Electrocharging face masks with corona discharge treatment.

We detail an experimental method to electrocharge N95 facepiece respirators and face masks (FMs) made from a variety of fabrics (including non-woven polymer and knitted cloth) using corona discharge treatment (CDT). We present practical designs to construct a CDT system from commonly available parts and detail calibrations performed on different fabrics to study their electrocharging characteristics. After confirming the post-CDT structural integrity of fabrics, measurements showed that all non-woven polymer electret and only some knitted cloth fabrics are capable of charge retention. Whereas polymeric fabrics follow the well-known isothermal charging route, ion adsorption causes electrocharging in knitted cloth fabrics. Filtration tests demonstrate improved steady filtration efficiency in non-woven polymer electret filters. On the other hand, knitted cloth fabric filters capable of charge retention start with improved filtration efficiency which decays in time over up to 7 h depending on the fabric type, with filtration efficiency tracking the electric discharge. A rapid recharge for a few seconds ensures FM reuse over multiple cycles without degradation.

Electrocharged facepiece respirator fabrics using common materials.

Face masks in general, and N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FRs) that protect against SARS-Cov-2 virion in particular, have become scarce during the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. This work presents practical design principles for the fabrication of electrocharged filtration layers employed in N95 FRs using commonly available materials and easily replicable methods. The input polymer is polypropylene or polystyrene, and can include discarded plastic containers of these materials, and the fabrication set-up is based on the cotton candy (CC) principle. The primary parameters underlying the CC principle are translated to simple design rules that allow anyone to construct their own fabrication system from common parts, or employ a commercial CC machine with minimal modifications. Finally, basic characterization results for structural and filtration properties of electrocharged fabrics made using the CC principle are detailed.

Steady state dynamic dependence between local mobility and non-affine fluctuations in two-dimensional aggregates.

Motivated by qualitative experimental observations in collective behavior of self-propelled camphor particles at air-water interfaces, we study a generic aggregate forming system in two dimensions using canonical ensemble constant temperature molecular dynamics simulation. The aggregates form due to the competition between short-range attraction and long-range repulsion of pair-wise interactions as a generic proxy for the specific case of short-range capillary attraction competing with long-range Marangoni-assisted repulsion in camphor boat systems. Choosing the appropriate set of interaction parameters, we focus on characterising the local dynamics in two specific limiting morphologies, viz. compact and string-like aggregates. We focus on the temporal evolution of the mobility of an individual particle and the dynamic change in its nearest neighbourhood, measured in terms of the Debye-Waller factor ([Formula: see text]) and the non-affine parameter ([Formula: see text]), respectively (both defined in the text), and their interrelation over several lengths of observation time [Formula: see text]. The distribution for both measures are found to follow the relation: [Formula: see text] for the measured quantity x. The exponent [Formula: see text] is equal to two and one respectively, for the compact and string-like morphologies following the respective ideal fractal dimension of these aggregates. A functional dependence between these two observables is determined from a detailed statistical analysis of their joint and conditional distributions. The results obtained can readily be used and verified by experiments on aggregate forming systems more generic than the specific camphor boat system that motivated us, such as globular proteins, nanoparticle self-assembly etc. Further, the insights gained from this study might be useful to understand the evolution of collective dynamics in diverse glass-forming systems.

Second order structure functions for higher powers of turbulent velocity.

We experimentally study the temporal second-order structure functions for integer powers of turbulent fluid velocity fluctuations [Formula: see text], in three dimensional (3D) and two dimensional (2D) turbulence. Here [Formula: see text] is a composite time-series constructed by averaging the concurrent time-series ([Formula: see text]) sampled at N spatially distributed Eulerian points. The N = 1 case has been extensively studied for velocity fluctuations (m = 1) and to a lesser extent for m > 1. The averaging method in case of N > 1 diverges from the Kolmogorov framework and has not been studied because fluctuations in [Formula: see text] are expected to smooth with increasing N leaving behind uninteresting large-scale mean flow information, but we find this is not so. We report the evolution of scaling exponents [Formula: see text] for [Formula: see text] in going from a single (N = 1) to a spatial average over several Eulerian points ([Formula: see text]). Our 3D experiments in a tank with rotating jets at the floor show [Formula: see text] for all m-values in agreement with prior results and evolves to an asymptotic value of [Formula: see text]. The evolution of [Formula: see text] follows the functional form [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] points is the only fit parameter representing the convergence rate constant. Results for the 2D experiments conducted in a gravity assisted soap film in the enstrophy cascade regime are in sharp contrast with their 3D counterparts. Firstly [Formula: see text] varies polynomially with m and asymptotes to a constant value at m = 5. Secondly, the evolution of [Formula: see text] is logarithmic [Formula: see text], where A and B are fit parameters and eventually deviates at large N and asymptotes to [Formula: see text] for all m. The starkly different convergence forms (exponential in 3D versus logarithmic in 2D) may be interpreted as a signature of inter-scale couplings in the respective turbulent flows by decomposing the two-point correlator for [Formula: see text] into a self-correlation and cross-correlation term. In addition to aiding in the theoretical development, the results may also have implications for determination of resolution in 2D turbulence experiments and simulations, wind energy and atmospheric boundary layer turbulence.

Efficacy of ferric sulphate as a pulpotomy medicament in primary molars: an evidence based approach.

AIM: To evaluate the available evidence on the efficacy of ferric sulphate (FS) compared to other pulpotomy medicaments in primary molars. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was conducted through five databases (PubMed, Ovid®, EBSCOhost, Cochrane Library and ProQuest) and only those papers which met the inclusion criteria were accepted. The quality of the studies used for systematic review was rated by two independent researchers based on Fuks and Papagiannoulis (Eur Arch Paediatr Dent 7:64-71, 2006) criteria and graded as A (38-42), B1 (32-37), B2 (25-31), C (≤ 24). Inter-examiner reliability was measured using Kappa statistics. RESULTS: A total of 1371 studies were available, of which only two studies full-text articles were included for quality assessment with an excellent inter-researcher agreement (k = 0.9). The comprehensive search revealed that, none of the 20 studies obtained grade A. Only three studies were graded as B1, 5 studies received grade B2 and 12 studies attained grade C. Only 4 prospective randomised clinical trials reported high success rate with FS compared to other materials. Remaining 14 studies revealed low success rate with FS compared to other pulpotomy medicaments. CONCLUSION: There is insufficient evidence to support the application of FS as a pulpotomy medicament in primary molars in the existing English literature. Hence, properly planned randomised clinical trials with large sample size and long-term follow up are needed to support FS as an effective pulpotomy medicament compared to other traditional and new medicaments.

Force distributions in frictional granular media.

We report a joint experimental and theoretical investigation of the probability distribution functions (PDFs) of the normal and tangential (frictional) forces in amorphous frictional media. We consider both the joint PDF of normal and tangential forces together, and the marginal PDFs of normal forces separately and tangential forces separately. A maximum entropy formalism is utilized for all these cases after identifying the appropriate constraints. Excellent agreements with both experimental and simulation data are reported. The proposed joint PDF predicts giant slip events at low pressures, again in agreement with observations.

Force-chain evolution in a two-dimensional granular packing compacted by vertical tappings.

We experimentally study the statistics of force-chain evolution in a vertically-tapped two-dimensional granular packing by using photoelastic disks. In this experiment, the tapped granular packing is gradually compacted. During the compaction, the isotropy of grain configurations is quantified by measuring the deviator anisotropy derived from fabric tensor, and then the evolution of force-chain structure is quantified by measuring the interparticle forces and force-chain orientational order parameter. As packing fraction increases, the interparticle force increases and finally saturates to an asymptotic value. Moreover, the grain configurations and force-chain structures become isotropically random as the tapping-induced compaction proceeds. In contrast, the total length of force chains remains unchanged. From the correlations of those parameters, we find two relations: (i) a positive correlation between the isotropy of grain configurations and the disordering of force-chain orientations, and (ii) a negative correlation between the increasing of interparticle forces and the disordering of force-chain orientations. These relations are universally held regardless of the mode of particle motions with or without convection.

Influence of surface tension in the surfactant-driven fracture of closely-packed particulate monolayers.

A phase-field model is used to capture the surfactant-driven formation of fracture patterns in particulate monolayers. The model is intended for the regime of closely-packed systems in which the mechanical response of the monolayer can be approximated as that of a linearly elastic solid. The model approximates the loss in tensile strength of the monolayer with increasing surfactant concentration through the evolution of a damage field. Initial-boundary value problems are constructed and spatially discretized with finite element approximations to the displacement and surfactant damage fields. A comparison between model-based simulations and existing experimental observations indicates a qualitative match in both the fracture patterns and temporal scaling of the fracture process. The importance of surface tension differences is quantified by means of a dimensionless parameter, revealing thresholds that separate different regimes of fracture. These findings are supported by newly performed experiments that validate the model and demonstrate the strong sensitivity of the fracture pattern to differences in surface tension.

Spectrum of Wind Power Fluctuations.

Wind power fluctuations for an individual turbine and plant have been widely reported to follow the Kolmogorov spectrum of atmospheric turbulence; both vary with a fluctuation time scale τ as τ^{2/3}. Yet, this scaling has not been explained through turbulence theory. Using turbines as probes of turbulence, we show the τ^{2/3} scaling results from a large scale influence of atmospheric turbulence. Owing to this long-range influence spanning 100s of kilometers, when power from geographically distributed wind plants is summed into aggregate power at the grid, fluctuations average (geographic smoothing) and their scaling steepens from τ^{2/3}→τ^{4/3}, beyond which further smoothing is not possible. Our analysis demonstrates grids have already reached this τ^{4/3} spectral limit to geographic smoothing.

Hydrodynamic Signatures of Stationary Marangoni-Driven Surfactant Transport.

We experimentally study steady Marangoni-driven surfactant transport on the interface of a deep water layer. Using hydrodynamic measurements, and without using any knowledge of the surfactant physicochemical properties, we show that sodium dodecyl sulphate and Tergitol 15-S-9 introduced in low concentrations result in a flow driven by adsorbed surfactant. At higher surfactant concentration, the flow is dominated by the dissolved surfactant. Using camphoric acid, whose properties are a priori unknown, we demonstrate this method's efficacy by showing its spreading is adsorption dominated.

Mind the gap: Neural coding of species identity in birdsong prosody.

Juvenile songbirds learn vocal communication from adult tutors of the same species but not from adults of other species. How species-specific learning emerges from the basic features of song prosody remains unknown. In the zebra finch auditory cortex, we discovered a class of neurons that register the silent temporal gaps between song syllables and are distinct from neurons encoding syllable morphology. Behavioral learning and neuronal coding of temporal gap structure resisted song tutoring from other species: Zebra finches fostered by Bengalese finch parents learned Bengalese finch song morphology transposed onto zebra finch temporal gaps. During the vocal learning period, temporal gap neurons fired selectively to zebra finch song. The innate temporal coding of intersyllable silent gaps suggests a neuronal barcode for conspecific vocal learning and social communication in acoustically diverse environments.

Morphology dictated heterogeneous dynamics in two-dimensional aggregates.

Particulate aggregates occur in a variety of non-equilibrium steady-state morphologies ranging from finite-size compact crystalline structures to non-compact string-like conformations. This diversity is due to the competition between pair-wise short range attraction and long range repulsion between particles. We identify different microscopic mechanisms in action by following the simulated particle trajectories for different morphologies in two dimensions at a fixed density and temperature. In particular, we show that the compact clusters are governed by symmetric caging of particles by their nearest neighbors while sidewise asymmetric binding of particles leads to non-compact aggregates. The measured timescales for these two mechanisms are found to be distinctly different providing phenomenological evidence of a relation between microstructure and dynamics of particulate aggregates. Supporting these findings, the time dependent diffusivity is observed to differ across the morphological hierarchy, while the average long-time dynamics is, in general, sub-diffusive at 'low' temperatures. Finally, one generic relation between diffusivity and structural randomness, applicable to simple equilibrium systems, is validated for complex aggregate forming systems through further analysis of the same system at different temperatures.

Sensitivity of Granular Force Chain Orientation to Disorder-Induced Metastable Relaxation.

A two-dimensional system of photoelastic disks subject to vertical tapping against gravity was experimentally monitored from ordered to disordered configurations by varying bidispersity. The packing fraction ϕ, coordination number Z, and an appropriately defined force-chain orientational order parameter S all exhibit as similar sharp transition with a small increase in disorder. A measurable change in S, but not ϕ and Z, was detected under tapping. We find disorder-induced metastability does not show configurational relaxation, but can be detected via force-chain reorientations.

Pressure-driven occlusive flow of a confined red blood cell.

When red blood cells (RBCs) move through narrow capillaries in the microcirculation, they deform as they flow. In pathophysiological processes such as sickle cell disease and malaria, RBC motion and flow are severely restricted. To understand this threshold of occlusion, we use a combination of experiment and theory to study the motion of a single swollen RBC through a narrow glass capillary of varying inner diameter. By tracking the movement of the squeezed cell as it is driven by a controlled pressure drop, we measure the RBC velocity as a function of the pressure gradient as well as the local capillary diameter, and find that the effective blood viscosity in this regime increases with both decreasing RBC velocity and tube radius by following a power-law that depends upon the length of the confined cell. Our observations are consistent with a simple elasto-hydrodynamic model and highlight the role of lateral confinement in the occluded pressure-driven slow flow of soft confined objects.

Focus on the diagnostic problems of primary adenocarcinoma of the third and fourth portion of the duodenum. Case report.

Although the small intestine constitutes over 75% of the length and 90% of the mucosal surface of the gastrointestinal tract, small intestine cancer is rare and accounts for only 1% of gastrointestinal malignancies. Adenocarcinoma together with carcinoid tumours are the most common histological types of primary malignant tumours of the small bowel but others, including lymphoma and leiomyosarcoma, may less frequently be encountered. Adenocarcinomas are predominantly located in the duodenum. Primary adenocarcinoma of the duodenum is a rare malignant tumor, accounting for 0.3-0.5% of all gastroenteral malignancies. The diagnosis of primary adenocarcinoma of duodenum is often delayed because its symptoms and signs are nonspecific. In this work we want to focus on the diagnostic and therapeutic problems of duodenal adenocarcinoma, reporting a case report.

A minimal description of morphological hierarchy in two-dimensional aggregates.

A dimensionless parameter Λ is proposed to describe a hierarchy of morphologies in two-dimensional (2D) aggregates formed due to varying competition between short-range attraction and long-range repulsion. Structural transitions from finite non-compact to compact to percolated structures are observed in the configurations simulated by molecular dynamics at a constant temperature and density. Configurational randomness across the transition, measured by the two-body excess entropy S2, exhibits data collapse with the average potential energy [small epsilon, Greek, macron] of the systems. Independent master curves are presented among S2, the reduced second virial coefficient B2* and Λ, justifying this minimal description. This work lays out a coherent basis for the study of 2D aggregate morphologies relevant to diverse nano- and bio-processes.

Isolated splenic metastasis of ovaric cancer. Case report and literature review.

Splenic metastasis is extremely rare and are usually found in conjunction with metastasis of other organs. In addition, late recurrence even after 10 years of operation is very unusual. The most common sources of splenic metastasis are lung, colonrectal, melanoma, breast and ovarian carcinoma. We present a case of 67 year old woman who was admitted to our department with a solitary splenic metastases after hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy for ovaric carcinoma 10 years ago. In conclusion, solitary splenic metastasis are very rare and the incidence of the reported cases in the medical literature is increasing. The treatment of choice is laparoscopic splenectomy that must be followed by chemotherapy in order to prevent the development of other possible micrometastases.

Sigmoid volvulus: is it a possible complication after stapled transanal rectal resection (STARR)?

We report a case of sigmoid volvulus post-stapled transanal rectal resection (STARR) for obstructed defecation. The patient, a 68-yearold woman with chronic constipation and dolichosigma, two days post-STARR presented severe abdominal pain. CT revealed sigmoid ischemia. The patient underwent resection of the sigmoid colon with end colostomy (Hartmann's procedure). Can STARR procedure produce a serious complication as sigmoid volvulus in patient with dolichosigma and obstructed defecation syndrome?

One-stage laparoscopic procedure for a patient with bilateral colorectal tumours and renal carcinoma.

We describe a case of a patient with synchronous bilateral colorectal tumours and renal carcinoma who underwent one-stage laparoscopic surgery procedure with right transperitoneal nefrectomy, right hemicolectomy and sigmoidectomy. One-stage laparoscopic procedure can be used safely and successfully for a patient with multiple primary tumours.

Fragility and hysteretic creep in frictional granular jamming.

The granular jamming transition is experimentally investigated in a two-dimensional system of frictional, bidispersed disks subject to quasistatic, uniaxial compression without vibrational disturbances (zero granular temperature). Three primary results are presented in this experimental study. First, using disks with different static friction coefficients (µ), we experimentally verify numerical results that predict jamming onset at progressively lower packing fractions with increasing friction. Second, we show that the first compression cycle measurably differs from subsequent cycles. The first cycle is fragile-a metastable configuration with simultaneous jammed and unjammed clusters-over a small packing fraction interval (φ(1)<φ<φ(2)) and exhibits simultaneous exponential rise in pressure and exponential decrease in disk displacements over the same packing fraction interval. This fragile behavior is explained through a percolation mechanism of stressed contacts where cluster growth exhibits spatial correlation with disk displacements and contributes to recent results emphasizing fragility in frictional jamming. Control experiments show that the fragile state results from the experimental incompatibility between the requirements for zero friction and zero granular temperature. Measurements with several disk materials of varying elastic moduli E and friction coefficients µ show that friction directly controls the start of the fragile state but indirectly controls the exponential pressure rise. Finally, under repetitive loading (compression) and unloading (decompression), we find the system exhibits pressure hysteresis, and the critical packing fraction φ(c) increases slowly with repetition number. This friction-induced hysteretic creep is interpreted as the granular pack's evolution from a metastable to an eventual structurally stable configuration. It is shown to depend on the quasistatic step size Δφ, which provides the only perturbative mechanism in the experimental protocol, and the friction coefficient µ, which acts to stabilize the pack.