The performances of slug flow gas–liquid reactors are mostly determined by slug length, especially for the high gas–liquid flow rate ratio condition. This work is the first time to report the short bubble generated with high frequency in a capillary embedded step T‐junction microdevice. The aspect ratio of bubble could be around 0.5 with a frequency higher than 750 s−1 when the gas–liquid flow rate ratio is even higher than 5. The specific surface area of the generated gas–liquid microdispersion system is larger than 10,400 m2/m3. The short bubble formation process includes two periods, and its formation mechanism is mainly because of the relatively higher pressure drop in the step T‐junction, which provides a much higher breakup force for the squeezing flow. Finally, two models are developed to predict the bubble frequency and volume. This work provides a highly promising dispersion technology for the gas–liquid process intensification in microreactors.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the necessity of Covid-19 vaccination in children aged < 12 y by comparing the clinical characteristics between unvaccinated children aged < 12 y and vaccinated patients aged ≥ 12y during the Delta surge (B.1.617.2) in Putian, Fujian, China.MethodsA total of 226 patients with SARS-Cov-2 Delta variant (B.1.167.2; confirmed by Real-time PCR positivity and sequencing) were enrolled from Sep 10th to Oct 20th, 2021, including 77 unvaccinated children (aged < 12y) and 149 people aged ≥ 12y, mostly vaccinated. The transmission route was explored and the clinical data of two groups were compared; The effect factors for the time of the nucleic acid negativization (NAN) were examined by R statistical analysis.ResultsThe Delta surge in Putian spread from children in schools to factories, mostly through family contact. Compared with those aged ≥ 12y, patients aged < 12y accounted for 34.07% of the total and showed milder fever, less cough and fatigue; they reported higher peripheral blood lymphocyte counts [1.84 (1.32, 2.71)×10^9/L vs. 1.31 (0.94, 1.85)×10^9/L; p<0.05), higher normal CRP rate (92.21% vs. 57.72%), lower IL-6 levels [5.28 (3.31, 8.13) vs. 9.10 (4.37, 15.14); p<0.05]. Upon admission, their COVID19 antibodies (IgM and IgG) and IgG in convalescence were lower [0.13 (0.00, 0.09) vs. 0.12 (0.03, 0.41), p<0.05; 0.02 (0.00, 0.14) vs. 1.94 (0.54, 6.40), p<0.05; 5.46 (2.41, 9.26) vs. 73.63 (54.63, 86.55), p<0.05, respectively], but longer NAN time (18 days vs. 16 days, p=0.13).ConclusionUnvaccinated children may be an important link in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 delta variant (B1.617.2), which indicated an urgent need of vaccination for this particular population.

Generation of bubbles in a T-junction microdevice is vital to microfluidic applications for its advantages of easy fabrication and scaling-up, but the bubble generation in liquids with a higher viscosity in the T-junction is rarely reported for the unstable dispersion behavior under the constant flow rate-driven condition. Accordingly, this work investigates the bubble generation rules in liquids with a higher viscosity (45.6−240.5 mPa•s) under the constant-pressure method. It shows that the bubble formation process in higher viscous liquids contains three stages, expansion, shrinking, and necking, which are obviously different from the filling and squeezing stages in the lower viscous liquid. Importantly, the generation of satellite bubbles as a new bubble generation performance could be observed for the first time in the gas−liquid microdispersion process. The new dispersion mechanism and some novel phenomena are revealed by the interface evolution rules. Finally, a novel mathematical model is developed to predict the bubble length.