Molecular partitioning in ternary solutions of cellulose.

Neutron scattering measurements on the structure and dynamics of ternary solutions of microcrystalline cellulose (MC) in mixtures of an ionic liquid (IL) 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate and a polar organic solvent dimethylformamide (DMF) have shown that MC can be fully dissolved in solvent mixtures. Data also show the molecular partitioning of IL into coexisting states. The structure partitioning is manifested as IL adsorbed to cellulose molecules with additional IL self-assembled to form clusters in solution, while the dynamics partitioning shows dynamical heterogeneities of the IL with slow dynamics resembling neat IL and fast dynamics being coupled with the solvent.

Phase Separation and Stack Alignment in Aqueous Cellulose Nanocrystal Suspension under Weak Magnetic Field.

Isotropic-nematic (I-N) transitions in cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) suspension and self-assembled structures in the isotropic and nematic phases were investigated using scattering and microscopy methods. A CNC suspension with a mass fraction of 7.4% spontaneously phase separated into an isotropic phase of 6.

Feasibility of real-time motion management with helical tomotherapy.

Purpose: This study investigates the potential application of image-based motion tracking and real-time motion correction to a helical tomotherapy system.

Methods: A kV x-ray imaging system was added to a helical tomotherapy system, mounted 90 degrees offset from the MV treatment beam, and an optical camera system was mounted above the foot of the couch. This experimental system tracks target motion by acquiring an x-ray image every few seconds during gantry rotation.

Anisotropic, Transparent Films with Aligned Cellulose Nanofibers.

Transparent films or substrates are ubiquitously used in photonics and optoelectronics, with glass and plastics as traditional choice of materials. Transparent films made of cellulose nanofibers are reported recently. However, all these films are isotropic in nature.

Disease impact on general well-being and therapeutic expectations of European Type II and Type III spinal muscular atrophy patients.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a neurodegenerative disorder showing a broad clinical spectrum and no cure to date. To design and select evaluation criteria for the potential assessment of drugs currently being developed, the patient's perspective is critical. A survey, aiming to obtain a view on the current clinical state of European Type II and Type III SMA patients, the impact of this situation on their quality of life and their expectations regarding clinical development, was carried out by SMA-Europe member organizations in July 2015.

High Temperature Carbonized Grass as a High Performance Sodium Ion Battery Anode.

Hard carbon is currently considered the most promising anode candidate for room temperature sodium ion batteries because of its relatively high capacity, low cost, and good scalability. In this work, switchgrass as a biomass example was carbonized under an ultrahigh temperature, 2050 °C, induced by Joule heating to create hard carbon anodes for sodium ion batteries. Switchgrass derived carbon materials intrinsically inherit its three-dimensional porous hierarchical architecture, with an average interlayer spacing of 0.

Thermally conductive, dielectric PCM-boron nitride nanosheet composites for efficient electronic system thermal management.

Phase change materials (PCMs) possessing ideal properties, such as superior mass specific heat of fusion, low cost, light weight, excellent thermal stability as well as isothermal phase change behavior, have drawn considerable attention for thermal management systems. Currently, the low thermal conductivity of PCMs (usually less than 1 W mK) greatly limits their heat dissipation performance in thermal management applications. Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a two-dimensional material known for its excellent thermally conductive and electrically insulating properties, which make it a promising candidate to be used in electronic systems for thermal management.

Highly Anisotropic, Highly Transparent Wood Composites.

For the first time, two types of highly anisotropic, highly transparent wood composites are demonstrated by taking advantage of the macro-structures in original wood. These wood composites are highly transparent with a total transmittance up to 90% but exhibit dramatically different optical and mechanical properties.

Self-Powered Human-Interactive Transparent Nanopaper Systems.

Self-powered human-interactive but invisible electronics have many applications in anti-theft and anti-fake systems for human society. In this work, for the first time, we demonstrate a transparent paper-based, self-powered, and human-interactive flexible system. The system is based on an electrostatic induction mechanism with no extra power system appended.

Investigation of accelerated partial breast patient alignment and treatment with helical tomotherapy unit.

Purpose: To determine the precision of megavoltage computed tomography (MVCT)-based alignment of the seroma cavity for patients undergoing partial breast irradiation; and to determine whether accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) plans can be generated for TomoTherapy deliveries that meet the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) B-39/Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 0413 protocol guidelines for target coverage and normal tissue dose limitations.

Methods And Materials: We obtained 50 MVCT images from 10 patients. An interuser study was designed to assess the alignment precision.