When the Utility of Micro-Computed Tomography Collides with Insect Sample Preparation: An Entomologist User Guide to Solve Post-Processing Issues and Achieve Optimal 3D Models

Many techniques are used today to study insect morphology, including light and electron microscopy. Most of them require to specifically prepare the sample, precluding its use for further investigation. In contrast, micro-CT allows a sample to be studied in a non-destructive and rapid process, even without specific treatments that might hinder the use of rare and hard-to-find species in nature. We used synchrotron radiation (SR) micro-CT and conventional micro-CT to prepare 3D reconstructions of Diptera, Coleoptera, and Hymenoptera species that had been processed with 4 common preparation procedures: critical-point drying, sputter-coating, resin embedding, and air-drying. Our results showed that it is possible to further utilize insect samples prepared with the aforementioned preparation techniques for the creation of 3D models. Specimens dried at the critical point showed the best results, allowing us to faithfully reconstruct both their external surface and their internal structures, while sputter-coated insects were the most troublesome for the 3D reconstruction procedure. Air-dried specimens were suitable for external morphological analyses, while anatomical investigation of soft internal organs was not possible due to their shrinking and collapsing. The sample included in resin allowed us to reconstruct and appreciate the external cuticle and the internal parts. In this work, we demonstrate that insect samples destined to different analyses can be used for new micro-CT studies, further deepening the possibility of state-of-the-art morphological analyses.

On the modeling and simulation of coupled adsorption and thermosolutal convection in supercritical carbon dioxide

In this paper, we present a numerical study along with an exhaustive adsorption investigation in a binary dilute mixture model nearby the solvent’s critical point in a configuration relevant for soil remediation. By means of this model, mass and heat transfer efficiency were qualitatively and quantitatively discussed through this work. The convergence of the solution was evaluated on the values of the Nusselt and Sherwood numbers. The results reveal intense convection expanding into the cavity close to the critical point, thus enabling homogeneous adsorption of the solute. Moreover, the mass fraction perturbation isolines exhibit the existence, along the adsorbent plate, of a thin boundary layer which becomes thinner when approaching the critical point.

Optimal control of complex networks with conformity behavior

Despite the significant advances in identifying the driver nodes and energy requiring in network control, a framework that incorporates more complicated dynamics remains challenging. Here, we consider the conformity behavior into network control, showing that the control of undirected networked systems with conformity will become easier as long as the number of external inputs beyond a critical point. We find that this critical point is fundamentally determined by the network connectivity. In particular, we investigate the nodal structural characteristic in network control and propose optimal control strategy to reduce the energy requiring in controlling networked systems with conformity behavior. We examine those findings in various synthetic and real networks, confirming that they are prevailing in describing the control energy of networked systems. Our results advance the understanding of network control in practical applications.

Existence and multiplicity of solutions for a p(x)-biharmonic problem with Neumann boundary conditions

In this paper, we study the p(x)-biharmonique problem with Neumannboundary conditions. Using the three critical point Theorem, we establish the existence of at least threesolutions of this problem.