Rheotaxis and migration of an unsteady microswimmer

Rheotaxis and migration of cells in a flow field have been investigated intensively owing to their importance in biology, physiology and engineering. In this study, first, we report our experiments showing that the microalgae Chlamydomonas can orient against the channel flow and migrate to the channel centre. Second, by performing boundary element simulations, we demonstrate that the mechanism of the observed rheotaxis and migration has a physical origin. Last, using a simple analytical model, we reveal the novel physical mechanisms of rheotaxis and migration, specifically the interplay between cyclic body deformation and cyclic swimming velocity in the channel flow. The discovered mechanism can be as important as phototaxis and gravitaxis, and likely plays a role in the movement of other natural microswimmers and artificial microrobots with non-reciprocal body deformation.

Proposed Method of Distribution of Horizontal Loads on Stiffening Walls

Numerical methods are commonly used to determine internal forces in stiffening walls. Extreme internal forces can be easily generated not only in slab-and-wall structure, but also in the bar system. It is always time-consuming to build such a structure, thus it is not used in single- or multi-family buildings with a simple wall arrangement. Then, a simple analytical model can be used to calculate internal forces in walls. Eurocode 6 (prEN 1996-1-1:2017) does not contain specific guidelines to calculate internal forces in walls and to use numerical methods or other reliable methods. This paper presents the procedure for determining internal forces in a building with a simple wall arrangement. The proposed method is based on the division of a wall with openings into components. The results were compared with values of internal forces determined by the linear elastic FE shell model. Rotation centre (RC) of the wall plan was demonstrated to be a significant factor which, besides bending and shear stiffness, had an impact on load distribution.

Hydraulic Control of a Buck Converter

This paper investigates a concept for the pure hydraulic control of a buck converter using a hydraulically piloted 2-2 way on-off valve. The pilot system is controlled by the desired output pressure of the buck converter in form of a pressure signal and the RC filtered feedback of the actual pressure. These pressures act via small plunger cylinders in opposite direction on the on-off valve. An additional pilot cylinder features a jumping active hydraulic area for a robust feedback. The valve performs close to rectangular oscillations, the frequency of which is mainly determined by the characteristic time of the RC filter. The concept is studied by a simple analytical model to obtain its basic operating characteristics and by a detailed numerical model to analyze the role of parasitic effects on system performance. The paper shows that this concept works and can robustly follow the commanded output pressure. The converter has a moderate response dynamics; in certain operation conditions it shows an aperiodic behavior by alternating between phases of periodic switching and pause.

The Increased Likelihood in the 21st Century for a Tropical Cyclone to Rapidly Intensify When Crossing a Warm Ocean Feature—A Simple Model’s Prediction

A warm ocean feature (WOF) is a blob of the ocean’s surface where the sea-surface temperature (SST) is anomalously warmer than its adjacent ambient SST. Examples are warm coastal seas in summer, western boundary currents, and warm eddies. Several studies have suggested that a WOF may cause a crossing tropical cyclone (TC) to undergo rapid intensification (RI). However, testing the “WOF-induced RI” hypothesis is difficult due to many other contributing factors that can cause RI. The author develops a simple analytical model with ocean feedback to estimate TC rapid intensity change across a WOF. It shows that WOF-induced RI is unlikely in the present climate when the ambient SST is ≲29.5 °C and the WOF anomaly is ≲+1 °C. This conclusion agrees well with the result of a recent numerical ensemble experiment. However, the simple model also indicates that RI is very sensitive to the WOF anomaly, much more so than the ambient SST. Thus, as coastal seas and western boundary currents are warming more rapidly than the adjacent open oceans, the model suggests a potentially increased likelihood in the 21st century of WOF-induced RIs across coastal seas and western boundary currents. Particularly vulnerable are China’s and Japan’s coasts, where WOF-induced RI events may become more common.

Proactive COVID-19 testing in a partially vaccinated population

During the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, many workplaces and universities implemented institution-wide proactive testing programs of all individuals, ir-respective of symptoms. These measures have proven effective in mitigating outbreaks. As a greater fraction of the population becomes vaccinated, we need to understand what continued benefit, if any, proactive testing can contribute. Here, we address this problem with two distinct modeling approaches: a simple analytical model and a more simulation using the SEIRS+ platform. Both models indicate that proactive testing remains useful until a threshold level of vaccination is reached. This threshold depends on the transmissibility of the virus and the scope of other control measures in place. If a community is able to reach the threshold level of vaccination, testing can cease. Otherwise, continued testing will be an important component of disease control. Because it is usually difficult or impossible to precisely estimate key parameters such as the basic reproduction number for a specific workplace or other setting, our results are more useful for understanding general trends than for making precise quantitative predictions.

Ensemble epistasis: thermodynamic origins of non-additivity between mutations

Epistasis—when mutations combine non-additively—is a profoundly important aspect of biology. It is often difficult to understand its mechanistic origins. Here we show that epistasis can arise from the thermodynamic ensemble, or the set of interchanging conformations a protein adopts. Ensemble epistasis occurs because mutations can have different effects on different conformations of the same protein, leading to non-additive effects on its average, observable properties. Using a simple analytical model, we found that ensemble epistasis arises when two conditions are met: 1) a protein populates at least three conformations and 2) mutations have differential effects on at least two conformations. To explore the relative magnitude of ensemble epistasis, we performed a virtual deep-mutational scan of the allosteric signaling protein S100A4. We found that 47% of mutation pairs exhibited ensemble epistasis with a magnitude on the order of thermal fluctuations. We observed many forms of epistasis: magnitude, sign, and reciprocal sign epistasis. The same mutation pair could even exhibit different forms of epistasis under different environmental conditions. The ubiquity of thermodynamic ensembles in biology and the pervasiveness of ensemble epistasis in our dataset suggests that it may be a common mechanism of epistasis in proteins and other macromolecules.

Self-excited Vibration of Ink Rollers

A vibration having a character of self-excited chatter oscillation known from machine tools is observed during intermittent motion of ink rollers of offset printing machines. This vibration occurs under specific operating conditions and is often accompanied by an increased noise level. To explain this unusual vibration behavior, a simple analytical model of two rollers interaction is derived. The calculated oscillation is compared with the measurement of ductor roller displacement. The model results confirm the possibility of self-excited vibration development in the presence of viscous forces, negative damping effects and continuous supply of external energy from roller rotation.