Novel Strategies for the Deposition of ?COOH Functionalized Conducting Copolymer Films and the Assembly of Inorganic Nanoparticles on Conducting Polymer Platforms

A method for the preparation of ? COOH functionalized conducting copolymer films; toward the ultimate goal of developing resistance‐based sensing platforms, is presented. The method involved vapor phase copolymerization of pyrrole with a monomer containing the ? COOH functionality, thiophene‐3‐acetic acid (TAA). This copolymerization strategy aided in avoiding the need to employ brittle poly(thiophene‐3‐acetic acid) (PTAA) films in sensing applications. In this strategy, variation in the gas phase feed ratio of pyrrole to TAA allowed for the variation of the composition of the copolymer film and further allowed for the variation of both the conductivity and the amount of ? COOH functionality in the films. Further, the effect of covalent attachment of silver on the conductivity of the copolymer films is performed and presented. This covalent attachment of silver served the dual purpose of verifying the presence of active ? COOH groups on the surface, and also allowed for the quantification of the change in conductivity as a result of such attachment. Use of the conjugated ring containing 4‐aminothiophenol as the linker material enhanced the conductivities of the films. In contrast, employing cysteamine to link silver nanoparticles to the copolymer films did not result in any enhancement in the conductivities. An enhancement in the conductivities, ranging from 2 to 1000 times, is observed on covalent attachment of silver nanoparticles to the copolymer films using 4‐aminothiophenol as the linker material. This increase depended on the amount of TAA in the films and increased with increasing concentrations of TAA in the films. These results clearly indicate the use of these copolymer films in resistance‐based sensing. Further, this covalent attachment could be used as a novel strategy to integrate other inorganic nanomaterials on conducting polymer platforms.     

Present knowledge of the bacterial microflora in the extreme environment of sugar thick juice

The diversity of the bacterial population in sugar thick juice, an intermediate product in the production of beet sugar, which exhibits an extreme, osmophilic environment with a water activity value (a_w) less than 0.86, was assessed with both culture-dependent and -independent 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene-based analyses. In comparison with previous studies, the number of different thick juice bacterial species increased from 29 to 72. Remarkably, a limited, gram-positive, culturable flora, encompassing species of Bacillus, Staphylococcus and mainly Tetragenococcus dominated thick juice during storage, while a more heterogeneous and unculturable fraction of Acinetobacter, Sporolactobacillus and Thermus species could be detected in freshly produced thick juice. Notably, almost all bacteria detected in the thick juice were also detected in the air, emphasising the importance of further investigation and assessment of strategies to reduce (air) contamination during processing and storage. The discovery of the contamination source may be used for the development of management strategies for thick juice degradation resulting from microbial activity.     

Predominance of Tetragenococcus halophilus as the cause of sugar thick juice degradation

The industrial storage of sugar thick juice was simulated on a laboratory scale. Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis and the application of Clone Libraries in parallel with classical microbiology were used to study the bacterial diversity and all revealed a dominance (>99%) of Tetragenococcus halophilus during storage. The degradation of thick juice correlated with the appearance of L-lactic acid and high concentrations of T. halophilus. In addition, pure cultures of T. halophilus induced degradation of sterile thick juice. A specific PCR was developed to detect T. halophilus and industrial thick juice samples from Belgium, Germany and France all contained T. halophilus, suggesting a consistent association of this organism with thick juice. T. halophilus has been known only as a halophile thus far, and this report is the first to show an association of this organism with a sugar-rich environment.     

Using Agent-Based Modeling to Study Construction Labor Productivity as an Emergent Property of Individual and Crew Interactions

Lean construction research has shown that managing work flow effectively and maintaining labor flow on site can improve construction labor performance. Related research also shows that congestion on construction sites often leads to lowered efficiency. Using these findings as a point of departure, we use the agent-based modeling method to represent the construction site as a system of complex interactions and explore whether labor efficiency can be treated as an emergent property resulting from individual and crew interactions in space. This allows us to use a “bottom-up” approach to analyzing labor efficiency, which supplements existing “top-down” approaches to modeling the impacts of space congestion on labor efficiency. A pilot implementation of the agent-based model, and preliminary results illustrating the relationships between congestion and labor efficiency are presented. The empirical studies exhibit system behavior that support published principles of work-force management. The primary contribution of this paper is that it provides a method that can be used to efficiently utilize construction space, and develop plans and schedules that account for congestion arising from crew interactions in space.     

Assays of CFTR Function In Vitro,Ex Vivo and In Vivo

Cystic fibrosis, a multi-organ genetic disease, is characterized by abnormal function of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein, a chloride channel at the apical membrane of several epithelia. In recent years, therapeutic strategies have been developed to correct the CFTR defect. To evaluate CFTR function at baseline for diagnosis, or the efficacy of CFTR-restoring therapy, reliable tests are needed to measure CFTR function, in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo. In vitro techniques either directly or indirectly measure ion fluxes; direct measurement of ion fluxes and quenching of fluorescence in cell-based assays, change in transmembrane voltage or current in patch clamp or Ussing chamber, swelling of CFTR-containing organoids by secondary water influx upon CFTR activation. Several cell or tissue types can be used. Ex vivo and in vivo assays similarly evaluate current (intestinal current measurement) and membrane potential differences (nasal potential difference), on tissues from individual patients. In the sweat test, the most frequently used in vivo evaluation of CFTR function, chloride concentration or stimulated sweat rate can be directly measured. Here, we will describe the currently available bio-assays for quantitative evaluation of CFTR function, their indications, advantages and disadvantages, and correlation with clinical outcome measures.     

Circuits and AMOLED display with self‐aligned a‐IGZO TFTs on polyimide foil

A process to make self‐aligned top‐gate amorphous indium‐gallium‐zinc‐oxide (a‐IGZO) thin‐film transistors (TFTs) on polyimide foil is presented. The source/drain (S/D) region's parasitic resistance reduced during the SiN interlayer deposition step. The sheet resistivity of S/D region after exposure to SiN interlayer deposition decreased to 1.5 kΩ/□. TFTs show field‐effect mobility of 12.0 cm²/(V.s), sub‐threshold slope of 0.5 V/decade, and current ratio (I_ON/OFF) of >10⁷. The threshold voltage shifts of the TFTs were 0.5 V in positive (+1.0 MV/cm) bias direction and 1.5 V in negative (?1.0 MV/cm) bias direction after extended stressing time of 10⁴ s. We achieve a stage‐delay of ~19.6 ns at V_DD = 20 V measured in a 41‐stage ring oscillator. A top‐emitting quarter‐quarter‐video‐graphics‐array active‐matrix organic light‐emitting diode display with 85 ppi (pixels per inch) resolution has been realized using only five lithographic mask steps. For operation at 6 V supply voltage (V_DD), the brightness of the display exceeds 150 cd/m².     

Functional unfold principal component regression methodology for analysis of industrial batch process data

This work proposes a methodology utilizing functional unfold principal component regression (FUPCR), for application to industrial batch process data as a process modeling and optimization tool. The methodology is applied to an industrial fermentation dataset, containing 30 batches of a production process operating at Novozymes A/S. Following the FUPCR methodology, the final product concentration could be predicted with an average prediction error of 7.4%. Multiple iterations of preprocessing were applied by implementing the methodology to identify the best data handling methods for the model. It is shown that application of functional data analysis and the choice of variance scaling method have the greatest impact on the prediction accuracy. Considering the vast amount of batch process data continuously generated in industry, this methodology can potentially contribute as a tool to identify desirable process operating conditions from complex industrial datasets. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 1986–1994, 2016