Gold nanoparticle modified conducting polymer of 4-(2,5-di(thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrrole-1-l) benzenamine for potential use as a biosensing material

Gold nanoparticle (AuNP) modified conducting polymer of 4-(2,5-di(thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrrol-1-yl)benzenamine (SNS-NH₂) was used as the biosensing platform for glucose analysis. Electrochemical measurements were carried out by following the consumed oxygen due to the enzymatic reaction of glucose oxidase (GOx) at −0.7 V vs Ag/AgCl. Optimisation of pH, enzyme loading, stability experiments were carried out. Effect of NP was investigated by monitoring the signal responses at different AuNP sizes and amounts. A linear relation of y = 1.597x + 0.264 (R² = 0.993) was found for glucose concentrations between 0.002 and 5.0 mM. The analytical characteristics of the system were also evaluated for glucose determination in flow injection analysis (FIA) mode. Finally, the system was checked for glucose detection on real samples.     

Investigations on the flow field in an unshrouded pump impeller geometry

Transient CFD simulations are performed to investigate the flow behaviour inside an unshrouded pump using the SAS method. Two blade designs are compared at two different tip clearances and the results are validated by measurements. The detected vortex structure is visualized by the normalized helicity, further discussed regarding its development and behaviour and finally implicated to the efficiency of the two different blade designs.     

Mechanical behaviour of conventional,Pt- and Pt/Ir-modified NiAl diffusion coatings after thermocyclic exposure at 1100°C

The influence of Pt- and Pt/Ir-modifications on the mechanical properties of NiAl coatings after thermocyclic exposure at 1100°C was investigated. Four-point-bending tests with in-situ acoustic emission measurement were used to determine the fracture strain. After 100 h of exposure a steep increase in fracture strain was observed for the NiAl coating. In contrast, the increase was found to be moderate for modified coatings. For all investigated coatings the fracture strain was correlated with the mean Al-concentration in the diffusion zone, and a moderate increase in the β-phase field with decreasing Al-concentration was found. In the two-phase (β/γ') stability region fracture strain increased steeply. Indentation hardness instead showed a steep decrease within the single β-phase field, but remained almost constant in the two-phase region. Reduced elastic modulus followed a V-curve behaviour, in which a decrease with ongoing Al-depletion in the β-stability region was followed by an increase in the two-phase region.     

A microfluidic erythrocyte sedimentation rate analyzer using rouleaux formation kinetics

Red blood cell aggregation is an intrinsic property of red blood cells that form reversible stacked structures, also called rouleaux, under low shear rates. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), commonly performed in clinics, is an indirect inflammation screener and a prognostic test for diseases. We have recently developed a microfluidic system for rapid measurement of ESR from 40 µl whole blood employing the aggregation dynamics. In this work, we propose the use of an aggregation inducer, dextran polyglucose, for the preparation of multiple blood samples with differing aggregation dynamics. Using these samples, we characterized the performance of the system with three aggregation indices and under varying experimental conditions. Additionally, using the same underlying principle, we improved the system for ESR measurement using both venipuncture and fingerprick whole blood samples depending on the user needs. The results demonstrate that the system performs equally well with both samples, which validates the compatibility of the system for both laboratory and point-of-care applications where venous and capillary blood are the primary samples, respectively. The detailed characterization presented in this study legitimates the feasibility of the system for ultrafast and facile measurement of ESR in clinics and diverse off-laboratory settings.     

A new approach to determine the base shear of steel frame structures

Base shear (V) is the maximum lateral force that will occur due to seismic ground motion at the base of a structure. Calculations of base shear depend on a lot of factors such as soil conditions, level of ductility, fundamental period of vibration of the structure, etc. A great number of methodologies have been developed to determine the dynamic responses of individual frameworks. However, there is no well established empirical solution of the dynamic response of the problem due to the base shear of the steel frames. In this study, a formulation based on NN to determine the dynamic response of both braced and unbraced plane steel frames are provided. The presented formulation is a function of number of stories (ns), bays of the frames (nb), and soil types (Z). The training and testing patterns of the proposed NN formulation are obtained from linear Finite Element Analysis (FEA) solution. The NN-based formulation results are compared with the results obtained from numerical and some current design codes. The NN- based formulation results are found to be more accurate.     

MgxZn1−xO (x = 0-1) films fabricated by sol-gel spin coating

Mg_xZn_1−xO films were deposited onto the glass substrate by a sol-gel spin coating method. The drying and annealing temperatures were 300 and 500 °C in air. As x varies from 0 to 1, it was observed that the crystal structure is changed from wurtzite ZnO to cubic MgO. The morphology characterizations of these films were observed by scanning electron microscope. The randomly oriented hexagonal nanorods were gown on the glass surface when x = 0 and 0.25, which became disappeared with increasing Mg contents. The optical properties of these films were investigated by room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) and UV-vis absorption spectra, which show that the optical band gap and photoluminescence in the visible and UV regions can be ideally tuned by varying the Mg contents in the Mg_xZn_1−xO alloy films.     

Finding outlets for inventiveness

This paper is concerned with the degree of successful exploitation of publicly-funded research and the means available for its improvement, and in particular studies the commercialization of university inventions in the U.K. and to some extent in Sweden. University inventions is an umbrella term which includes polytechnics, government research establishments and Research Associations, though in fact, most of the inventions considered come from universities. The techniques employed, the analysis made and the conclusions drawn, will be discussed in our paper.     

Influence of dopant concentration on the optical properties of ZnO: In films by sol-gel method

Undoped and In doped ZnO films have been deposited by sol-gel spin coating method. The effect of indium incorporation on structural and optical properties of ZnO films has been investigated. X-ray diffraction patterns of the films showed the hexagonal wurtzite type polycrystalline structure and that indium incorporation leads to substantial changes in the structural characteristics of ZnO films. The SEM and AFM measurements showed that the surface morphology of the films was affected from the indium incorporation. Optical reflectance and transmittance were recorded with a double beam spectrophotometer with an integrating sphere. The optical band gap of these films was determined. The absorption edge shifted to the lower energy depending on the dopant materials. The optical constants of these films were determined using transmittance and reflectance spectra.