Optimization of nucleic acid extraction methods for rapid detection in pandemic situations or diseases with high prevalence

Nucleic acid extraction(NAE)is an essential component of many assays used for diagnostic and research purposes.During a pandemic,performing NAE is associated with significant challenges due to material shortages,high costs,limited laboratory facilities,and the time required.This delays patient diagnosis and treatment,particularly in countries that do not produce NAE devices.Here,we tested several procedures to speed up the extraction process using common laboratory reagents,finding that heat-based nucleic acid extraction of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-COV2)is a detection method that can be easily implemented in laboratories,even those without centrifugation facilities.

Moving particle semi-implicit simulation on the molten Wood's metal downward relocation process

In the case of a severe accident involving nuclear reactors,an important aspect that should be considered is the leakage of molten material from the inside of the reactor into the environment.These molten materials damage other reactor components,such as electrical tubes,grid plates and core catchers.In this study,the moving particle semi-implicit(MPS)method is adopted and improved to analyze the twodimensional downward relocation process of molten Wood’s metal as a representation of molten material in a nuclear reactor.The molten material impinges the Wood’s metal plate(WMP),which is mounted on a rigid dummy stainless steel in a cylindrical test vessel.The breaching process occurs because of heat transfer between the molten material and WMP.The formed breach areas were in good agreement with the experimental results,and they showed that the molten Wood’s metal spread above the WMP.The solid WMP fraction decreased with time until it reached the termination time of the simulation.The present results show that the MPS method can be applied to simulate and analyze the downward relocation process of molten material in the grid plate of a nuclear reactor.

New insight into pyrrolic-N site effect towards the first NIR window absorption of pyrrolic-N-rich carbon dots

Controlled C-N configurations,i.e.,pyrrolic-N,pyridinic-N,and graphitic-N,are promising strategies to tailor the carbon dots’(CDs)optical properties into the first near infrared(NIR)window(650-900 nm),a responsive range for biomedical application.However,a deep understanding of the role of the C-N configuration in the CDs’properties is still challenging and thoughtprovoking owing to their complex structure.Here,an underlying pyrrolic-N concentration and position effect on the pyrrolic-N-rich CDs’absorption was comprehensively elucidated based on the integrated experimental and computational studies.The assynthesized pyrrolic-N-rich CDs exhibit a first NIR window absorption centered at 650 nm with high photothermal conversion.Pyrrolic-N concentrations from 1.4%to 11.3%and positions(edge and mid-site)were systematically investigated.A mid-site pyrrolic-N was subsequently generated after the pyrrolic-N concentration more than 10%.Edge-site pyrrolic-N induces a frontier orbital hybridization,reducing bandgap energy,while mid-site pyrrolic-N plays a critical role in inducing a first NIR window absorption owing to their high charge transfer.Also,pyrrolic-N-rich CDs inherit a bowl-like topological feature,elevating the CDs’layer thickness as much as 0.71 nm.This study shed light on the design and optimization of pyrrolic-N on CDs for the first NIR window responsive materials in any biomedical application.

Addition of surfactants to Low Salinity Waterflooding in microfluidics system to increase oil recovery

This study was conducted to investigate the phenomenon of oil removal from inside pores using a self-designed microfluidic test kit.An artificial micromodel chip as a representation of porous rocks has been created with a uniform pore structure design and made of PMMA(Polymethyl Methacrylate)material.The micromodel chip has a porosity of 27.8%as well as a permeability of 2.7 Darcy.By using the microfluidic test kit,this study has investigated how low salinity water(LSW)injection with MgCl_(2)divalent ions and the addition of anionic surfactant,linear alkylbenzene sulfonate mixed with nonionic surfactants,nonylphenol ethoxylate(NP-10)affects to oil recovery.The injection of LSW and surfactant solution was carried out with different injection stages,injection rates and surfactant solutions con-centrations.Visual images during the injection process are recorded for analysis,which is the advantage of dynamic testing using this microfluidic test kit over conventional coreflooding.From this study,it is indicated that the selection of ions contained in LSW affects the success of LSW injection.Reducing the surfactant injection rate from 50 mL/min to 20 mL/min can increase the oil recovery from 1.27%to 4.29%.Oil recovery was also higher on surfactant injection which resulted in lower interfacial tension of the system based on the calculation of interfacial tension obtained from the Chun-Huh and Ghosh equations from the Winsor test.From all injection scenarios carried out in this study,the highest increase in oil recovery of 26.87%OOIP was obtained by injecting surfactant solutions directly in the secondary stage without prior LSW injection.

Wave Interaction with an Emerged Porous Media

In this paper,we study wave interaction with an emerged porous media.The governing equation is shallow water equations with a friction term of the linearized Dupuit-Forcheimer’s formula.From the continuity of surface and horizontal flux,we derived the wave reflection and transmission coefficient formulas.They are similar with the corresponding formulas of the submerged solid bar breakwater.We solve the equations numerically using finite volume method on a staggered grid.The numerical wave reduction in the porous media confirms the analytical wave transmission curve.