Development of Innovative Online Modularized Device for Turbidity Monitoring.

Given progress in water-quality analytical technology and the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) in recent years, compact and durable automated water-quality monitoring devices have substantial market potential. Due to susceptibility to the influence of interfering substances, which lowers measurement accuracy, existing automated online monitoring devices for turbidity, a key indicator of a natural water body, feature a single light source and are thus insufficient for more complicated water-quality measurement. The newly developed modularized water-quality monitoring device boasts dual light sources (VIS/NIR), capable of measuring the intensity of scattering, transmission, and reference light at the same time.

Thickness measurements of graphene oxide flakes using atomic force microscopy: results of an international interlaboratory comparison.

Flake thickness is one of the defining properties of graphene-related 2D materials (GR2Ms), and therefore requires reliable, accurate, and reproducible measurements with well-understood uncertainties. This is needed regardless of the production method or manufacturer because it is important for all GR2M products to be globally comparable. An international interlaboratory comparison on thickness measurements of graphene oxide flakes using atomic force microscopy has been completed in technical working area 41 of versailles project on advanced materials and standards.

Solar cell cracks within a photovoltaic module: Characterization by AC impedance spectroscopy.

Various cell crack modes (with or without electrically inactive cell areas) can be induced in crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells within a PV module through natural thermomechanical stressors such as strong winds, heavy snow, and large hailstones. Although degradation in the performance of PV modules by cell cracks has been reported occasionally, the mode-dependent evolutions in the electrical signatures of cracks have not yet been elucidated. In this study, we propose that the reduction of the time constant in the AC impedance spectra, which is caused by the elevation of minority-carrier recombination in the p-n junction of a PV cell, is a ubiquitous signature of cracked PV cells encapsulated in a commercially available PV module.

Detection of Lumbar Spondylolisthesis from X-ray Images Using Deep Learning Network.

Spondylolisthesis refers to the displacement of a vertebral body relative to the vertrabra below it, which can cause radicular symptoms, back pain or leg pain. It usually occurs in the lower lumbar spine, especially in women over the age of 60. The prevalence of spondylolisthesis is expected to rise as the global population ages, requiring prudent action to promptly identify it in clinical settings.

Evaluation of Three Sample Introduction Systems for Impurity Analysis of an Ultrapure Reagent Using a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer.

The semiconductor industry continues to shrink the device sizes while applying more complex shapes and using diverse materials, which requires parallel improvements in the quality of ultrapure reagents. The need for ultrapure reagents has led to ever-higher demands for the performance of analytical instruments used to detect ultratrace impurities. In this study, nonvolatile impurities in ultrapure reagents were quantified using a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS).

All-Vacuum-Deposited Perovskite X-ray Detector with a Record-High Self-Powered Sensitivity of 1.2 C Gy cm.

Highly sensitive X-ray detection is crucial in, for example, medical imaging and secure inspection. Halide perovskite X-ray detectors are promising candidates for detecting highly energetic radiation. In this report, we describe vacuum-deposited Cs-based perovskite X-ray detectors possessing a p-i-n architecture.

Precise Tuning and Characterization of Viscoelastic Interfaces for the Study of Early Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Behaviors.

There is growing evidence that cellular functions are regulated by the viscoelastic nature of surrounding matrices. This study aimed to investigate the impact of interfacial viscoelasticity on adhesion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) behaviors of epithelial cells. The interfacial viscoelasticity was manipulated using spin-coated thin films composed of copolymers of ε-caprolactone and d,l-lactide photo-cross-linked with benzophenone, whose mechanical properties were characterized using atomic force microscopy and a rheometer.

Dysregulated HIC1 and RassF1A expression in vitro alters the cell cytoskeleton and exosomal Piwi-interacting RNA.

HIC1 and RassF1A methylation, which cause loss of gene function, are found in various cancers, including renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and could alter cell stiffness and the content of extracellular vesicles (EVs). These physiological changes may provide a tumoral survival advantage and thus could serve as cellular biomarkers for monitoring cell transformation, although direct associations between these changes and cell transformation remain to be established. As we found HIC1 and RassF1A methylation and expression changes in RCC samples, we examined the effects of gain and loss of HIC1 and RassF1A expression on cell DNA content, cytoskeletal structure, and Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) expression in EVs.

Nanoscale Material Heterogeneity of Glowworm Capture Threads Revealed by AFM.

Adhesive materials used by many arthropods for biological functions incorporate sticky substances and a supporting material that operate synergistically by exploiting substrate attachment and energy dissipation. While there has been much focus on the composition and properties of the sticky glues of these bio-composites, less attention has been given to the materials that support them. In particular, as these materials are primarily responsible for dissipation during adhesive pull-off, little is known of the structures that give rise to functionality, especially at the nano-scale.

Viscoelastically tunable substrates elucidate the interface-relaxation-dependent adhesion and assembly behaviors of epithelial cells.

Recent progress in mechanobiology sheds light on the regulation of cellular phenotypes by dissipative property of matrices, i.e., viscosity, fluidity, and stress relaxation, in addition to extensively studied elasticity.

Adhesion of spider cribellate silk enhanced in high humidity by mechanical plasticization of the underlying fiber.

The disruptive nature of water presents a significant challenge when designing synthetic adhesives that maintain functionality in wet conditions. However, many animal adhesives can withstand high humidity or underwater conditions, and some are even enhanced by them. An understudied mechanism in such systems is the influence of material plasticization by water to induce adhesive work through deformation.

Mechanical and structural properties of major ampullate silk from spiders fed carbon nanomaterials.

The dragline silk of spiders is of particular interest to science due to its unique properties that make it an exceptional biomaterial that has both high tensile strength and elasticity. To improve these natural fibers, researchers have begun to try infusing metals and carbon nanomaterials to improve mechanical properties of spider silk. The objective of this study was to incorporate carbon nanomaterials into the silk of an orb-weaving spider, Nephila pilipes, by feeding them solutions containing graphene and carbon nanotubes.

Measurements of an Effective Longitudinal Coherence Length in Transmission Small Angle X-ray Scatterings.

The notion of an effective longitudinal coherence length with its value much greater than λ2/(2Δλ) has been adopted in small-angle X-ray scattering communities for years, where λ and Δλ denote the incident wavelength and its spread, respectively. Often the implications of the effective longitudinal coherence length do not even enter considerations in the designing and data treatment of small-angle scattering experiments. In this work, conventional transmission small-angle X-ray scattering (tSAXS) was performed to reveal a clear angular dependence on effective longitudinal coherence length.

Uncoiling springs promote mechanical functionality of spider cribellate silk.

Composites, both natural and synthetic, achieve novel functionality by combining two or more constituent materials. For example, the earliest adhesive silk in spider webs - cribellate silk - is composed of stiff axial fibers and coiled fibers surrounded by hundreds of sticky cribellate nanofibrils. Yet, little is known of how fiber types interact to enable capture of insect prey with cribellate silk.

Ag Nanostructures with Spikes on Adhesive Tape as a Flexible Sers-Active Substrate for In Situ Trace Detection of Pesticides on Fruit Skin.

Nanostructures with spikes (NSPs) have been a subject of several surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) applications owing to their significant Raman signal enhancement brought about by the combined effects of interspike coupling and the accumulated induction on the tips of spikes. Thus, NSPs offer great potential as a SERS-active substrate for relevant applications that require a high density of enhanced "hot spots". In this study, Ag NSPs were synthesized in varying degrees of agglomeration and were thereafter deposited onto a transparent adhesive tape as a flexible substrate for SERS applications, specifically, in the detection of trace amounts of pesticides.

Time-resolved X-ray reflection phases of the nearly forbidden Si(222) reflection under laser excitation.

The covalent electron density, which makes Si(222) measurable, is subject to laser excitation. The three-wave Si(222)/(13 {\overline 1}) diffraction at 7.82 keV is used for phase measurements.

SERS-Active Substrate with Collective Amplification Design for Trace Analysis of Pesticides.

Health risks posed by the exposure to trace amounts of pesticide residue in agricultural products have gained a lot of concerns, due to their neurotoxic nature. The applications of surface-enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) as a detection technique have consistently shown its potential as a rapid and sensitive means with minimal sample preparation. In this study, gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) in elliptical shapes were collected into a layer of ordered zirconia concave pores.

Development of a titanium dioxide-assisted preconcentration/on-site vapor-generation chip hyphenated with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry for online determination of mercuric ions in urine samples.

In this study, a novel automatic analytical methodology using a titanium dioxide (TiO)-assisted preconcentration/on-site vapor-generation (VG) chip hyphenated with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for online determination of mercuric ions (Hg) was developed. Interestingly, the TiO nanoparticle (nano-TiO) coating on the channel surface acted not only as a sorbent for preconcentration but also as a catalyst for photocatalyst-assisted VG. Under optimum operation conditions, the developed method was validated by analyzing the certified reference material (CRM) Seronorm™ Trace Elements Urine L-2 (freeze-dried human urine).

Strontium Oxide Deposited onto a Load-Bearable and Porous Titanium Matrix as Dynamic and High-Surface-Contact-Area Catalysis for Transesterification.

Strontium oxide (SrO) deposited onto a porous titanium (Ti)-based scaffold (P-Ti) is a promising and novel approach for high-throughput transesterification. Notably, a highly porous and calcinated scaffold provides a load-bearable support for a continuous process, while the calcinated SrO catalyst, as it is well distributed inside the porous matrix, can extend its surface contact area with the reactant. In this work, the formation of transesterification reaction with the conversion and production of olive oil to biodiesel inside the porous matrix is particularly examined.

and Methylation Attenuates Tubulin Expression and Cell Stiffness in Cancer.

Cell stiffness is a potential biomarker for monitoring cellular transformation, metastasis, and drug resistance development. Environmental factors relayed into the cell may result in formation of inheritable markers (e.g.

Gold Nanoparticle-Coated ZrO₂-Nanofiber Surface as a SERS-Active Substrate for Trace Detection of Pesticide Residue.

Trace detection of common pesticide residue is necessary to assure safety of fruit and vegetables, given that the potential health risk to consumers is attributed to the contamination of the sources. A simple, rapid and effective means of finding the residue is however required for household purposes. In recent years, the technique in association with surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has been well developed in particular for trace detection of target molecules.

Precision saturated absorption spectroscopy of H.

In our previous work on the Lamb-dips of the ν fundamental band transitions of H, the saturated absorption spectrum was obtained by third-derivative spectroscopy using frequency modulation with an optical parametric oscillator (OPO). However, frequency modulation also caused errors in the absolute frequency determination. To solve this problem, we built a tunable offset locking system to lock the pump frequency of the OPO to an iodine-stabilized Nd:YAG laser.