A Tale of Two Fractals: The Hofstadter Butterfly and The Integral Apollonian Gaskets

This paper unveils a mapping between a quantum fractal that describes a physical phenomena, and an abstract geometrical fractal. The quantum fractal is the Hofstadter butterfly discovered in 1976 in an iconic condensed matter problem of electrons moving in a two-dimensional lattice in a transverse magnetic field. The geometric fractal is the integer Apollonian gasket characterized in terms of a 300 BC problem of mutually tangent circles. Both of these fractals are made up of integers. In the Hofstadter butterfly, these integers encode the topological quantum numbers of quantum Hall conductivity. In the Apollonian gaskets an infinite number of mutually tangent circles are nested inside each other, where each circle has integer curvature. The mapping between these two fractals reveals a hidden threefold symmetry embedded in the kaleidoscopic images that describe the asymptotic scaling properties of the butterfly. This paper also serves as a mini review of these fractals, emphasizing their hierarchical aspects in terms of Farey fractions

Multiphase flow measurement in the slug regime using ultrasonic measurement techniques and slug closure model

Multiphase flow in the oil and gas industry covers a wide range of flows. Thus, over the last decade, the investigation, development and use of multiphase flow metering system have been a major focus for the industry worldwide. However, these meters do not perform well in slug flow conditions. The present work involves experimental investigations of multiphase flow measurement under slug flow conditions. A two-phase gas/liquid facility was designed and constructed at Cranfield University. It consisted of a 0.05 m diameter 25 m long horizontal pipeline with the necessary instrumentation. An ultrasonic multiphase metering concept has been proposed and investigated. The concept was based on the combination of non-invasive and non-intrusive ultrasonic sensors and a slug closure model. The slug closure model was based on the "slug unit" model to infer the gas and liquid phase volumetric flowrates. The slug characteristics obtained by non-invasive and non-intrusive ultrasonic techniques were inputs to slug closure model which calculates the factors KI (Liquid), K2 (Liquid), K3 (Gas) and K4 (Gas). These factors are function of the slip ratio in the slug body, flow profile (CO), drift velocity (Vd), liquid holdup and gas void fraction in slug body, slug length, film length, and the total length of the slug unit. Based on ultrasonic sensor measurements, the slug translational velocity was estimated and the slug closure model then calculates the gas and liquid phase volumetric flowrates. Air water slug flow data were gathered and processed for a range of superficial velocities VSL=0.3 to 1.03 ms'1 and VsG=0.6 to 3.01 ms'1. The overall goal of a 5% relative error metering for both phases was not achieved for the conditions tested. The liquid phase percentage errors were from -63.6% to 45.4% while the gas phase percentage errors were from 42% to -14.6%. Key words: slug flow, slug characteristics, slug closure model, non-invasive ultrasonic, non-intrusive ultrasonic, clamp-on transit time ultrasonic flowmeter.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

A highly mutagenised barley (cv. Golden Promise) TILLING population coupled with strategies for screening-by-sequencing

Background:We developed and characterised a highly mutagenised TILLING population of the barley (Hordeum vulgare) cultivar Golden Promise. Golden Promise is the 'reference' genotype for barley transformation and a primary objective of using this cultivar was to be able to genetically complement observed mutations directly in order to prove gene function. Importantly, a reference genome assembly of Golden Promise has also recently been developed. As our primary interest was to identify mutations in genes involved in meiosis and recombination, to characterise the population we focused on a set of 46 genes from the literature that are possible meiosis gene candidates. Results:Sequencing 20 plants from the population using whole exome capture revealed that the mutation density in this population is high (one mutation every 154 kb), and consequently even in this small number of plants we identified several interesting mutations. We also recorded some issues with seed availability and germination. We subsequently designed and applied a simple two-dimensional pooling strategy to identify mutations in varying numbers of specific target genes by Illumina short read pooled-amplicon sequencing and subsequent deconvolution. In parallel we assembled a collection of semi-sterile mutants from the population and used a custom exome capture array targeting the 46 candidate meiotic genes to identify potentially causal mutations. Conclusions:We developed a highly mutagenised barley TILLING population in the transformation competent cultivar Golden Promise. We used novel and cost-efficient screening approaches to successfully identify a broad range of potentially deleterious variants that were subsequently validated by Sanger sequencing. These resources combined with a high-quality genome reference sequence opens new possibilities for efficient functional gene validation.Miriam Schreiber, Abdellah Barakate, Nicola Uzrek, Malcolm Macaulay, Adeline Sourdille, Jenny Morris, Pete E. Hedley, Luke Ramsay and Robbie Waug

Exhausted Grape Seed Residues as a Valuable Source of Antioxidant Molecules for the Formulation of Biocompatible Cosmetic Scrubs

Grape seed of Obeidi, a white Lebanese autochthonous variety, was previously tested in different studies as a valuable source of bioactive molecules such as polyphenols, oils, and proteins by means of extraction procedures for the development of cosmetic and therapeutic products. However, an un-valorized, exhausted grape seed residue remains as "secondary waste" after the extraction processes. In this study, the exhausted seeds have been further exploited to produce cosmetic scrubs capable of releasing antioxidant molecules during the exfoliation process, in accordance with the principles of the circular economy and going toward a zero-waste process. The deep characterization of the exhausted seeds confirmed the presence of antioxidant phenolic molecules including gallic acid, catechins and protocatechuic acid (0.13, 0.126, and 0.089 mg/g of dry matter DM), and a high phenolic content (11.85 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g of dry matter (DM)). Moreover, these residues were shown to possess a sandy texture (Hausner ratio (HR): 1.154, Carr index (CI): 0.133, and angle of repose: 31.62 (& DEG;) degrees), similar to commercial natural exfoliants. In this respect, exhausted Obeidi grape seed residues were incorporated at increasing concentrations (0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2% w/w) in a cosmetic scrub, and stored for 5 weeks at 4, 25, and 50 & DEG;C for stability testing. All tested scrub formulations exhibited good spreadability with a spread diameter of 3.6-4.7 cm and excellent physical stability, as no phase separation or color change were observed after four cycles of heat shock at 4 and 50 & DEG;C. Finally, an in vivo skin irritation test showed that the scrub enriched with 1.5% of exhausted Obeidi grape seed residues was the most promising formulation, as it possessed a high amount of phenolic molecules (0.042 & PLUSMN; 0.001 mg GAE/mL of scrub) and good stability and could be safely applied to the skin with no irritation phenomena. Overall results underlined that exhausted grape seed residues can be transformed into promising systems for both physical and chemical exfoliation, thus confirming the importance of the effective exploitation of agro-industrial by-products for the development of high value cosmeceutics towards a more sustainable and zero-waste approach

Utilization and responsiveness of the asthma control test (ACT) at the initiation of therapy for patients with asthma: a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study was to assess the responsiveness of the asthma control test (ACT) to detect changes at the initiation of therapy and its utilization in the initiation of asthma treatment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study was designed as a randomized clinical trial conducted in a primary care setting. The subjects were asthma patients who had not received controller therapy for at least two months. The patients were randomized into two groups: The Saudi Initiative for Asthma (SINA) group and the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) group. Treatment in the SINA group was initiated at step1 when the ACT scores ≥ 20, step 2 when the score between16-19, and step 3 when the score < 16 began at step 3. The GINA group patients were started on step 2 when they had persistent asthma symptoms or step 3 when they had severely uncontrolled disease.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Forty-five patients were analyzed in each group. The improvement in ACT score after treatment initiation was significantly higher when the SINA approach was used (2.9 in the SINA group compared to 1.7 in the GINA group (<it>p </it>= 0.04)). The improvement in FEV₁was 5.8% in the SINA group compared to 3.4% in the GINA group (<it>p </it>= 0.46). The number of patients who achieved asthma control at the follow-up visit and required no treatment adjustment was 33 (73.3%) in the SINA group and 27 (60%) in the GINA group (<it>p </it>= 0.0125).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The ACT was responsive to change at the initiation of asthma treatment and was useful for the initiation of asthma treatment.</p> <p>Trial Registration number</p> <p><a href="http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN31998214">ISRCTN31998214</a></p