6,980 research outputs found
Simulation of droplet-based microfluidic lab-on-a-chip applications
No full textThis paper was presented at the 3rd Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2011), which was held at the Makedonia Palace Hotel, Thessaloniki in Greece. The conference was organised by Brunel University and supported by the Italian Union of Thermofluiddynamics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of Thessaly, IPEM, the Process Intensification Network, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Heat Transfer Society, HEXAG - the Heat Exchange Action Group, and the Energy Institute.Miniaturization of biological and chemical assays in lab-on-a-chip systems is a highly topical field of research. Droplet-based microfluidic chips are types of these miniaturized systems. They expand the capability of assays with special features that are unreached by traditional workflows. In particular, small sample volumes, independent separated reaction units, high throughput, automation and parallelization of assays are prominent features of droplet-based microfluidic devices. Full custom centric design of droplet-based microfluidic lab-on-a-chip technology implicates a high system integration level and design complexity. Therefore advanced development methodologies are needed, comparable with the methods in electronic design automation. Our design and simulation toolkit meets these requirements for an agile and low-risk development of custom lab-on-a-chip devices. The system simulation approach enables a fast and precise prediction of complex microfluidic networks. This fact is confirmed by reference and benchmark
experiments. The results show that the simulation correctly reproduces the experimental measurements.The German BMBF and the EU in the projects DiNaMiD, signature 0315591B and NoE Photonics4Life, Grant Agreement number: 224014
Vacuum Insulation Panels Applied in Building Constructions
No full textDue to sustainability and due to international treaties, it is desired and required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions drastically. One contributor to these emissions is the burning of fossil fuels for generating power and electricity to be used in and for buildings. Buildings and building-related processes are responsible for about 40% of the primary energy consumption in the European Union. More than half of this energy is applied for heating systems in dwellings and commercial buildings. The European Union therefore has laid down new energy performance requirements for buildings in the European Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings. Moreover, a reduction of energy losses of buildings during their occupational phase is important for facilitating the implementation of sustainable energy sources in the built environment. Increasing the insulation value of the envelope of buildings may contribute to this reduction of primary energy use. Two strategies can be followed. The first strategy is to increase the thickness of the thermal insulation layer. Until recently, this strategy has primarily been adopted. If, however, German or Swiss Passivhaus standard is applied, the thickness of this insulation layer would increase to beyond 30 cm, resulting in very thick building enclosures. The second, more innovative, strategy for reducing energy losses through the building skin would be the application of more effective thermal insulators. One such more effective thermal insulator is a vacuum insulation panel, abbreviated as VIP. A VIP consists of an open-celled core material which is evacuated and then tightly sealed into a barrier envelope to maintain this vacuum. The vacuum inside the pores of the core material reduces the thermal conductivity of the product significantly, as a result of which the thickness of the insulation layer can be reduced to obtain a certain performance. This reduction of thickness is among the most promising features for large-scale application of VIPs in the building industry. However, integration of VIPs into buildings must be performed very meticulously for several reasons; first, due to its nature a VIP cannot be processed on site and needs careful planning in advance; second, it is very sensitive to mechanical damage thus requiring careful handling; third, thermal bridges along the panel’s edges reduce its performance; fourth, the composite system is highly subjected to aging. This dissertation therefore looks into many of these aspects, presents several calculation tools and shows how VIPs can be applied in façade panels, EPS insulation boards and as under-floor insulation. With the wide-spread proliferation of VIPs in buildings a more sustainable and healthy environment can then be achieved.Building TechnologyArchitectur
A Mathematical Model To Simulate Small Boat Behaviour
No full textThe use of mathematical models and associated computer
simulation is a well established technique for
predicting the behaviour of large marine vessels. For a
variety of reasons, mainly related to effects of scale,
existing models are unable to adequately predict the
manoeuvring characteristics of smaller vessels. The
accuracy with which the performance of a boat under
autopilot control can be predicted leaves much to be
desired. The thesis provides a mathematical model to
simulate small boat behaviour and so can assist with the
design and testing of marine autopilots.
The boat model is presented in six degrees-of-freedom,
which, with suitable wave disturbance terms, allows
motions such as broaching to be analysed. Instabilities
in the performance of an autopilot arising from such sea
induced yaw motions can be assessed with a view to
improving the control algorithms and methodology.
The traditional "regressional" style models used for
large ships are not suitable for a small boat model
since there exist numerous small boat types and diverse
hull shapes. Instead, a modular approach has been
adopted where individual forces and moments are
categorised in separate sections of the model. This
approach is still in its infancy in the field of marine
simulation. The modular concept demands a clearer
understanding of the physical hydrodynamic processes
involved in the boat system, and the formulation of
equations which do not rely solely upon approximations
to, or multiple regression of, data from sea trials.
Although many hydrodynamic coefficients have been
introduced into the model, a multi-variable Taylor
series expansion of the states about some equilibrium
condition has been avoided, since this would infer an
approximation to have been made, and the higher order
terms rapidly become abstract in their nature and
difficult to relate to the real world.
The research rectifies the glaring omission of a small
boat mathematical model, the framework of which could be
expanded to encompass other marine vehicles. Additional
forces and moments can be appended to the model in new
modules, or existing modules modified to suit new
applications. Much more work, covering a greater range
and fidelity, is required in order to provide equations
which accurately describe the true physical situation
Living lab: Research and development of sustainable products and services through user-driven innovation in experimental-oriented environments
No full textThe LIVING LAB project is a design study within the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union. The aim of this project was to develop the conceptual design of the LIVING LAB Research Infrastructure that will be used to research human interaction with, and stimulate the adoption of, sustainable, smart and healthy innovations around the home. LIVING LABs address some of the difficulties that occur in the course of an innovation process. Worldwide, 85% of development efforts are spent on products and services that never reach the market. At the same time, the experts often underestimate the market potential of many products and services. Living Labs are an approach to stimulate userdriven innovation, which can lead to a better understanding of customer needs and thus to more successful innovations. LIVING LAB tries to utilize the advantages of a European research infrastructure to foster sustainable products and services. Sustainable products, or eco-innovations become more and more important in the face of the challenges as climate change and overuse and depletion of natural resources. The LIVING LAB research infrastructure will explore the consumer\u92s point of view of sustainable and quality-of-life-enhancing innovations. The project is supposed to gather insight in the consumer\u92s motivations for using (or not using) these innovations, and work with the industry to develop alternatives with a better chance of succeeding in the market. The paper will summarize and discuss the results from the LIVING LAB design study and will give an overview about the status of ongoing further European activitie
An alternative mechanism of clathrin-coated pit closure revealed by ion conductance microscopy
No full textCurrent knowledge of the structural changes taking place during clathrin-mediated endocytosis is largely based on electron microscopy images of fixed preparations and x-ray crystallography data of purified proteins. In this paper, we describe a study of clathrin-coated pit dynamics in living cells using ion conductance microscopy to directly image the changes in pit shape, combined with simultaneous confocal microscopy to follow molecule-specific fluorescence. We find that 70% of pits closed with the formation of a protrusion that grew on one side of the pit, covered the entire pit, and then disappeared together with pit-associated clathrin-enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and actin-binding protein-EGFP (Abp1-EGFP) fluorescence. This was in contrast to conventionally closing pits that closed and cleaved from flat membrane sheets and lacked accompanying Abp1-EGFP fluorescence. Scission of both types of pits was found to be dynamin-2 dependent. This technique now enables direct spatial and temporal correlation between functional molecule-specific fluorescence and structural information to follow key biological processes at cell surfaces
Suspended Sentences Public opinion, compliance and recidivism
No full textLaan, P.H. van der [Promotor]Borgers, M.J. [Promotor]Denkers, A.J.M. [Copromotor
Book Review: Reginald M.J. Oduor’s Introduction to Ethics
No full textTITLE OF BOOK: Introduction to Ethics
AUTHOR: Reginald M.J. Oduor
Nairobi: Sophia Publications Ltd., 2009, 116 pages
COVER: Paperback
ISBN: 9966-7457-0-X
This book is a product of more than a decade of Oduor’s experience in teaching ethics (moral philosophy) at the University of Nairobi. In the course of this introduction, the reader gets to see the techniques of philosophic reflection in action, as they are employed to scrutinise various pertinent moral questions
From Chip-in-a-lab To Lab-on-a-chip: Towards A Single Handheld Electronic System For Multiple Application-specific Lab-on-a-chip (asloc)
No full textWe present a portable, battery-operated and application-specific lab-on-a-chip (ASLOC) system that can be easily configured for a wide range of lab-on-a-chip applications. It is based on multiplexed electrical current detection that serves as the sensing system. We demonstrate different configurations to perform most detection schemes currently in use in LOC systems, including some of the most advanced such as nanowire-based biosensing, surface plasmon resonance sensing, electrochemical detection and real-time PCR. The complete system is controlled by a single chip and the collected information is stored in situ, with the option of transferring the data to an external display by using a USB interface. In addition to providing a framework for truly portable real-life developments of LOC systems, we envisage that this system will have a significant impact on education, especially since it can easily demonstrate the benefits of integrated microanalytical systems. © the Partner Organisations 2014.141321682176Manz, A., Graber, N., Widmer, H.M., (1990) Sens. Actuators, B, 1, pp. 244-248Ríos, Á., Zougagh, M., Avila, M., (2012) Anal. Chim. Acta, 740, pp. 1-11Elvira, K.S., Solvas, X.C.I., Wootton, R.C.R., Demello, A.J., (2013) Nat. Chem., 5, pp. 905-915Nge, P.N., Rogers, C.I., Woolley, A.T., (2013) Chem. Rev., 113, pp. 2550-2583Kaushik, A., Vasudev, A., Arya, S.K., Pasha, S.K., Bhansali, S., (2014) Biosens. Bioelectron., 53, pp. 499-512Han, K.N., Li, C.A., Seong, G.H., (2013) Annu. Rev. Anal. Chem., 6, pp. 119-141Lee, J., Lee, S.-H., (2013) Biomed. Eng. Lett., 3, pp. 59-66Lewis, A.P., Cranny, A., Harris, N.R., Green, N.G., Wharton, J.A., Wood, R.J.K., Stokes, K.R., (2013) Meas. Sci. Technol., 24, p. 042001Yushan, Z., Jacquemod, C., Sawan, M., (2013) 2013 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS), , Beijing, China, 1071-1074Yang, J., Brooks, C., Estes, M.D., Hurth, C.M., Zenhausern, F., (2014) Forensic Sci. Int.: Genet., 8, pp. 147-158Czugala, M., Maher, D., Collins, F., Burger, R., Hopfgartner, F., Yang, Y., Zhaou, J., Diamond, D., (2013) RSC Adv., 3, pp. 15928-15938Legiret, F.-E., Sieben, V.J., Woodward, E.M.S., Abi Kaed Bey, S.K., Mowlem, M.C., Connelly, D.P., Achterberg, E.P., (2013) Talanta, 116, pp. 382-387Fernández-La-Villa, A., Sánchez-Barragán, D., Pozo-Ayuso, D.F., Castaño-Álvarez, M., (2012) Electrophoresis, 33, pp. 2733-2742Wang, S., Inci, F., Chaunzwa, T.L., Ramanujam, A., Vasudevan, A., Subramanian, S., Ip, A.C.F., Demirci, U., (2012) Int. J. Nanomed., 7, pp. 2591-2600Lillehoj, P.B., Huang, M.C., Ho, C.M., (2013) 2013 IEEE 26th International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS), , Taipei, Taiwan, 53-56Ansari, K., Ying, J.Y.S., Hauser, P.C., De Rooij, N.F., Rodriguez, I., (2013) Electrophoresis, 34, pp. 1390-1399Toumazou, C., Shepherd, L.M., Reed, S.C., Chen, G.I., Patel, A., Garner, D.M., Wang, C.J., Zhang, L., (2013) Nat. Methods, 10, pp. 641-646Fintschenko, Y., (2011) Lab Chip, 11, pp. 3394-3400Hemling, M., Crooks, J.A., Oliver, P.M., Brenner, K., Gilbertson, J., Lisensky, G.C., Weibel, D.B., (2013) J. Chem. Educ., 91, pp. 112-115Yang, C.W., Lagally, E.T., (2013) Methods Mol. Biol., 949, pp. 25-40Priye, A., Hassan, Y.A., Ugaz, V.M., (2012) Lab Chip, 12, pp. 4946-4954Neuzil, P., Pipper, J., Hsieh, T.M., (2006) Mol. BioSyst., 2, pp. 292-298Neuzil, P., Zhang, C., Pipper, J., Oh, S., Zhuo, L., (2006) Nucleic Acids Res., 34, p. 77Novak, L., Neuzil, P., Pipper, J., Zhang, Y., Lee, S., (2007) Lab Chip, 7, pp. 27-29Pipper, J., Inoue, M., Ng, L.F., Neuzil, P., Zhang, Y., Novak, L., (2007) Nat. Med., 13, pp. 1259-1263Pipper, J., Zhang, Y., Neuzil, P., Hsieh, T.M., (2008) Angew. Chem., Int. Ed., 47, pp. 3900-3904Neuzil, P., Novak, L., Pipper, J., Lee, S., Ng, L.F., Zhang, C., (2010) Lab Chip, 10, pp. 2632-2634Neuzil, P., Reboud, J., (2008) Anal. Chem., 80, pp. 6100-6103Novak, L., Neuzil, P., Woon, J.S.B., Wee, Y., (2009) IEEE Sensors 2009 Conference, , Christchurch, New Zealand, 405-407Gaydos, C.A., Van Der Pol, B., Jett-Goheen, M., Barnes, M., Quinn, N., Clark, C., Daniel, G.E., Hook III, E.W., (2013) J. Clin. Microbiol., 51, pp. 1666-1672Neuzil, P., Wong, C.C., Reboud, J., (2010) Nano Lett., 10, pp. 1248-1252Cui, Y., Wei, Q., Park, H., Lieber, C.M., (2001) Science, 293, pp. 1289-1292Zhang, G.J., Luo, Z.H., Huang, M.J., Ang, J.J., Kang, T.G., Ji, H., (2011) Biosens. Bioelectron., 28, pp. 459-463Zhang, G.J., Zhang, G., Chua, J.H., Chee, R.E., Wong, E.H., Agarwal, A., Buddharaju, K.D., Balasubramanian, N., (2008) Nano Lett., 8, pp. 1066-1070Cumyn, V.K., Fleischauer, M.D., Hatchard, T.D., Dahn, J.R., (2003) Electrochem. Solid-State Lett., 6, pp. E15-E18Drake, K.F., Van Duyne, R.P., Bond, A.M., (1978) J. Electroanal. Chem., 89, pp. 231-24
Magnetic lab-on-a-chip for cell analysis : magnetoresistive-based real-time monitoring of dynamic cell-environment interactions
No full textShoshi A. Magnetic lab-on-a-chip for cell analysis : magnetoresistive-based real-time monitoring of dynamic cell-environment interactions. Bielefeld: Universität Bielefeld; 2013
Measurements and model development for flameless combustion in a lab-scale furnace
No full textThe technique called "flameless combustion", also denoted as "MILD" combustion, was developed to reduce the nitrogen oxides (NOx) emission in the combustion process. The term "flameless" refers to the low visibility of the flame. The technique is particularly of interest when hot exhaust gas is used to preheat inlet air to high temperature. The combination of flameless combustion and exhaust gas heat recycling techniques simultaneously reduces the emission and increases the energy efficiency. Over the past few decades, flameless combustion has been successfully applied to industrial furnaces or tested at pilot scale setups in other applications. Nevertheless, despite the successful industrial application, many fundamental issues of flameless combustion are still unresolved. Detailed measurements of flameless combustion have been performed in jet in- hot-coflow (JHC) flames, but it is unclear whether the findings can be related to the flameless combustion in a furnace because only part of the features of flameless combustion are mimicked in JHC flames. Concerning modelling, it is found that the existing combustion models are not suitable for numerical modelling of flameless combustion and new model development is needed. The objective of this research is to characterize the flameless combustion in a labscale furnace that is simple enough to allow detailed measurements while keeping most relevant characteristics found in large scale furnaces. This thesis is divided into two parts, experimental measurements and model development and validation. The goal of experiments is to observe the flame behaviour and obtain detailed velocity and temperature data of flameless combustion in the furnace by means of high speed imaging and laser diagnostic techniques. The goal of the model development is to extend the Flamelet Generated Manifolds (FGM) method to take into account the effects of dilution by recirculated burnt gases. One of the databases of the Delft jet-in-hot-coflow (DJHC) flames and a new database obtained in a new lab-scale furnace are used for the model validation.Fluid Mechanic
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