The Effect of the Layered Internal Structure of Fibrous Beds on the Hydrodynamic Diffusive Behavior of Microparticles

To separate and collect microparticles such as cells, the behavior of particles in fibrous filters was investigated. It is essential to understand, in detail, the motion of particles in microscale flows, because Re is often small, and particles exhibit complex behaviors such as changes in relative position and spreading owing to hydrodynamic interactions. We calculated the motion of microparticles passing through the fibrous bed using the Stokesian dynamics method, in which hydrodynamic interaction is considered, theoretically. The fibrous bed was modeled by particles and five types of structures (a monolayer with fiber volume fractions ϕ of 3%, 4%, and 5%, and a bilayer with ϕ = 3−5% and 5−3%) were considered. Our numerical results showed that the particles moved in a complicated manner, and spread throughout the fibrous bed. It was found that the behavior of individual microparticles varied depending on the internal structure, although the average permeation velocity was primarily determined by the fiber volume fraction. This great dependence of the behavior of particle assemblage on the internal structure of the fibrous bed was caused by the individual particle motion under the influence of the layers in front of and behind them, owing to the hydrodynamic interaction.

Morphometric parameters of erythroid hemocytes of alien mollusc Anadara kagoshimensis (Bivalvia, Arcidae) under normoxia and anoxia

In the present work we investigated the influence of three days anoxia on hematological parameters, morphological and functional characteristics of eryhroid cells of alien bivalve Anadara kagoshimensis . Oxygen concentration in seawater was decreased by bubbling with nitrogen gas for 5 h. Temperature was maintained at 20±1oC and photoperiod was 12h day: 12h night. Extrapallial fluids were sampled by a puncture of extrapalial cavity. Three-day exposure to anoxia caused pronounced cellular responses. At the organismic level changes were not observed, as hemoglobin concentration the total number of erythroid cells and mean hemoglobin concentration ( МСН ) remained at the level of normoxia. We observed an increase of cellular anomalies, i.e. shistocytes and erythroid cells with polymorphic nuclei, and cells undergoing reactive amitotic division, which resulted in formation of binuclear cells. Nuclear volume ( V ) increased for more than 40 % compared to control level. This increase depended on the duration of anoxia. Changes in cellular volume ( V ) possessed a complicated manner. At the end of experimental period (3rd day of anoxia) nucleo- cytoplasmic ratio was 36% lower comparing to normoxia. Exposure to anoxia did not cause mortality of erythroid cells. The number or red blood cell shades observed on slides remained at control level.

Predicting the optimal solution in fuzzy linear programming problem

In this paper we try to define a percentage form of LR fuzzy numbers which is a useful form of fuzzy numbers and its’ arithmetics. So, we show how the maximum variation range of optimal value of fuzzy objective function can be predicted by using this form of fuzzy numbers. Since fuzzy problems are generally solved through a complicated manner, the purpose of this study is releasing a kind of prediction for the final solution in the way that the manager can access to an outlook to optimal solution (Z∗) without solving the problem. Finally, optimal value of fuzzy objective function on fuzzy linear programming is predicted when maximum variation range of fuzzy variable have been predetermined.

The complex social security provisions of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, to be implemented for decades

This article analyses the provisions in the withdrawal agreement regarding the coordination of the social security schemes of the United Kingdom and the Member States after Brexit. The UK’s withdrawal from the EU raises numerous questions about the consequences for the social security rights, including access to health care, of persons who find themselves in a cross-border situation between the UK and the EU27. The detailed provisions in the agreement concern, in the first place, the arrangements during the transition period, which ends on 31 December 2020. They also establish the rights of persons who are in a cross-border situation between the UK and a Member State at the end of this transition period. Furthermore, the agreement includes rules for persons who have been in such a situation in the past. These provisions are formulated in a complicated manner and will undoubtedly give rise to problems of interpretation and implementation for many decades to come. This article tries to clarify the basic content of this part of the withdrawal agreement, including the arrangements on administrative cooperation, monitoring and enforcement.

The Use of Gimmick in William Golding's Major Novels

The problem that this paper deals with is that the unexplained or surprising endings in some of William Golding’s novels can affect the thematic structures of the novels concerned. Furthermore, they influence the nature of the messages desired to be communicated by the author. Unexpected incidents in stories, such as uncalled for discoveries and revelations, can occur at any part of a story, serving the intention of heightening the readers’ suspense. Story endings (especially when they are vaguely unexpected, unprepared for, and unexplained) are influential in turning the direction of events completely. Golding, as a famous modern British writer, is successful in employing special ways or tricks (he calls them “gimmicks”) to conclude the plots of his novels strikingly. Because of this complicated manner of presentation, the endings of the first three of his novels, namely, Lord of the Flies (1954), The Inheritors (1955), and Pincher Martin (1956) all share tricky endings. Gindin, in his study of the gimmick in Golding’s novels (1960: 145-152), tries to relate the shift of emphasis in Golding’s endings to the use of metaphor. The aim of this paper is to examine how such seemingly unfitting endings are organized in such a way as to fit into the whole thematic structure of the novels. Likewise, it aims at examining the plots and the nature of characters and other elements that twist the course of events in the stories, causing some radical changes in readers’ views. Among the findings of the paper is that Golding, through certain incidents, presents hints that help in preparing for unexpected later results.

Analysis of Impact Behaviour of TIG Weldment by Using Hybrid RSM and CSO

Tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding is a multi-input and multi-output variant process. The input process parameters and other factors of welding process interact in a complicated manner and influence the weld quality – directly or indirectly. Keeping this in mind, the present work has been planned to study the impact behaviour of TIG weldment through experiments, analysis and optimization. Experimental runs have been considered as per Box-Behnken design of response surface methodology (RSM). Based on the recorded data, the mathematical models have been developed to study the effect of process parameters on impact strength. ANOVA has been utilized to identify the influence of input process parameters on the response i.e. impact strength. RSM and cuckoo search optimization (CSO) algorithm have also been applied to optimize the impact strength.

Minimum epistasis interpolation for sequence-function relationships

Massively parallel phenotyping assays have provided unprecedented insight into how multiple mutations combine to determine biological function. While these assays can measure phenotypes for thousands to millions of genotypes in a single experiment, in practice these measurements are not exhaustive, so that there is a need for techniques to impute values for genotypes whose phenotypes are not directly assayed. Here we present a method based on the idea of inferring the least epistatic possible sequence-function relationship compatible with the data. In particular, we infer the reconstruction in which mutational effects change as little as possible across adjacent genetic backgrounds. Although this method is highly conservative and has no tunable parameters, it also makes no assumptions about the form that genetic interactions take, resulting in predictions that can behave in a very complicated manner where the data require it but which are nearly additive where data is sparse or absent. We apply this method to analyze a fitness landscape for protein G, showing that our technique can provide a substantially less epistatic fit to the landscape than standard methods with little loss in predictive power. Moreover, our analysis reveals that the complex structure of epistasis observed in this dataset can be well-understood in terms of a simple qualitative model consisting of three fitness peaks where the landscape is locally additive in the vicinity of each peak.

Asymptotically self-similar behaviour of global solutions for semilinear heat equations with algebraically decaying initial data

We consider the Cauchy problem $$\left\{ {\matrix{ {u_t = \Delta u + u^p,\quad } \hfill & {x\in {\bf R}^N,\;t \leq 0,} \hfill \cr {u(x,0) = u_0(x),\quad } \hfill & {x\in {\bf R}^N,} \hfill \cr } } \right.$$where N > 2, p > 1, and u0 is a bounded continuous non-negative function in RN. We study the case where u0(x) decays at the rate |x|−2/(p−1) as |x| → ∞, and investigate the convergence property of the global solutions to the forward self-similar solutions. We first give the precise description of the relationship between the spatial decay of initial data and the large time behaviour of solutions, and then we show the existence of solutions with a time decay rate slower than the one of self-similar solutions. We also show the existence of solutions that behave in a complicated manner.

Max Weber and 21st-Century Modern

In a rather complicated manner, Max Weber’s writings contain general theoretical reflections that are now incorporated in the canon of sociological theory, in the analyses of social change in the form of historical and comparative sociology, and in reflections on political events, all in the guise of the diagnosis and critique of his own historical age. This article attempts to draw conclusions from the tensions between these aspects in Weber’s work by trying to discover how such a sophisticated combination of cognitive goals is possible today, and what limits it encounters. What the “light of great cultural problems” falls upon, what elements of the past determine the present, and what events are particularly important for understanding of a certain age are questions whose answers must regularly be sought anew. The author relies on the concept of “modernity”, or rather, on the field of interpretation arising around this term. He assumes that the given field is wide enough to better understand our present condition by means of this term. In the meantime, the author believes that for this understanding to be successful, present-day modernity must be appropriately positioned in this field theoretically, historically, and as the diagnosis of our age.