,ν)-pseudo almost periodic solutions of infinite class for some neutral partial functional differential equations in a Banach space when the delay is distributed on ]-∞,0].

The aim of this article to propose some generalization of Meir-Keeler fixed point theorem with the help of an $\alpha$-admissible mapping. Further we prove the existence of solution of an infinite system of integral equations by using this generalized fixed point theorem involving measure of noncompactness in Banach space and illustrate the results with the help of an example. Finally, apply an iterative algorithm we find an approximate solution of an infinite system of integral equations.

This paper aims to construct new mixed-type periodic and lump-type solutions via the dependent variable transformation and the Hirota’s bilinear form (general bilinear techniques). This study will be investigated by considering the (3+1)-dimensional generalized B-type Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation which describes the weakly dispersive waves in a homogenous medium in fluid dynamics. The obtained solutions contain abundant physical structure. Consequently, the dynamical behaviors of these solutions are graphically discussed for different choices of the free parameters through 3D- and contour plots.

Charged clay surfaces can impact storage and mobility of hydrocarbon and water mixtures. Here, we use equilibrium molecular dynamics (MD) and nonequilibrium MD simulations to investigate hydrocarbon-water mixtures and their transport in slit-shaped illite nanopores. We construct two illite pore models with different surface chemistries: potassium-hydroxyl (P-H) and hydroxyl-hydroxyl (H-H) structures. In H-H nanopore, we observe water adsorption on the clay surfaces. In P-H nanopores, however, we observe the formation of water bridges or columns between the top and bottom pore surfaces. This is because of the existence of a local, long-range electric field within the P-H pore causing water molecules to align in a specific direction promoting the formation of a water bridge. Our NEMD simulations demonstrate that the velocity profiles across the pore depends strongly on the presence or absence of the water bridge. This study provides a theoretical basis for understanding of nanofluidics with charged surfaces.

β-carotene is a natural pigment and health-promoting metabolite, and has been widely used in the nutraceutical, feed and cosmetic industries. Here, we engineered a GRAS yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to produce β-carotene from xylose, the second most abundant and inedible sugar component of lignocellulose biomass. Specifically, a β-carotene biosynthetic pathway containing crtYB, crtI and crtE from Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous were introduced into a xylose-fermenting S. cerevisiae. The resulting strain produced β-carotene from xylose at a titer three-fold higher than from glucose. Interestingly, overexpression of tHMG1, which has been reported as a critical genetic perturbation to enhance metabolic fluxes in the mevalonate (MVA) pathway and β-carotene production in yeast when glucose is used, did not further improve the production of β-carotene from xylose. Through fermentation profiling, metabolites analysis and transcriptional studies, we found the advantages of using xylose as a carbon source instead of glucose for β-carotene production to be a more respiratory feature of xylose consumption, a larger cytosolic acetyl-CoA pool, and up-regulated expression levels of rate-limiting genes in the β-carotene producing pathway, including ACS1 and HMG1. As a result, 772.81 mg/L of β-carotene was obtained in a fed-batch bioreactor culture with xylose feeding. Considering the inevitable production of xylose at large scales when cellulosic biomass-based bioeconomy is implemented, our results suggest xylose utilization is a promising strategy for overproduction of carotenoids and other isoprenoids in engineered S. cerevisiae.

The fermentation conditions for the production of “pupuru” are enhanced at optimized conditions using response surface methodology (RSM). A Central Composite Design (CCD) with three independent variables; mass of root (2 to 6 kg), fermentation temperature (28 to 32 oC) and fermentation time (72 to 120 h) are used to study the response variables pH and Total Titratable Acidity (TTA) of fermented cassava. The design gives nineteen runs, 5 centre points, 14 non centre points. A face centred central composite second - order design is used to evaluate the combined effect of the independent variables. The results indicate that the generated regression model represents the relationship between the independent variables and responses. All linear terms, two quadratic terms (fermentation time and fermentation temperature) and all interactive terms had insignificant (p < 0.05) effect on pH and TTA. The optimum conditions for fermentation are achieved at 28 oC for 105 h to obtain pH of 3.99 and TTA of 0.25% Lactic acid which shows no significant difference (p>0.05) from the response surface methodology predicted pH and TTA of 3.96 and 0.22% Lactic acid.

Most digesters in industrial-scale operate in deficient level and almost nominal due to inefficient process. Optimization of the process may rectify the issue but required a valid method that does not just improve the process yet able to unravel the eventuality of the intricate process if the adjustment needed. A proper tool is required. The central composite design (CCD) was implemented in this study to investigate the suitability of this tool for optimization of anaerobic digestion (AD) process. The main effect of pH and HRT studied in CCD acquired from the screening process show the importance of having neutral pH value and long retention period for a better biogas yield. The process with pH 7.0 and HRT 15.7 days, IP 33%, TS 4% and FR 4% found to be the optimum setting for the process. The new setting successfully improved the production output up to 60% compared with baseline (existing setting), while allowing 50% more sludge to be processed. The X2 goodness-of-fit test indicates that the mathematical model applied in this study is valid at 95% of confidence level with R2 of 0.9. The results presented in the paper demonstrate the reliability of CCD as optimization tools for AD process in the industrial scale sewage treatment plant (STP).

A hallmark of the desert locust’s ancient and deserved reputation as a devastating agricultural pest is that of the long-distance, multi-generational migration of locust swarms to new habitats. The bacterial symbionts that reside within the locust gut comprise a key aspect of its biology, augmenting its immunity and having also been reported to be involved in the swarming phenomenon through the emission of attractant volatiles. However, it is still unclear whether and how these beneficial symbionts are transmitted vertically from parent to offspring. Using comparative 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and direct experiments with engineered bacteria, we provide here evidence of the vertical transmission of locust gut bacteria. The females perform this activity by way of inoculation of the egg-pod’s foam plug, through which the larvae pass upon hatching. Furthermore, analysis of the biochemical structure of the foam revealed chitin to be its major component, along with immunity-related proteins such as lysozyme,  which could be responsible for the inhibition of some bacteria in the foam while allowing other, more beneficial, strains to proliferate. Our findings reveal a potential vector for the transgenerational transmission of symbionts in locusts, which contributes to the locust swarm’s ability to invade and survive in new territories.

In this paper, a novel tree-like antenna is presented, the antenna is composed of tree-like radiating patch and four resonant links on the ground plane, and fed with CPW and microstrip line. The antenna has been fabricated and measured, the simulated and measured radiation patterns and impedance bandwidth have been obtained. The physical dimensions of the proposed antenna is 61.18×29.7×1.52, The measured impedance bandwidth(-10dB) is 106.8%(1.62GHz-5.33GHz), and the peak gain is 4.13dBi. The ultimate goal of this paper is to develop a stable gain, wide impedance bandwidth, low-profile, and low-cost antenna for wireless communication.

Aerospace components and its coatings are required to possess excellent surface properties namely: fatigue, wear and corrosion resistance over a wide temperature range. Stainless steels, titanium, nickel superalloy and more recently high entropy alloys have been used to improve the exterior properties of these components. In this study, AlCoCrFeNiCu and AlTiCrFeCoNi High Entropy Alloys were successfully fabricated using laser additive manufacturing to produce coatings on a mild steel base plate. The influence of the laser parameters (laser power and scan speed) on the microstructure, hardness and coat geometry (height, width and depth) were also investigated. The results revealed that coatings homogeneously adhered to substrate. The optimum processing parameters for both alloys with defect free structures at a preheat temperature of 400 °C, were at 1200-1600 W at 8-12 mm/s with the layers composed of both FCC and BCC phases. The laser parameters affected the geometry, quality and hardness. The results showed that optimizing the laser parameters achieved by preheating temperature invariably improved the performance of the alloys with potential coatings and aerospace structural applications.

Electronic machines are rapidly being developed with the increasing benefits but, getting smaller in sizes resulting in more thermal stress. To manage this stress, a comparative study was conducted between a two-metal (Cu-Ag) micro heat pipe (TMMHP) and the presently utilized single-metal (Cu) micro heat pipe (SMMHP). Thermal effects of TMMHP of circular cross section at steady state were experimentally investigated. Water and three low boiling point liquids – ethanol, methanol and iso-propanol – are used as working liquids. In consideration of the usage of the actual equipment, tests are conducted by placing the heat pipe at three different orientations – horizontal, vertical and at 45o inclination. To provide heat flux, SGW36 (Ni-Cr) electric heater-coil is coiled around the evaporator simulating the heat-generation of an actual device, and simultaneously the condenser section is directly cooled by water in an annular space. Internal fluid-flow is considered one dimensional. Ten calibrated K-type thermocouples are installed at different locations – five of them are to measure the temperatures of internal fluid and five are used to measure the surface temperatures of the tube at different axial locations. Temperatures are recorded by digital electronic thermometers. Unlike in the SMMHP, it is found that the boiling and super heat effects in the evaporator of TMMHP transform the two-phase flow into a single phase superheated vapor flow, which increases TMMHP’s heat transfer capability to three and half times the capacity of SMMHP. Such an enhanced heat transfer coefficient may be possible from the improved convection which is developed from the different heat conductivity of metals that enables the TMMHP to reject heat at a higher rate through its condenser than the rate it can take heat in SMMHP through its evaporator. αβγρ

The ambitious Algerian program for diversification of electric energy sources is targeting 22 000 MWe from the renewable energy to the horizon of 2030. This study is a thermo-economic assessment of an integrated solar combined cycle system installed in the Saharan region, which during the nights or cloudy days works as a conventional combined cycle and does not need storage or back-up systems. The obtained results show, in one side that the solar electricity ratio may reach about 17 % and the global thermal efficiency up to 63 %, leading to lower fuel consumption and carbon emission. In the other side, the economic assessment depicts that the levelized cost of energy may reach a value of 0.0222 $/kWh which is about 28 % higher than CC plants. By considering the environment this latter is even more and may reach about 0.0272 $/kWh, but the annual solar contribution, relatively to that installation site, allows about 18.45 million $ of fuel saving and avoidance of 0.89 million ton of CO2 emission over 30 years of operation. operation. 

Simulated microgravity (s-µg) devices provide unique conditions for elucidating the effects of gravitational unloading on biological processes. However, s-µg devices are being increasingly applied for mechanobiology studies without proper characterization of the mechanical environment generated by these systems, which confounds results and limits their interpretation. Furthermore, the cell culture methodology central to s-µg approaches introduces new conditions that can fundamentally affect results, but these are currently not addressed. It is essential to understand the complete culture environment and how constituent conditions can individually and synergistically affect cellular responses in order to interpret results correctly, otherwise outcomes may be misattributed to the effects of microgravity alone. For the benefit of the growing space biology community, this article critically reviews a typical s-µg cell culture environment in terms of three key conditions: fluid-mediated mechanical stimuli, oxygen tension and biochemical (cell signalling). Their implications for biological analysis are categorically discussed. A new set of controls is proposed to properly evaluate the respective effects of s-µg culture conditions, along with a reporting matrix and potential strategies for addressing the current limitations of simulated microgravity devices as a platform for mechanobiology.

Through the correlation study between the abrasive resistance, compressive strength and pore characteristics indexes of coal-based activated coke (AC) for desulfurization and denitration, the effect of pore structure on mechanical strength of AC was clarified. The results show that the open pore is the main pore type that reduces the compressive strength. The open pore with diameter between 2 and 500 nm have the most serious damage to the compressive strength. The opening and closing state of the pore has no obvious effect on the abrasive resistance. The pores with diameter between 0 and 2 nm have the most serious damage to the abrasive resistance. With the increase of the number of recycling times, the AC pore structure further developed, and the compressive strength and abrasion resistance both decreases correspondingly. After recycled in the flue gas purification facility, AC average compressive strength reduces from 499 N to 340 N, while the abrasion resistance increases from 97.18% to 98.88% because its surface is smoothed during recycling.

Polyp bail-out is a stress response exhibited by some pocilloporid corals with mechanisms and consequences distinct from those of bleaching. Although induction of polyp bail-out has been demonstrated in the laboratory, molecular mechanisms underlying this response have rarely been discussed. We conducted genetic analyses of Pocillopora acuta during initiation of hyperosmosis-induced polyp bail-out, using both transcriptomic and qPCR techniques. Beyond upregulation of apoptosis and genes related to extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation, corals showed significant activation of tumor necrosis factor and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling pathways throughout a 24-h polyp bail-out induction experiment. A common gene expression profile was found between the FAS and CASP8 genes, which reached their expression peaks at 12 h, whereas a different profile showing significant upregulation up to 18 h was displayed by ECM-degrading proteases and genes in the FGF signaling pathway. These results suggest parallel involvement of an extrinsic apoptotic signaling pathway and FGF-mediated ECM degradation in polyp bail-out. Furthermore, in XIAP, JNK, and NFKB1 genes, we detected a third expression profile showing linear upregulation throughout the 24-h experiment period, indicating activation of anti-apoptotic and cell survival signals during polyp bail-out. Our results provide new insights into signaling pathways inducing polyp bail-out and suggest the feasibility of inducing bail-out by specifically triggering these pathways without exerting lethal stresses on the corals.. This will enable acquisition of viable polyps for possible use in coral reef restoration and in coral research.

Plants employ a diverse set of defense mechanisms to mediate interactions with insects and fungi. These relationships can leave lasting impacts on host plant genome structure such as rapid expansion of gene families through tandem duplication. These genomic signatures provide important clues about the complexities of plant/biotic stress interactions and evolution. We used a pseudo-backcross hybrid family to identify Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) controlling associations between Populus trees and several common Populus diseases and insects. Using whole genome sequences from each parent, we identified candidate genes that may mediate these interactions. Candidates were partially validated using mass spectrometry to identify corresponding QTL for defensive compounds. We detected significant QTL for two interacting fungal pathogens and three insects. The QTL intervals contained candidate genes potentially involved in physical and chemical mechanisms of host-plant resistance and susceptibility. In particular, we identified overlapping QTLs for a phenolic glycoside and Phyllocolpa sawfly abundance. There was also significant enrichment of recent tandem duplications in the genomic intervals of the native parent, but not the exotic parent. Tandem gene duplication may be an important mechanism for rapid response to biotic stressors, enabling trees with long juvenile periods to reach maturity despite many coevolving biotic stressors.

As essential source for human consumption, plants of wheat, rice and soybean are highly sensitive to ozone (O3), resulting in significant agricultural losses under O3 pollution. However, little is known about the effects of elevated O3 on their metabolite profiling. In this study, three model cultivars were used for the metabolome analysis under elevated O3 and charcoal filtered air. Our study revealed that wheat and rice differed significantly from soybean in metabolic number and certain pathways. Metabolites response to elevated O3 were less in soybean, whilst those in wheat and rice were considerably larger. Under O3 stress, tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) was impaired in three crop plants. Methylerythritol 4-phosphate pathway and glycerol phosphate pathway were altered in wheat and rice with reduced terpene accumulation and high level of phospholipids. However, these pathways were not affected in soybean. Meanwhile, O3 suppressed the generation of flavonoid via benzoic acid pathway in three crop plants. Accordingly, the expressional level of genes coding key enzymes which catalyzed the synthesis or degradation of these metabolites. These findings provide valuable information for understanding of ozone’s effects on the metabolite profiling of crop plants, exploring the metabolite differences of three crop plants under elevated O3.

Spatial and temporal distribution of seabird transiting and foraging at sea is an important consideration for marine conservation planning. Using at-sea observations of seabirds (n = 317), collected during the breeding season from 2012 to 2016, we built boosted regression tree (BRT) models to identify relationships between numerically dominant seabird species (red-footed booby, brown noddy, white tern and wedge-tailed shearwater), geomorphology, oceanographic variability, and climate oscillation in the Chagos Archipelago. We documented positive relationships between red-footed booby and wedge-tailed shearwater abundance with the strength in the Indian Ocean Dipole, as represented by the Dipole Mode Index (6.7% and 23.7% contribution respectively). The abundance of red-footed boobies, brown noddies and white terns declined abruptly with greater distance to island (17.6%, 34.1% and 41.1% contribution respectively). We further quantified the effects of proximity to rat-free and rat-invaded islands on seabird distribution at sea, and identify breaking point distribution thresholds. We identified areas of increased abundance at sea and habitat use-age under a scenario where rats are eradicated from invaded nearby islands and recolonised by seabirds. Following rat eradication, abundance at sea of red-footed booby, brown noddy, and white terns increased by 14%, 17% and 3% respectively, with no important increase detected for shearwaters. Our results have implication for seabird conservation and island restoration. Climate oscillations may cause shifts in seabird distribution, possibly through changes in regional productivity and prey distribution. Invasive species eradications and subsequent island recolonization can lead to greater access for seabirds to areas at-sea, due to increased foraging or transiting through, potentially leading to distribution gains and increased competition. Our approach predicting distribution after successful eradications enables anticipatory threat-mitigation in these areas, minimising competition between colonies and thereby maximising the risk of success and the conservation impact of eradication programmes.  

In this letter, we investigate the rebound dynamics of two equally sized droplets simultaneously impacting a superhydrophobic surface via lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) simulations. We discover three rebound regimes depending on the droplet distance: a complete-coalescence-rebound (CCR) regime, a partial-coalescence-rebound (PCR) regime, and a no-coalescence-rebound (NCR) regime. We demonstrate that the rebound regime is closely associated with dynamic behaviors of the formed liquid ridge or bridge between two droplets. We also present the contact time in the three regimes. Intriguingly, although partial coalescence takes places, the contact time is still dramatically shortened in the PCR regime, which is even smaller than that of a single droplet impact. These findings provide new insights into the contact time of multiple droplets impact, and thereby offering useful guidance for some application such as anti-icing, self-cleaning, and so forth.