On-Chip Drop-to-Drop Liquid Microextraction Coupled with Real-Time Concentration Monitoring Technique

This paper demonstrates a novel drop-to-drop liquid-liquid micro-extraction (DTD-LLME) device, which is based on an electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) digital microfluidic chip. Droplets of two immiscible liquids, one of which is an ionic liquid, are formed in nanoliter volumes, driven along electrodes, merged and mixed for extraction, and finally separated upon the completion of the extraction process. All the steps are carried out on a microfluidic chip using combined electrowetting and dielectrophoretic forces, which act on the droplet upon the application of electric potential. Specially, the phase separation of two immiscible nanoliter-scale liquid drops was achieved for the first time on an EWOD digital microfluidic chip. To study the on-chip extraction kinetics, an image-based concentration measurement technique with suitable color parameters was studied and compared with the typical UV absorption based technique. Finally, the effect of applied ac voltage frequency on the extraction kinetics was studied. The observations on DTD-LLME, particularly phase separation, are discussed. The image-based method was found to be applicable for precise concentration measurements with the right choice of the color parameter. Results from experiments on finding the frequency dependence on extraction kinetics demonstrate that the application of higher frequencies can be a factor in accelerating the extraction on the proposed microextraction device.     

Feedback active noise control based on transform-domain forward–backward LMS predictor

In this paper, a new feedback active noise control (FBANC) system based on the transform-domain forward–backward LMS (TFBLMS) predictor has been proposed. The new ANC system employs the TFBLMS predictor for its main-path (MP) predictor as well as for the noise canceller. To overcome the ill effect of the primary noise field, which acts as an observation noise for the secondary-path (SP) identification, the noise canceller is used. As the main-path predictor is based on the TFBLMS, its convergence rate improves due to its input orthogonalization. Further, its FBLMS nature reduces misadjustment. The use of TFBLMS predictor for noise canceller also gives a good prediction of primary noise at a faster rate, enabling improved SP identification. This improved SP identification indirectly aids the MP predictor to achieve an improved performance. A new filtered-x LMS structure has been proposed to realize the new MP predictor to accommodate the TFBLMS algorithm. The TFBLMS algorithm is applied directly to the noise canceller for SP identification. The proposed new ANC system has been found to have a significantly better noise reduction (by 14.6 dB) over the FBANC system based on tapped delay line time-domain FBLMS algorithm.     

Emerging chemical and physical disinfection technologies of fruits and vegetables: a comprehensive review

Abstract

With a growing demand for safe, nutritious, and fresh-like produce, a number of disinfection technologies have been developed. This review comprehensively examines the working principles and applications of several emerging disinfection technologies. The chemical treatments, including chlorine dioxide, ozone, electrolyzed water, essential oils, high-pressure carbon dioxide, and organic acids, have been improved as alternatives to traditional disinfection methods to meet current safety standards. Non-thermal physical treatments, such as UV-light, pulsed light, ionizing radiation, high hydrostatic pressure, cold plasma, and high-intensity ultrasound, have shown significant advantages in improving microbial safety and maintaining the desirable quality of produce. However, using these disinfection technologies alone may not meet the requirement of food safety and high product quality. Several hurdle technologies have been developed, which achieved synergistic effects to maximize lethality against microorganisms and minimize deterioration of produce quality. The review also identifies further research opportunities for the cost-effective commercialization of these technologies.     

Quantification of extreme thermal gradients during in situ transmission electron microscope heating experiments

Studies on materials affected by large thermal gradients and rapid thermal cycling are an area of increasing interest, driving the need for real time observations of microstructural evoultion under transient thermal conditions. However, current in situ transmission electron microscope (TEM) heating stages introduce uniform temperature distributions across the material during heating experiments. Here, a methodology is described to generate thermal gradients across a TEM specimen by modifying a commercially available MEMS-based heating stage. It was found that a specimen placed next to the metallic heater, over a window, cut by FIB milling, does not disrupt the overall thermal stability of the device. Infrared thermal imaging (IRTI) experiments were performed on unmodified and modified heating devices, to measure thermal gradients across the device. The mean temperature measured within the central viewing area of the unmodified device was 3–5% lower than the setpoint temperature. Using IRTI data, at setpoint temperatures ranging from 900 to 1,300°C, thermal gradients at the edge of the modified window were calculated to be in the range of 0.6 × 10⁶ to 7.0 × 10⁶°C/m. Additionally, the Ag nanocube sublimation approach was used, to measure the local temperature across a FIB-cut Si lamella at high spatial resolution inside the TEM, and demonstrate “proof of concept” of the modified MEMS device. The thermal gradient across the Si lamella, measured using the latter approach was found to be 6.3 × 10⁶°C/m, at a setpoint temperature of 1,000°C. Finally, the applicability of this approach and choice of experimental parameters are critically discussed.     

Evaluation of compressive behaviour of porous structures under large deformation using micro-CT,DVC and micro-FE

Compressive behaviour of open and closed cell polyurethane foam samples under large deformation is studied using micro-Computed Tomography (micro-CT), Digital Volume Correlation (DVC) technique and micro-Finite Element (micro-FE) modelling. The micro-CT images of the foam samples at different compression strains are used to determine anisotropy in the foams, to obtain qualitative information on deformation mechanisms, to quantify the deformation and strains using a local DVC approach and to generate images for micro-FE modelling of the foam samples. Micro-FE modelling predicts the deformation using an elastoplastic material model coupled with continuum damage mechanics. Two different types of boundary conditions, experimentally derived (ExBC) and interpolated from DVC (IPBC), were implemented to evaluate the displacements in the micro-FE models. A reduced integration scheme in micro-FE analysis resulted in high artificial energy and was discarded in favour of full integration. The displacement predicted by IPBC matched with DVC displacement contours for closed cell foam. The ExBC-predicted axial displacement (W) showed a better agreement with DVC than transverse displacements (U, V) contours. However, a significant statistical comparison (R² > 0.70) of all displacements was obtained for both IPBC and ExBC. For open cell foam, both boundary conditions predicted a significant difference in the displacement contours with respect to DVC measurements. Still, the axial displacements of ExBC and IPBC showed a better statistical significance (R² > 0.70).     

Silica Supported Acids (SiO2-HClO4, SiO2-KHSO4) as Eco-Friendly Reuasble Catalysts for Bromination of Aromatic and Heteroaromatic Compounds Using KBr under Solvothermal and Solvent-Free Conditions

Silicon - Silica supported acids like Si-KHSO4, and Si-HClO4 are explored as reusable nano green catalysts for bromination of aromatic and hetero aromatic compounds using KBr under solvothermal,...     

Styryl-NIR Mitochondrial Probes with Rapid HOCl Detection in Live-Cells

Hypochlorous acid (HOCl) is critical for maintaining immune system balance, but it can harm mitochondria by hindering enzyme activity, leading to decreased ATP and increased cell death. In this study, we have designed a fluorophore with a pyridinium scaffold for selective staining of the mitochondria and to detect hypochlorite. The fluorophore exhibits strong solvatochromic emission due to intramolecular charge transfer and excellent sub-cellular localization in the mitochondria. Additionally, it shows a rapid response to HOCl with high selectivity among different reactive oxygen/nitrogen compounds with a detection limit of 2.31 μM. Moreover, it is also utilized for the exogenous and endogenous detection of HOCl in live cells, which may help study the role of hypochlorite in organelles at the cellular level. DFT and TDDFT calculations have been carried out to understand the relationship between the structure and properties of the cationic probes with respect to the α-cyano substitution and extension of π-conjugation. The selective detection of HOCl by C4 over other cationic probes has also been well-demonstrated, showing how the binding of HOCl affects the electronic properties of C4 through the analysis of non-bonding orbitals (NBO) population, electrostatic potential surface (ESP), and density of states (DOS) projected DOS investigations.     

Novel Attributes and Analog Performance Analysis of Dual Material Gate FINFET Based High Sensitive Biosensors

Silicon - In this study dual material gate FinFET is designed to work as a dielectric modulated biosensor for detecting a variety of proteins. Surface potential, Electric field, Threshold voltage,...     

Transmissive Labyrinthine Acoustic Metamaterial-Based Holography for Extraordinary Energy Harvesting

Conventional energy sources are continuously depleting, and the world is actively seeking new green and efficient energy solutions. Enormous amounts of acoustic energy are dissipated daily, but the low intensity and limited efficiency of current harvesting techniques are preventing its adoption as a ubiquitous method of power generation. Herein, a strategic solution to increase acoustic energy harvesting efficiency using a specially designed metamaterial is implemented. A scalable transmissive labyrinthine acoustic metamaterial (LAM) is designed, developed, and employed to maximize ultrasound (40 kHz) capture over its large surface area (>27 k mm²), which is focused onto a piezoelectric film (78.6 mm²), thus magnifying incident sound pressure by 13.6 times. Three different piezoelectric films – two commercial and one lab-made nanocomposite film are tested with LAM in the acoustic energy harvesting system. An extraordinary voltage gain of 157–173% and a maximum power gain of 272% using the LAM compared to the case without the LAM are achieved. Multipoint focusing using holographic techniques, showcasing acoustic patterning to allow on-demand simultaneous harvesting in separate locations, is demonstrated. Our versatile approach for high-intensity acoustic energy harvesting opens future opportunities to exploit sound energy as a resource to contribute toward global sustainability.     

Photovoltaic Cell Panels Soiling Inspection Using Principal Component Thermal Image Processing

Intended for good productivity and perfect operation of the solar power grid a failure-free system is required. Therefore, thermal image processing with the thermal camera is the latest non-invasive (without manual contact) type fault identification technique which may give good precision in all aspects. The soiling issue, which is major productivity affecting factor may import from several reasons such as dust on the wind, bird mucks, etc. The efficient power production sufferers due to accumulated soil deposits reaching from 1%–7% in the county, such as India, to more than 25% in middle-east countries country, such as Dubai, Kuwait, etc. This research offers a solar panel soiling detection system built on thermal imaging which powers the inspection method and mitigates the requirement for physical panel inspection in a large solar production place. Hence, in this method, solar panels can be verified by working without disturbing production operation and it will save time and price of recognition. India ranks 3rd worldwide in the usage use age of Photovoltaic (PV) panels now and it is supported about 8.6% of the Nation’s electricity need in the year 2020. In the meantime, the installed PV production areas in India are aged 4–5 years old. Hence the need for inspection and maintenance of installed PV is growing fast day by day. As a result, this research focuses on finding the soiling hotspot exactly of the working solar panels with the help of Principal Components Thermal Analysis (PCTA) on MATLAB Environment.