Study of Intra-Chamber Processes in Solid Rocket Motors by Fiber Optic Sensors

In this study, an experimental study of the burning rate of solid fuel in a model solid propellant rocket motor (SRM) E-5-0 was conducted using a non-invasive control method with fiber-optic sensors (FOSs). Three sensors based on the Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI), fixed on the SRM E-5-0, recorded the vibration signal during the entire cycle of solid fuel burning. The results showed that, when using MZI sensors, the non-invasive control of solid fuel burnout is made possible both by recording the time of arrival of the combustion front to the sensor and by analyzing the peaks on the spectrogram of the recorded FOS signal. The main mode of acoustic vibrations of the chamber of the model SRM is longitudinal, and it changes with time, depending on the chamber length. Longitudinal modes of the combustion chamber were detected by MZI only after the combustion front passed its fixing point, and the microphone was unable to register them at all. The results showed that the combustion rate was practically constant after the first second, which was confirmed by the graph of the pressure versus time at the nozzle exit.

Advanced Micro-Actuator/Robot Fabrication Using Ultrafast Laser Direct Writing and Its Remote Control

Two-photon polymerization (TPP) based on the femtosecond laser (fs laser) direct writing technique in the realization of high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) shapes is spotlighted as a unique and promising processing technique. It is also interesting that TPP can be applied to various applications in not only optics, chemistry, physics, biomedical engineering, and microfluidics but also micro-robotics systems. Effort has been made to design innovative microscale actuators, and research on how to remotely manipulate actuators is also constantly being conducted. Various manipulation methods have been devised including the magnetic, optical, and acoustic control of microscale actuators, demonstrating the great potential for non-contact and non-invasive control. However, research related to the precise control of microscale actuators is still in the early stages, and in-depth research is needed for the efficient control and diversification of a range of applications. In the future, the combination of the fs laser-based fabrication technique for the precise fabrication of microscale actuators/robots and their manipulation can be established as a next-generation processing method by presenting the possibility of applications to various areas.

Information Algorithm for Non-Invasive Evaluation of Osteoresorbable Side Effects of Glucocorticosteroids in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis

A study involving 45 patients with ulcerative colitis found that the activity of the Cathepsin K bone resorption marker measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in gingival fluid could be used as a non-invasive control over the development of steroid osteoporosis caused by systemic use of glucocorticoids. When the concentration of Cathepsin K in the gingival fluid exceeded 3.7 pmol/L, the risk of developing osteoporosis in patients with ulcerative colitis taking glucocorticosteroids on a regular basis increased by 7.9 times with a diagnostic accuracy of 82.6% (p=0.002). As a result of the study, an effective method for non-invasive assessment of osteoresorbable side effects of glucocorticosteroids in autoimmune diseases was proposed.

When Appearance Misleads: The Role of the Entomopathogen Surface in the Relationship with Its Host

Currently, potentially harmful insects are controlled mainly by chemical synthetic insecticides, but environmental emergencies strongly require less invasive control techniques. The use of biological insecticides in the form of entomopathogenic organisms is undoubtedly a fundamental resource for the biological control of insect pests in the future. These infectious agents and endogenous parasites generally act by profoundly altering the host’s physiology to death, but their success is closely related to the neutralization of the target insect’s immune response. In general, entomopathogen parasites, entomopathogenic bacteria, and fungi can counteract immune processes through the effects of secretion/excretion products that interfere with and damage the cells and molecules typical of innate immunity. However, these effects are observed in the later stages of infection, whereas the risk of being recognized and neutralized occurs very early after penetration and involves the pathogen surface components and molecular architecture; therefore, their role becomes crucial, particularly in the earliest pathogenesis. In this review, we analyze the evasion/interference strategies that entomopathogens such as the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, fungi, nematocomplexes, and wasps implement in the initial stages of infection, i.e., the phases during which body or cell surfaces play a key role in the interaction with the host receptors responsible for the immunological discrimination between self and non-self. In this regard, these organisms demonstrate evasive abilities ascribed to their body surface and cell wall; it appears that the key process of these mechanisms is the capability to modify the surface, converting it into an immunocompatible structure, or interaction that is more or less specific to host factors.

A Novel Optical Method To Reversibly Control Enzymatic Activity Based On Photoacids

Most biochemical reactions depend on the pH value of the aqueous environment and some are strongly favoured to occur in an acidic environment. A non-invasive control of pH to tightly regulate such reactions with defined start and end points is a highly desirable feature in certain applications, but has proven difficult to achieve so far. We report a novel optical approach to reversibly control a typical biochemical reaction by changing the pH and using acid phosphatase as a model enzyme. The reversible photoacid G-acid functions as a proton donor, changing the pH rapidly and reversibly by using high power UV LEDs as an illumination source in our experimental setup. The reaction can be tightly controlled by simply switching the light on and off and should be applicable to a wide range of other enzymatic reactions, thus enabling miniaturization and parallelization through non-invasive optical means.

Watching fracking in the United Kingdom: Corporate state and the hidden contradictions of shale gas controversy

The shale gas controversy in the UK has grown to enormous proportions. The government’s efforts to facilitate shale gas exploration have been matched by the surge of local and national opposition. People’s democratic concerns and the distrust of the industry rather than the physical impacts of fracking may be the main factors that motivate resistance. This, however, explains the symptoms rather than the causes of the controversy. The underlying social processes of the controversy are inherent in the emerging formations of the “corporate state”. Instead of transparency and engagement, regulatory oversight and technocratic thinking have brought about invasive control and disempowerment. The corporate state thrives within such controversies because they create conditions for the reassertion of corporatizing mechanisms, reducing the democratic potentials of society and the state.