Ultra-thin foldable transparent electrodes composed of stacked silver nanowires embedded in polydimethylsiloxane

We have prepared an ultra-thin flexible transparent conductive electrode with high folding endurance composed of randomly arranged silver nanowires (AgNWs) embedded in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). A simple preparation method was performed to connect a glass substrate coated with a AgNW network and a glass substrate coated with PDMS. The glass substrate was then removed after the PDMS solidified, and the AgNW–PDMS composite film was peeled off. Moreover, the problem of the high contact resistance caused by the random arrangement of AgNWs was solved by the local joule heat generated by applying voltage to both sides of the AgNW–PDMS composite structure to weld the overlapping AgNWs. The sheet resistance (Rs ) of AgNW–PDMS composite films with different AgNW deposition concentrations decreased by 46.4%–75.8% through this electro-sintering treatment. The embedded structure of the AgNW–PDMS composite ensures better voltage resistance and environmental stability under high temperature and humidity conditions compared with a AgNW network attached to a glass substrate. Additionally, the substrate-free, excellent elasticity and high resilience characteristics resulted in the Rs value of the same composite electrode only increasing by 2.9 ohm/sq after folding four times. The advantage of the metal thermal conductivity makes the joule heat generated by electric injection rapidly diffuse and dissipate in the AgNW-based transparent heater with faster response time and smaller voltage drive than indium tin oxide.

Simulation analysis of the impact of container wagon pin configuration on the train loading time in the intermodal terminal

The article presents the issues of a container train loading at the land intermodal terminal. This issue was considered from the point of view of the distance covered by the loading devices and the duration of loading works, which was influenced by the arrangement of containers on the storage yard and the configuration of pins on the wagons. The conducted research was dictated by the small number of publications on loading an intermodal train, especially from the point of view of pin configuration on wagons. The vast majority of the literature is devoted in this field to marine intermodal terminals, which operating characteristics are different from inland terminals. The importance of this problem resulting from the growing turnover of containers transported by rail transport was also pointed out. The systematic increase of this type of transport and the depletion of the intermodal services' operating capability makes it necessary to improve the train loading process. For the purposes of the research, the issues of containers of various sizes loading onto wagons planning with various pin configurations were presented. A literature review was carried out in the field of train loading methods and strategies. A mathematical model was developed for the decision situation under consideration. The equations defining the most important elements of the considered problem were presented in the general form. This model was implemented in the FlexSim simulation environment. The constructed simulation model was used to develop 12 variants of the approach to an intermodal train loading. The train loading tests were performed both for the random arrangement of containers on the storage yard and for the random arrangement of pins on the wagons. The obtained results made it possible to determine how the knowledge of the arrangement of pins on the wagons influences the planning of train loading and increases the efficiency of loading devices.

Glioblastoma gene network reconstruction and ontology analysis by online bioinformatics tools

Glioblastoma is the most aggressive type of brain tumors resistant to a number of antitumor drugs. The problem of therapy and drug treatment course is complicated by extremely high heterogeneity in the benign cell populations, the random arrangement of tumor cells, and polymorphism of their nuclei. The pathogenesis of gliomas needs to be studied using modern cellular technologies, genome- and transcriptome-wide technologies of high-throughput sequencing, analysis of gene expression on microarrays, and methods of modern bioinformatics to find new therapy targets. Functional annotation of genes related to the disease could be retrieved based on genetic databases and cross-validated by integrating complementary experimental data. Gene network reconstruction for a set of genes (proteins) proved to be effective approach to study mechanisms underlying disease progression. We used online bioinformatics tools for annotation of gene list for glioma, reconstruction of gene network and comparative analysis of gene ontology categories. The available tools and the databases for glioblastoma gene analysis are discussed together with the recent progress in this field.

Determination of the effective porosity of a single filter fiber

In this work, a numerical simulation of the aerosol motion when flowing around a single porous filter fiber with a diameter of 5 mm is carried out. The fiber is formed by a set of microfibers in a random arrangement. The size of the microfibers varies from 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm. For each fixed size of microfibers, a fiber model with different porosity of the medium was created. The porosity ranged from 0.7 to 0.9. The calculations were carried out in the ANSYS software package (v. 19.0). Studies have shown that a porous filter fiber model provides the maximum deposition efficiency for highly inert particles is provided by a porous filter fiber model with a microfiber size of 0.1 mm and a medium porosity of 0.9.

Production of bacterial cellulose biopolymers in media containing rice and corn hydrolysate as carbon sources

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a promising option for ecologically viable processes. In this work, BC was produced using starch hydrolysate (rice and corn flakes) as carbon sources. The starch was hydrolyzed by fungus for glucose production. A maximum yield of 2.80 ± 0.43 g/L of BC was obtained with the hydrolyzed rice medium. Moreover, BC produced in the rice and corn media had crystallinity of around 50%. Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry confirmed the functional groups in BC as well as the absence of contaminants from production process. The thermogravimetric analysis revealed that the polymers formed with alternative media had greater thermal stability. Scanning electron microscopy revealed a morphological structure with the random arrangement of nanofibrils in a non-uniform manner distributed in the weave of both polymeric films. The biofilms produced in different media had similar properties to those of films obtained with a conventional medium, revealing that the polymeric characteristics are not modified.

Effect of off-sized balls on contact stiffness and stress and analysis of the wear prediction model of linear rolling guideways

The characteristics between the rolling balls and raceways are the key to study a linear rolling guideway (LRG). In this paper, the contact stresses of an LRG with off-sized balls incorporating the variation of the contact angle are given by the established LRG joint model. Moreover, the effect of the location, number, and the deviation degree of the off-sized balls on the stress distribution are studied. In addition, the contact stress distribution between the balls and raceway for different arrangement cases of the off-sized balls are analyzed. The random arrangement case can improve the stiffness and service life of the LRG. Based on the Archard wear theory, the wear prediction model of the LRG is established and the displacements and angular displacements of the slider caused by wear in reciprocating motion are obtained. The effectiveness of the contact stiffness and wear prediction model of the LRG is verified by simulations and analysis.

Perancangan Ulang Tata Letak Fasilitas Gudang Klinik XYZ Menggunakan Metode Dedicated Storage

In a warehouse facility layout design including a health clinic, the layout design of warehouse facilities and production storage areas plays a very important role, it is impossible for the manufactured goods to be distributed directly to all customers. For this reason, there is a need for a good storage area and storage system to simplify the production process. Clinic XYZ is a 24-hour public health clinic, located in a sub-district in North Sumatra, to be precise in Medan Deli District. The problem that occurs is the random arrangement of goods in the warehouse without paying attention to storage and arrangement patterns that depend on the position of the empty warehouse. Based on observations, it is known that the time span needed to look for drugs at the clinic is too long, so this will make it difficult for employees / operators to manage the products to be stored or retrieved from the drug warehouse. One of the warehouse design methods that can be used is the dedicated storage method. Dedicated storage is a method of placing a specific location or storage area for each item stored. In this study, the types of drugs were classified into drugs, solid types of drugs, semi-solid drugs, liquid drugs and gas drugs. Based on the results obtained, the number of slots needed in the drug product warehouse is 11 slots, the total floor area needed is 13.2 m2, the area needed for storing medicinal products with an alley area is 6.8 m2, the percentage of area that is not used for storage the product in the medicinal product warehouse is 34% and the diagonal length of the hand truck when carrying the box is 1.56 m.

Design of True Random Number Generator Using Fingerprint as an Entropy Source and Its Implementation in S-Box

This paper deals with the design of a true random number generator (TRNG) using the fingerprint as an entropy source and its implementation in substitution box (S-box) of Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). Considering fingerprint as a unique and random arrangement of minutiae, these minutiae points are used as the source of entropy. The proposed design utilizes fewer resources minimizing hardware redundancy and enhancing the level of randomness. This TRNG has been designed and validated using Artix-7 FPGA. The data rate, speed and latency have been obtained as 40 Mbps, 5 Mbps and 305 ns, respectively. The generated random bit stream had also been sampled and converted to a binary format in MATLAB and tested through the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 800.22 statistical suite for validation. The proposed TRNG design pass efficiency achieved is more than 95% for a sample size of 10 binary sequences.

Analysis on the Dynamic Wave Attenuation Properties of Metaconcrete Considering a Quasi-Random Arrangement of Inclusions

The mitigation properties of metaconcrete cast with two types of resonant inclusions are assessed through wave transmission tests. Three cylindric metaconcrete specimens of regular size (20 cm height, 10 cm diameter), containing an equal number of different type of inclusions disposed in a semi-regular lattice, are tested in the longitudinal direction within the sonic range of frequencies. Inclusions, bi-material spheres consisting of a heavy core coated with a soft material, are characterized by a resonant behavior, evaluated numerically with a finite element modal analysis of a unit metaconcrete cell. Each metaconcrete specimen contains six layers consisting of six engineered aggregates of different type. Inclusions are disposed by rotating each layer with respect to the adjacent ones, as so as to create a pseudo-random arrangement. Specimens are excited by a sinusoidal signal of linearly growing frequency, sweeping a range centered at the translational eigenfrequency of the resonant inclusion. A standard plain concrete specimen is used as reference to define a transmissibility coefficient, that facilitates the quantification of the attenuation properties. With respect to plain concrete, all metaconcrete specimens show a marked (up to 80–90%) attenuation of the transmitted signal in proximity of the numerically estimated eigenfrequency of the inclusion. The intensity of the attenuation is weakly dependent on the type of the inclusion, while the frequency where the attenuation is observed depends markedly on the inclusion type. As a very positive quality in the view of practical applications, experimental results confirm that the attenuation effectiveness of metaconcrete is not related to the ordered microstructural arrangement.