Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interfacial Tension Driven Monodispersed Droplet Formation from Microfabricated Channel Array

Microspheres (MS), such as emulsion droplets, multiple emulsions, microparticles, microcapsules, and liposomes, have been utilized in various industries. However, size control of MS is not so easy. Recently, we proposed a novel method for preparing monodispersed emulsion droplets with a coefficient of variation less than 5% from a microfabricated channel (MC) array. In this study, we analyzed a droplet-formation mechanism from a MC using a microscope high-speed camera system. During droplet formation, the dispersed phase passed through the channel inflated on the terrace in a disklike shape, and the droplets were formed in 0.01 s. A droplet-formation mechanism was suggested in which the distorted dispersed phase on the terrace is cut off spontaneously into spherical droplets by interfacial tension. The mechanism is shown to be an adequate model from the viewpoint of interfacial free energy. This emulsification technique exploits the interfacial tension, which is the dominating force on a micrometer scale.
Plasma polymer film structure and DNA probe immobilization

The present work describes the fabrication, characterization, and optimization of NH2-derivatized polymer coatings prepared by pulsed-plasma polymerization for applications as adhesion layers in DNA immobilization. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy were used to study (i) polymer matrix properties and (ii) oligonucleotide/DNA binding. The successful DNA attachment on amine functionalized surfaces was found to depend on the macromolecular architecture of the plasma films and on the amine group densities. Pulsed and continuous wave plasma polymers deposited at similar equivalent power showed comparable immobilization properties, while low duty cycle plasma-polymerized films showed a higher sensitivity toward DNA binding than high duty cycle plasma-deposited films. The stabilities of the various films in buffer solution and their reactivities as they were affected by variations in pH have been investigated.
Continuous precipitation of hydroxyapatite from Ca/citrate/phosphate solutions using microwave heating

The precipitation of hydroxyapatite (HAp) in a continuous process using microwave heating and Ca/citrate/phosphate solutions is presented. Calcium deficient HAp particles in the nanometric size range (<100 nm), with needle-like morphology, were obtained. These chemical and morphological characteristics do not change with the residence time, and are similar to those of HAp obtained in a batch process using also microwave heating and Ca/citrate/phosphate solutions. On the other hand, the steady state is reached faster than in the precipitation of HAp in a MSMPR reactor using non-complexing solutions and conventional heating. In the latter process submicronic (<1 mikrom) needle-like particles are obtained.
Characterization of end groups in nylon 6 by MALDI‐TOF mass spectrometry

Four samples of Ny6, each terminated by different end groups, i.e., diamino terminated, monoamino terminated (monocapped), dicarboxyl terminated, and amino-carboxyl terminated, were synthesized and analyzed by MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry, in order to accurately characterize their structure by direct identification of mass resolved chains. A self-calibrating method for the MALDI-TOF mass spectra of polymeric samples was used in order to distinguish the end groups existing in the four samples of Ny6. The MALDI-TOF spectra showed the presence of protonated, sodiated, and potassiated ions that were assigned to Ny6 chains containing the expecteted end groups. Furthermore, the MALDI-TOF spectra made possible the simultaneous detection of the cyclic oligomers of Ny6 present in these samples, thus achieving the full structural characterization of the molecular species present in these polyamides.
Magnesium Ion-Selective Optodes Based on a Neutral Ionophore and a Lipophilic Cationic Dye

Flow-through type magnesium ion-selective optodes based on a neutral ionophore and a lipophilic cationic dye have been developed. The optodes were prepared by coating pellicular octadecylsilica beads with a lipophilic organic liquid containing magnesium ionophores, a lipophilic cationic dye and a lipophilic anionic additive, and packing the beads into a flow-through optical cell. Two neutral magnesium ionophores (K22B5 and K22B1B5) and two novel lipophilic cationic dyes (KDC-1 and KDC-2) were synthesized and tested for preparing the optodes. Among the developed optodes, an optode based on the ionophore K22B1B5 and a cationic dye (KDC-2) produced the best magnesium ion optode with a relatively high Mg^2+ sensitivity and selectivity. This optode showed a fast and reproducible response to magnesium ion, even in a high concentration of background ions.
Varying Ligand Backbones for Modulating the Interpenetration of Coordination Polymers Based on Homoleptic Cobalt(II) Nodes

To explore the influence of ligand backbones on the structures of coordination architectures, three structurally related rodlike ligands bearing different backbones, 1,4-bis(benzoimidazol-1-yl)-phenyl (L1), 1,4-bis(imidazol-1-yl)-benzene (L2), and 4,4′-bis(imidazol-1-yl)-biphenyl (L3), have been employed to react with Co(ClO4)2·6H2O, and three three-dimensional interpenetrating coordination polymers, {[Co(L1)2](ClO4)2}∞ (1), {[Co(L2)3](ClO4)2(CHCl3)2}∞ (2), and {[Co(L3)3](ClO4)2}∞ (3), have been obtained under similar conditions. Compound 1 forms a 3-fold interpenetrating network with diamondoid topology based on a tetrahedrally coordinated CoII node, whereas complex 2 takes a double interpenetrating network with α-polonium-type topology and compound 3 exhibits a 3-fold interpenetrating network with β-Sn topology. Compared with the tetrahedrally coordinated CoII node in compound 1, the CoII nodes in compounds 2 and 3 are both octahedrally coordinated. To the best of our knowledge, the 3-fold interpenetrat.
Self Humidifying Hybrid Anion–Cation Membrane Fuel Cell Operated Under Dry Conditions

Hybrid fuel cells composed of a low‐pH proton conductive membrane in contact with a high‐pH anion conductive membrane were investigated. The effect of relative humidity (RH), ionomer content in the anion‐conductive electrode and the inlet gas flow rates were evaluated. The formation of water at the junction of the anion conductive member and proton conductive membrane is especially interesting because it can self‐humidify the fuel cell when dry gases are used. In situ alternative current (AC) impedance spectroscopy was used as a diagnostic tool to understand the performance limitations under different test conditions. The cell output increased at low RH compared to a traditional proton exchange membrane fuel cell. The cell current under dry conditions was limited by the availability of oxygen in the catalyst sites due to flooding in the electrode layer. The ionomer fraction of the high‐pH cathode plays a significant role in the cell performance. At high gas feed rates, water removal from the electrode layers increased and mitigated the effects of flooding. The hybrid cells were operated at steady‐state operation at 0.58 V and 200 mA cm–2 using dry H2/O2 feeds at 80 °C.
Solid state fermentation of waste pomace from olive processing

Typical samples of the solid waste (50% moisture) from olive oil processing were subjected, after an alkaline pretreatment, to delignification by Phanerochaete chryosporium, Phlebia radiata, Pleurotus ostreatus or Dacrymyces stellatus. The fermented material was then saccharified by Trichoderma spp to provide a substrate for the yeasts, Candida utilis or Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Success was judged by the level of crude protein generated, and a combination fermentation involving Phan chryosporium, T reesei and S cerevisiae increased the level of crude protein from 5.9% in the raw pomace to 40.3% in the fermented material. It is suggested that this solid-state fermentation process could be used to manufacture an animal feed for the poultry industry in Jordan. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry
Improvement of Nano Particle Collection Efficiency in an Electrostatic Precipitator

Electrostatic precipitators are used in decontaminating polluted gases in expressway tunnels in order to improve both driver safety and the environment around the tunnels. A conventional electrostatic precipitator has high collection efficiency but is still needed to improve collection efficiency for nano-particles smaller than 0.1 μm. The experiments carried out in this study have focused on improving nano-particle collection efficiency without using additional energy. The experimental electrostatic precipitator was a two-stage type consisting of a pre-charger and a collector. The collector had a parallel-plates configuration, including a grounded electrode and a high voltage electrode. A hole-punched stainless plate was used as the high voltage electrode in order to improve nano-particle collection efficiency. The collection efficiency as a function of the particle diameter was studied. As a result, the nano-particle collection efficiency on the ESP with the hole-punched high voltage electrode was significantly improved. In the case of certain number of hole, the nano-particle collection efficiency increases with increasing the punched hole diameter. In the case of the constant of aperture rate, the nano-particle collection efficiency increases with decreasing the punched hole diameter. This effect is probably due to increasing the electric field intensity near the hole edges of the hole punched electrode.
Dynamics of Polymer Molecules in Dilute Solution: Viscoelasticity, Flow Birefringence and Dielectric Loss

The problem of the motions of a chain molecule diffusing in a viscous fluid under the influence of external forces or currents is considered for a particular model. This model is a chain of beads connected by ideal springs. Hydrodynamic interaction between the beads is introduced in the approximate form due to Kirkwood and Riseman. It is possible to solve this problem exactly with the use of a transformation to a set of normal coordinates. The viscosity, birefringence of flow, and dielectric and tensile relaxation behavior are calculated explicitly. The intrinsic viscosity in steady flow is somewhat different from the Kirkwood‐Riseman result, and there is no change of viscosity with shear rate. The spectrum of relaxation times is similar to that found by Rouse and by F. Bueche, but has its maximum at a lower frequency than those obtained by Kuhn and Kuhn and by Kirkwood and Fuoss in other ways.
A high-performance anode for lithium ion batteries: Fe3O4 microspheres encapsulated in hollow graphene shells

The encapsulation of transition metal oxide (TMO) particles in a graphene hollow shell to form a core-void-shell structure is an attractive way to improve the electrochemical performance of TMO-based electrodes for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). First, the continuous graphene shell may enhance the electrical conductivity of the electrodes and thus facilitate current collection and charge transfer associated with lithium storage. Second, the unique shell structure may suppress the aggregation of the core TMO particles while the void space between the core and shell may accommodate the large volume changes of the core during charge–discharge cycling, which enhances electrode stability against cycling. Third, the high specific surface area may improve the accessibility of active electrode materials to the electrolyte, which could effectively reduce the solid-state diffusion length and thus enhance Li ion transport and rate capability. When tested in a LIB, a Fe3O4@rGO composite electrode exhibits an initial reversible capacity of 1236.6 mA h g−1, which is much higher than that of an electrode based on bare Fe3O4, a physical mixture of Fe3O4 and graphene, or other forms of Fe3O4 reported in the literature. In addition, the cycling performance and rate capacity are also much better. The results clearly demonstrate that this unique electrode architecture is ideally suited for LIBs and other electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices.
Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics Study of the Hydration of a Sodium Smectite Clay

Ab Initio molecular dynamics simulations have been performed to study the hydration of a sodium smectite clay. Water molecules are intercalated as a double layer in the interlayer spacing of this swelling clay mineral. The solvent structure was found to be very similar to predictions by a previous Monte Carlo study based on classical pair potentials (Boek, E. S.; Coveney, P. V.; Skipper, N. T. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1995, 117, 12608). This lends support to our observations regarding the dynamics of the water molecules. First, the water shows a strong preference to form a hydrogen-bonded network between the solvent molecules. The hydrogen bonds to the aluminosilicate surface are only weak and short-lived. Second, the solvent displays liquidlike relaxation dynamics. Our results suggest that, because of the two-surface geometry in clays, intercalated water is prevented from freezing and should be considered in terms of a confined liquid. This is consistent with recent QENS experiments. Finally, we have calculated.
Luminescence imaging for inline characterisation in silicon photovoltaics

Luminescence imaging is a very rapid technique for the characterisation of silicon samples. Megapixel luminescence images on silicon bricks, unprocessed wafers, partially processed wafers and fully processed cells can be captured with acquisition times of typically a few seconds or less than one second. A number of specific luminescence imaging applications have been developed over the last three years, allowing quantitative spatial information to be gained about a variety of crucial material and device parameters. This paper reviews some of the intriguing possibilities for inline monitoring in PV production at an early stage of production that result from the above mentioned short measurement times. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Predicting Multiple Sclerosis From Gait Dynamics Using an Instrumented Treadmill: A Machine Learning Approach

<italic>Objective:</italic> Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a neurological condition which widely affects people 50-60 years of age. While clinical presentations of MS are highly heterogeneous, mobility limitations are one of the most frequent symptoms. This study examines a machine learning (ML) framework for identifying MS through spatiotemporal and kinetic gait features. <italic>Methods:</italic> In this study, gait data during self-paced walking on an instrumented treadmill from 20 persons with MS and 20 age, weight, height, and gender-matched healthy older adults (HOA) were obtained. We explored two strategies to normalize data and minimize dependence on subject demographics; <italic>size-normalization</italic> (standard body size-based normalization) and <italic>regress-normalization</italic> (regression-based normalization using scaling factors derived by regressing gait features on multiple subject demographics); and proposed an ML based methodology to classify individual strides of older persons with MS (PwMS) from healthy controls. We generalized both across different walking tasks and subjects. <italic>Results:</italic> We observed that <italic>regress-normalization</italic> improved the accuracy of identifying pathological gait using ML when compared to <italic>size-normalization</italic>. When generalizing from comfortable walking to walking while talking, gradient boosting machine achieved the optimal subject classification accuracy and AUC of 94.3 and 1.0, respectively and for subject generalization, a multilayer perceptron resulted in the best accuracy and AUC of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathbf {80\%}$</tex-math></inline-formula> and 0.86, respectively, both with regression-normalized data. <italic>Conclusion:</italic> The integration of gait data and ML may provide a viable patient-centric approach to aid clinicians in monitoring MS. <italic>Significance:</italic> The results of this study have future implications for the way regression normalized gait features may be clinically used to design ML-based disease prediction strategies and monitor disease progression in PwMS.
Transparent antifouling coatings via nanoencapsulation of a biocide

Transparent coatings releasing an antifouling agent (AF) can be used to reduce the marine fouling of optical lenses. A variety of water-borne coatings based on poly(methyl methacrylate-co-butyl acrylate) (PMMA-co-PBA) were synthesized using a two-stage miniemulsion process. During this process, the AF, SeaNine 211, was nanoencapsulated in domains small enough not to scatter light. The release rate of SeaNine 211 was studied for the polymers of different Tg, and found to be sufficient to impart AF properties. However, over time, the coatings were found to develop a whitish aspect (blushing) due to water retrodiffusion. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2007
[Clinicopathological characteristics and risk factors of station 4L lymph node metastasis of left non-small cell lung cancer].

OBJECTIVE To analyze the clinicopathological characteristics and risk factors of 4L lymph node metastasis in left non-small cell lung cancer. METHODS We retrospectively analyzed the data of 134 patients undergoing surgical resection of left non-small cell lung cancer and 4L lymph node dissection, including 60 patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and 74 with lung adenocarcinoma (ADC). The clinicopathological characteristics of the patients were analyzed, and logistic regression analysis was used to identify the predictors of station 4L metastasis. RESULTS Of these patients, 16.4% (22/134) presented with station 4L metastasis. The patients with SCC and ADC showed significant differences in age, gender, smoking history, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, tumor size, tumor location and type, visceral pleural invasion, Ki-67 index, 4L metastasis and pathological TNM stage (stage Ⅱ). The rate of station 4L metastasis was significantly lower in SCC group than in ADC group. Univariate analysis revealed that pathological types (SCC or ADC), visceral pleural invasion, lymphovascular invasion, tumor markerabnormality, and station 5 to 10 metastasis were all high-risk factors for station 4L metastasis. Multivariate analysis suggested that the pathological type (OR=0.120, P=0.025), station 5 metastasis (OR=18.784, P=0.007) and station 10 metastasis (OR=5.233, P=0.044) were independent risk factors for 4L metastasis in patients with left non-small cell lung cancer. CONCLUSIONS In patients with left non-small cell lung cancer, station 4L metastasis is not rare and is more likely to occur in patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Dissection of the 4L lymph nodes should be performed in cases with low risk of damages of the adjacent tissues and high risk of station 4L metastasis.
Spatiotemporal factors influence sound-source segregation in localization behavior.

To program a goal-directed response in the presence of acoustic reflections, the audio-motor system should suppress the detection of time-delayed sources. We examined the effects of spatial separation and inter-stimulus delay on the ability of human listeners to localize a pair of broadband sounds in the horizontal plane. Participants indicated how many sounds were heard and where these were perceived by making one or two head-orienting localization responses. Results suggest that perceptual fusion of the two sounds depends on delay and spatial separation. Leading and lagging stimuli in close spatial proximity required longer stimulus delays to be perceptually separated than those further apart. Whenever participants heard one sound, their localization responses for synchronous sounds were oriented to a weighted average of both source locations. For short delays, responses were directed towards the leading stimulus location. Increasing spatial separation enhanced this effect. For longer delays, responses were again directed towards a weighted average. When participants perceived two sounds, the first and the second response were directed to either of the leading and lagging source locations. Perceived locations were interchanged often in their temporal order (in ~40% of trials). We show that the percept of two sounds occurring requires sufficient spatiotemporal separation, after which localization can be performed with high accuracy. We propose that the percept of temporal order of two concurrent sounds results from a different process than localization, and discuss how dynamic lateral excitatory-inhibitory interactions within a spatial sensorimotor map could explain the findings.
Mammalian Retinal Cell Quantification

Normal retina and its cell layers are essential for processing visual stimuli, and loss of its integrity has been documented in many disease processes. The numbers and the axonal processes of retinal ganglion cells are reduced substantially in glaucoma, leading to vision loss and blindness. Similarly, selective loss of photoreceptors in age-related macular degeneration and hereditary retinal dystrophies also results in the compromise of visual acuity. Development of genetically modified mice has led to increased understanding of the pathogenesis of many retinal diseases. Similarly, in this digital era, usage of modalities to quantify the retinal cell loss has grown exponentially leading to a better understanding of the suitability of animal models to study human retinal diseases. These quantification modalities provide valuable quantifiable data in studying pathogenesis and disease progression. This review will discuss the immunohistochemical markers for various retinal cells, available automated tools to quantify retinal cells, and present an example of retinal ganglion cell quantification using HALO image analysis platform. Additionally, we briefly review retinal cell types and subtypes, salient features of retina in various laboratory animal species, and a few of the main disease processes that affect retinal cell numbers in humans.