Influence mechanism of excipients on drug crystallization: experimental investigation and model analysis and prediction

The influence of temperature, stirring speed, and excipients on crystal growth kinetics of mesalazine and allopurinol was investigated through experiment and chemical potential gradient model. The results indicated that the Diffusion-Surface Reaction model (DSR (1,2)) showed good performance in modeling API crystal growth kinetics within the ARDs of 4%. Excipients played a crucial role in inhibiting crystal growth in all the systems. It can not only improve the API solubility, but also reduce the crystal growth rate. By comparing diffusion rate and surface-reaction rate constant within the DSR (1,2) model, it was found that the controlling step of mesalazine crystallization was surface-reaction. Allopurinol crystallization was dominated by both surface-reaction and diffusion. Meanwhile, the crystal growth kinetics of mesalazine and allopurinol were predicted successfully with the ARDs of 2.53% and 4.78%. This work provided a mechanistic understanding of polymer influence on the inhibition of API crystal growth.

The interdependence of hydrochemical and hydrodynamic processes in evaporite oil and gas basins

The article examines the reasons for the formation of vertical hydrochemical inversion within particular oil and gas basins and points out the role of waters of different genesis in the development of this phenomenon. The following processes of reverse hydrochemical zoning in the sedimentary cover are analyzed: thickening of heavy clay strata and the related squeezing of loosely bound waters, dehydration of clay minerals and catagenic fluid generation accompanying the transformation of organic matter into hydrocarbons of the petroleum series. The hydrochemical inversion at great depths is noted to occur and persist in the environment of the passive hydrodynamic regime; in closed water-drive systems, the demineralization of waters with depth causes the decrease in the hydrodynamic potential gradient, determining the migration pattern not only of water but also of hydrocarbons and, consequently, the location of oil and gas accumulation zones.

Comparison of dynamical features between the fast H-L and the H-I-L transition for EAST RF-heated plasmas

In this paper, a comparison of dynamical features between the fast H-L and the H-I-L transition, which can be identified by the intermediate phase, or ‘I-phase’, has been made for radio-frequency (RF) heated deuterium plasmas in EAST. The fast H-L transition is characterized by a rapid release of stored energy during the transition transient, while the H-I-L transition exhibits a ‘soft’ H-mode termination. One important distinction between the transitions has been observed by dedicated probe measurements slightly inside the separatrix, with respect to the radial gradient of the floating potential, which corresponds to the E×B flow and/or the electron temperature gradient. The potential gradient inside the separatrix oscillates and persists during the stationary I-phase, and shows a larger amplitude than that before the fast H-L transition. The reduction of the gradient leads to the final transition to the L-mode for both the fast H-L and the H-I-L transition. These findings indicate that the mean E×B flow shear and/or edge electron temperature gradient play a critical role underlying the H-L transition physics. In addition, the back transition in EAST is found to be sensitive to magnetic configuration, where the vertical configuration, i.e., inner strike-point located at vertical target, favours access to the H-I-L transition, while the horizontal shape facilitates achievement of the fast H-L transition. The divertor recycling level normalized to electron density is higher before the fast H-L transition, as compared to that before the I-phase, which strongly suggest that the density of the recycled neutrals is an important ingredient in determining the back transition behaviour.

Classification of Spatio-temporal Patterns in Charging and Discharging of Li-ion Batteries

We classify the dynamic patterns that emerge in charging or discharging of Li-ion batteries, under galvanostatic conditions, using simulations of the two-phase 1D porous model. This work examines the effect of exchange current function, R0(X), which expresses the nature of kinetics and extends our previous study limited to R0=1 for which the same pattern emerges, whether homogeneous or step-wise process made of multiple symmetry breaking events. With the commonly-used asymmetric R0(X) the emerging pattern may be one of the two above or fronts that follow single SB event and lithiation/delithiation behaviors are different. These effects are clear when parameters are uniform; non-uniformity leads to noise that mask the behavior. The full 4-variable model exhibits SB, even in absence of noise, since the liquid potential gradient ( ) works like a perturbation. Similarity between noise and gradient effects allows us to derive approximations to full model behavior, and study various effects.

The algal PETC-Pro171-Leu suppresses electron transfer in the cytochrome b6f under acidic lumenal condition

Linear photosynthetic electron flow (LEF) produces NADPH and generates a proton electrochemical potential gradient across the thylakoid membrane used to synthesize ATP, both of which are required for CO2 fixation. As cellular demand for ATP and NADPH are variable, cyclic electron flow (CEF) between PSI and cytochrome b6f complex (b6f) produces extra ATP. The b6f regulates LEF and CEF via photosynthetic control, which is a pH-dependent b6f slowdown of plastoquinol oxidation at the lumenal site. This protection mechanism is triggered at more alkaline lumen pH in the pgr1 mutant of the vascular plant Arabidopsis thaliana, carrying Pro194Leu in the b6f Rieske Iron-sulfur protein. In this work, we introduced pgr1 mutation in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (PETC-P171L). Consistent with pgr1 phenotype, PETC-P171L displayed a limited photosynthesis along with slower photoautotrophic growth under high light conditions. Our data under low oxygen revealed that the ΔpH component in algae was already sufficient to trigger the effect in PETC-P171L in sub-saturating light conditions where the mutant b6f was more restricted to oxidize the PQ pool and revealed a diminished electron flow.

Simultaneously Enhanced Potential Gradient and Nonlinearity of ZnO Varistor Ceramics by MnO Doping with Nano-Sized ZnO Powders

ZnO varistor ceramics with a high potential gradient, as well as a high nonlinear coefficient, were reported and analyzed in this paper. With the use of nano-sized ZnO powders, the average grain size was reduced to about 2.6 μm, which successfully raised the potential gradient to 1172 V/mm. Moreover, the nonlinear coefficient increased to 48, and the leakage current was decreased to 8.4 μA/cm2 by doping a moderate amount of MnO (0.9 mol%). This was proven to be caused by the high Schottky barrier height formed at the grain boundary, where the Mn element segregated and, consequently, led to the increased density of interface states. Therefore, this could be considered as a potential method to simultaneously enhance the potential gradient and the nonlinear coefficient of ZnO varistor ceramics.

Role of E×B drift in double-peak density distribution for the new lower tungsten divertor with unfavorable B t on EAST

Doubly peaked density distribution is expected not only to affect the plasma-wetted area at divertor plates, but also to correlate with the upstream density profile and hence characteristics of MHD activities in tokamak plasmas [H. Q. Wang et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 195002 (2020)]. Clarifying its origination is important to understand the compatibility between power/particle exhausts in divertor and high-performance core plasmas which is required by present-day and future tokamak devices. In this paper, we analyzed the double-peak density profile appeared in the modeling during the physics design phase of the new lower tungsten divertor for EAST by using comprehensive 2D SOLPS-ITER code package including full drifts and currents, with concentrations on unfavorable magnetic field (ion B×∇B drift is directed away from the primary X-point). The results indicate that E×B drift induced by plasma potential gradient near the target, which is closely related to the divertor state, plays essential roles in the formation of double-peak profile at the target: (1) Large enough radial Ep×B drift produces a broadened high-density region; (2) Strong poloidal Er×B drift drives a significant particle sink and creates a valley on the high-density profile. Thus, the simulation results can explain why this kind of doubly peaked density profile is usually observed at the high-recycling divertor regime. In addition, features of the double-peak ion saturation current distribution measured in preliminary experiments testing the new lower tungsten divertor are qualitatively consistent with the simulations.

Research on the Influence of Haze Weather on Audible Noise of HVDC Transmission Line

In order to study the influence of haze weather on audible noise of HVDC transmission line, a calculation model of ion flow field of HVDC transmission line considering the influence of haze is established, and then the relationship between different haze levels, different haze particle concentrations and audible noise is analyzed by taking the maximum potential gradient on the conductor surface as the intermediary. Then a ± 800kV DC transmission line is simulated and the results show that the audible noise will be more prominent with the increase of haze concentration, and the increment is more obvious at higher haze concentration; The charging of haze particles is the principal origin for the increase of audible noise, and the effect of PM2.5 is the most significant.

Thin-Film Absorbing Elements of Adapter-Attenuators for HIC

One of the urgent tasks in the design of hybrid integrated circuits (HIC) is the construction of adapter-attenuators – film absorbing elements providing a wide range of attenuations with specified values of input and output resistances. Known variants of adapter-attenuators based on a homogeneous and piecewise homogeneous resistive film provide (by introducing asymmetry in the dimensions of the input and output contacts, changing the location of a piecewise homogeneous resistive film, introducing dielectric or conductive regions) a resistance transformation coefficient of no more than 3 and 10–12, respectively. In this work, promising topologies of adapter-attenuators for HIC with a close to optimal profile of input and output contacts are proposed, which allow not only to obtain a wide range of transformation coefficients (more than 100), but also to reduce the maximum values of the potential gradient and power density by 10‒30 times. The rectangular topology calculations were made using the apparatus of the theory of functions of a complex variable. Modeling of the optimized topology of adapter-attenuators for HIC was carried out by the finite element method implemented in the Elcut software package. The calculated ratios and graphs showing the relationship of attenuation, the transformation coefficient, the gain in the value of the potential gradient and the power density, depending on the ratio of the size of the film element and the resistivity of the resistive films used, have been provided. The features of adapter-attenuators fitting have been considered. The results obtained are especially important for the pulse mode of operation of adapter-attenuators’ film element for HIC.

Chemical Potential-Based Modeling of Shale Gas Transport

Shale gas plays an increasingly important role in the current energy industry. Modeling of gas flow in shale media has become a crucial and useful tool to estimate shale gas production accurately. The second law of thermodynamics provides a theoretical criterion to justify any promising model, but it has been never fully considered in the existing models of shale gas. In this paper, a new mathematical model of gas flow in shale formations is proposed, which uses gas density instead of pressure as the primary variable. A distinctive feature of the model is to employ chemical potential gradient rather than pressure gradient as the primary driving force. This allows to prove that the proposed model obeys an energy dissipation law, and thus, the second law of thermodynamics is satisfied. Moreover, on the basis of energy factorization approach for the Helmholtz free energy density, an efficient, linear, energy stable semi-implicit numerical scheme is proposed for the proposed model. Numerical experiments are also performed to validate the model and numerical method.