Reverse Offset Printed, Biocompatible Temperature Sensor Based on Dark Muscovado.

A reverse-offset printed temperature sensor based on interdigitated electrodes (IDTs) has been investigated in this study. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were printed on a glass slide in an IDT pattern by reverse-offset printer. The sensing layer consisted of a sucrose film obtained by spin coating the sucrose solution on the IDTs. The temperature sensor demonstrated a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) with an exponential decrease in resistance as the temperature increased. This trend is the characteristic of a NTC thermistor. There is an overall change of ~2800 kΩ for the temperature change of 0 °C to 100 °C. The thermistor is based on a unique temperature sensor using a naturally occurring biocompatible material, i.e., sucrose. The active sensing material of the thermistor, i.e., sucrose used in the experiments was obtained from extract of Muscovado. Our temperature sensor has potential in the biomedical and food industries where environmentally friendly and biocompatible materials are more suitable for sensing accurately and reliably.

Wearable Healthcare Monitoring Based on a Microfluidic Electrochemical Integrated Device for Sensing Glucose in Natural Sweat.

Wearable sweat sensors offer the possibility of continuous real-time health monitoring of an individual at a low cost without invasion. A variety of sweat glucose sensors have been developed thus far to help diabetes patients frequently monitor blood glucose levels through sweat glucose as a surrogate marker. The present study demonstrates the development and characterization of a three-dimensional paper-based microfluidic electrochemical integrated device (3D PMED) for measuring glucose concentration in sweat in real-time via simple, non-invasive, capillary-action-based sample collection. The device was selective for glucose, and it detected glucose accurately in the clinically relevant range (0~2 mM) in an off-body setup. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time NEXAR™ has been used for biosensing applications. Further, the developed glucose sensor has acceptable sensitivity of 16.8 µA/mM/cm2. Importantly, in an on-body setup, the device achieved a significant amperometric response to sweat glucose in a very short amount of time (a few seconds). With detailed investigations, this proof-of-concept study could help further the development of sensitive and selective sweat-based glucose sensing devices for real-time glucose monitoring in diabetes patients.

An Aneurysmal Bone Cyst in the Skull Base.

An aneurysmal bone cyst (ABC) is believed to be attributable to intraosseous circulatory disturbance. An ABC is a vascular tumor of the bone caused by bony expansion after partial vascular occlusion and congestion. Most ABCs are found in adolescents (approximately 75% of ABCs are observed in patients under 20 years of age). The most common ABC sites are the long bones of the limbs, the vertebrae, and the cranial bone. Aneurysmal bone cysts in the skull base or ethmoid sinus have been but rarely reported worldwide. The authors report on a patient with a very large ABC in the skull base and the ethmoid sinus; this was successfully managed by a neurosurgeon.

In situ synthesis and cell performance of a Si/C core-shell/ball-milled graphite composite for lithium ion batteries.

A high-capacity silicon-carbon core-shell (Si/C) supported by ball-milled graphite (BMG) was synthesized in situ using a hydrosilylation reaction and tested as an anode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) in the investigation of the effects of dual buffer layers of carbon shell and BMG. The Si/C/BMG sample effectively absorbed high volumetric expansion/contraction generated during charge/discharge process due to the assistance of dual elastic buffers of carbon shell and BMG. As a result, after 50 charge/discharge cycles, the Si/C/BMG electrodes still had a very high capacity of 1615 mAh/g, whereas raw Si, Si/C, and a mechanical mixture of Si/C and BMG were less than 500 mAh/g. The results of various electrochemical characterization techniques revealed that the dual buffer layers were favorable in decreasing electron and ion transfer resistance. It was also shown from ex situ TEM results that the carbon layers behaved as anti-amorphization layers decreasing the amorphization rate of crystalline Si during the alloying/dealloying of Li with Si.

Performance enhancement of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells by dual-layered membrane electrode assembly structures with carbon nanotubes.

The effect of dual-layered membrane electrode assemblies (d-MEAs) on the performance of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) was investigated using the following characterization techniques: single cell performance test, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and cyclic voltammetry (CV). It has been shown that the PEMFC with d-MEAs has better cell performance than that with typical mono-layered MEAs (m-MEAs). In particular, the d-MEA whose inner layer is composed of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) showed the best fuel cell performance. This is due to the fact that the d-MEAs with MWCNTs have the highest electrochemical surface area and the lowest activation polarization, as observed from the CV and EIS test.

A Review of Solar-Coupled Phase Change Materials in Buildings.

Buildings use a significant percentage of the total energy consumed worldwide. Striving for energy conservation within buildings is of prime concern for researchers. Hence, scientists are aggressively exploring new energy storage and supply methods to reduce exorbitantly fluctuating energy demands and increase the share of renewable energy in building energy consumption. Solar systems that incorporate phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal storage have significant potential to serve in this context. These systems are not yet able to endure the significant energy demands, but they are being continually improved. The aim of this paper is to explore the existing solar PCM systems that are being studied or that are installed for use in indoor heating/cooling. As per the outcome of this systematic review, it has been observed that when coupled with solar thermal energy, the configuration of PCMs can either use passive or active techniques. Passive techniques are usually less efficient and more costly to implement in a building structure, resulting in active heat exchangers being widely implemented with better technical and economic results. At the same time, it has been observed that for most domestic buildings, organic PCMs with phase change temperatures of up to 42 °C and thermal conductivities of up to 0.56 W/m.K are most suitable for integration in solar thermal energy production. Hybrid systems are also commonly used for larger commercial buildings, in which the solar PCM system (SPCMS) provides a fraction of the total load. Additionally, the Stefan number is the most common technical parameter that is used to assess this performance, along with the effective thermal conductivity of the PCM after using enhancement techniques. The key economic indicator is annual savings per year, with most SPCMSs having a payback period of between 6 to 30 years. This review provides designers and researchers with key insights in terms of formulating a basis in the domain of coupling PCMs with solar thermal energy, especially within non-industrial buildings.

Miniaturized Rapid Electrochemical Immunosensor Based on Screen Printed Carbon Electrodes for Mycobacterium tuberculosis Detection.

In 2019, over 21% of an estimated 10 million new tuberculosis (TB) patients were either not diagnosed at all or diagnosed without being reported to public health authorities. It is therefore critical to develop newer and more rapid and effective point-of-care diagnostic tools to combat the global TB epidemic. PCR-based diagnostic methods such as Xpert MTB/RIF are quicker than conventional techniques, but their applicability is restricted by the need for specialized laboratory equipment and the substantial cost of scaling-up in low- and middle-income countries where the burden of TB is high. Meanwhile, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) amplifies nucleic acids under isothermal conditions with a high efficiency, helps in the early detection and identification of infectious diseases, and can be performed without the need for sophisticated thermocycling equipment. In the present study, the LAMP assay was integrated with screen-printed carbon electrodes and a commercial potentiostat for real time cyclic voltammetry analysis (named as the LAMP-Electrochemical (EC) assay). The LAMP-EC assay was found to be highly specific to TB-causing bacteria and capable of detecting even a single copy of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) IS6110 DNA sequence. Overall, the LAMP-EC test developed and evaluated in the present study shows promise to become a cost-effective tool for rapid and effective diagnosis of TB.

Investigation of Dielectric, Mechanical, and Thermal Properties of Epoxy Composites Embedded with Quartz Fibers.

Polymer matrix wave transparent composites are used in a variety of high-speed communication applications. One of the applications of these involves making protective enclosures for antennas of microwave towers, air vehicles, weather radars, and underwater communication devices. Material performance, structural, thermal, and mechanical degradation are matters of concern as advanced wireless communication needs robust materials for radomes that can withstand mechanical and thermal stresses. These polymer composite radomes are installed externally on antennas and are exposed directly to ambient as well as severe conditions. In this research, epoxy resin was reinforced with a small amount of quartz fibers to yield an improved composite radome material compared to a pure epoxy composite with better thermal and mechanical properties. FTIR spectra, SEM morphology, dielectric constant (Ɛr) and dielectric loss (δ), thermal degradation (weight loss), and mechanical properties were determined. Compared to pure epoxy, the lowest values of Ɛr and δ were 3.26 and 0.021 with 30 wt.% quartz fibers in the composite, while 40% less weight loss was observed which shows its better thermal stability. The mechanical characteristics encompassing tensile and bending strength were improved by 42.8% and 48.3%. In high-speed communication applications, compared to a pure epoxy composite, adding only a small quantity of quartz fiber can improve the composite material's dielectric performance, durability, and thermal and mechanical strength.

Biomaterials as Implants in the Orthopedic Field for Regenerative Medicine: Metal versus Synthetic Polymers.

Patients suffering bone fractures in different parts of the body require implants that will enable similar function to that of the natural bone that they are replacing. Joint diseases (rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis) also require surgical intervention with implants such as hip and knee joint replacement. Biomaterial implants are utilized to fix fractures or replace parts of the body. For the majority of these implant cases, either metal or polymer biomaterials are chosen in order to have a similar functional capacity to the original bone material. The biomaterials that are employed most often for implants of bone fracture are metals such as stainless steel and titanium, and polymers such as polyethene and polyetheretherketone (PEEK). This review compared metallic and synthetic polymer implant biomaterials that can be employed to secure load-bearing bone fractures due to their ability to withstand the mechanical stresses and strains of the body, with a focus on their classification, properties, and application.

Preparation of nano-sized graphite-supported CuO and Cu-Sn as active materials in lithium ion batteries.

Nano-sized Cu-Sn and Cu oxide particles supported on ball-milled graphite were synthesized, and their electrochemical characteristics for use as anode active materials in lithium-ion batteries were investigated. The samples were also characterized via FE-SEM, XRD, and TGA. Most of the Cu oxides on BMG were monoclinic CuO crystals, whereas the Cu-Sn particles were composed of hexagonal Cu3Sn and tetragonal SnO2 crystals. These particles may contribute to an increase in the reversible capacity of lithium ion batteries.

SnO2 nanoparticles distributed on multi-walled carbon nanotubes and ball-milled graphite as anode materials of lithium ion batteries.

SnO2 nanoparticles were supported on ball-milled graphite (BMG) or carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using a chemical reduction method with ethylene glycol, and the electrochemical properties of the nanocomposites were evaluated as anode active materials of lithium-ion batteries. The BMG and CNTs contributed to an increase in both the capacity enhancement and cyclic stability compared to that of commercial graphite. In particular, the mixture electrode of SnO2/BMG:SnO2/CNT = 3:1 (in weight ratio) showed higher performance in the reversible capacity and cyclic stability than did the SnO2/BMG and SnO2/CNT electrodes. This might be resulted from the network formation for excellent electronic path by CNT distributed on SnO2/BMG composites.

Flow Behavior of AA5005 Alloy at High Temperature and Low Strain Rate Based on Arrhenius-Type Equation and Back Propagation Artificial Neural Network (BP-ANN) Model.

To realize the purpose of energy saving, materials with high weight are replaced by low-weight materials with eligible mechanical properties in all kinds of fields. Therefore, conducting research works on lightweight materials under specified work conditions is extremely important and profound. To understand the relationship of aluminum alloy AA5005 among flow stress, true strain, strain rate, and deformation temperature, hot isothermal tensile tests were conducted within the strain rate range 0.0003-0.03 s-1 and temperature range 633-773 K. Based on the true stress-true strain curves obtained from the experiment, a traditional constitutive regression Arrhenius-type equation was utilized to regress flow behaviors. Meanwhile, the Arrhenius-type equation was optimized by a sixth-order polynomial function for compensating strain. Thereafter, a back propagation artificial neural network (BP-ANN) model based on supervised machine learning was also employed to regress and predict flow stress in diverse deform conditions. Ultimately, by introducing statistical analyses correlation coefficient (R2), average absolute relative error (AARE), and relative error (δ) to the comparative study, it was found that the Arrhenius-type equation will lose accuracy in cases of high stress. Additionally, owning higher R2, lower AARE, and more concentrative δ value distribution, the BP-ANN model is superior in regressing and predicting than the Arrhenius-type constitutive equation.

Optimization of Wire Electric Discharge Machining (WEDM) Process Parameters for AISI 1045 Medium Carbon Steel Using Taguchi Design of Experiments.

With the growth of the manufacturing industry, the demand for alloy materials with high hardness, toughness, and impact strength has increased. Since products from such alloy materials are extremely difficult to manufacture with high accuracy and reduced surface roughness using traditional machining techniques, wire electric discharge machining can be used to machine such complex parts with more precision. In this case-study-based research, machining factors such as current, pulse-on time, and voltage are studied to determine their effects on the material removal rate for AISI 1045 medium carbon steel. The Taguchi L9 orthogonal array is used in the design of experiments for optimization. Statistical techniques such as analysis of variance and signal-to-noise ratio are used to identify the control parameters that matter most in bringing about optimal results. Based on the results, the current is the most crucial control variable in this investigation. Moreover, the maximum material removal rate obtained was 0.7112 mm3/min with the obtained optimized values of current (I) = 16 A, voltage (V) = 50 V, and pulse-on time (Ton) = 100 µs.

Magnetic, Electrical, and Physical Properties Evolution in Fe3O4 Nanofiller Reinforced Aluminium Matrix Composite Produced by Powder Metallurgy Method.

An investigation into the addition of different weight percentages of Fe3O4 nanoparticles to find the optimum wt.% and its effect on the microstructure, thermal, magnetic, and electrical properties of aluminum matrix composite was conducted using the powder metallurgy method. The purpose of this research was to develop magnetic properties in aluminum. Based on the obtained results, the value of density, hardness, and saturation magnetization (Ms) from 2.33 g/cm3, 43 HV and 2.49 emu/g for Al-10 Fe3O4 reached a maximum value of 3.29 g/cm3, 47 HV and 13.06 emu/g for the Al-35 Fe3O4 which showed an improvement of 41.2%, 9.3%, and 424.5%, respectively. The maximum and minimum coercivity (Hc) was 231.87 G for Al-10 Fe3O4 and 142.34 G for Al-35 Fe3O4. Moreover, the thermal conductivity and electrical resistivity at a high weight percentage (35wt.%) were 159 w/mK, 9.9 × 10-4 Ω·m, and the highest compressive strength was 133 Mpa.

Constitutive Model Parameter Identification Based on Optimization Method and Formability Analysis for Ti6Al4V Alloy.

Titanium alloy is widely applied in aerospace, medical, shipping and other fields due to its high specific strength and low density. The purpose of this study was to analyze the formability of Ti6Al4V alloys at elevated temperatures. An accurate constitutive model is the basic condition for accurately simulating the plastic forming of materials, and it is an important basis for optimizing the parameters of the hot forging forming process. In this study, the optimization algorithm was used to accurately identify the high-temperature constitutive model parameters of Ti6Al4V titanium alloy, and the hot working diagram was established to optimize the hot forming process parameters. The optimal forming conditions of Ti6Al4V titanium alloy are given. Ti6Al4V alloy was subjected to high-temperature compression tests at 800-1000 °C and at strain rates of 0.01-5 s-1 on a Gleeble-1500D thermal/mechanical simulation machine. Each parameter of the Hansel-Spittel constitutive model was taken as an independent variable, and the accumulated error between the stress calculated by the constitutive model and the stress obtained by experimentation was used as an objective function. Based on response surface methodology, an inverse optimization method for identifying the parameters of the high-temperature constitutive model of Ti6Al4V alloy is proposed in this paper. An orthogonal test design was adopted to obtain sample point data, and a third-order response surface approximate model was established. The genetic algorithm (GA) was applied to reversely optimize the parameters of the constitutive model. To verify the accuracy of the optimized constitutive model, the average absolute relative error (AARE) and correlation coefficient (R) were used to evaluate the reliability of optimized constitutive model. The R value of the model was 0.999, and the AARE value was 0.048, respectively, indicating that the established high-temperature constitutive model for Ti6Al4V alloy has good calculation accuracy. The flow stress behavior of the material could be accurately delineated. Meanwhile, in order to study the formability of Ti6Al4V alloy, the hot processing map of the alloy, based on a dynamic material model, was established in this paper. The optimum hot working domains of the Ti6Al4V alloy were determined within 840-920 °C/0.01-0.049 s-1 and 940-980 °C/0.11-1.65 s-1; the hot processing map was verified in combination with the microstructure, and the fine and equiaxed grains and a large amount of ß phase could be found at 850 °C/0.01 s-1.

Formability and Failure Evaluation of AA3003-H18 Sheets in Single-Point Incremental Forming Process through the Design of Experiments.

The single-point incremental forming process (SPIF) is one of the emerging manufacturing methods because of its flexibility in producing the desired complex shapes with higher formability at low-cost compared to traditional sheet forming methods. In this research work, we experimentally investigate the forming process to determine the influence of process parameters and their contribution to enhancing the formability without causing a fracture by combining the design of experiments (DOE), grey relational analysis (GRA), and statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA). The surface morphology and the energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) method are used to perform elemental analysis and examine the formed parts during three forming stages. The DOE procedure, a central composite design with a face-centered option, is devised for AA3003-H18 Al alloy sheet for modeling the real-time experiments. The response surface methodology (RSM) approach is adopted to optimize the forming parameters and recognize the optimal test conditions. The statistically developed model is found to have agree with the test measurements. The prediction model's capability in R2 is computed as 0.8931, indicating that the fitted regression model adequately aligns with the estimated grey relational grade (GRG) data. Other statistical parameters, such as root mean square error (RMSE) and average absolute relative error (AARE), are estimated as 0.0196 and 2.78%, respectively, proving the proposed regression model's overall closeness to the measured data. In addition, the prediction error range is identified as -0.05 to 0.05, which is significantly lower and the residual data are distributed normally in the design space with variance and mean of 3.3748 and -0.1232, respectively. ANOVA is performed to understand the adequacy of the proposed model and the influence of the input factors on the response variable. The model parameters, including step size, feed rate, interaction effect of tool radius and step size, favorably influence the response variable. The model terms X2 (0.020 and 11.30), X3 (0.018 and 12.16), and X1X2 (0.026 and 9.72) are significant in terms of p-value and F-value, respectively. The microstructural inspection shows that the thinning behavior tends to be higher as forming depth advances to its maximum; the deformation is uniform and homogeneous under the predefined test conditions.

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of AA5052-H32 Al Alloy with U-Profile in Cold Roll Forming.

The cold roll forming process is broadly used to produce a specific shape of cold-roll formed products for their applications in automobiles, aerospace, shipbuilding, and construction sectors. Moreover, a proper selection of strip thickness and forming speed to avoid fracture is most important for manufacturing a quality product. This research aims to investigate the presence of longitudinal bow, the reason behind flange height deviation, spring-back, and identification of thinning location in the cold roll-forming of symmetrical short U-profile sheets. A room temperature tensile test is performed for the commercially available AA5052-H32 Al alloy sheets using Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique, which allows complete displacement and strain data information at each time-step. The material properties are estimated from the digital images using correlation software for tested samples; the plastic strain ratios are also calculated from samples at 0°, 45°, and 90° to the rolling direction. The tested sample's surface morphology and the elemental analysis are conducted using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) method and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analytical technique combined with element mapping analysis, respectively. The cold roll forming experiments are systematically carried out, and then finite element analysis is utilized to correlate the experiment with the model. The performed cold roll forming numerical model outcome indicates a good agreement with the experimental measurements. Overall, the presented longitudinal strain was observed to influence the geometry profile. The spring-back is also noticed at the profile tail end and is more pronounced at high forming speed with lower strip thickness. Conversely, while the forming speed is varied, the strain and stress variations are observed to be insignificant, and the similar results also are recognized for the thinning behavior.

Dynamic instability responses of the substructure living biological cells in the cytoplasm environment using stress-strain size-dependent theory.

Over the last few years, some novel researches in the field of medical science made a tendency to have a therapy without any complications or side-effects of the disease with the aid of prognosis about the behaviors of the substructure living biological cell. Regarding this issue, nonlinear frequency characteristics of substructure living biological cell in axons with attention to different size effect parameters based on generalized differential quadrature method is presented. Supporting the effects of surrounding cytoplasm and MAP Tau proteins are considered as nonlinear elastic foundation. The Substructure living biological cell are modeled as a moderately thick curved cylindrical nanoshell. The displacement- strain of nonlinearity via Von Karman nonlinear shell theory is obtained. Extended Hamilton's principle is used for obtaining nonlinear equations of the living biological cells and finally, GDQM and PA are presented to obtain large amplitude and nonlinear frequency information of the substructure living biological cell. Based on presented numerical results, increasing the nonlinear MAP tau protein parameter causes to improve the hardening behavior and increase the maximum amplitudes of resonant vibration of the microtubule. The crucial consequence is when the fixed boundary conditions in the microstructure switch to cantilevered, the living part of the cells could manage to have irrational feedback at the broad field of the excitation frequency. The current study has been made into the influences of the NSG parameters, geometrical and physical parameters on the instability of the curved microtubule employing continuum mechanics model.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

The Parameters Identification of High-Temperature Constitutive Model Based on Inverse Optimization Method and 3D Processing Map of Cr8 Alloy Steel.

As a novel kind of cold roller steel, Cr8 alloy steel has the characteristics of high hardness, high wear resistance and good toughness, which can effectively prolong the service life of the roller that is an important part of the steel rolling mill. How to accurately define the constitutive model parameters of metal materials is the major problem, because it seriously affects the accuracy of numerical simulation results of the roller hot forming process. In the study of Cr8 alloy steel's thermal deformation behavior of the present paper, the high temperature compression test was done on a Gleebel-1500D thermal/force simulation testing machine. A novel method of parameter identification was proposed based on inverse optimization. The Hansel-Spittel constitutive model was established by using the inverse optimization method. To carry out the verification on the accuracy of the established constitutive model, the predicted flow-stress of constitutive model was made a contrast to the experimental flow-stress, and the standard statistical parameters were also applied to further evaluation. The results showed a relatively high prediction accuracy of the Hansel-Spittel constitutive model based on the inverse optimization algorithm. Meanwhile, to obtain optimal parameters of Cr8 alloy steel in the thermal processing, 3D thermal processing maps concerning strain-rate, strain and temperature were built based on the dynamic material model. According to the 3D processing map, the most adequate thermal processing parameters of Cr8 alloy steel were obtianed as follows: strain 0.2-0.4, strain-rate 0.05-0.005 s-1, temperature 1100-1150 °C.

Design and Mechanical Compatibility of Nylon Bionic Cancellous Bone Fabricated by Selective Laser Sintering.

In order to avoid the stress shielding phenomenon in orthopedic bionic bone implantation, it is necessary to consider the design of mechanical compatible implants imitating the host bone. In this study, we developed a novel cancellous bone structure design method aimed at ensuring the mechanical compatibility between the bionic bone and human bone by means of computer-aided design (CAD) and finite element analysis technology (specifically, finite element modeling (FEM)). An orthogonal lattice model with volume porosity between 59% and 96% was developed by means of CAD. The effective equivalent elastic modulus of a honeycomb structure with square holes was studied by FEM simulation. With the purpose of verifying the validity of the cancellous bone structure design method, the honeycomb structure was fabricated by selective laser sintering (SLS) and the actual equivalent elastic modulus of the honeycomb structure was measured with a uniaxial compression test. The experimental results were compared with the FEM values and the predicted values. The results showed that the stiffness values of the designed structures were within the acceptable range of human cancellous bone of 50-500 MPa, which was similar to the stiffness values of human vertebrae L1 and L5. From the point of view of mechanical strength, the established cellular model can effectively match the elastic modulus of human vertebrae cancellous bone. The functional relationship between the volume porosity of the nylon square-pore honeycomb structure ranging from 59% to 96% and the effective elastic modulus was established. The effect of structural changes related to the manufacture of honeycomb structures on the equivalent elastic modulus of honeycomb structures was studied quantitatively by finite element modeling.