1,720,966 research outputs found
High-Density Microfluidic Particle-Cluster-Array Device for Parallel and Dynamic Study of Interaction between Engineered Particles
A high-density and high-performance microfluidic particle-cluster-array device utilizing a novel hydrodynamically tunable pneumatic valve (HTPV) is reported for parallel and dynamic monitoring of the interactions taking place in particle clusters. The key concept involves passive operation of the HTPV through elastic deformation of a thin membrane using only the hydrodynamic force inherent in microchannel flows. This unique feature allows the discrete and high-density (approximate to 30 HTPVs mm(-2)) arrangement of numerous HTPVs in a microfluidic channel without any pneumatic connection. In addition, the HTPV achieves high-performance clustering (approximate to 92%) of three different particles in an array format through the optimization of key design and operating parameters. Finally, a contamination-free, parallel, and dynamic biochemical analysis strategy is proposed, which employs a simple one-inlet-one-outlet device operated by the effective combination of several techniques, including particle clustering, the interactions between engineered particles, two-phase partitioning and dehydration control of aqueous plugs, and shape/colorbased particle identification.115sciescopu
A single snapshot multiplex immunoassay platform utilizing dense test lines based on engineered beads
Co-circulation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and dengue fever has been reported. Accurate and timely multiplex diagnosis is required to prevent future pandemics. Here, we developed an innovative microfluidic chip that enables a snapshot multiplex immunoassay for timely on-site response and offers unprecedented multiplexing capability with an operating procedure similar to that of lateral flow assays. An open microchannel assembly of individually engineered microbeads was developed to construct nine high-density test lines, which can be imaged in a 1 mm2 field-of-view. Thus, simultaneous detection of multiple antibodies would be achievable in a single high-resolution snapshot. Next, we developed a novel pixel intensity-based imaging process to distinguish effective and non-specific fluorescence signals, thereby improving the reliability of this fluorescence based immunoassay. Finally, the chip specifically identified and classified random combinations of arbovirus (Zika, dengue, and chikungunya viruses) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies within 30 min. Therefore, we believe that this snapshot multiplex immunoassay chip is a powerful diagnostic tool to control current and future pandemics.11Nsciescopu
Enhancement of Steel Sandwich Sheet Adhesion Using Mechanical Interlocking Structures Formed by Electrochemical Etching
Steel sandwich sheets (steel-polymer-steel), which are composed of lightweight polymers bonded on both sides with rigid steel sheets, have recently been developed as functional lightweight materials. In this study, a steel sandwich sheet (electrogalvanized (EG) steel sheet-polypropylene (PP)-EG steel sheet) with improved normal adhesion is fabricated without adhesives. Instead, adhesion is achieved via mechanical interlocking between the etched EG steel sheets and PP. Hierarchical structures were formed on the EG steel sheet surface by electrochemical etching to attain effective mechanical interlocking for improving normal adhesion without any adhesives. In the case of the EG steel sheet etched at 6 V for 7 s, a high fraction (similar to 35%) of holes (size: <1 mu m(2)) with nanoscale scalloped structures was formed on the EG steel sheet surface. The normal adhesion test result of the fabricated steel sandwich sheet showed that the adhesion strength increased from virtually 0 (bare) to 559.6 kPa as a result of mechanical interlocking. The results of the focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectrometry analyses confirmed the cohesive failure of PP resulting from the successful mechanical interlocking of PP with the holes formed on the etched EG steel sheet. To examine the effect of hierarchical structures on the normal adhesion of the steel sandwich sheet, finite element analysis was implemented.11Nsciescopu
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
We conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
We have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
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