Fusion of three sensory modalities for the multimodal characterization of red wines

This work represents the first attempt to develop a sensory system, specifically designed for the characterization of wines, which combines three sensory modalities: an array of gas sensors, an array of electrochemical liquid sensors, and an optical system to measure color by means of CIElab coordinates. This new analytical tool, that has been called "electronic panel," includes not only sensors, but also hardware (injection system and electronics) and the software necessary for fusing information from the three modules. Each of the three sensory modalities (volatiles, liquids, and color) has been designed, tested, and optimized separately. The discrimination capabilities of the system have been evaluated on a database consisting of six red Spanish wines prepared using the same variety of grape (tempranillo) but differing in their geographic origins and aging stages. Sensor signals from each module have been combined and analyzed using pattern recognition techniques. The results of this work show that the discrimination capabilities of the system are significantly improved when signals from each module are combined to form a multimodal feature vector.     

Imaging systems and materials characterization

This paper provides a broad background for the historical development and modern applications of light optical metallography, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, field-ion microscopy and several forms of scanning probe microscopes. Numerous case examples illustrating especially synergistic applications of these imaging systems are provided to demonstrate materials characterization especially in the context of structure-property-performance issues which define materials science and engineering.     

Nanomanufacturing of RGO‐CNT Hybrid Film for Flexible Aqueous Al‐Ion Batteries

A highly electrically conductive film‐type current collector is an essential part of batteries. Apart from the metal‐based current collectors, lightweight and highly conductive carbon materials such as reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) show great potential as current collectors. However, traditional RGO manufacturing usually requires a long time and high energy, which decreases the product yielding rate and manufacturing efficiency. Moreover, the performance of the manufactured RGO needs to be further improved. In this work, CNT and GO are evenly mixed into GO‐CNT, which can be directly reduced into RGO‐CNT by Joule heating at 2936 K within less than 1 min. The fabricated RGO‐CNT achieves a high electrical conductivity of 2750 S cm^?1, and realizes a 10⁶‐fold increase. The assembled flexible aqueous Al‐ion battery with RGO‐CNT as the current collector exhibits impressive electrochemical performance in terms of superior cycling stability and exceptional rate capability, and excellent mechanical ability regarding the tolerance to mechanical damage such as bending, folding, piercing, and cutting without detrimental consequences.     

ATRP-based synthesis and characterization of light-responsive coatings for transdermal delivery systems

The grafting of poly(hydroxyethylmethacrylate) on polymeric porous membranes via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and subsequent modification with a photo-responsive spiropyran derivative is described. This method leads to photo-responsive membranes with desirable properties such as light-controlled permeability changes, exceptional photo-stability and repeatability of the photo-responsive switching. Conventional track etched polyester membranes were first treated with plasma polymer coating introducing anchoring groups, which allowed the attachment of ATRP-initiator molecules on the membrane surface. Surface initiated ARGET–ATRP of hydroxyethylmethacrylate (where ARGET stands for activator regenerated by electron transfer) leads to a membrane covered with a polymer layer, whereas the controlled polymerization procedure allows good control over the thickness of the polymer layer in respect to the polymerization conditions. Therefore, the final permeability of the membranes could be tailored by choice of pore diameter of the initial membranes, applied monomer concentration or polymerization time. Moreover a remarkable switch in permeability (more than 1000%) upon irradiation with UV-light could be achieved. These properties enable possible applications in the field of transdermal drug delivery, filtration, or sensing.     

Identification and characterization of diffusion barriers for Cu/SiC systems

The promise of CuSiC metal matrix composites (MMCs) as a thermal management material is to provide increased power density and high reliability for advanced electronic systems. CuSiC will offer high thermal conductivity between 250 and 325 W/mK with corresponding adjustable thermal expansion coefficient between 8.0 and 12.5 ppm/^∘C. The major challenge in development of these materials is control of the interface interactions. Cu and SiC react at high temperatures between 850 and 1150^∘C, needed for fabrication of the CuSiC material, with an expected decrease in thermal conductivity of the CuSiC MMCs as the Si product of reaction dissolves into the Cu. The application of barrier coatings onto SiC was observed to control chemical reaction of Cu and SiC. In the current study, the effectiveness of four barriers to prevent Cu diffusion and reaction with SiC were evaluated between 850 to 1150^∘C. Immersion experiments were conducted at 1150^∘C to understand the reaction between copper and silicon carbide. Reaction products were identified with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron diffraction. Laser flash thermal diffusivity measurements confirmed thermal conductivity to decrease with increasing silicon content of the copper as determined by induction coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) and glow discharge mass spectrometry (GDMS). An erratum to this article is available at .     

Mass Transport in Nanowire Synthesis:An Overview of Scalable Nanomanufacturing

The ability to rationally engineer the growth and nanomanufacturing of one-dimensional nanowires in high volumes has the potential to enable applications of nanoscale materials in a diverse range of fields including energy conversion and storage,catalysis,sensing,medicine,and information technology.This review provides a roadmap for the development of large-scale nanowire processing.While myriad techniques exist for bench-scale nanowire synthesis,these growth strategies typically fall within two major categories:1) anisotropically-catalyzed growth and 2) confined,template-based growth.However,comparisons between growth methods with different mass transport pathways have led to confusion in interpreting observations,in particular Gibbs-Thomson effects.We review mass transport in nanowire synthesis techniques to unify growth models and to allow for direct comparison of observations across different methods.In addition,we discuss the applicability of nanoscale,Gibbs-Thomson effects on mass transport and provide guidelines for the development of new growth models.We explore the scalability of these complex processes with dimensionless numbers and consider the effects of pressure,temperature,and precursor material on nanowire growth.     

ATRP-based synthesis and characterization of light-responsive coatings for transdermal delivery systems

Abstract

The grafting of poly(hydroxyethylmethacrylate) on polymeric porous membranes via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and subsequent modification with a photo-responsive spiropyran derivative is described. This method leads to photo-responsive membranes with desirable properties such as light-controlled permeability changes, exceptional photo-stability and repeatability of the photo-responsive switching. Conventional track etched polyester membranes were first treated with plasma polymer coating introducing anchoring groups, which allowed the attachment of ATRP-initiator molecules on the membrane surface. Surface initiated ARGET–ATRP of hydroxyethylmethacrylate (where ARGET stands for activator regenerated by electron transfer) leads to a membrane covered with a polymer layer, whereas the controlled polymerization procedure allows good control over the thickness of the polymer layer in respect to the polymerization conditions. Therefore, the final permeability of the membranes could be tailored by choice of pore diameter of the initial membranes, applied monomer concentration or polymerization time. Moreover a remarkable switch in permeability (more than 1000%) upon irradiation with UV-light could be achieved. These properties enable possible applications in the field of transdermal drug delivery, filtration, or sensing.     

Multi-resolution fuzzy clustering approach for image-based particle characterization for particle systems

Online characterization of particles is an important step for maintaining desired product quality in particulate processes. Direct real-time image analysis is a promising method for monitoring particle systems, and is becoming increasingly more attractive due to availability of high speed imaging devices and equally powerful computers. Performing image segmentation (separation of objects (particles) within one image) accurately becomes a key issue in particle image analysis. This paper presents a novel technique based on combining wavelet transform and Fuzzy C-means Clustering (FCM) for particle image segmentation. Through performing wavelet transform on images, the noise and high frequency components of images can be eliminated and the textures and features can be obtained. FCM is then used to divide data into two clusters to separate touching objects. To quantitatively evaluate this method, a case study involving a particle image is investigated. The procedure of selecting optimum wavelet function and decomposition level for this image is presented. ‘Fuzzy range’ is used as a derived feature for segmentation. The number of particles, particle equivalent diameters, and size distribution before and after partition are discussed. The results show that this method is effective and reliable.     

Inkjet‐Printed Lithium–Sulfur Microcathodes for All‐Printed,Integrated Nanomanufacturing

Improved thin‐film microbatteries are needed to provide appropriate energy‐storage options to power the multitude of devices that will bring the proposed “Internet of Things” network to fruition (e.g., active radio‐frequency identification tags and microcontrollers for wearable and implantable devices). Although impressive efforts have been made to improve the energy density of 3D microbatteries, they have all used low energy‐density lithium‐ion chemistries, which present a fundamental barrier to miniaturization. In addition, they require complicated microfabrication processes that hinder cost‐competitiveness. Here, inkjet‐printed lithium–sulfur (Li–S) cathodes for integrated nanomanufacturing are reported. Single‐wall carbon nanotubes infused with electronically conductive straight‐chain sulfur (S@SWNT) are adopted as an integrated current‐collector/active‐material composite, and inkjet printing as a top‐down approach to achieve thin‐film shape control over printed electrode dimensions is used. The novel Li–S cathodes may be directly printed on traditional microelectronic semicoductor substrates (e.g., SiO₂) or on flexible aluminum foil. Profilometry indicates that these microelectrodes are less than 10 µm thick, while cyclic voltammetry analyses show that the S@SWNT possesses pseudocapacitive characteristics and corroborates a previous study suggesting the S@SWNT discharge via a purely solid‐state mechanism. The printed electrodes produce ≈800 mAh g^?1 S initially and ≈700 mAh g^?1 after 100 charge/discharge cycles at C/2 rate.     

用于微机电系统的类金刚石膜制备及表征

采用等离子体源离子注入和电子回旋共振-微波等离子体辅助化学气相沉积技术相结合的方法在Si衬底上制备出了性能良好的类金刚石膜.通过共聚焦Raman光谱验证了薄膜的类金刚石特性,用原子力显微镜、微摩擦计和扫描电镜等对薄膜的表面形貌、摩擦系数和耐磨损性能进行了表征和测量.结果表明,用离子注入法制备过渡层大大提高了DLC膜与衬底的结合强度,薄膜的表面比较光滑,粗糙度大约为0.198 nm,具有较低的摩擦系数(0.1～0.15),具有较好的耐磨损性能.     

Formulation and characterization of liquid crystal systems containing azelaic acid for topical delivery

Purpose: The aim of this study is to prepare and characterize azelaic acid (AzA) containing liquid crystal (LC) drug delivery systems for topical use.

Methods: Two ternary phase diagrams, containing liquid paraffin as the oil component and a mixture of two nonionic surfactants (Brij 721P and Brij 72), were constructed. Formulations chosen from the phase diagrams were characterized by polarized light microscopy, rheological analyses, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and small angle x-ray scattering spectroscopy.

Results: Polarized light microscopy proved that except the oil/water emulsion (O/W E), other formulations showed lamellar LC structure. In vitro release studies indicated that the fastest release was achieved by the Lamellar LC (LLC) and O/W E systems, whereas slower release was obtained from the emulsion containing lamellar LC (E-LLC) and distorted lamellar LC (D-LLC) systems. Results of rheological measurements both supported the results of in vitro release studies and showed that the emulsion containing the LC (E-LLC) system had the most stable structure. The formulations and their effect on stratum corneum (SC) were evaluated by DSC studies. The lamellar LC (LLC), emulsion containing lamellar liquid crystal (E-LLC), and O/W E formulations had an effect on both lipid and protein components of SC, whereas distorted lamellar liquid crystal (D-LLC) system had an effect on only the lipid components of SC.

Conclusions: LLC systems could be considered promising for the topical delivery of AzA.     

Road Map for the Controlled Synthesis of CdSe Nanowires,Nanobelts, and Nanosaws—A Step Towards Nanomanufacturing

One‐dimensional (1D) nanostructures of CdSe have been found to exhibit morphologies of nanowires, nanobelts, and nanosaws, but their synthesis is by trial and error. To meet the needs of large‐scale, controlled, and designed synthesis of nanostructures, it is imperative to systematically find experimental conditions under which the desired nanostructures are synthesized reproducibly, in large quantity, and with controlled morphology. This article reports the first systematic study on the growth of 1D CdSe nanostructures by a vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) process by varying a wide range of experimental conditions. Over 150 experiments have been conducted to investigate the morphology dependence of three different types of nanostructures: nanowires, nanobelts, and nanosaws, over various substrate temperatures and pressures. The results of this work yield a road map for the controlled growth of 1D CdSe nanostructures. This research serves as a guidance and “menu” for scaling up of the synthesis of CdSe nanostructures. This is a key step towards the controlled synthesis of nanostructures to meet the needs of many industrial applications of nanomanufacturing.     

Optical deflection measurement for characterization of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)

Nonintrusive measurement of small out-of-plane motions of microscale structures is critical to the development of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). This paper presents a low-cost deflection measurement system for MEMS structures based on a fiber optic displacement sensor. The system is demonstrated in the characterization of a microwave switch. The deflection system had a demonstrated sensitivity of 290/spl plusmn/32 /spl mu/V/nm over a deflection range of 100 /spl mu/m. The calibration and linearity of the system are described, and the static and dynamic performance is compared to more elaborate systems.     

TOF-SIMS characterization and imaging of controlled-release drug delivery systems

Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) was used for the analysis of multilayer drug beads that serve as controlled-release drug delivery systems. TOF-SIMS analysis of a cross section of each bead system allowed molecular chemical information to be gained from all of the layers simultaneously, in situ. The integrity of each of the layers was evaluated through imaging of specific ion species for the drug, excipient, and coating materials. The three beads in this study each showed a unique distribution of ingredients. Images of the parent molecular ion for each drug (theophylline, paracetamol, prednisolone) showed their distribution ranged from micrometer-sized particles in one bead cross section to almost homogeneous in another bead cross section. The chemical composition of each of the layers in the beads was evaluated through mass spectrometry; the ingredients did not always match the manufacturer's specification. In addition, many common drug bead ingredients were analyzed as pure substances, providing TOF-SIMS reference spectra of these materials for the first time.     

Sputtering deposition and characterization of tandem absorbers for photo-thermal systems operating at mid temperature

In this paper the first results of a work concerned with the development of TiAlON selective solar absorbers with high solar absorptance and low thermal emittance are presented. These absorbers are thought for solar collectors application at operational temperature of about 300 °C. Solar absorber tandems, consisting of an absorbing TiAlON compound sputtered on a TiC buffer layer deposited on a metal (Cu) substrate, have been produced in two ways: by changing the nitrogen flux percentage in (Ar + N₂ + O₂) mixture at fixed thickness (300 nm) and by varying the absorber thickness at fixed nitrogen percentage (5%) in the sputtering gas. The optical response in the UV-IR range is discussed. The tuning of the nitrogen flux allows to change the metal elements ratio (Ti/Al) in the oxynitride layer, varying the reflectance intensity both in the IR and visible range. The thickness variation permits to shift the cut-off wavelength of the transition from short wavelength high absorptance to long wavelength low emittance. The tuning of these two parameters (nitrogen flux and absorber thickness) enables to control the optical response of the samples to make them suitable for photo-thermal device application.