Jian-Jun Shu

Programmable biomolecule-mediated computing is a new computing paradigm as compared to contemporary electronic computing. It employs nucleic acids and analogous biomolecular structures as information-storing and -processing substrates to tackle computational problems. It is of great significance to investigate the various issues of programmable biomolecule-mediated processors that are capable of automatically processing, storing, and displaying information. This Perspective provides several conceptual designs of programmable biomolecule-mediated processors and provides some insights into potential future research directions for programmable biomolecule-mediated processors.

A multiphase flowmeter (MPFM) is used in the upstream oil and gas industry for continuous, in-line, real-time, oil-gas-water flow measurement without fluid separation. An MPFM typically consists of phase-fraction and velocity measurements. It is desirable to have homogeneous flow at the measurement location so that the phase-fraction measurement is representative. A horizontal blind-tee pipe-section is often installed to homogenize flow in the downstream vertical Venturi-based flowmeters; however, little information is available on the effect of horizontal blind-tee depth (HBD) on flow homogeneity. In addition, the Venturi vertical entrance length (VEL) leading to the Venturi inlet from the horizontal blind-tee outlet is another design parameter that may potentially affect the downstream phase distribution. The phase-fraction measurement principle requires liquid properties. The local liquid richness makes the horizontal blind-tee an ideal location for measuring liquid properties; however, an excessive HBD may affect the reliability of the measurements of liquid properties, because local vortices may degrade liquid measurement representativeness if the local liquid velocity is too low. This study uses a computational fluid dynamics approach to evaluate the effect of HBD and VEL on multiphase flow measurement. The computational results are validated with experimental data collected in a multiphase flow facility.

This study reports a comparative analysis of amino acid usage within several key viral genera that are prone to triggering outbreaks. Interestingly, there is evidence that the amino acid usage within the viral genomes is not random but in a linear order.

The incomplete version of the Macdonald function has various appellations in literature and earns a well-deserved reputation of being a computational challenge. This paper ties together the previously disjoint literature and presents the basic properties of the incomplete Macdonald function, such as recurrence and differential relations and series and asymptotic expansions. This paper also shows that the incomplete Macdonald function, as a simple closed-form expression, is a particular solution to a parabolic partial differential equation, which arises naturally in a wide variety of transient and diffusion-related phenomena.

The mechanism of fluid slip on a solid surface has been linked to surface diffusion, by which mobile adsorbed fluid molecules perform hops between adsorption sites. However, slip velocity arising from this surface hopping mechanism has been estimated to be significantly lower than that observed experimentally. In this paper, we propose a re-adsorption mechanism for fluid slip. Slip velocity predictions via this mechanism show the improved agreement with experimental measurements.

The problem of steady mixed convection boundary layer flow on a cooled vertical permeable circular cylinder embedded in a fluid-saturated porous medium is studied. Here, we evaluate the flow and heat transfer characteristics numerically for various values of the governing parameters and demonstrate the existence of dual solutions beyond a critical point.