Analytical study of surface wave multiple refraction in boundary of a scalar impedance surface with a tensor impedance surface

In this paper, the multiple refraction phenomenon is investigated on the boundary of a scalar impedance surface (SIS) and a tensor impedance surface (TIS). When a surface wave (SW) propagates on the SIS and radiates to the boundary of the TIS, the propagation direction of it is changed and the refraction phenomenon is accrued. The method that is proposed in this paper can predict the multiple refraction for the SW. Moreover, another analytical method is introduced for designing the proposed structure which the double refraction (DR) occurs at arbitrary angles on it. Using it, a sample of the structure is designed by printed circuits in 15.2GHz and the results are verified by the full‐wave simulation and measurement. The results are shown that in the structure, DR is occurred in 2° and 22° as predicted. The proposed method can provide many applications such as design of SW power dividers based on the TISs, impedance surface based waveguides, holographic antennas, and feeding of array antennas.     

TP53 Targeted Deep Sequencing of Cell-Free DNA in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Using Low-Quality Serum: Concordance with Tumor Mutation

Circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is emerging as a potential tumor biomarker. CfDNA-based biomarkers may be applicable in tumors without an available non-invasive screening method among at-risk populations. Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and residents of the Asian cancer belt are examples of those malignancies and populations. Previous epidemiological studies using cfDNA have pointed to the need for high volumes of good quality plasma (i.e., >1 mL plasma with 0 or 1 cycles of freeze-thaw) rather than archival serum, which is often the main available source of cfDNA in retrospective studies. Here, we have investigated the concordance of TP53 mutations in tumor tissue and cfDNA extracted from archival serum left-over from 42 cases and 39 matched controls (age, gender, residence) in a high-risk area of Northern Iran (Golestan). Deep sequencing of TP53 coding regions was complemented with a specialized variant caller (Needlestack). Overall, 23% to 31% of mutations were concordantly detected in tumor and serum cfDNA (based on two false discovery rate thresholds). Concordance was positively correlated with high cfDNA concentration, smoking history (p-value = 0.02) and mutations with a high potential of neoantigen formation (OR; 95%CI = 1.9 (1.11–3.29)), suggesting that tumor DNA release in the bloodstream might reflect the effects of immune and inflammatory context on tumor cell turnover. We identified TP53 mutations in five controls, one of whom was subsequently diagnosed with ESCC. Overall, the results showed that cfDNA mutations can be reliably identified by deep sequencing of archival serum, with a rate of success comparable to plasma. Nonetheless, 70% non-identifiable mutations among cancer patients and 12% mutation detection in controls are the main challenges in applying cfDNA to detect tumor-related variants when blindly targeting whole coding regions of the TP53 gene in ESCC.     

Ethylene glycol biodegradation in microbial fuel cell

Ethylene glycol is an environmental pollutant, which exists in airport runoff and industrial waste. In this article, biodegradation of ethylene glycol in a two-chamber, batch-mode microbial fuel cell was investigated. Glucose and ethylene glycol at different concentrations were used as carbon and energy sources. Chemical oxygen demand removal in the range of 92–98% indicated that microbial fuel cell can be used for biodegradation of ethylene glycol. Ethylene glycol also improved power generation and the maximum power density was 5.72 mW/m² (137.32 mW/m³), with respect to the same glucose and ethylene glycol concentrations (500 ppm).     

Seismic Rehabilitation of Tall Steel Moment Resisting Frames Damaged by Fire with SMA-Based Hybrid Friction Damper

International Journal of Steel Structures - The existence probability of buildings, which have been under fire and not been collapsed for various reasons is not low, thus they are in dangerous...     

Development of a model for dimethyl ether non-adiabatic reactors to improve methanol conversion

The modeling of adiabatic and non-adiabatic reactors, using three cooling mediums in the shell side of a shell and tube reactor in cocurrent and countercurrent flow regimes has been conducted. The cooling mediums used in this research are saturated water and methanol feed gas to a reactor which is preheated in the shell side and a special type of oil. The results of adiabatic reactor modeling show good compatibility with the data received from a commercial plant. The results of non-adiabatic reactor modeling showed that more methanol conversion can be achieved in a lower length of reactor, even though in some cases the maximum temperature in the tube side of the reactor is more than the deactivation temperature of the catalyst.     

Saccharomyces cerevisiae for the biosorption of basic dyes from binary component systems and the high order derivative spectrophotometric method for simultaneous analysis of Brilliant green and Methylene blue

In this work, biosorption of Brilliant green (BG) and Methylene blue (MB) dyes in binary mixture onto Saccharomyces cerevisiae were studied. pH at which the biosorption capacity of biomass is maximum was found to be 6 which is close to the pH of natural aqueous solutions. This is a big advantage of S. cerevisiae which makes it applicable for the technology of dye removal from natural aqueous dye solutions. Note that the time for the applied biosorption process for the dye removal is considerably short (about 5 min) which is a big improvement for the adsorption processes. This proves that the S. cerevisiae is a promising adsorbent. The BG and MB dyes were simultaneously analyzed using the fifth and fourth order derivative spectrophotometric method, respectively. Several isotherm models were applied to experimental data and the isotherm constants were calculated for BG and MB dyes. Among the applied models, Freundlich isotherm model showed best fit to the biosorption equilibrium data.     

Estimation of the effect of biomass moisture content on the direct combustion of sugarcane bagasse in boilers

Many of the large-scale biomass combustion systems for producing heat, hot water, or steam accept biomass fuels containing relatively large amounts of moisture. Dry biomass burns at higher temperatures and thermal efficiencies than wet biomass. Flame temperature is directly related to the amount of heat necessary to evaporate the moisture contained in the biomass, the lower the moisture content, the lower the amount of energy needed to remove the water and the higher the boiler efficiency. In this article, a simple predictive tool is developed to estimate boiler efficiency as a function of stack gas temperature and sugarcane bagasse moisture content. The method quantitatively illustrates the effect of moisture content on the performance of a thermochemical process, for the direct combustion of sugarcane bagasse in a conventional boiler. The results are found to be in excellent agreement with reported data in the literature with average absolute deviation being around 1%. The tool developed in this study can be of immense practical value for engineers to have a quick check on biomass moisture content on the boiler performance at various conditions without opting for any experimental trials. In particular, engineers would find the approach to be user-friendly with transparent calculations involving no complex expressions.     

Rheological and thermal properties of an enteral nutrition formula for nutritional support patients using a combined mixture of gelatin and maltodextrin

Enteral nutrition is a type of nutritional support that provides the necessary sources of energy and protein for patients who suffer from dysphagia, chronic disease, and loss of appetite. In this study, a gelatin-maltodextrin binary biopolymer system has been incorporated into a semi-solid formula. The I-optimal combination design approach was used to create 19 formulations, and the dynamic rheological properties, dynamic laser scattering, and zeta potential responses were evaluated over 30 days of storage at 5°C. Solid viscoelastic behavior has been approved since G′ > G″ in the frequency sweep test with no cross-over point. Maltodextrin may interfere within the gelatin network, and increasing the maltodextrin to gelatin (from 0.14 to 1) may lead to a wider linear viscoelastic (LVE) strain range (2.16%), a lower storage modulus at LVE (52%), a lower yield stress (46%), and a lower glass transition temperature (34%). The presence of maltodextrin may reduce the temperature of the sol-to-solid transformation by 48% and enhance its flexibility. In contrast, increasing the gelatin-to-maltodextrin ratio following melting at 37°C led to an increase in the cumulant mean and polydispersity index, indicating a relatively unstable system. The range of zeta potential values between −4.4 and 1.7 mV confirmed a tendency toward coagulation. Microscopic images revealed instability because of irregular or compact chains formed in the gelatin matrix by using higher amounts of maltodextrin. Finally, the best formula had the best rheological stability and was suitable for tube-feeding patients, with a gelatin-to-maltodextrin ratio of 4.35:3.64% w/w on day 17.4.