Sensitivity analysis of rectangular atomic force microscope cantilevers immersed in liquids based on the modified couple stress theory.

The modified couple stress theory is adopted to study the sensitivity of a rectangular atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilever immersed in acetone, water, carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), and 1-butanol. The theory contains a material length scale parameter and considers the size effect in the analysis. However, this parameter is difficult to obtain via experimental measurements.

Lower Extremity Muscle Activation and Kinematics of Catchers When Throwing Using Various Squatting and Throwing Postures.

This study investigated the differences in joint motions and muscle activities of the lower extremities involved in various squatting postures. The motion capture system with thirty-one reflective markers attached on participants was used for motion data collection. The electromyography system was applied over the quadriceps, biceps femoris, tibialis anterior, and gastrocnemius muscles of the pivot and stride leg.

Investigation of Laminar Convective Heat Transfer for Al₂O₃-Water Nanofluids Flowing through a Square Cross-Section Duct with a Constant Heat Flux.

The objective of this study is to numerically investigate the convective heat transfer of water-based Al2O3 nanofluids flowing through a square cross-section duct with a constant heat flux under laminar flow conditions. The effects of nanoparticle concentration and Peclet number on the heat transfer characteristics of Al2O3-water nanofluids are investigated. The nanoparticle diameter is 25 nm and six particle concentrations (0.

Magnetic Clustering Effect during the Association of Biofunctionalized Magnetic Nanoparticles with Biomarkers.

We report herein an investigation into dynamic magnetic clustering that occurs during immunoassays as biofunctionalized magnetic nanoparticles (BMNs) become associated with biotargets. We measure the dynamic effective relaxation time τeff(t) and use scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to investigate the C-reactive protein (CRP) as it associates with the BMN Fe3O4-antiCRP to form the magnetic cluster Fe3O4-antiCRP-CRP. The results indicate that τeff(t) increases with increasing association time.

Enhanced Synthesis of Carbon Nanomaterials Using Acoustically Excited Methane Diffusion Flames.

Acoustically modulated methane jet diffusion flames were used to enhance carbon nanostructure synthesis. A catalytic nickel substrate was employed to collect the deposit materials at sampling position = 10 mm above the burner exit. The fabrication of carbon nano-onions (CNOs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was significantly enhanced by acoustic excitation at frequencies near the natural flickering frequency (ƒ = 20 Hz) and near the acoustically resonant frequency (ƒ = 90 Hz), respectively.

Preparation and Properties of (YCa)(TiMn)O Ceramics Interconnect of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells.

(YCa)(TiMn)O ceramics prepared using a reaction-sintering process were investigated. Without any calcination involved, the mixture of raw materials was pressed and sintered directly. Y₂Ti₂O₇ instead of YTiO₃ formed when a mixture of Y₂O₃ and TiO₂ with Y/Ti ratio 1/1 were sintered in air.

Investigation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and cyclic terpenoid biomarkers in the sediments of fishing harbors in Taiwan.

Three fishing harbors were investigated to study the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the sediments and trace possible anthropogenic sources by identification of cyclic terpenoid biomarkers. Seventeen terpanes, 10 steranes and 10 bicyclic sesquiterpanes in the marine diesel and the three kinds of lubricants that are mainly used by fishing boats were identified and quantified. Eighteen biomarker diagnostic ratios are suggested and the correlation coefficients among the lubricants and sediment samples have the R(2) value greater than 0.

Water proof and strength retention properties of thermoplastic starch based biocomposites modified with glutaraldehyde.

Water proof and strength retention properties of thermoplastic starch (TPS) resins were successfully improved by reacting glutaraldehyde (GA) with starch molecules during their gelatinization processes. Tensile strength (σf) values of initial and aged TPS100BC0.02GAx and (TPS100BC0.

Nonvolatile bio-memristor fabricated with egg albumen film.

This study demonstrates the fabrication and characterization of chicken egg albumen-based bio-memristors. By introducing egg albumen as an insulator to fabricate memristor devices comprising a metal/insulator/metal sandwich structure, significant bipolar resistive switching behavior can be observed. The 1/f noise characteristics of the albumen devices were measured, and results suggested that their memory behavior results from the formation and rupture of conductive filaments.

Digital control analysis and design of a field-sensed magnetic suspension system.

Magnetic suspension systems are mechatronic systems and crucial in several engineering applications, such as the levitation of high-speed trains, frictionless bearings, and wind tunnels. Magnetic suspension systems are nonlinear and unstable systems; therefore, they are suitable educational benchmarks for testing various modeling and control methods. This paper presents the digital modeling and control of magnetic suspension systems.

Identification and quantification of biomarkers and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in an aged mixed contaminated site: from source to soil.

The sources of the spill and the contaminated soils of an aged oil spill contaminated site with unknown mixed pollutants were investigated by using a set of developed forensic chemical procedures which include analysis of oil products, site investigation, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) screening, biomarker identification, and finally, the confirmation of pollutants. Adamantanes (17 compounds), 10 bicyclic sesquiterpanes, 6 newly detected compounds, 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and 10 alkylated naphthalenes compounds in several gasoline, diesel oil samples, and contaminated soil samples were examined and quantified. GC/MS method, retention indices, relative response factors, and diagnostic ratio were used to identify and quantify pollutant compounds.

Human exposure to airborne aldehydes in Chinese medicine clinics during moxibustion therapy and its impact on risks to health.

Many air toxicants, and especially aldehydes, are generated by moxibustion, which means burning Artemisia argyi. Our goal was to investigate indoor-air aldehyde emissions in Chinese medicine clinics (CMCs) during moxibustion to further evaluate the potential health risks, including cancer risk and non-cancer risk, to the medical staff and adult patients. First, the indoor-air-quality in 60 public sites, including 15 CMCs, was investigated.

Tracking sinks of atmospheric methane using small world networks.

The present study uses small world network to highlight the key hubs for CH4 atmospheric pathways without considering rate constant of each reaction and concentrations of each species. The atmospheric methane sources and sinks were formulated into a well-organized network of 49 nodes and 302 links. In the network, reactions (including substrates and products) are considered as nodes and their pathways as links.

Using bio-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles and dynamic nuclear magnetic resonance to characterize the time-dependent spin-spin relaxation time for sensitive bio-detection.

In this work, we report the use of bio-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (BMNs) and dynamic magnetic resonance (DMR) to characterize the time-dependent spin-spin relaxation time for sensitive bio-detection. The biomarkers are the human C-reactive protein (CRP) while the BMNs are the anti-CRP bound onto dextran-coated Fe3O4 particles labeled as Fe3O4-antiCRP. It was found the time-dependent spin-spin relaxation time, T2, of protons decreases as time evolves.

Post-annealed gallium and aluminum co-doped zinc oxide films applied in organic photovoltaic devices.

Gallium and aluminum co-doped zinc oxide (GAZO) films were produced by magnetron sputtering. The GAZO films were post-annealed in either vacuum or hydrogen microwave plasma. Vacuum- and hydrogen microwave plasma-annealed GAZO films show different surface morphologies and lattice structures.

Effect of noise intensity and illumination intensity on visual performance.

The results of Experiment 1 indicated that noise and illumination intensity have a significant effect on character identification performance, which was better at 30 dBA than at 60 and 90 dBA, and better at 500 and 800 lux than at 200 lux. However, the interaction of noise and illumination intensity did not significantly affect visual performance. The results of Experiment 2 indicated that noise and illumination intensity also had a significant effect on reading comprehension performance, which was better at 30 dBA than at 60 and 90 dBA, and better at 500 lux than at 200 and 800 lux.

Rapid identification of bacteria utilizing amplified dielectrophoretic force-assisted nanoparticle-induced surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) has been widely used to manipulate, separate, and concentrate microscale particles. Unfortunately, DEP force is difficult to be used in regard to the manipulation of nanoscale molecules/particles. For manipulation of 50- to 100-nm particles, the electrical field strength must be higher than 3 × 10(6) V/m, and with a low applied voltage of 10 Vp-p, the electrode gap needs to be reduced to submicrons.

Removal of nitrogen from secondary effluent of a petrochemical industrial park by a hybrid biofilm-carrier reactor with one-stage ANAMMOX.

A laboratory study was undertaken to explore the capability of one-stage ANAMMOX in a hybrid biofilm-carrier reactor (HBCR) fed with petrochemical wastewater. Under favorable operating conditions in continuous-flow operations (at the dissolved oxygen level of 0.5-1.

Estimation of surface heat flux and temperature distributions in a multilayer tissue based on the hyperbolic model of heat conduction.

In this study, an inverse algorithm based on the conjugate gradient method and the discrepancy principle is applied to solve the inverse hyperbolic heat conduction problem in estimating the unknown time-dependent surface heat flux in a skin tissue, which is stratified into epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous layers, from the temperature measurements taken within the medium. Subsequently, the temperature distributions in the tissue can be calculated as well. The concept of finite heat propagation velocity is applied to the modeling of the bioheat transfer problem.

40 GHz RF biosensor based on microwave coplanar waveguide transmission line for cancer cells (HepG2) dielectric characterization.

This paper presents a 40-GHz RF biosensor that involves using a microwave coplanar waveguide (CPW) transmission line for the dielectric characterization of cancer cells (Hepatoma G2, HepG2). In the past, conventional resonator-based biosensors were designed to operate at a specific resonant peak; however, the dielectric sensitivity of the cells was restricted to a narrow bandwidth. To provide a very wide bandwidth (1-40 GHz), biosensors were based on a microwave CPW transmission line.

Hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy for patients with huge unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background And Aim: The optimal treatment for huge unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains controversial. The outcome of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for patients huge unresectable HCC is generally poor and the survival benefit of TACE in these patients is unclear. The aim of the study is to compare the effect of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) versus symptomatic treatment in patients with huge unresectable HCC.

Combination of a fast cleanup procedure and a DR-CALUX® bioassay for dioxin surveillance in Taiwanese soils.

Our goal was to determine dioxin levels in 800 soil samples collected from Taiwan. An in vitro DR-CALUX® assay was carried out with the help of an automated Soxhlet system and fast cleanup column. The mean dioxin level of 800 soil samples was 36.

The influence of black carbon on the sorption and desorption of two model PAHs in natural soils.

Black carbons (BC) which result from the incomplete combustion of farm waste [man-made (burned) BC] are highly absorbent. In Taiwan, the burning of farm waste known as slash and burn is common. The BCs from the burning may present an environmental challenge.

Effects of bilingualism and trilingualism in L2 production: evidence from errors and self-repairs in early balanced bilingual and trilingual adults.

Through analyzing response latencies, errors, and self-repairs in Mandarin, this investigation explores how monolingual, bilingual, and trilingual adults process their speech production differently using cognitive control mechanisms. In this study we conducted two experiments involving speech production in Mandarin. In the two experiments, 81 adults participated and were categorized into three groups: Mandarin monolingual, Hakka-Mandarin bilingual, and Hakka-Mandarin-Minnan trilingual.

Gelation behavior of poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene)/poly[9,9-di(2-ethylhexyl)-fluorenyl-2,7-diyl] blend in methylcyclohexane solutions.

We investigated the gelation behavior of the blend of two light-emitting polyfluorenes, i.e., poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-2,7-diyl) (PF(8)) and poly[9,9-di(2-ethylhexyl)-fluorenyl-2,7-diyl] (PF(2/6)), in solutions with methylcyclohexane (MCH).