Construction of periodic and solitary wave solutions for the complex nonlinear evolution equations

In this paper, we present a functional variable method for finding periodic wave and solitary wave solutions of complex nonlinear evolution equations in mathematical physics and engineering sciences. The proposed technique is tested on the generalized Zakharov equation and higher-order nonlinear Schrödinger equations. The method is straightforward and concise, and it can also be applied to other nonlinear evolution equations in applied mathematics.     

A new industry creation and originality: Insight from the funding sources of university patents

Scientific breakthroughs coming from universities can contribute to the emergence of new industries, such as in the case of biotechnology. Obviously, not all research conducted in universities leads to a radical change from existing technological trajectories. Patents and patent dynamics have long been recognized as critical in understanding the emergence of new technologies and industries. Specifically, patent citations provide insight into the originality of a discovery that has received patent protection. Yet while a large body of literature addresses the impact of patent originality on various firm performance measures, we address the question of what conditions drive patent originality in the process of knowledge creation within the university. Using data on patented cancer research, we examine how research context – as reflected by the funding source for each scientist – is associated with patent originality. We find that when university scientists are partly funded by their own university, they have a higher propensity to generate more original patents. By contrast, university scientists funded either by industry or other non-university organizations have a lower propensity to generate more original patents. The significance of our findings in the cancer research setting call for further research on this question in other research fields.     

Biochemical Evaluation of Patients of Alcoholic Liver Disease and Non-alcoholic Liver Disease

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is due to excessive alcohol intake for long duration. Distinguishing ALD from non-ALD (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, hepatitis of viral origin) is difficult as patient may deny alcohol abuse. Clinical examination, histology and serology may not differentiate these conditions. Accurate diagnosis is important as management of ALD differs from non-ALD patients. The aim of our study was (1) To evaluate the patients of ALD and non-ALD by biochemical parameters compared to controls, (2) To assess whether these parameters can differentiate ALD from non-ALD. Study was carried out on 50 patients of ALD in group I and 35 patients of NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis) and acute viral hepatitis each in group II. Age matched healthy controls n = 50. Selection criteria—history of alcohol intake (amount and duration), clinical examination, sonography of abdomen, serum alanine transaminase (ALT) and bilirubin levels. Blood samples were analyzed for bilirubin, aspartate transaminase (AST), ALT, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) by kinetic method. Statistical analysis was done by Student unpaired ‘t’ test. Patients of ALD have raised AST/ALT ratio (De Ritis ratio) (>2), ALP and GGT compared to controls (P < 0.01).There is significant difference in AST/ALT ratio, serum GGT and ALP in ALD group compared to that in NASH and acute viral hepatitis (P < 0.05). This study suggests that De Ritis ratio >2 in ALD patients may be due to alcohol induced hepatic mitochondrial injury and pyridoxine deficiency. High GGT and ALP values may indicate enzyme induction by alcohol and mild cholestasis. Thus ALD patients have severe hepatic damage. De Ritis ratio <1 and normal to mild elevation in GGT level in NASH and acute viral hepatitis suggest mild hepatic injury of non-alcoholic origin. Our study concludes that ALD patients can be differentiated from NASH and acute viral hepatitis with certainty by measuring serum AST/ALT ratio, GGT and ALP. These biochemical parameters may help clinicians to support the diagnosis of ALD and non-ALD.     

A Review on the Role of Nutraceuticals as Simple as Se2+ to Complex Organic Molecules Such as Glycyrrhizin That Prevent as Well as Cure Diseases

Nutraceuticals are nutritional medicines which are present in edible food items. Most of them are antioxidants with various other biological properties viz, anti inflammatory, anti atherogenic, anticancer, anti viral, anti aging properties etc. They are as simple as minerals like Se²⁺ to complex organic molecules such as glycyrrhizin (Ca²⁺, K⁺ salts of glycyrrhizic acid). They can prevent as well as cure various diseases. Most of the medical people are not aware of the importance of the nutraceuticals as such matters are not part of their text books. Many still think that vitamins are the major nutritional medicines. Actually other dietary principles like terpenes, carotenes, phytosterols, polyphenols, flavanoids, di and poly sulphides, their sulfoxides and their precursor amino acids are necessary to scavenge free radicals in the body which are reactive oxygen species to protect and maintain the vitamin levels in the body. They down regulate the activities of those enzymes which are increased in diseases and they increase those that remove oxidants and detoxify carcinogens. They are immune boosters too. Recently glucosinolates, non toxic alkaloids, certain proteins and even fiber are included in the list of nutraceuticals.     

Investigation of the heat transfer of a non-Newtonian fluid flow in an axisymmetric channel with porous wall using Parameterized Perturbation Method (PPM)

In the present article Parameterized Perturbation Method (PPM) is used to obtain the solutions of momentum and heat transfer equations of non-Newtonian fluid flow in an axisymmetric channel with porous wall for turbine cooling applications. The validity of the results of PPM solution were verified by comparison with numerical results obtained using a fourth order Runge–Kutta method. These comparisons reveal that Parameterized Perturbation Method is a powerful approach for solving this problem. The analytical investigation is carried out for different governing parameters namely, Reynolds number, injection Reynolds number, Prandtl number and power law index. The results show that skin friction coefficient increases with increase of Reynolds number, especially at high Reynolds numbers. Also it can be found that Nusselt number has direct relationship with Reynolds number, Prandtl number and power law index.     

Finite-time sliding mode flow control design via reduced model for a connection-oriented communication network

This paper addresses the flow control design of a connection-oriented communication network from the robust control theory perspective. Network is modelled as a nth order discrete system whose first order model is obtained using the two-time scale property associated with the process. The proposed scheme is characterised by an equivalent control based discrete sliding mode design for the first order model which is applied to nth order systems through aggregation. Besides its design simplicity, the proposed method exhibits finite time convergence property for the states while applied to the full order system emulating the characteristics of terminal sliding mode in a certain way. Simulation results via Matlab and ns-2 validate the efficacy of the proposed algorithm as an effective flow controller for connection-oriented networks.     

How to conduct External Quality Assessment Schemes for the pre-analytical phase?

In laboratory medicine, several studies have described the most frequent errors in the different phases of the total testing process, and a large proportion of these errors occur in the pre-analytical phase. Schemes for registration of errors and subsequent feedback to the participants have been conducted for decades concerning the analytical phase by External Quality Assessment (EQA) organizations operating in most countries. The aim of the paper is to present an overview of different types of EQA schemes for the pre-analytical phase, and give examples of some existing schemes. So far, very few EQA organizations have focused on the pre-analytical phase, and most EQA organizations do not offer pre-analytical EQA schemes (EQAS). It is more difficult to perform and standardize pre-analytical EQAS and also, accreditation bodies do not ask the laboratories for results from such schemes. However, some ongoing EQA programs for the pre-analytical phase do exist, and some examples are given in this paper. The methods used can be divided into three different types; collecting information about pre-analytical laboratory procedures, circulating real samples to collect information about interferences that might affect the measurement procedure, or register actual laboratory errors and relate these to quality indicators. These three types have different focus and different challenges regarding implementation, and a combination of the three is probably necessary to be able to detect and monitor the wide range of errors occurring in the pre-analytical phase.     

Computational investigations of the mixing performance inside liquid slugs generated by a microfluidic T-junction

Droplet-based microfluidics has gained extensive research interest as it overcomes several challenges confronted by conventional single-phase microfluidics. The mixing performance inside droplets/slugs is critical in many applications such as advanced material syntheses and in situ kinetic measurements. In order to understand the effects of operating conditions on the mixing performance inside liquid slugs generated by a microfluidic T-junction, we have adopted the volume of fluid method coupled with the species transport model to study and quantify the mixing efficiencies inside slugs. Our simulation results demonstrate that an efficient mixing process is achieved by the intimate collaboration of the twirling effect and the recirculating flow. Only if the reagents are distributed transversely by the twirling effect, the recirculating flow can bring in convection mechanism thus facilitating mixing. By comparing the mixing performance inside slugs at various operating conditions, we find that slug size plays the key role in influencing the mixing performance as it determines the amount of fluid to be distributed by the twirling effect. For the cases where short slugs are generated, the mixing process is governed by the fast convection mechanism because the twirling effect can distribute the fluid to the flow path of the recirculating flow effectively. For cases with long slugs, the mixing process is dominated by the slow diffusion mechanism since the twirling effect is insufficient to distribute the large amount of fluid. In addition, our results show that increasing the operating velocity has limited effects on improving the mixing performance. This study provides the insight of the mixing process and may benefit the design and operations of droplet-based microfluidics.     

A combined microfluidic-microstencil method for patterning biomolecules and cells

Despite the myriad of soft lithography based micropatterning methods available to researchers, it is still challenging to define small features (10–100 μm) that are spaced far apart (1–10 mm). In this report, we describe a combined microfluidic-microstencil patterning method that can produce multifunctional substrates of small features, O(10 μm), with a large pitch, O(1 mm). In that, we fabricate microstencils using an UV curable polyurethane (Norland Optical Adhesive 81) with dense arrays of 10–100 μm holes. Overlaying arrays of microfluidic channels over these microstencils allow for the control of the spacing between features and the ability to pattern multiple substrates. We show that this method is capable of patterning soluble proteins, fibrillar insoluble collagen, liposomes, cells, and nanoparticles. We demonstrate the utility of the method by measuring platelet adhesion under flow to three adhesive proteins (insoluble fibrillar collagen, laminin, and reconstituted acid solubilized collagen fibers) in a single assay.     

Effective cell collection method using collagenase and ultrasonic vibration

This study proposes a novel cell collection method based on collagenase treatment and ultrasonic vibration. The method collects calf chondrocytes from a reusable metal cell culture substrate. To develop our concept, we calculated the natural vibration modes of the cell culture substrate by a finite element method, and conducted eigenvalue and piezoelectric-structural analyses. Selecting the first out-of-plane vibration mode of the substrate, which has a single nodal circle, we designed and fabricated the cell collection device. The excited vibration mode properly realized our intentions. We then evaluated the cell collection ratio and the growth response, and observed the morphology of the collected cells. The collagenase and ultrasonic vibration treatment collected comparable numbers of cells to conventional trypsin and pipetting treatment, but improved the proliferating cell statistics. Morphological observations revealed that the membranes of cells collected by the proposed method remain intact; consequently, the cells are larger and rougher than cells collected by the conventional method. Therefore, we present a promising cell collection method for adhesive cell culturing process.