Triboelectric and Piezoelectric Effects in a Combined Tribo‐Piezoelectric Nanogenerator Based on an Interfacial ZnO Nanostructure

In this contribution, combined triboelectric and piezoelectric generators (TPEG) with a sandwich structure of aluminum‐polydimethylsiloxane/polyvinylidene fluoride composite‐carbon (Al‐PPCF‐Carbon) are fabricated for the purpose of mechanical energy harvesting. Improved by the surface modification of PPCF with zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods through a hydrothermal method, the TPEG generates an open‐circuit voltage (V_oc) of ≈40 V, a short‐circuit current (I_sc) of 0.28 μA with maximum power density of ≈70 mWm^?2_, and maximum conversion efficiency of 34.56%. Subsequently, in order to understand the transduction mechanism of the triboelectric and piezoelectric effects, analyses focusing on the potential composition ratio in the final output and the impact of ZnO interfacial nanostructure are carried out. The observed potential ratio between triboelectric and piezoelectric effects is 12.75:1 and the highest potential improvement by ZnO nanorods of 21.8 V is achieved by the TPEG fabricated with spacer. Finally, the relationships between the voltage, power density, conversion efficiency, and the external load resistances are also discussed. Overall, the fabricated TPEG is proved to be a simple and effective nanogenerator in mechanical energy conversion with enhanced output potential and conversion efficiency.     

A Novel EDA Tool for VLSI Test Vectors Management

In today’s semiconductor industry, where time-to-profit is a critical factor to remain competitive, missing the tight market window might have serious implications including the risk of product cancellation. This places severe pressure on every aspect related to the design and the verification of semiconductor chips to get the design ready for manufacturing in the shortest time possible. To avoid the need for costly corrective steps and silicon re-spins during post-silicon verification, thorough pre-silicon verification is essential to catch any design fault and estimate the design overall reliability before the design is manufactured. This paper presents a novel EDA tool that helps the verification team improve the verification process in several ways. It can be used to generate useful statistics regarding the complexity and the coverage of the created test vectors. Experimental results prove that the verification team can successfully use the proposed tool to set their target coverage and intelligently select the set of test vectors that achieves that target using the minimum number of computing cycles.

Dissolved oxygen concentration affects the accumulation of HIV-1 recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli

A central problem in aerobic growth of any culture is the maintenance of dissolved oxygen concentration (DOC) above growth-limiting levels especially in high-cell density fermentations that are usually of the fed-batch type. Fermentor studies have been conducted to determine the influence of DOC on the production of heterologous proteins in Escherichia coli. The results demonstrated that there is a significant degree of product-to-product variation in the response of heterologous protein accumulation to DOC. For translational fusions of the human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) proteins p24Gag and Env41, the imposition of a dissolved oxygen (DO) limitation resulted in 100 and 15% increases in the respective product yields. On the other hand, the imposition of a DO limitation had no effect on the production of a similar translational fusion of the HIV-1 protein p55Gag, and a large negative effect on the production of an influenza protein (C13). The stimulatory effects of DOC on p24Gag production were investigated further. The results of my studies suggested that the stimulatory effect observed at reduced agitation rates on p24Gag accumulation was owing to an oxygen effect and not a shear effect. Furthermore, the results of my investigations indicated that the effect a DOC had on the production of p24Gag was strongly influenced by the cell density at which the culture was induced.     

Thermal Degradation and Flammability Properties of Poly(propylene)/Carbon Nanotube Composites

Nanocomposites based on poly(propylene) and multi‐wall carbon nanotubes (up to 2 vol.‐%) were melt blended, yielding a good dispersion of nanotubes without using any organic treatment or additional additives. Carbon nanotubes are found to significantly enhance the thermal stability of poly(propylene) in nitrogen at high temperatures. Specifically, the nanotube additive greatly reduced the heat release rate of poly(propylene). They are found to be at least as effective a flame‐retardant as clay/poly(propylene) nanocomposites.     

Potassium gadolinium polyphosphate,KGd(PO3)4

Potassium gadolinium polyphosphate, KGd(PO₃)₄, was synthesized using the flux method. The atomic arrangement consists of an infinite long‐chain polyphosphate organization. Two types of chains, with a period of eight PO₄ tetrahedra, run along the [101] direction. The Gd atoms have an eightfold coordination, while the K atoms have nine O‐atom neighbours.     

以脉冲萃取柱利用三异辛胺从高浓度铀溶液中回收铀

利用三异辛胺(TOA)纯化Gattar小型试验工厂的高浓度铀溶液(洗脱液的铀浓度7 g·L^-1),研究了脉冲萃取柱的性能。利用实验室级脉冲萃取柱进行了实验室规模的溶剂萃取实验和后续实验。结果表明,在室温、pH=1和有机相与水相的比例(V_O/V_A)约为1.8：1时,加入二(2-乙基己基)磷酸(D2EHPA)使其与TOA的比例(V_D2EHPA/V_TOA)为2：3,可使萃取克服Cl-的抑制效应,提高效率。将结论用于考察试验工厂级萃取柱的流体力学和传质性能,结果表明用脉冲萃取柱萃取铀可以达到97%的萃取效率,具有可行性。     

Ultra-Sensitive Fluorimetric Method for the First Estimation of Vonoprazan in Real Human Plasma and Content Uniformity Test

Journal of Fluorescence - Vonoprazan (VON) has been approved recently via US-FDA in 2015 as the first in class of potassium competitive acid blocker group. VON is used for management of...     

An Interaction Value Perspective on Firms of Differing Size

We present a general model of a network of interacting individuals, each of whom derives a known, real-valued benefit from each possible dyadic interaction. The model views interactions as knowledge-transfer exchanges that add value to the organization. We use this model to derive interaction patterns within an organization. We assume that the value of dyadic interaction benefits is distributed as a randomly permuted geometric series. Moreover, interactions only add value when a large enough waiting period is observed between interaction attempts. We show that an organization optimized for knowledge transfer has a distribution of interaction frequencies which correlates well with observations. Organizations of differing sizes can have similar optimal structures as long they have similar normalized levels of interdependence between interactions, and distribution of interaction benefit values. This research has implications for the design of communication infrastructure in a growing organization, as well as for the predictive value of modeling organizations at different scales.     

Effects of Frankincense Compounds on Infection,Inflammation, and Oral Health

Boswellia trees, found throughout the Middle East and parts of Africa and Asia, are the source of frankincense oil. Since antiquity, frankincense has been traded as a precious commodity, but it has also been used for the treatment of chronic disease, inflammation, oral health, and microbial infection. More recently, the bioactive components of Boswellia trees have been identified and characterized for their effects on cancer, microbial infection (especially infection by oral pathogens), and inflammation. Most studies have focused on cell lines, but more recent research has also investigated effects in animal models of disease. As natural products are considered to be safer than synthetic drugs, there is growing interest in further developing the use of substances such as frankincense oil for therapeutic treatment.