Numerical study of magnetic particles mixing in waste water under an external magnetic field

The combination of nanotechnology and microfluidics may offer an effective water and wastewater treatment. A novel approach combines the use of magnetic particles which can capture heavy metal impurities in microfluidic ducts. The purpose of this study is to investigate the mixing mechanism of two water streams, one with magnetic particles and the other with wastewater. The optimum mixing is obtained when particles are uniformly distributed along the volume of water in the duct for the combined action of a permanent, spatially and temporally aligned magnetic field. Results showed that mixing is enhanced as the frequency of the magnetic field decreases or its amplitude increases, while magnetic gradient is found to play an insignificant role in the present configuration. Moreover, for simulations with low frequency, the mean concentration of particles is found to be twice as high as compared to the cases with higher frequency. Optimum distribution of particles inside the micromixer is observed for the combination of 0.6 T, 8 T/m and 5 Hz for the magnetic magnitude, gradient and frequency, respectively, where concentration reaches the optimal value of 0.77 mg/mL along the volume of the duct.

The optomotor response and spatial resolution of the visual system in male Xenos vesparum (Strepsiptera)

The Strepsiptera are an enigmatic group of parasitic insects whose phylogenetic relationships are hotly debated. Male Strepsiptera have very unusual compound eyes, in which each of a small number of ommatidia possesses a retina of at least 60 retinula cells. We analysed the optomotor response of Xenos vesparum males to determine whether spatial resolution in these eyes is limited by the interommatidial angle or by the higher resolution potentially provided by the extended array of retinula cells within each ommatidium. We find that the optomotor response in Strepsiptera has a typical bandpass characteristic in the temporal domain, with a temporal frequency optimum at 1–3 Hz. As a function of spatial wavelength, the optomotor response is zero at grating periods below 12 degrees and reaches its maximum strength at grating periods between 60 degrees and 70 degrees. To identify the combination of interommatidial angles and angular sensitivity functions that would generate such a spatial characteristic, we used motion detection theory to model the spatial tuning function of the strepsipteran optomotor response. We found the best correspondence between the measured response profile and theoretical prediction for an irregular array of sampling distances spaced around 9 degrees (half the estimated interommatidial angle) and an angular sensitivity function of approximately 50 degrees, which corresponds to the angular extent of the retina we estimated at the centre of curvature of the lens. Our behavioural data strongly suggest that, at least for the optomotor response, the resolution of the strepsipteran compound eye is limited by the ommatidial sampling array and not by the array of retinula cells within each ommatidium. We discuss the significance of these results in relation to the functional organisation of strepsipteran compound eyes, their evolution and the role of vision in these insects.