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0000-0001-9240-3517 0000-0003-1626-5858 0000-0001-6213-8783 PubMed: 33633493 WOS:000613719800001 This study develops a modelling framework for simulating the spread of infectious diseases within real cities. Digital copies of Birmingham (UK) and Bogota (Colombia) are generated, reproducing their urban environment, infrastructure and population. The digital inhabitants have the same statistical features of the real population. Their motion is a combination of predictable trips (commute to work, school, etc.) and random walks (shopping, leisure, etc.). Millions of individuals, their encounters and the spread of the disease are simulated by means of high-performance computing and massively parallel algorithms for several months and a time resolution of 1 minute. Simulations accurately reproduce the COVID-19 data for Birmingham and Bogota both before and during the lockdown. The model has only one adjustable parameter calculable in the early stages of the pandemic. Policymakers can use our digital cities as virtual laboratories for testing, predicting and comparing the effects of policies aimed at containing epidemics. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)UK Research & Innovation (UKRI)Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) [EP/S019227/1]; EPSRCUK Research & Innovation (UKRI)Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) [EP/P020232/1] This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) grant no. EP/S019227/1. The computations described in this paper were performed using (i) University of Birmingham's BlueBEAR HPC service and (ii) Athena at HPC Midlands+ (funded by the EPSRC with grant no. EP/P020232/1).

In this study, we propose a smoothed particle hydrodynamics model for simulating a shock wave interacting with cylindrical gas inhomogeneities inside a shock tube. When the gas inhomogeneity interacts with the shock wave, it assumes different shapes depending on the difference in densities between the gas inhomogeneity and the external gas. The model uses a piecewise smoothing length approach and is validated by comparing the results obtained with experimental and CFD data available in the literature. In all the cases considered, the evolution of the inhomogeneity is similar to the experimental shadowgraphs and is at least as accurate as the CFD results in terms of timescale and shape of the gas inhomogeneity.

Planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) and electrical resistance tomography (ERT) were applied simultaneously to monitor the mixing performance of a KM static mixer for the blending of non-Newtonian fluids of dissimilar rheologies in the laminar regime. The areal distribution method was used to obtain quantitative information from the ERT tomograms and the PLIF images. Comparison of the ERT and PLIF results demonstrates the ability of ERT to detect the mixing performance in cases of poor mixing within the resolution of the measurement, though the accuracy decreases as the condition of perfect mixing is approached. Thus, ERT has the potential to detect poor mixing within the confines of its resolution limit and the required conductivity contrast, providing potential rapid at-line measurement for industrial practitioners.

The fabrication of window layers more transparent than those based on amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) could be a key factor to enhance the efficiency of heterojunction (HJ) solar cells. In this work amorphous hydrogenated silicon oxide (a-SiO x :H) as a transparent passivating layer and substoichiometric tungsten oxide (WO x ), with its wide band gap and high work function, are proposed to form efficient hole-selective contacts on silicon-based HJ solar cells. A comparison is made between WO x films grown by RF sputtering and by thermal evaporation.

Aim: Inflammation is a process that underlies sight-threatening ocular surface diseases, and gene supplementation with the plasmid that encodes for p-IL10 will allow the sustained de novo synthesis of the cytokine to occur in corneal cells, and provide a long-term anti-inflammatory effect. This work describes the development of solid lipid nanoparticle systems for the delivery of p-IL10 to transfect the cornea. Results: In vitro, vectors showed suitable features as nonviral vectors (size, ζ-potential, DNA binding, protection and release), and they were able to enter and transfect human corneal epithelial cells. Ex vivo, the vectors were found to transfect the epithelium, the stroma and the endothelium in rabbit corneal explants. Distribution of gene expression within the cell layers of the cornea depended on the composition of the four vectors evaluated. Conclusion: Solid lipid nanoparticle-based vectors are promising gene delivery systems for corneal diseases, including inflammation.