In Physics of Fluids, researchers simulate an atomic bomb explosion from a typical intercontinental ballistic missile and the resulting blast wave to see how it would affect people sheltering indoors.
Nonpharmaceutical interventions slowed the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases but now, as NPIs are lifted, countries are seeing a resurgence in several respiratory diseases. In Chaos, scientists, using data from Hong Kong to develop their model, describe a threshold control method that can be used to predict the best time to lift NPIs without overwhelming the hospital systems when these other respiratory diseases inevitably surge back. They found that reintroducing NPI measures when a threshold of 600 severe cases is reached could ensure that the hospital system in Hong Kong is not overwhelmed by severely infected patients.
In APL Bioengineering, researchers develop an injectable hydrogel that treats infections around prosthetics without the problems caused by current treatments. The black phosphorus-enhanced gel has a porous structure, excellent injectability, and rapid self-healing properties. Tests show it has good stability and low toxicity to tissue cells, and irradiating the gel with near infrared light causes it to release silver ions. This process was highly efficient at inhibiting S. aureus, common bacteria that cause disease in humans.
In Journal of Applied Physics, researchers present a special silicon nitride nanopore-based sensing device that is designed to provide volume information about tau and tubulin protein molecules and their aggregation states. To create the sensor, the team explored how the proteins change the current and voltage flowing through a nanopore system.
TEAM-UP Together is pleased to announce its first cohort of scholars, 31 African American students who will each receive $10,000 for the 2022-23 academic year. The scholarship program aims to reduce financial barriers that prevent many Black students from completing their undergraduate education in physics and astronomy. A collective action initiative, TEAM-UP Together is a partnership between the American Association of Physics Teachers, the American Astronomical Society, the American Institute of Physics, the American Physical Society, and the Society of Physics Students. TEAM-UP Together is sponsored by the Simons Foundation International.
Since oral cancer occurs in one of the most accessible sites in the body, it can be easily treated if detected promptly. In Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B, researchers report a breakthrough hand-held biosensor that enables quick and accurate detection of oral cancer. The group's biosensor consists of a sensor strip, similar to a glucose strip, and a circuit board (a hand-held terminal like a glucometer) for detection.
In Physics of Fluids, researchers explore the lift production mechanism of flying snakes, which undulate side-to-side as they move from the tops of trees to the ground to escape predators or to move around quickly and efficiently. The investigators developed a computational model derived from data obtained through high-speed video of the snakes and considered several features, such as the angle of attack that the snake forms with the oncoming airflow and the frequency of its undulations, to determine which were important in producing glide.
With numerical simulations, researchers have demonstrated a new way to time weak electrical pulses that can stop certain life-threatening arrhythmias. Publishing their work in Chaos, the group shows that timed pulses are successful in ending atrial and ventricular fibrillations. The study provides early evidence that one theorized approach to controlling fibrillations – adaptive deceleration pacing – can improve the performance of defibrillators.
In Physics of Fluids, researchers design and analyze droplet experiments that were done on the International Space Station. The researchers sent four different surfaces with various roughness properties to the station, where they were mounted to a lab table. Cameras recorded the droplets as they spread and merged. The experimental results confirmed and expanded the parameter space of the Davis-Hocking model, a simple way to simulate droplets.
AIP announced physicist Clifford V. Johnson as the winner of the 2022 Andrew Gemant Award "for portraying the humanistic dimensions of physics to the public through a creative array of artistic, performance, and educational methods." The annual prize recognizes the accomplishments of a person who has made significant contributions to the cultural, artistic, or humanistic dimension of physics. In addition to a $5,000 prize for Johnson, $3,000 will be given to a Los Angeles elementary school and their annual science fair, where students, parents, and community members participate in physics demonstrations and experiments.
In APL Bioengineering, researchers examine the local communication between endothelial cells and tumors cells and its effects on endothelial cell orientation. The approach uses co-cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells and breast epithelial tumor cell lines to simulate the tumor-endothelial interaction. The group found the clockwise chirality of the hUVECs was less affected by local hormone signaling and more so by direct physical contact with tumor cells. Specific proteins on the tumor cell binding to others on endothelial cells appeared to play a role in changing the clockwise chirality of hUVECs.
In Physics of Fluids, researchers have been studying the dynamics of how crescent-shaped sand dunes are formed. Known as barchans, these formations are commonly found in various sizes and circumstances, on Earth and on Mars. Using a computational fluid dynamics approach, the team carried out simulations by applying the equations of motion to each grain in a pile being deformed by a fluid flow, showing the ranges of values for the proper computation of barchan dunes down to the grain scale.
At the 183rd ASA Meeting, Gautam Shah will discuss plans to test a supersonic aircraft with technology to alter how supersonic shock waves behave and reduce sonic booms. NASA will conduct a series of flights over various communities across the U.S., and Shah and his team will measure the sound of the aircraft and conduct public surveys to understand the public response to different noise levels. By providing this information to regulatory agencies, the group hopes to inform an overland supersonic sound standard.
Creating 3D-printed, low-cost, durable violins for music students, researchers have explored the factors that result in the best violin sounds and performed a concerto composed specifically for 3D-printed instruments. The violin was created in two sections. The body is made of a plastic polymer material and designed to produce a resonant tone, while the neck and fingerboard are printed in smooth ABS plastic to be comfortable in the musician's hands. The result is a violin that produces a darker, more mellow sound than traditionally made instruments.
AIP Publishing is pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 APL Materials Excellence in Research Award, a distinction for young researchers who publish exceptional research in the journal.
Too much sun and too much heat can reduce the efficiency of photovoltaics. A solar farm with optimally spaced panels facing the correct direction could cool itself through convection using the surrounding wind. Researchers explored how to exploit the geometry of solar farms to enhance natural cooling mechanisms.
As a noninvasive neuromodulation method, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) shows great potential to treat a range of mental and psychiatric diseases, including major depression. Current methods don’t go quite deep enough and are largely restricted to superficial targets within the brain, but a new TMS array with a special geometrical-shaped magnet structure will help stimulate deeper tissue.
AIP Publishing is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Bo Wang of the Beijing Institute of Technology as the new Editor-in-Chief of APL Materials. Wang will lead the journal as it expands to represent material science, materials chemistry, and materials physics more holistically.
When an epidemic strikes, more than just infections spread. As cases mount, information about the disease, how to spot it, and how to prevent it propagates rapidly among people in affected areas as well.
AIP and APS are pleased to announce Nikita Nekrasov, a professor at Stony Brook University, as the recipient of the 2023 Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics "for the elegant application of powerful mathematical techniques to extract exact results for quantum field theories, as well as shedding light on integrable systems and non-commutative geometry." The annual award acknowledges significant contributions to the field of mathematical physics and will be presented at an upcoming APS meeting.
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