BENDING OF SUBMERGED WOODY RIPARIAN VEGETATION AS A FUNCTION OF HYDRAULIC FLOW CONDITIONS

Woody riparian vegetation provides numerous ecological benefits such as stabilizing streambanks, storing and cycling nutrients, shading streams and providing habitat for wildlife. However, vegetation also increases hydraulic roughness and reduces the effective flow area, resulting in an increased water surface elevation for a given streamflow. Balancing the desire to preserve woody vegetation in stream corridors with the need to manage flood risks requires accurate techniques for predicting the influence of vegetation on stream hydraulics. However, this is a challenging problem because woody vegetation responds to the flow field itself by bending and streamlining in response to hydraulic forces. The goal of this study was to predict the bending behaviour of woody riparian vegetation as a function of hydraulic flow conditions. Field tests were performed to elucidate tree biomechanical properties for select riparian taxa of the southwestern USA. Biomechanical results served as input parameters for a numerical algorithm designed to predict tree bending for water velocities likely to be encountered during flood events. Bending simulations revealed appreciable variability in bent tree heights. Variability was likely a manifestation of the extensive variance in plant characteristics and properties inherent in biological specimens. However, no trees were expected to bend to a height lower than approximately 42% of their original height, even in water moving at 2.5 m·s^‐1. The results of this work provide an important first step in an effort to predict a dynamic hydraulic roughness for vegetated channels and floodplains under flood conditions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spouting Enhancement by Addition of Small Quantities of Liquid to Gas‐Spouted Beds

The addition of liquid water to beds of polystyrene particles exceeding 3 mm in diameter enhanced spouting by causing a decrease in the minimum spouting velocity. While the degree of enhancement is quantitatively comparable to what we reported previously for fluidized beds of large light hydrophobic particles, the mechanism is quite different. Enhancement of spouting takes place because the liquid congregates at the spout‐annulus interface, forming an effective nearly‐impermeable draft tube which then increases the velocity of the gas up the spout.     

Thermally stable ion conductive polymer composites containing imide-anion-type zwitterions

Summary Zwitterion bearing highly dissociable imide anion (EIm5csI) was used as major component for stable polymer electrolytes. A polymerization of methyl acrylate in the presence of EIm5csI/LiTFSI mixture gave a flexible film with the ionic conductivity of 9.3×10^-6 Scm^-1 at 50 °C. Mixing of poly(lithium acrylate) and EIm5csI/LiTFSI mixture improved ionic conductivity (3.3×10^-5 Scm^-1 at room temperature), lithium transference number (0.44), and thermal stability.     

Psychological and Social Influences on Blog Writing: An Online Survey of Blog Authors in Japan

We conducted a questionnaire survey of personal blog authors (N = 1,434) and examined two hypothesized models using structural equation modeling to clarify the psychological and social process associated with why authors continue to write their blogs. Two final models with good fit were obtained. It was confirmed that being satisfied with benefits to self, relationships with others, and skill in handling information had significant positive effects on the intention to continue blog writing. The psychological traits of private self-consciousness, reassurance-seeking, and information need were hypothesized to be effective in establishing consciousness of the benefits; these also had significant positive effects. In contrast, only positive feedback had a significant influence on satisfaction related to information handling skill, whereas both negative and positive feedback had significant influences on satisfaction related to information handling skill. This suggests that communication with readers who gave positive feedback strongly encouraged blog authors to continue writing. Similarities and differences between the two models and recommendations for further theoretical development are discussed.     

From dissipative particle dynamics scales to physical scales: a coarse-graining study for water flow in microchannel

In the present work, dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulation of simple flows is studied based on coarse-graining parameter. Reference scales of DPD are expressed in terms of physical units and DPD parameters and equations are expressed in terms of Reynolds number and apparent Peclet number. DPD parameters for a given coarse-graining are calculated by matching the density and viscosity of water and Reynolds number of the flow. The formulation is applied to water flow in microchannels of height 5 and 10 μm and tested for a wide range of coarse-graining parameter varying from 10⁷ to 10⁹. The results are in a good agreement with the continuum formulation and simulated the correct hydrodynamics of water flow in microchannels. By inspecting the microscopic detail of the interaction between the DPD particles, it is found that diffusivity is low for high coarse-graining parameter, which results in higher values of Schmidt number. Parameters are tested within the continuum assumption. It is shown that correct Schmidt number can be achieved using small coarse-graining parameter. Also, it is observed that low diffusivity or high Schmidt number does not affect the hydrodynamics of water.     

Beads fabricated from alginate,hyaluronic acid,and gelatin using ionic crosslinking and layer-by-layer coating techniques for controlled release of gentamicin

The alginate/hyaluronic acid (AL/HA) blended beads at different ratios (AL70HA30, AL50HA50, and AL30HA70) were formed by ionic crosslinking technique. The layer-by-layer coating of the beads with two opposite charged molecules, positive-charged type A gelatin (GA), and negative-charged AL, using alternate soaking technique was introduced to stabilize the beads. The AL70HA30, AL50HA50 beads showed high stability because of high ionic crosslinked AL component. Two-layer coating resulted in an appropriate layer that maximized the stability of the AL/HA beads. The higher ratio of HA resulted in the higher water absorption ability but degradation rate was accelerated. An antibiotic gentamicin was loaded into the beads with the entrapment efficiency of 69–89%. The beads containing 30% and 50% HA and coated with two layers showed a sustained release of gentamicin while the release behavior was governed by the diffusion and degradation of the beads. The gentamicin released from all beads also potentially inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus (gram-positive) and Escherichia coli (gram-negative) bacteria up to at least 48 h. These beads with antibacterial activity can be further explored for the application as bone void filling material for treatment of infection in bone diseases such as osteoarthritis or rheumatoid. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 46893.     

Can weblogs cause the emergence of social intelligence?: causal model of intention to continue publishing weblog in Japan

This research was conducted to examine the psychological profiles of people who publish their weblogs on the Internet and the characteristics of their community. Weblogs can be defined as online sites, not owned by major corporations, which are frequently updated by one or more people. Weblogs provide an opportunity to develop communication through information sharing with other Internet users. Our particular focus is on authors of “informative” weblogs, who have a powerful desire to provide information and share their knowledge, rather than other weblog forms, such as “diary-like” weblogs, in which the authors have a more powerful need for self-disclosure and the resulting interactions. The results of online author surveys suggested that the system of weblog have many benefits for supporting knowledge community and the weblog authors were oriented to reciprocal information interchange and perceive much psychological benefits from it.     

Targeting Epigenetic Regulators for Endometrial Cancer Therapy: Its Molecular Biology and Potential Clinical Applications

Endometrial cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed gynecological malignancies worldwide. However, its prognosis in advanced stages is poor, and there are only few available treatment options when it recurs. Epigenetic changes in gene function, such as DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNA, have been studied for the last two decades. Epigenetic dysregulation is often reported in the development and progression of various cancers. Recently, epigenetic changes in endometrial cancer have also been discussed. In this review, we give the main points of the role of DNA methylation and histone modification in endometrial cancer, the diagnostic tools to determine these modifications, and inhibitors targeting epigenetic regulators that are currently in preclinical studies and clinical trials.