Effect of the Flame Retardants and Glass Fiber on the Polyamide 66/Polyphenylene Oxide Composites.

In this work, polyamide 66/polyphenylene oxide (PA66/PPO) composites, including the flame retardants 98 wt% aluminum diethylphosphinate + 2 wt% polydimethylsiloxane (P@Si), Al(OH)-coated red phosphorus (RP*), and glass fiber (GF), were systematically studied, respectively. The limiting oxygen index (LOI), UL-94 vertical burning level, and thermal and mechanical properties of the PA66/PPO composites were characterized. The results showed that the P@Si and RP flame retardants both improved the LOI value and UL-94 vertical burning level of the PA66/PPO composites, and PA66/PPO composites passed to the UL-94 V-0 level when the contents of P@Si and RP* flame retardants were 16 wt% and 8 wt%.

An integrated high-throughput microfluidic circulatory fluorescence-activated cell sorting system (μ-CFACS) for the enrichment of rare cells.

There is an increasing need for the enrichment of rare cells in the clinical environments of precision medicine, personalized medicine, and regenerative medicine. With the possibility of becoming the next-generation cell sorters, microfluidic fluorescence-activated cell sorting (μ-FACS) devices have been developed to avoid cross-contamination, minimize device footprint, and eliminate bio-aerosols. However, due to highly precise flow control, the achievable throughput of the μ-FACS system is generally lower than the throughput of conventional FACS devices.

Amplified piezoelectrically actuated on-chip flow switching for a rapid and stable microfluidic fluorescence activated cell sorter.

With the potential to avoid cross-contamination, eliminate bio-aerosols, and minimize device footprints, microfluidic fluorescence-activated cell sorting (μ-FACS) devices could become the platform for the next generation cell sorter. Here, we report an on-chip flow switching based μ-FACS mechanism with piezoelectric actuation as a fast and robust sorting solution. A microfluidic chip with bifurcate configuration and displacement amplified piezoelectric microvalves has been developed to build the μ-FACS system.

Identification of Early-Stage Alzheimer's Disease Using Sulcal Morphology and Other Common Neuroimaging Indices.

Identifying Alzheimer's disease (AD) at its early stage is of major interest in AD research. Previous studies have suggested that abnormalities in regional sulcal width and global sulcal index (g-SI) are characteristics of patients with early-stage AD. In this study, we investigated sulcal width and three other common neuroimaging morphological measures (cortical thickness, cortical volume, and subcortical volume) to identify early-stage AD.

Unipolar memristive switching in bulk negative temperature coefficient thermosensitive ceramics.

A memristive phenomenon was observed in macroscopic bulk negative temperature coefficient nickel monoxide (NiO) ceramic material. Current-voltage characteristics of memristors, pinched hysteretic loops were systematically observed in the Ag/NiO/Ag cell. A thermistor-based model for materials with negative temperature coefficient was proposed to explain the mechanism of the experimental phenomena.

Nanostructured Li₂S-C composites as cathode material for high-energy lithium/sulfur batteries.

With a theoretical capacity of 1166 mA·h·g(-1), lithium sulfide (Li(2)S) has received much attention as a promising cathode material for high specific energy lithium/sulfur cells. However, the insulating nature of Li(2)S prevents the achievement of high utilization (or high capacity) and good rate capability. Various efforts have been made to ameliorate this problem by improving the contact between Li(2)S and electronic conductors.