We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
To save content items to your account,
please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies.
If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account.
Find out more about saving content to .
To save content items to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org
is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings
on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part
of your Kindle email address below.
Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations.
‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi.
‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
In this paper, a brand-new adaptive fault-tolerant non-affine integrated guidance and control method based on reinforcement learning is proposed for a class of skid-to-turn (STT) missile. Firstly, considering the non-affine characteristics of the missile, a new non-affine integrated guidance and control (NAIGC) design model is constructed. For the NAIGC system, an adaptive expansion integral system is introduced to address the issue of challenging control brought on by the non-affine form of the control signal. Subsequently, the hyperbolic tangent function and adaptive boundary estimation are utilised to lessen the jitter due to disturbances in the control system and the deviation caused by actuator failures while taking into account the uncertainty in the NAIGC system. Importantly, actor-critic is introduced into the control framework, where the actor network aims to deal with the multiple uncertainties of the subsystem and generate the control input based on the critic results. Eventually, not only is the stability of the NAIGC closed-loop system demonstrated using Lyapunov theory, but also the validity and superiority of the method are verified by numerical simulations.
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a chronic disease that significantly impairs the quality of life, with a low (less than 50%) remission rate, the incidence of which is increasing and it appears at younger and younger ages.
Objectives
Our aim is to facilitate effective and targeted therapy for anorexia nervosa by identifying personality traits and endophenotypes that aid diagnosis and identification of psychotherapeutic targets.
Methods
AN patients aged 18-45 years (N=14 female patients in the current study) completed online questionnaires on personality traits (PID-5), eating disorder (EDI-1), emotion regulation style, mentalization (MZQ), dissociation (DIS-Q), current emotional and mood state (SCL-90, PHQ-9), and past traumatic events (CTQ) after MINI and SCID-5-AMPD interview. Results were compared with a matched healthy control sample.
Results
Apart from AN, the most common comorbidity was depressive episode, and anxiety disorders were also present. In the SCID-5-AMPD interview, high scores were obtained for several domains describing personality dysfunction in the AN group. Among self-report questionnaires, we observed significant differences in scores on the SCL-90-R, and no difference in CTQ in the AN patients compared to healthy controls.
Conclusions
Based on the results of our study, the AN group showed more severe personality trauma, especially in the functional domains of identity and intimacy, and more psychological distress. The above may help to identify personalised psychotherapeutic treatment targets in AN patients, which may significantly improve effectiveness and reduce the time spent in therapy.
Adolescence is a period marked by highest vulnerability to the onset of depression, with profound implications for adult health. Neuroimaging studies have revealed considerable atrophy in brain structure in these patients with depression. Of particular importance are regions responsible for cognitive control, reward, and self-referential processing. However, the causal structural networks underpinning brain region atrophies in adolescents with depression remain unclear.
Objectives
This study aimed to investigate the temporal course and causal relationships of gray matter atrophy within the brains of adolescents with depression.
Methods
We analyzed T1-weighted structural images using voxel-based morphometry in first-episode adolescent patients with depression (n=80, 22 males; age = 15.57±1.78) and age, gender matched healthy controls (n=82, 25 males; age = 16.11±2.76) to identify the disease stage-specific gray matter abnormalities. Then, with granger causality analysis, we arranged the patients’ illness duration chronologically to construct the causal structural covariance networks that investigated the causal relationships of those atypical structures.
Results
Compared to controls, smaller volumes in ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), middle cingulate cortex (MCC) and insula areas were identified in patients with less than 1 year illness duration, and further progressed to the subgenual ACC, regions of default, frontoparietal networks in longer duration. Causal network results revealed that dACC, vmPFC, MCC and insula were prominent nodes projecting exerted positive causal effects to regions of the default mode and frontoparietal networks. The dACC, vmPFC and insula also had positive projections to the reward network, which included mainly the thalamus, caudate and putamen, while MCC also exerted a positive causal effect on the insula and thalamus.
Conclusions
These findings revealed the progression of structural atrophy in adolescent patients with depression and demonstrated the causal relationships between regions involving cognitive control, reward and self-referential processes.
The incidence of eating disorders is increasing in Hungary and Central-Eastern Europe. The number of complex/severe cases is also increasing. Accordingly, several new unmet needs of the users and their relatives appear in the clinical care.
Objectives
As a possible response to these unmet needs, we have introduced a multifaceted care model for eating disorders. To facilitate easily accessible yet effective care close to home, a support programme with an online guided self-help tool and regular consultations with first responder psychiatrists or clinical psychologists has been introduced. For non (or partial) responders, a multi-faceted modular treatment programme has been developed with an individualised combination of different therapeutic approaches, including family therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) specific to binge eating disorder and bulimia, CBT and the use of virtual reality as an adjunct treatment. The most severe cases are referred for (also multifaceted) inpatient treatment. In terms of research, we want to focus on the key issues for rapid, cost-effective treatment. Firstly, we want to develop an individual profiling system at the start of therapy to assess which individual combination of modules can produce a rapid therapeutic response. Secondly, we want to identify the active gamechanger elements of therapy that are associated with the greatest change in symptoms.
- in DBT groups: Eating Disorder Examination Questionnarie (EDE-Q), Three Factor Eating Questionnaire-R21, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-(PHQ-9), Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ)
- in individual therapies: Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM 5- Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (SCIP-5-AMPD), EDI-I., Mentalization Questionnaire (MZQ), Dissociation Questionnaire (DIS-Q), Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), (PHQ-9), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and Young Parenting Inventory (YPI).
Results
Patient recruitment and therapies are currently underway, the first preliminary results are expected in the spring period.
Conclusions
In order to provide individualized care more effectively, it is important to identify the factors that determine which therapeutic modalities work best for the patient.
OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Antibiotic treatment sets the stage for intestinal domination by Candida albicanswhich is necessary for development of invasive disease, but the resources driving this bloom remain poorly defined. We sought to determine these factors in order to design novel prophylaxis strategies for reducing gastrointestinal (GI) colonization. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We initially developed a generalizable framework, termed metabolic footprinting to determine the metabolites C. albicanspreferentially uses in the mouse GI tract. After identifying the metabolites C. albicansutilizes, we usedin vitro growth assays in the presence and absence of oxygen to validate out metabolomics findings. We next determined if a probiotic E. coli that utilizes oxygen would reduce C. albicanscolonization compared to a mutant E. coli that could not respire oxygen. Finding that oxygen was a necessary resource, we utilized germ-free mice to determine if Clostridiaspp. known to reduce GI oxygen would prevent C. albicanscolonization. Lastly, we sought to see if 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) could prevent C. albicanscolonization. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: We found that C. albicans preferentially utilizes simple carbohydrates including fructo-oligosaccharides (e.g., 1-kestose), disaccharides (e.g., β-gentiobiose), and alcoholic sugars (e.g., sorbitol) and is able to grow in vitro on minimal media supplemented with either of these nutrients. However, in the hypoxic environment that is found in the “healthy” colon, C. albicans cannot utilize these nutrients. We next found that pre-colonization in a mouse model with a probiotic E. coli significantly reduced C. albicanscolonization, but the mutant E. coli had no effect on colonization. We next showed that Clostridia supplementation restored GI hypoxia and reduced C. albicanscolonization. Remarkably, we found that 5-ASA significantly reduced GI colonization of C. albicans. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: We have shown that C. albicans requires oxygen to colonize the GI tract. Importantly, we found that 5-ASA can prevent an antibiotic mediated bloom of C. albicans by restoring GI hypoxia, which warrants additional studies to determine if 5-ASA can be used as an adjunctive prophylactic treatment in high risk patients.
We interpret the Taylor–Green cellular vortex model in terms of the Kolmogorov length and velocity scales, in order to study the balance between aggregation and breakup of cohesive sediment in fine-scale turbulence. One-way coupled numerical simulations, which capture the effects of cohesive, lubrication and direct contact forces on the flocculation process, reproduce the non-monotonic relationship between the equilibrium floc size and shear rate observed in previous experiments. The one-way coupled results are confirmed by select two-way coupled simulations. Intermediate shear gives rise to the largest flocs, as it promotes preferential concentration of the primary particles without generating sufficiently strong turbulent stresses to break up the emerging aggregates. We find that the optimal intermediate shear rate increases for stronger cohesion and smaller particle-to-fluid density ratios, and we propose a simple model for the equilibrium floc size that agrees well with experimental data reported in the literature.
We report the experimental results of the commissioning phase in the 10 PW laser beamline of the Shanghai Superintense Ultrafast Laser Facility (SULF). The peak power reaches 2.4 PW on target without the last amplifying during the experiment. The laser energy of 72 ± 9 J is directed to a focal spot of approximately 6 μm diameter (full width at half maximum) in 30 fs pulse duration, yielding a focused peak intensity around 2.0 × 1021 W/cm2. The first laser-proton acceleration experiment is performed using plain copper and plastic targets. High-energy proton beams with maximum cut-off energy up to 62.5 MeV are achieved using copper foils at the optimum target thickness of 4 μm via target normal sheath acceleration. For plastic targets of tens of nanometers thick, the proton cut-off energy is approximately 20 MeV, showing ring-like or filamented density distributions. These experimental results reflect the capabilities of the SULF-10 PW beamline, for example, both ultrahigh intensity and relatively good beam contrast. Further optimization for these key parameters is underway, where peak laser intensities of 1022–1023 W/cm2 are anticipated to support various experiments on extreme field physics.
Emotional dysregulation (ED) is a common characteristic of both attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and major depressive disorder (MDD), especially in adolescents. However, whether ADHD and MDD may share the specific ED-related neural networks remains unknown.
Methods
In total, 43 adolescents with clinical ED (22 adolescents with ADHD and 21 with MDD) were recruited; in addition, 29 sex- and age-matched healthy controls (HCs) were included. Resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) analysis, voxel-based morphometry, and diffusion tensor imaging analysis were performed for each patient. In addition, we determined the significant regions of interest in patients with ED due to ADHD and MDD as compared with HCs and tested their correlations with clinical rating scale scores.
Results
Compared with HCs, patients with ED had greater RSFC in the cerebellum and supramarginal gyrus (SMG), especially between vermis VI and the SMG in the attention networks, and lower RSFC between the right supplementary motor area and right lateral parietal area. Lower gray matter (GM) volume in the SMG was also found. RSFC was significantly correlated with clinical rating scale scores for all patients with ED due to ADHD or MDD. GM change was correlated with ED and MDD rating scale scores.
Discussion
The cerebellum and attention networks might play major roles in ED pathophysiology in adolescents with ADHD and MDD. Increased connectivity of the vermis to the SMG serves as a possible underlying neural network.
Variable camber flap technology can adjust the spanwise circulation distribution, thereby reducing the induced drag. Therefore, the concept of variable camber flap is introduced into the design of propeller aircraft wing, and the design for drag reduction of propeller aircraft is carried out. The numerical simulation of the propeller aircraft is carried out by using the actuator disc method with non-uniform distribution of radial and circumferential loads. Through the unsteady simulation of a single propeller, the aerodynamic load on a periodic propeller is extracted as a boundary condition to the steady simulation of the full aircraft. The load extracted by the actuator disc is compared with the unsteady simulation result, which verifies the reliability of the method. The design for drag reduction at cruise and climb design conditions are respectively carried out with the variable camber flap technology. The variable camber cruise configuration is evaluated at both the begin and end cruise conditions. The results show that, after the flaps deflecting at a small angle according to the circulation distribution, the camber distribution of the wing is adjusted to make the circulation distribution closer to the elliptical circulation distribution. At the design cruise condition, the drag coefficient is reduced by 1.4 counts, and the lift-drag ratio increase by 0.1. At both begin and end cruise conditions, the drag coefficient decreases by 1 count, and the lift-drag ratio increases by 0.07. At the design climb condition, the drag coefficient decreases by 1 count, and the lift-to-drag ratio increases by 0.09.
This study aimed to investigate the association between hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) severity and early enteral tube feeding on cardiometabolic markers in offspring cord blood. We included women admitted for HG, who participated in the MOTHER randomised controlled trial (RCT) and observational cohort. The MOTHER RCT showed that early enteral tube feeding in addition to standard care did not affect symptoms/birth outcomes. Among RCT and cohort participants, we assessed how HG severity affected lipid, c-peptide, glucose and free thyroxine cord blood levels. HG severity measures were severity of vomiting at inclusion and 3 weeks after inclusion, pregnancy weight gain and 24-h energy intake at inclusion, readmissions and duration of hospital admissions. Cord blood measures were also compared between RCT participants allocated to enteral tube feeding and those receiving standard care. Between 2013-2016, 215 women were included: 115 RCT and 100 cohort participants. Eighty-one cord blood samples were available. Univariable not multivariable regression analysis showed that lower maternal weight gain was associated with higher cord blood glucose levels (β: –0·08, 95% CI –0·16, –0·00). Lower maternal weight gain was associated with higher Apo-B cord blood levels in multivariable regression analysis (β: –0·01, 95% CI –0·02, –0·01). No associations were found between other HG severity measures or allocation to enteral tube feeding and cord blood cardiometabolic markers. In conclusion, while lower maternal weight gain was associated with higher Apo-B cord blood levels, no other HG severity measures were linked with cord blood cardiometabolic markers, nor were these markers affected by enteral tube feeding.
We investigate the dynamics of cohesive particles in homogeneous isotropic turbulence, based on one-way coupled simulations that include Stokes drag, lubrication, cohesive and direct contact forces. We observe a transient flocculation phase, followed by a statistically steady equilibrium phase. We analyse the temporal evolution of floc size and shape due to aggregation, breakage and deformation. Larger turbulent shear and weaker cohesive forces yield smaller elongated flocs. Flocculation proceeds most rapidly when the fluid and particle time scales are balanced and a suitably defined Stokes number is $O(1)$. During the transient stage, cohesive forces of intermediate strength produce flocs of the largest size, as they are strong enough to cause aggregation, but not so strong as to pull the floc into a compact shape. Small Stokes numbers and weak turbulence delay the onset of the equilibrium stage. During equilibrium, stronger cohesive forces yield flocs of larger size. The equilibrium floc size distribution exhibits a preferred size that depends on the cohesive number. We observe that flocs are generally elongated by turbulent stresses before breakage. Flocs of size close to the Kolmogorov length scale preferentially align themselves with the intermediate strain direction and the vorticity vector. Flocs of smaller size tend to align themselves with the extensional strain direction. More generally, flocs are aligned with the strongest Lagrangian stretching direction. The Kolmogorov scale is seen to limit floc growth. We propose a new flocculation model with a variable fractal dimension that predicts the temporal evolution of the floc size and shape.
The coexistence of underweight (UW) and overweight (OW)/obese (OB) at the population level is known to affect iron deficiency (ID) anaemia (IDA), but how the weight status affects erythropoiesis during pregnancy is less clear at a population scale. This study investigated associations between the pre-pregnancy BMI (pBMI) and erythropoiesis-related nutritional deficiencies.
Design:
Anthropometry, blood biochemistry and 24-h dietary recall data were collected during prenatal care visits. The weight status was defined based on the pBMI. Mild nutrition deficiency-related erythropoiesis was defined if individuals had an ID, folate depletion or a vitamin B12 deficiency.
Setting:
The Nationwide Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (Pregnant NAHSIT 2017–2019).
Participants:
We included 1456 women aged 20 to 45 years with singleton pregnancies.
Results:
Among these pregnant women, 9·6 % were UW, and 29·2 % were either OW (15·8 %) or OB (13·4 %). A U-shaped association between the pBMI and IDA was observed, with decreased odds (OR; 95 % CI) for OW subjects (0·6; 95 % CI (0·4, 0·9)) but increased odds for UW (1·2; 95 % CI (0·8, 2·0)) and OB subjects (1·2; 95 % CI (0·8, 1·8)). The pBMI was positively correlated with the prevalence of a mild nutritional deficiency. Compared to normal weight, OB pregnant women had 3·4-fold (3·4; 95 % CI (1·4, 8·1)) higher odds for multiple mild nutritional deficiencies, while UW individuals had lowest odds (0·3; 95 % CI (0·1, 1·2)). A dietary analysis showed negative relationships of pBMI with energy, carbohydrates, protein, Fe and folate intakes, but positive relationship with fat intakes.
Conclusion:
The pre-pregnancy weight status can possibly serve as a good nutritional screening tool for preventing IDA during pregnancy.
Dynamic soaring improves the endurance of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) by obtaining energy from the horizontal wind shear gradient. The use of dynamic soaring in small solar UAVs can mitigate the trade-off between energy capacity and battery weight to achieve continuous all-day flight. The goal of this study is to determine the optimal energy acquisition methods for small solar UAVs using dynamic soaring and to decrease the battery weight to achieve all-day flight. A dynamic soaring UAV model that considers the influence of the wind shear gradient and a solar power energy model are established. The conditions to obtain a closed-loop energy system during daytime and nighttime flights are discussed, and the minimum mass of the energy system required for these conditions is determined. Simulations of single-cycle circular flights and a 72-h continuous flight of a small solar UAV are performed. The analyses and simulation results show that: (1) the combination of dynamic soaring and solar technology significantly reduces the energy consumption and reduces the required battery weight, (2) the flight speed and flight attitude angles have significant effects on the optimal total energy acquisition and (3) wind fields with a large horizontal gradient and strong solar illumination provide energy and load advantages.
Electric-powered disposable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have wide applications due to their advantages in terms of long time flight and load capacity. Thus, improving their endurance has become an important task to enhance the performance of these UAVs. To achieve this, we investigated a battery dumping strategy which splits the battery into several packs that are used and dumped in sequence to reduce the dead weight. The Peukert effect is also considered. In this paper, the sensitivity analysis method was employed to analyse the endurance benefits for different battery weight ratios, Peukert constants and capacities, quantitatively. The results show that the endurance benefits are significantly affected by all three parameters. For ideal batteries, the endurance can be improved by 20% and 28% respectively when employing a double-pack or triple-pack battery strategy (for a battery weight ratio of 0.4), but these benefits will fall rapidly if the Peukert constant exceeds 1.0 or the battery weight declines. Besides, the endurance will be 10% longer if the lift coefficient rather than the velocity remains constant after the battery packs are dumped at a Peukert constant of 1.2.
To describe the pattern of transmission of severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during 2 nosocomial outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with regard to the possibility of airborne transmission.
Design:
Contact investigations with active case finding were used to assess the pattern of spread from 2 COVID-19 index patients.
Setting:
A community hospital and university medical center in the United States, in February and March, 2020, early in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Patients:
Two index patients and 421 exposed healthcare workers.
Methods:
Exposed healthcare workers (HCWs) were identified by analyzing the electronic medical record (EMR) and conducting active case finding in combination with structured interviews. Healthcare coworkers (HCWs) were tested for COVID-19 by obtaining oropharyngeal/nasopharyngeal specimens, and RT-PCR testing was used to detect SARS-CoV-2.
Results:
Two separate index patients were admitted in February and March 2020, without initial suspicion for COVID-19 and without contact or droplet precautions in place; both patients underwent several aerosol-generating procedures in this context. In total, 421 HCWs were exposed in total, and the results of the case contact investigations identified 8 secondary infections in HCWs. In all 8 cases, the HCWs had close contact with the index patients without sufficient personal protective equipment. Importantly, despite multiple aerosol-generating procedures, there was no evidence of airborne transmission.
Conclusion:
These observations suggest that, at least in a healthcare setting, most SARS-CoV-2 transmission is likely to take place during close contact with infected patients through respiratory droplets, rather than by long-distance airborne transmission.
The current study used daily assessments of sleep to examine stability and change in sleep chronotype in adolescents and their parents. The study assessed adolescent sleep chronotype according to age, gender, and parent chronotype, and evaluated its associations with emotional and behavioral problems in youth. Participants included of 417 Mexican American adolescents (Mage = 16.0 years, Range = 13.9–20.0) and 403 caregivers, who reported bed and wake times daily for 2 consecutive weeks at two time points spaced 1 year apart. In addition, adolescents completed established self-report questionnaires of emotional and behavioral problems. Chronotype was computed as the midsleep point from bed to wake time on free days, correcting for sleep debt accumulated across scheduled days. Multilevel modeling showed a curvilinear association between adolescent age and chronotype, with a peak eveningness observed between ages 16 to 17. Adolescent and parent chronotypes were contemporaneously correlated, but each was only moderately stable over the 1-year period. Later adolescent chronotype was contemporaneously associated with more substance use in all adolescents. Individual development and the family context shape sleep chronotype in adolescents and parents. Sleep chronotype is implicated in adolescent behavioral health.
Post-stroke depression (PSD) is the most common psychiatric complication facing stroke survivors and has been associated with increased distress, physical disability, poor rehabilitation, and suicidal ideation. However, the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying PSD remain unknown, and no objective laboratory-based test is available to aid PSD diagnosis or monitor progression.
Methods:
Here, an isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ)-based quantitative proteomic approach was performed to identify differentially expressed proteins in plasma samples obtained from PSD, stroke, and healthy control subjects.
Results:
The significantly differentiated proteins were primarily involved in lipid metabolism and immunoregulation. Six proteins associated with these processes – apolipoprotein A-IV (ApoA-IV), apolipoprotein C-II (ApoC-II), C-reactive protein (CRP), gelsolin, haptoglobin, and leucine-rich alpha-2-glycoprotein (LRG) – were selected for Western blotting validation. ApoA-IV expression was significantly upregulated in PSD as compared to stroke subjects. ApoC-II, LRG, and CRP expression were significantly downregulated in both PSD and HC subjects relative to stroke subjects. Gelsolin and haptoglobin expression were significantly dysregulated across all three groups with the following expression profiles: gelsolin, healthy control > PSD > stroke subjects; haptoglobin, stroke > PSD > healthy control.
Conclusions:
Early perturbation of lipid metabolism and immunoregulation may be involved in the pathophysiology of PSD. The combination of increased gelsolin levels accompanied by decreased haptoglobin levels shows promise as a plasma-based diagnostic biomarker panel for detecting increased PSD risk in post-stroke patients.
In China, one percent of the richest population holds more than one-third of the wealth, while the poorest 25% shares no more than two percent of the total. The country’s rapid economic development has resulted in increasing socio-economic disparities, and a rapidly deteriorating environment. This puts the Chinese citizens, especially the most vulnerable and deprived socio-economic status (SES) groups, at high risks of environmental inequality (EI). In most SES-based EI studies conducted in China, household wealth has often been overlooked, though it potentially serves a good economic indicator to capture the socio-economic effect of environmental change in China. Nevertheless, existing SES databases in China are of low spatial resolution and are insufficient to support fine-grained EI studies at the intra-city level in China. The core research challenge is to develop a representative household wealth proxy in high-spatial resolution for China. This study highlights the research gaps and proposes a new household wealth proxy, which integrates both fine-grained data/features such as daytime satellite imagery and easily accessible wealth indicators such as house prices. We also capitalize on everyday economic activity data retrieved from personal mobile phones and online transaction/social platforms in the composition of our wealth proxy to achieve a higher accuracy in estimating household wealth at fine-grained resolution via machine learning. Finally, we summarize the challenges in improving both the quality and the availability of Chinese socio-economic datasets, while protecting personal privacy and information security during the data collection process for household wealth proxy development in China.
We propose a one-way coupled model that tracks individual primary particles in a conceptually simple cellular flow set-up to predict flocculation in turbulence. This computationally efficient model accounts for Stokes drag, lubrication, cohesive and direct contact forces on the primary spherical particles, and allows for a systematic simulation campaign that yields the transient mean floc size as a function of the governing dimensionless parameters. The simulations reproduce the growth of the cohesive flocs with time, and the emergence of a log-normal equilibrium distribution governed by the balance of aggregation and breakage. Flocculation proceeds most rapidly when the Stokes number of the primary particles is $O(1)$. Results from this simple computational model are consistent with experimental observations, thus allowing us to propose a new analytical flocculation model that yields improved agreement with experimental data, especially during the transient stages.