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Ultrafast chemical-free cell lysis by high speed stream collision induced by surface acoustic waves.
No full textThis paper reports on a surface acoustic wave(SAW) based cell lysis device on a LiNbO3 substrate by utilizing high speed collision of cells, which are accelerated by acoustic streaming. With varying working powers, cell lysis was achieved within 20 s and more than 95% lysis efficiency. The cell solution volume effect on SAW based lysis was also investigated and proved that it is not the main issue. With the CCK8 based viability test and verification of cell contents by electrophoresis, the efficient lysis results of our devices have been verified
Exceedingly high photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4/Gd-N-TiO2 composite with nanoscale heterojunctions
No full textComposite materials, made of graphitic carbon nitride/gadolinium and nitrogen co-doped titanium dioxide (g-C3N4/Gd-N-TiO2), have been successfully prepared by a simple and reproducible in-situ synthetic method. Specific surface area, pore size, particle morphology, crystalline structure, energy band gap, and chemical bonding mode of the materials have been characterized by spectroscopic and electron microscopic means. Photoluminescence measurement and photocatalytic degradation of methyl blue (MB) and antibiotics (gatifloxacin) test show that the composites exhibit significant enhanced photocatalytic activity. Our experimental results indicate that nanoscale heterojunctions are formed in the composites, and these junctions have played a key role in the separation and transportation of photo generated electrons and holes, and hence the effective promotion of the photocatalysis
Layer by layer deposition of polyethylenimine and bio-based polyphosphate on ammonium polyphosphate: A novel hybrid for simultaneously improving the flame retardancy and toughness of polylactic acid
No full textIn this study, a facile approach to fabricate a novel bio-based hybrid (BBH) with core/shell structure is presented by taking advantage of plant-derived resources. The BBH developed herein comprises of an inorganic core of ammonium polyphosphate (APP), covered with an organic shell that is constructed via layer-by-layer assembly of a novel bio-based polyelectrolyte (BPE) and polyethylenimine (PEI). BBH can simultaneously enhance the flame retardancy and toughness of polylactic acid (PLA) with very high efficiency. The flame retardant PLA composite can pass UL94 V0 rating at the BBH loading content of 10 wt%. The efficient flame retardant performance is due to its effectiveness in both gas and condensed phases. More importantly, the flame retardant PLA composite containing 10 wt% BBH exhibits ductile fracture with an elongation at break of 27.3%, which is much higher than that of neat PLA (8%). The debonding and plastic void deformation of the PLA matrix around the BBH are responsible for the enhanced toughness. This work provides important hints for devising highly efficient multifunctional flame retardant and broadening the application field of renewable resources
Carbon emission, energy consumption, trade openness and financial development in Pakistan: A revisit
No full textThe paper empirically examines the cointegrating relationship between carbon emissions, energy consumption, trade openness and financial development in Pakistan using ARDL bounds test for cointegration procedure. Annual time series data is used for the period 1971–2011. The results reveal an inverted U-shaped relationship between carbon emission and energy consumption with a maximum threshold value of energy consumption per capita 640 kg of oil equivalent. Currently, the economy is operating below this level and therefore it is expected that carbon emission will continue to rise gradually over some time until the threshold level is reached. The lower than threshold level of energy consumption implies that scale and composition effects dominate the technology effect in terms of energy use. Further, the long-run results indicate that one percent increase in trade openness and financial development will increase carbon emission by 0.247% and 0.165%, respectively. The short-run elasticities are 0.122% and 0.087% for trade openness and financial development, respectively. The Granger causality results indicate a unidirectional causality from energy consumption, trade openness and financial development to carbon emission; and a bi-directional causality between energy consumption and financial development. In line with the results and given the growing focus on climate change effects in Pakistan, the paper discusses some policy issues for consideration and highlights the need to interpret elasticities with caution
McDonaldizing spirituality: mindfulness, education and consumerism
No full textThe exponential growth of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in recent years has resulted in a marketisation and commodification of practice – popularly labeled ‘McMindfulness’ – which divorces mindfulness from its spiritual and ethical origins in Buddhist traditions. Such commodification is criticized by utilising ideas and insights drawn from work in educational philosophy and policy analysis. The ‘McDonaldization’ process is applied to the emerging populist versions of mindfulness, and analysed in some detail, alongside the capitalization and marketisation of MBIs on the ‘McMindfulness’ model. The central argument is that the crucial educational function of MBIs needs to be informed by the moral virtues which are at the heart of Buddhist mindfulness. Without such an ethical and educational foundation – actively connected with engaged Buddhist foundations aimed at individual and social transformation - mindfulness becomes just another fashionable self-help gimmick that is unlikely to be of any lasting individual or social benefit
Installation systems of on-site prefabricated concrete components: a qualitative approach
No full textThe construction industry has been identified as one of the more important sectors towards realizing the aim of making Malaysia a developed country by the year 2020. Towards this end, the construction industry needs to become more competitive and productive. One major strategy is the implementation of the industrialized building system (IBS). The implementation of IBS requires comprehensive studies to be undertaken to allow project stakeholders fully understand the benefits that may be gained from IBS. The selection of an appropriate installation system is vital in making IBS effective and successful. This paper identifies the on-site prefabricated component installation systems practised and appraises the factors for selection. Structured interviews were carried out with 32 parties directly involved in the on-site prefabricated components installation operation. The study reveals three main prefabricated component installation systems, namely the horizontal-, vertical- and mixed-based systems. Six main influencing factors were also discovered that allow for a more informed decision to be made on system selection. Out of the six factors, it was revealed that the availability of prefabricated components and crane mobility to be the most important factors in determining installation system selection
Mechanism and Origin of Hysteresis in Oxide Thin-Film Transistor and Its Application on 3-D Nonvolatile Memory
No full textHysteresis in the current-voltage characteristics of a ZnO thin-film transistor (TFT) has been studied. Electric dipoles at the interface of the dielectric and the channel have been proposed as the agents responsible for the hysteresis. From experimental results and theoretical analysis, the water diffusing into the active layer is found as the main origin of the hysteresis. Based on this finding, devices free of hysteresis were obtained by using heat treatment and a passivation layer to control water diffusion in the fabrication process. Conversely, the hysteresis characteristics can be engineered so as to benefit the application of electronicmemory. The function of the TFT device that serves as a memory element was also investigated and demonstrated in this paper. Owing to its low temperature process and simplified structure (compared with the FeRAM), 3-D stacked or even transparent nonvolatile memory would be its potential application
"Employee Re-engineering” as a practical tool to enhance organisational performance through investing in Human Resource
No full textThis thesis is based on recent research in the field of Business Transformation (BT) and is testing out the relevance of methodologies in today’s environment. The study aims to test the impact of employee roles’ restructuring as part of Business Redesign (BR) Target Operating Models (TOM) on the outcomes of BR Projects and to revisit the current challenges and opportunities of applying BR within the British business context.Initial research in the field of BT has revealed that organisations adopt BR approaches in order to reduce costs, improve performance and productivity and to achieve competitive advantage. However, there is no apparent evidence of significant development in the area of BR methodologies since it was introduced as a concept over three decades ago. There have been debates around actual success rates and whether the benefits are worth the considerable investment and risks. Authors commonly estimate that between 50-70% of all re-engineering projects fail.Practitioners and academics focussed in the main on researching the success factors, the role of IT, Methodologies and the financial aspects of BR, however not so much on the stages of implementation and post implementation. Human Resource Management (HRM) and Leadership do not feature as strategic partners in the BR methodologies reviewed which is considered a major oversight, given the importance of leadership and human resources which have to deliver the new processes as well as the need to redesign the organisation and the roles within it to fit the new design.The Theoretical Analysis highlighted the challenges and issues associated with current practices and methodologies and four propositions were subsequently formulated highlighting these potential roles and relationships. The main proposition is to explore the concept of Employee Re-engineering (ER) which involves the restructuring and redesign of employees’ roles within the organisations as a fundamental part of BR TOMs, in order to take advantage of human resource and to improve the organisation’s overall performance. The other propositions presented the main elements of ER namely, the role of the workforce whether these should be involved in the new design and the importance of HRM and leadership as strategic partners in BR projects’ implementation These propositions were explored in a comparative case study between two transformation teams, operating both internally and externally. Based on the findings, it was possible to provide the following answer to the research question: involving ER in BR TOMs improves overall project outcomes. The study is unique in that it is the first to empirically introduce and investigate ER as a new approach in BR projects’ implementation as well as developing and validating a more holistic model of BR. In any event developing current theories of BR by covering gaps in literature and investigating the high levels of failure in BR projects contributes to raising awareness of current empirical challenges and updates the academic knowledge on the most recent progress
Peer Communication in Online Mental Health Forums for Young People: Directional and Nondirectional Support
No full textThe Internet has the potential to help young people by reducing the stigma associated with mental health and enabling young people to access services and professionals which they may not otherwise access. Online support can empower young people, help them develop new online friendships, share personal experiences, communicate with others who understand, provide information and emotional support, and most importantly help them feel less alone and normalize their experiences in the world.
The aim of the research was to gain an understanding of how young people use an online forum for emotional and mental health issues. Specifically, the project examined what young people discuss and how they seek support on the forum (objective 1). Furthermore, it looked at how the young service users responded to posts to gain an understanding of how young people provided each other with peer-to-peer support (objective 2).
Kooth is an online counseling service for young people aged 11-25 years and experiencing emotional and mental health problems. It is based in the United Kingdom and provides support that is anonymous, confidential, and free at the point of delivery. Kooth provided the researchers with all the online forum posts between a 2-year period, which resulted in a dataset of 622 initial posts and 3657 initial posts with responses. Thematic analysis was employed to elicit key themes from the dataset.
The findings support the literature that online forums provide young people with both informational and emotional support around a wide array of topics. The findings from this large dataset also reveal that this informational or emotional support can be viewed as directive or nondirective. The nondirective approach refers to when young people provide others with support by sharing their own experiences. These posts do not include explicit advice to act in a particular way, but the sharing process is hoped to be of use to the poster. The directive approach, in contrast, involves individuals making an explicit suggestion of what they believe the poster should do.
This study adds to the research exploring what young people discuss within online forums and provides insights into how these communications take place. Furthermore, it highlights the challenge that organizations may encounter in mediating support that is multidimensional in nature (informational-emotional, directive-nondirective)
Local energy markets in Clustering Power System Approach for smart prosumers
No full textDecentralized, renewable energy sources has grown fast as a sustainable and clean alternative energy to overcome the carbon emissions caused by conventional power plants. However, this change leads to several challenges related to grid control, resulting in a need of new smart grid concepts. Therefore, Clustering Power System Approach (CPSA) has been introduced as a suitable smart grid concept. Meanwhile, the impact of small prosumers in power supply operation increases continuously and they will emerge from being passive to become active participants in smart grid and smart market operation. In a previous paper genetic algorithms (GA) has been introduced as an adequate optimization technique tackling the issue of economic optimization of smart prosumers in a case study. In this paper a case study for a whole cluster network with smart prosumers/households operating under individual requirements is carried out. Additionally, a market model containing auction based local energy markets (LEM) suitable to be implemented in the CPSA is introduced. This is the next step to achieve the goal of smart grid and smart market under the foundation of the CPSA. The results show that the GA based optimization in combination with the involvement of LEM provides economic benefits for smart prosumers