Microfluidic Rapid Prototype Enzymatic Biofuel Cell Based on a Nanocomposite

Here, a low-cost glucose/O2 Y-shaped microfluidic biofuel cell was developed using a printed circuit board for microelectrode construction. A double-side tape based on the pressure-sensitive adhesive was used for microchannel fabrication. A nanocomposite that consisted of reduced graphene oxide gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), and poly neutral red connected to enzymes was applied on the copper electrode surface. The Aspergillus niger glucose oxidase enzyme and Mytheliophthora thermophile laccase were used to prepare the modified anodic and cathodic electrodes. Different procedures such as cyclic voltammetry scanning electron microscope coupled with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and atomic force microscopy were used to scan the modified electrodes. SEM/EDX microanalysis displayed the structural and morphological properties of the proposed nanocomposite. The biofuel cell performance demonstrated a maximum power density of 36 μW cm−2, an open-circuit voltage of 0.5 V, and a flow rate of 50 μl min−1. The proposed rapid technique with RGO/AuNPs/PNR bioelectrodes is a good approach for finding low-cost microfluidic biofuel cells.

The Development Process of a Coding Game Engine for Culture Transfer in Social Sciences Education: SIGUN

This study aimed to explain the development stages of an online coding application engine (SIGUN) according to the R2D2 instructional design model to support and develop cultural transfer in social sciences education and popularize the national culture. During the definition phase of R2D2, analyzes of needs, learner, task and content were made. In needs analysis, it was decided to develop a coding application that transfers national culture instead of transnational culture in coding education. In the analysis of learners, the coding skills of the students at different grades were examined through samples, and it was decided that SIGUN should be editable according to their developmental characteristics. It was planned to assign tasks to learners in task analysis and to fictionalize the tasks in the prototype through Dede Korkut stories in content analysis. In the design and development phase of R2D2, it was decided to create an online system choosing media and equipment. Subsequently, the design and development process of SIGUN was started creating a draft graphic design interface through determining the development environments. In this sense, a web-based coding engine was developed with various coding languages. The rapid prototype was analyzed for process evaluation as being equipped with national culture elements and thus, the final version was created. Due to its dynamic structure, SIGUNwas can be adapted for different developmental stages of children and popularized while transferring abstract and concrete cultural elements with animations.

Sustainable Design and Prototyping Using Digital Fabrication Tools for Education

Prototyping physical artifacts is a fundamental activity for both product development in industrial and engineering design domains and the development of digital fabrication skills. Prototyping is also essential for human-centric problem-solving in design education. Digital fabrication assists in rapid prototype development through computer-aided design and manufacturing tools. Due to the spread of makerspaces like fabrication laboratories (FabLabs) around the world, the use of digital fabrication tools for prototyping in educational institutes is becoming increasingly common. Studies on the social, environmental, and economic sustainability of digital fabrication have been carried out. However, none of them focus on sustainability and prototyping-based digital fabrication tools or design education. To bridge this research gap, a conceptual framework for sustainable prototyping based on a five-stage design thinking model is proposed. The framework, which is based on a comprehensive literature review of social, economic, and environmental sustainability factors of digital fabrication, is applied to evaluate a prototyping process that took place in a FabLab in an education context aimed at enhancing sustainability. Three case studies are used to evaluate the proposed framework. Based on the findings, recommendations are presented for sustainable prototyping using digital fabrication tools.

PyBONDEM-GPU: A discrete element bonded particle Python research framework – Development and examples

Discrete element modelling (DEM) is widely used to simulate granular systems, nowadays routinely on graphical processing units. Graphics processing units (GPUs) are inherently designed for parallel computation, and recent advances in the architecture, compiler design and language development are allowing general-purpose computation to be computed on multiple GPUs. Application of DEM to bonded particle systems are much less common, with a number of open research questions remaining. This study outlines a Bonded-Particle Research DEM Framework, PyBONDEM-GPU, written in Python. This framework leverages the parallel nature of GPUs for computational speed-up and the rapid prototype flexibility of Python. Python is faster and easier to learn than classical compiled languages, making computational simulation development accessible to undergraduate and graduate engineers. PyBONDEMGPU leverages the Numba-CUDA module to compile Python syntax for execution on GPUs. The framework enables research of fibre pull-out from fibre-matrix embeddings. Bonds are simulated between all interacting particles. The performance of PyBONDEM-GPU is compared against Python CPU implementations of PyBONDEM using the Numpy and Numba-CPU Python modules. PyBONDEM-GPU was found to be 1000 times faster than the Numpy implementation and 4 times faster than the Numba-CPU implementation to resolve forces and to integrate the equations of motion.

Expanding the limits towards ‘one-pot’ DNA assembly and transformation on a rapid-prototype microfluidic device

A rapid-prototype digital microfluidic platform for assembly and transformation of large plasmids – aided by a novel electrode design, a closed-loop water replenishment system, and a precisely tuned temperature control system.