Simple Process Research Articles

Hydrological performance of bioretention in field experiments and models: A review from the perspective of design characteristics and local contexts.

Bioretention is a widely used countermeasure to address stormwater runoff issues and restore the urban water balance. This review investigated the variety of designs and local contexts covered by earlier studies, as well as the means for assessing the hydrological performance of a bioretention system. It built on the analysis of 75 documents to discuss the adequacy of experimental setups or models for the evaluation of different performance indicators, and to summarise current knowledge regarding the impact of local context or design parameters on the hydrologic functioning of bioretention systems. The current literature was found to only partially cover the potential variety of local contexts or bioretention designs, and to sometimes omit critical information. Studies were for instance concentrated in regions with low seasonal rainfall variability for which limits the potential for investigating drought resilience issues and more generally restricts the applicability of their findings to other climate conditions. Regarding bioretention design, the use of environmental-friendly materials (renewable and local materials) as alternatives to traditional materials (sand, gravel, geotextile), as well as simpler designs with limited inputs of external materials (e.g. limited use of concrete or polymeric materials), remains largely overlooked. Besides, the over representation of lined system in current studies leads to a lack of understanding of the interactions between bioretention and the surrounding soil, despite evidence of their potential impact on the overall performance of bioretention in the case of unlined systems. In the reviewed studies, certain limitations of the most commonly used monitoring and modelling methods were identified. Event-based and short-term approaches made up a large proportion of the modelling and monitoring methods, but they lead to inaccuracies in annual and long-term performance. 1D models gained popularity due to their ease of use, but the simplification of configuration and hydrological processes and thus their influence on performance was rarely discussed.

Atomic force microscopy lateral force calibration using a V-shape scratch made by a nanoindenter.

Measuring quantitative and accurate friction force at the nanoscale by means of atomic force microscopy is not straightforward. Numerous lateral force calibration methods have been proposed in the last decades. The most popular one is the wedge method that requires a specific calibration sample having areas that present constant slope and friction coefficient. In this paper, we propose to revisit the wedge method by using an original, cheap, and easy-to-make standard, which consists of a V-shaped scratch made by a Berkovich nanoindenter tip on a fused silica substrate. We show that the scratch has two large opposite facets characterized by the same moderate and constant friction coefficient and slope. This allows simplification of the data processing and a much more reliable and accurate lateral force microscopy calibration.

Green process for xylo-oligosaccharide production from acetic acid hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse by an integrated membrane technology and activated carbon adsorption.

Xylooligosaccharides (XOS), consisting 2-6 xylose residues, are a new type of prebiotic and functional oligosaccharides, and can usually be produced from the xylan-riched lignocellulosic biomass by acetic acid (HAc) hydrolysis, while the waste HAc was a problem to the environment. In this study, the main aim was to recover and reuse the waste HAc in XOS production. First, it was found that a temperature of 190°C and a hydrolysis time of 60min were favorable for XOS production by HAc hydrolysis, and the by-products xylose and furfural were the main inhibitors, hindering the reuse of the waste HAc. Then, xylose can be successfully decreased below to its inhibition concentration (i.e., 0.05g/L) by a two-stage NF90 membrane process under 25°C. After diafiltering the NF90 retentate using a triploid volution of a HCl-solution of pH 2.37, the total HAc recovery rate reached 82.87%. Moreover, after the recovered HAc solution was further treated with 25g/L activated carbon under 25°C and pH regulator with glacial HAc to 2.37 wherein the furfural concentration was below 0.015g/L, the recovered HAc solution can be successfully reused in XOS production without affecting the XOS production. Thus, in the developed integrated process, it replaced 82.87% of the pristine HAc with the recovered HAc and simplified extraction process of XOS by HAc hydrolysis on an industrial scale.

Comparative Evaluation of Cefixime Microspheres Utilizing a Natural Polymer and a Synthetic Polymer

Background: Microspheres are naturally biodegradable, free-flowing powders with a particle size of less than 200 micrometres that are comprised of proteins or synthetic polymers. Using microspheres is a reliable strategy to ensure that the drug is accurately delivered to the target area and that the right concentration is kept there without having any unfavourable side effects. Objective: The objective of the present study was to create a sustained-release cefixime trihydrate microsphere delivery system employing natural and synthetic polymers as a carrier and increase therapeutic effectiveness. Methods: Due to the simplicity of processing, the solvent injection method was used to create microspheres. Microspheres were created with this technology using the sustained-release polymer, sodium alginate, and active material (drug). The compatibility of components with the drug was evaluated using XRD and FT-IR. In an in-vitro release research, the dissolving medium was phosphate buffer at pH 6.8. For the kinetic analysis of the drug release mechanism, graphs for zero-order, first-order, Higuchi's, Korsmeyer-Peppas, and Hixson-Crowell models were also created. Results: The best formulation was chosen from the batches, and in-vitro cefixime trihydrate release studies for various microspheres containing cefixime trihydrate in phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) for 8 hours were performed. The dissolution profiles of formulations F4 and F8 showed that the formulation, including xanthan gum, F8, released 55.01% more medication in 8 hours than the formulation using HPMC, F4. X-ray diffraction, swelling index of drug-laden microspheres, and Scanning Electron Microscopy were used to evaluate formulation F8. The graphs for zero-order, first-order, Higuchi's, Korsmeyer-Peppas, and Hixson- Crowell models were plotted, and the optimised batch was discovered to match Higuchi's drug release kinetics with an R2 value of 0.990. Conclusion: Cefixime trihydrate microspheres can be utilized as a new drug delivery technology to minimize dose frequency and, as a result, to promote patient compliance.

Composite phase-based metasurfaces for the generation of spin-decoupling orbital angular momentum single-photon sources

Solid-state quantum emitters, such as semiconductor quantum dots (QDs), have numerous significant applications in quantum information science. While there has been some success in controlling structured light from kinds of single-photon sources, the simultaneous on-demand, high-quality, and integrated generation of single-photon sources with various degrees of freedom remains a challenge. Here, we utilize composite phase-based metasurfaces, comprising transmission phase and geometric phase elements, to modulate the semiconductor QD emission through a simplified fabrication process. This approach enables to decouple the emission into left and right circularly polarized (LCP/RCP) beams in arbitrary directions (e.g., with zenith angles of 10° and 30°), producing collimated beams with divergence angles less than 6.0° and carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes with different topological charges. Furthermore, we examine the polarization relationship between the output beams and QD emission to validate the performance of our designed devices. Additionally, we achieve eight channels of single-photon emissions, each with well-defined states of spin angular momentum (SAM), OAM, and specific emission directions. Our work not only demonstrates an effective integrated quantum device for the on-demand manipulation of precise direction, collimation, SAM, and various OAM modes, but also significantly advances research efforts in the quantum field related to the generation of multi-OAM single photons.

Study on the preparation of high intrinsic conductivity Perovskite Li0.33La0.56TiO3 solid-state electrolyte by systematic process optimization

Abstract Li0.33La0.56TiO3 (LLTO) perovskite-type solid-state electrolyte is one of the solid-state electrolytes that is expected to achieve industrial production. However, research focused on a single factor and the simplification of the preparation process have constrained the bulk conductivity of LLTO. This study systematically investigated the influence of process parameters on the intrinsic conductivity of perovskite-type solid-state electrolytes, focusing on pre-sintering temperature, lithium compensation, and sintering temperature, which are important processes for LLTO. The experimental results show that the optimization of process parameters can promote grain growth to a certain extent, increase the uniformity of grain size and promote the densification of materials, and a certain degree of lithium compensation can effectively suppress the formation of secondary phases caused by lithium deficiency, thereby improving the intrinsic conductivity of the material. Among them, the material prepared under the conditions of a lithium compensation amount of 20 wt%, a pre-sintering temperature of 800 °C, and a sintering temperature of 1300 °C showed the highest bulk conductivity of 3.41 × 10−3 S·cm−1 at 50 °C, the highest bulk density of material reaching 4.95 g·cm−3, which is 98.78 % of the relative bulk density of LLTO solid-state electrolyte, and the lowest conductivity activation energy of 0.24 eV for the sample.

Pre-folding purification procedures for inclusion body-derived non-tagged cationic recombinant proteins with multiple disulfide bonds for efficient refolding.

The production of disulfide-containing recombinant proteins often requires refolding of inclusion bodies before purification. A pre-refolding purification step is crucial for effective refolding because impurities in the inclusion bodies interfere with refolding and subsequent purification. This study presents a new pre-refolding procedure using a reversible S-cationization technique for protein solubilization and purification by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography. This pre-folding purification step improves refolding yield by effectively removing the refolding inhibitors from contaminates from bacterial inclusion bodies, and reducing proteolytically degraded products. Because this procedure does not require a peptide tag for affinity purification, it is a superior technique to subsequently perform a simplified downstream process wherein the affinity tag needs to be removed. This study reports improved refolding and purification procedure to obtain the highly cationic (pI = 9.25) mouse vascular endothelial cell growth factor (188 amino acids form) that is used as a model protein in our study; this protein shows a homodimeric conformation and possesses multiple disulfides.

Self-homodyne 2-OTDM for doubling the baud rate in low-energy optical interconnect.

As a low-energy method to increase the data rate of optical links in data centers, we propose self-homodyne Nyquist optical time division multiplexing (OTDM). In Nyquist OTDM, spectrally efficient high-baud rate signals can be generated exceeding the limit of electronic signal processing. However, full integration of OTDM systems has not been reported, mainly because of the complicated signal detection scheme, which involves demultiplexing and clock recovery. In our proposal, the Nyquist pulse train is transmitted to the receiver as a local oscillator (LO) to leverage self-homodyne detection, which allows using large linewidth lasers and a simplified digital signal processing (DSP) algorithm. As the transmitted pulse train serves as an optical clock, demultiplexing and detection of the OTDM signal can be performed without using power-intensive high-bandwidth electronics and DSP. In this method, the LO pulse train needs to enter the coherent detector in exact synchronization with the OTDM signal for detecting the individual tributary correctly. For this purpose, we present a pulse delay control method suitable for photonic integration. A Nyquist pulse train with m carriers enables m-time multiplexing of optical signals. We explain and demonstrate the proposed concept in the case of m = 2, as it is the most feasible implementation. In the O-band where the chromatic dispersion (CD) is negligible, DSP-free operation can be achieved using the QPSK format. At the band edges where CD is non-negligible, it can be compensated by the DSP as in the conventional coherent detection. We verify this numerically and in an experiment involving the transmission of a 64-Gbaud QPSK signal at 1550 nm over a single-mode fiber. In terms of low energy, self-homodyne Nyquist OTDM is advantageous in wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). Taking it into consideration, we perform 4-channel WDM transmission of the 64-Gbaud QPSK signal over a 1-km dispersion shifted fiber without CD compensation. The results demonstrate a data rate of 512 Gb/s with a BER of <1 × 10-10.

Study of High Performance Nanoscale Channel Length Vertical Transistors with a Self-Aligned Blocking Layer.

A transistor design employing all vertically stacked components has attracted considerable attention due to the simplicity of the fabrication process and the high conductivity easily realized by achieving nanolevel short channel lengths with two-dimensional current paths. However, fundamental issues, specifically the blocking of the gate electrical field to the semiconductive channel layer and high leakage current at the "off" state, have impeded this configuration in becoming a major transistor design. To address these issues, it has been proposed to introduce a blocking layer (BL) with embedded hole structures and source electrode with embedded hole structures, enhancing gate field penetration and carrier modulation. The hole structure embedded in the source and the BL on the drain induced a desirable combined effect of gate field penetration and carrier pathway modulation. The align accuracy and the hole size difference between BL and source electrode were confirmed as the most important design parameters for high performance of a transistor. We therefore proposed a self-aligning lithography method using a built-in mask that allows high alignment accuracy between the source hole structure and the BL hole structure on the drain over a large area without a high-resolution process system. This method also enables easy and fast fabrication of nanoscale channels with high performance. This design resulted in a transistor with an output of 28 mA/cm2 and an on-off ratio exceeding 106 at 1 mV of VDS. However, at 3 V of VDS, the off-current increased significantly due to short-channel effects in the all metal electrode design. To solve this issue, Fermi level-tunable graphene replaced metal electrodes, maintaining an off-current below 10 pA and an on-off ratio around 107 at 3 V. In addition, the device demonstrates robust electrical properties to light without any special treatment and is stable with a threshold voltage shift of less than 1 V under bias stress. This study demonstrates that the proposed vertical transistor design is a viable candidate as a new major transistor design for various applications.

Advancements in Silkworm-Derived Silk Fibroin Biomaterials for Peripheral Nerve Regeneration

Regenerating injured nerves is difficult because they have little spontaneous regeneration potential. Advances in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine have emphasized the possibility of biomaterial-based methods for nerve healing. Natural protein-based biomaterials have benefits over synthetic ones, such as biocompatibility, non-immunogenicity, and biodegradability. Silk fibroin, generated from mulberry and non-mulberry silkworms, is especially promising because of its abundance, simplicity of processing into nerve-like structures, adjustable biodegradability, and mechanical robustness. Furthermore, non-mulberry silk fibroin contains the cell-affinitive RGD tripeptide, which enhances its ability to repair nerves. Studies using silk fibroin (SF)--based nerve conduits have demonstrated nerve regeneration rates of up to 80–90% compared to autografts, which remain the clinical gold standard. SF conduits exhibit outstanding mechanical properties, with tensile strengths up to 300 MPa and elastic moduli adjustable between kPa-MPa range, which closely mimic the native tissue and ensure durability in dynamic environments. This review explores the diverse types of silkworm silk fibroin (SSF) and their applications in biomaterial-based Peripheral Nerve Repair (PNR). It discusses the integration of SSF with other biopolymers and synthetic polymers, highlighting advancements in nerve guidance channels incorporating electro-conductive materials to enhance regeneration rates. The literature search was primarily conducted using the Web of Science database, employing relevant keyword combinations such as “silk fibroin + nerve repair,” “silk fibroin + peripheral nerve repair,” “silk + nerve repair,” and “silk + nerve repair + electrical stimulation.” As this review focuses on silkworm silk-based biomaterials, studies involving spider silk or recombinant silk-based biomaterials were excluded. The period considered began with the earliest relevant studies, with an emphasis on more recent advancements up to November 2024 to capture the latest developments in the field. Identified studies were categorized based on the biomaterial composition, including pure silk biomaterials, silk biopolymer binary composites, silk synthetic binary composites, and silk-hybrid composites. Key findings were synthesized to highlight the progress, challenges, and future directions in applying silk fibroin-based scaffolds and electrical stimulation technologies for nerve repair. The findings provide insights into the potential of SSF-based biomaterials and propose future directions for developing advanced nerve repair strategies.

Mannose functionalized small molecule nanodrug self-assembled from amphiphilic prodrug connected by disulfide bonds for synergistic cancer chemotherapy and photodynamic/photothermal therapy.

Compared to conventional nanocarrier-based drug delivery technology, small-molecule-assembled nanomaterials provide various advantages, including higher drug loading efficiency, lower excipient-related toxicity, and a simpler formulation process. Our research constructed a mannonse-modified small-molecule-assembled nanodrug for synergistic photodynamic/chemotherapy against A549 cancer cells. The hydrophobic hypoxic-activated agent tirapazamine (TPZ) and a hydrophilic fluorescence probe Cyanine 3 (Cy3) constitute this amphiphilic prodrug via a glutathione (GSH)-responsive linkage, which could self-assemble into stable nanoparticles (NPs) and encapsulate a newly synthesized photosensitizer (SeBDP). To enhance the tumor targeting capability, we introduced a tumor-targeted nanodrug SeBDP@TPZ-S-S-Cy/Man NPs by co-assembling mannose-modified lipid (DSPE-PEG-Man). The GSH-responsive linkage of TPZ-S-S-Cy can be rapidly cleaved by GSH to release the therapeutic agents and fluorescent molecule. The released SeBDP generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) to specifically kill cancer cells and elevate hypoxia, thereby enhancing the cytotoxicity of TPZ. SeBDP@TPZ-S-S-Cy/Man NPs exhibited high selectivity and efficiency for in vivo combination therapy without adverse effects to normal tissues. Our findings demonstrate that SeBDP@TPZ-S-S-Cy/Man NPs have great potential for enhancing cancer treatment both in vitro and in vivo by combining an oxygen depletion prodrug with a hypoxia-activated antitumor agent. Thus, the GSH-sensitive self-assembled nanodrug from an amphiphilic hypoxia-activated prodrug, could serve as a potential drug carrier in targeted synergistic cancer therapy.

New criminal legislation and plea agreements in corruption offenses: in search of an optimal model

The article is devoted to the study of criminal law aspects of ensuring the principle of procedural economy when concluding plea agreements in corruption offenses. The social danger of corruption is analyzed as a threat to the Ukrainian state, which undermines the foundations of the rule of law, contributes to economic losses and social inequality. Legislative amendments adopted by the Law of Ukraine «On Amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine on Improving the Regulation of Plea Agreements in Criminal Proceedings Regarding Corruption Criminal Offenses and Criminal Offenses Related to Corruption» on October 29, 2024, are being considered. concerning the mechanisms of entering into plea agreements, in particular the simplification and acceleration of the criminal process. A comparison is made with the American practice of concluding similar agreements, where they are often used to expose other offenders. The author expresses reservations about the impact of the relevant changes on the legal system and social stability in Ukraine, despite the introduced clause 2, part 4, Art. 469 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine restrictions on concluding agreements with violators of anti-corruption legislation. The changes made to the Criminal Code of Ukraine aimed at introducing normative parameters of plea agreements in criminal proceedings regarding corruption (corruption-related) criminal offenses are critically analyzed. In particular, it is emphasized that a fine as a type of punishment is not and should not be regarded as a certain type of «redemption» for committing a criminal offense; the fine must be paid from the legal income of the offender, not from the proceeds of crime. The issue of the ethicality of the introduced legislative changes was separately raised and it was argued that domestic legislation, especially criminal legislation, should not be reformed «in exchange» for receiving external financial support. The author warns that this practice can have negative consequences, creating additional corruption risks and threatening the stability of society, especially in cases of release of top corrupt officials on the basis of deals.

Efficient simultaneous degradation of multiple sulfonamide antibiotics in soil using biocarbon-based nanomaterials as catalysts for persulfate activation.

There is an urgent need to develop effective and sustainable methods to decrease sulfonamide (SA) contamination of soil. Herein, a non-homogeneous system of zero-valent metal-biochar-based composites was proposed and tested for persulfate (PS) activation. This system employed zero-valent iron (Fe0) as an electron donor to catalyze the cleavage of the OO bond in PS, thereby generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) that degrade SAs. Notably, the incorporation of elemental sulfur (S) significantly mitigated the passivation of Fe0, leading to an enhanced degradation capability of the system. The system decomposes 84-97% of SAs at their concentration in soil suspension 10mg/kg in 3h. Among the coexistence of several SAs, the system showed the fastest degradation rate of sulfisoxazole with a kobs of 0.0305min-1, nearing complete removal within 3h. The system is resistant to the impact of organic matter in soil. It allows to decrease concentration of sulfadiazine in actual contaminated soil on 73% in 2h. The system remains effective with decreasing concentrations of PS from 20mM to 2.5mM, which lowered the operating cost. T.E.S.T software evaluation showed a significant reduction in the bioaccumulation toxicity and developmental toxicity of the degradation products, suggesting that the system is environmentally friendly. The high efficiency of the catalytic system, the simplicity and economy of the manufacturing process, the resistance to interference in real soil, and the environmental friendliness make this technology promising for mitigating the problem of the environment contamination by SAs.

A piezoelectric coded-excitation scanning acoustic transducer for Lamb wave inspections

Abstract Several techniques for Guided Wave (GW) inspections have already been developed. Most of them rely on extensive sensor deployment and damage localization algorithms characterized by significant computational costs. However, there is a growing demand for simpler, more autonomous, and more affordable systems across various fields. In particular, the implementation of wireless, battery-powered systems with a reduced number of sensor nodes and simpler processing would greatly facilitate the transition of this inspection technology on the field. Following this direction, this work presents the design of a novel piezoelectric transducer composed of four different patches, i.e. with only four input/output channels, to scan a given area. The peculiar piezo-load distributions allow the association of different spectral binary sequences for each 6∘ discrete angular step. By evaluating the distance-of-flights (DoFs) of detected peaks, the range coordinates for multiple defects are identified. Meanwhile, the angular information is extracted by demodulating binary sequences of peaks with comparable DoFs across several frequency bands. Since the transducer is designed as an encoder, it is referred to as coded-excitation scanning acoustic transducer (CESAT). More specifically, the Gray code is used to generate spectral patterns to reduce the uncertainty between two adjacent angular steps. A new quantization procedure for the optimal generation of the piezo distributions is also proposed. Ad hoc signal processing algorithms, suitable for embedded applications, were developed to extract multi-target range and angle information. The processing is based on the frequency decomposition of the recorded signal using an FIR filter bank and on dispersion compensation procedures for pulse ‘re-compression’. The transducer encoder behavior is validated through a finite element analysis. Finally, numerical simulations were performed to assess the effectiveness of the CESAT and associated signal processing in multi-defect detection and localization tasks.

Vialess heterogeneous skin patch for multimodal monitoring and stimulation

System-level wearable electronics require to be flexible to ensure conformal contact with the skin, but they also need to integrate rigid and bulky functional components to achieve system-level functionality. As one of integration methods, folding integration offers simplified processing and enhanced functionality through rigid-soft region separation, but so far, it has mainly been applied to modality of electrical sensing and stimulation. This paper introduces a vialess heterogeneous skin patch with multi modalities that separates the soft region and strain-robust region through folded structure. Our system includes electrical and optical modalities for hemodynamic and cardiovascular monitoring, and a force-electrically driven micropump for drug delivery. Each modality is demonstrated through on-demand drug delivery, flexible waveguide-based PPG monitoring, and ECG and body movement monitoring. Wireless data transmission and real-time measurement validate the feedback operation for multi-modalities. This engineered closed-loop platform offers the possibility for broad applications, including cardiovascular monitoring and chronic disease management.

Quantum dot distributed feedback laser grown on silicon with laterally coupled gratings

Abstract The direct epitaxy of quantum dot (QD) lasers on silicon was considered as holy grail of integrated silicon photonics. With demonstration of various InAs/GaAs QD lasers directly grown on silicon substrates, there are limited research carried on single longitudinal mode lasers on silicon. Here, to avoid any regrowth procedures, distributed feedback (DFB) QD lasers on silicon are fabricated with lateral coupled (LC) gratings via simplified fabrication process. The LC-DFB laser has a maximum laser power of 4.5 mW and threshold current of 80 mA under continuous-wave current mode at room temperature. Under injection current of 110 mA, the side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) reaches 50 dB at room temperature. The RIN of the laser is measured with value of -135dB/Hz with corresponding optical linewidth of 3.5 MHz.

On Demand Copper Electrochemical Deposition on Laser Induced Graphene for Flexible Electronics.

The rapid development of flexible electronics necessitates simplified processes that integrate heterogeneous materials and structures. In this study, laser engraving is combined with electrochemical deposition (ECD) to directly fabricate various micro/nano-structured components and flexible electronic circuits. A theoretical framework and simulation model are developed to design the on-demand ECD on laser induced graphene (LIG), enabling the generation of multi-scale copper (Cu) materials with controllable oxidation states. The Cu-LIG composites exhibit high surface quality and reliability, meeting the requirements of flexible circuits. The study fabricates and characterizes multilayer circuits and complex functional devices, including electrochemical sensors, thin-film heaters, and wireless humidity sensors, to showcase the versatility of the LIG-ECD process. This approach can be extended to various polymer and metal deposition processes, paving the way for the development of high-performance flexible electronic devices.

A Reusable Capillary Flow-Driven Microfluidic System for Abscisic Acid Detection Using a Competitive Immunoassay.

Point-of-care (PoC) devices offer a promising solution for fast, portable, and easy-to-use diagnostics. These characteristics are particularly relevant in agrifood fields like viticulture where the early detection of plant stresses is crucial to crop yield. Microfluidics, with its low reagent volume requirements, is well-suited for such applications. Self-driven microfluidic devices, which rely on capillary forces for fluid motion, offer an attractive alternative by eliminating the need for external pumps and complex fluid control systems. However, traditional microfluidic prototyping materials like polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) present challenges due to their hydrophobic nature. This paper presents the development of a reusable, portable, capillary-driven microfluidic platform based on a PDMS-PEG (polyethylene glycol) copolymer designed for the rapid low-cost detection of abscisic acid (ABA), a key biomarker for the onset of ripening of non-climacteric fruits and drought stress in vines. By employing passive fluid transport mechanisms, such as capillary-driven sequential flow, this platform enables precise biological and chemical screenings while maintaining portability and ease of use. A simplified field-ready sample processing method is used to prepare the grapes for analysis.

Regolith-Rich PEEK Composite Bricks: Steps Towards Space-Ready Lunar Construction Materials

This study introduces a novel composite construction material composed of lunar regolith combined with PEEK in dry powder form. The work demonstrates significant advantages over alternative methods, primarily by reducing production power consumption and simplifying the manufacturing process. Building on previous research that explored binder optimization through process simplification and targeting predefined shapes, this work delves deeper into a comparative analysis of high-performance thermoplastics. Among the various options, PEEK demonstrates the most favorable properties. The study investigates key processing parameters and evaluates the effects of vacuum processing and temperature testing on mechanical properties. The research also evaluates the effects of vacuum processing and temperature testing to assess the material’s performance under lunar conditions. Comparative analysis is performed with standard performance of various reinforced and unreinforced concretes and with standard requirements for construction bricks as per ASTM standards. This shows that the composite, with an organic binder content as low as 5 wt%, has great potential. Notably, the improvements achieved through vacuum curing ensure compliance with lunar environmental conditions and alignment with most Earth-based engineering standards. Samples compacted at 7.50 MPa with 10 wt% binder, and tested at room temperature, achieve a compression strength of 16.3 MPa, exceeding that of industrial floor bricks and matching that of building bricks used on Earth. Bending strength (7.4 MPa) aligns with steel fiber-reinforced and high-strength concretes. Vacuum curing further enhances these properties, with an observed increase of +66% in bending strength and +33% in compression strength.

Design and Fabrication of Ultrathin Metallic Phase Shifters for Visible and Near-Infrared Wavelengths.

The polarization state of light is critical for biological imaging, acousto-optics, bio-navigation, and many other optical applications. Phase shifters are extensively researched for their applications in optics. The size of optical elements with phase delay that are made from natural birefringent materials is limited; however, fabricating waveplates from dielectric metamaterials is very complex and expensive. Here, we present an ultrathin (14 nm) metallic phase shifter developed using nanoimprinting technology and the oxygen plasma ashing technique for visible and near-infrared wavelengths. The fabrication process can produce desirable metallic phase shifters with high efficiency, large area, and low cost. We demonstrate through a numerical simulation and experiment that the metallic phase shifter exhibits phase delay performance. Our results highlight the simplicity of the fabrication process for a metallic phase shifter with phase delay performance and offer important opportunities for creating high-efficiency, ultrathin polarizing elements, which can be used in miniaturized devices, such as integrated circuits.