Design and Fabrication of Low-Cost Microfluidic Chips and Microfluidic Routing System for Reconfigurable Multi-(Organ-on-a-Chip) Assembly

A low-cost, versatile, and reconfigurable fluidic routing system and chip assembly have been fabricated and tested. The platform and its accessories were fabricated in-house without the need for costly and specialized equipment nor specific expertise. An agarose-based artificial membrane was integrated into the chips and employed to test the chip-to-chip communication in various configurations. Various chip assemblies were constructed and tested which demonstrate the versatile utility of the fluidic routing system that enables the custom design of the chip-to-chip communication and the possibility of fitting a variety of (organ-on-a-chip)-based biological models with multicell architectures. The reconfigurable chip assembly would enable selective linking/isolating the desired chip/compartment, hence allowing the study of the contribution of specific cell/tissue within the in vitro models.

Rational Design of Simple Organocatalysts for the HSiCl3 Enantioselective Reduction of (E)-N-(1-Phenylethylidene)aniline

Prolinamides are well-known organocatalysts for the HSiCl3 reduction of imines; however, custom design of catalysts is based on trial-and-error experiments. In this work, we have used a combination of computational calculations and experimental work, including kinetic analyses, to properly understand this process and to design optimized catalysts for the benchmark (E)-N-(1-phenylethylidene)aniline. The best results have been obtained with the amide derived from 4-methoxyaniline and the N-pivaloyl protected proline, for which the catalyzed process is almost 600 times faster than the uncatalyzed one. Mechanistic studies reveal that the formation of the component supramolecular complex catalyst-HSiCl3-substrate, involving hydrogen bonding breaking and costly conformational changes in the prolinamide, is an important step in the overall process.

Structural Performance of Pre Engineered Building: A Comparative Study

Technological advancements have greatly aided in improving quality of life through variety of new products and services. Pre Engineered Building (PEB) is among such technological advancement in the structural engineering. PEB concept provides optimum design, good aesthetic view, fast rate of construction and reduction in erection time. PEB satisfies a broad range of custom design needs and applications. This methodology is adaptable not only because of its high quality pre-designing and prefabrication, but also of its flexibility. In the current study, the comparison has been made on the structural performance of multiple bay system with different wind zones [Locations: Vijayawada and Hyderabad]. Analysis and design have been carried out using STAAD.Pro software. The structural performance of pre-engineered building has been assessed through the shear force (SF) and bending moment (BM) magnitudes. Based on the output of SF and BM of pre-engineered components through Staad. Pro analysis, the geometrical properties of pre-engineered sections have been decided. Results concludes structure weight located in Vijayawada is 11.04% higher than that of the structure in Hyderabad.

Integrated Design of a Custom Steering System in Cars and Verification of Its Correct Functioning

The subject of this article is the design of a nonstandard steering system in cars. The applied methodology takes into account universal design, ensuring the greatest possible adaptation of the steering system to potential users, and at the same time, thanks to the specific nature of the designed steering device, it also assumes a special approach allowing for individual adjustment of the steering system to the needs and limitations of drivers with lower-limb disabilities. It is implemented through the “custom design” methodology. This article presents the impact of the design features of the multifunction steering wheel on the correctness of driving, as well as the level of load on selected muscles of the upper limbs responsible for operating the steering wheel. The tests were carried out on a dynamic simulator of a motor vehicle using the electromyography (EMG) technique, which enables the measurement of muscle load. A systemic approach to training and verifying the skills of drivers using new HMI solutions is proposed.

OPTIMIZATION OF MILLET-LEGUME BASED COMPOSITE FLOUR, ITS RHEOLOGY AND USE AS PRO-HEALTH INGREDIENT IN BAKERY INDUSTRY

Modern day lifestyle and eating habits have significantly contributed to several health disorders and calls for inclusion of healthy ingredients in bakery industry. Dietary modification is suggestive of protecting against diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. Amongst them Diabetes Mellitus is one of five leading causes of deaths and debilitating disease in the world. With these serious health repercussions in mind, the present research intends to develop a functional composite flour comprising millets and legumes as a healthy bakery ingredient and also exploit its nutritional benefits in diabetes diet management. With extensive literature review, foxtail millet, pearl millet, finger millet and Bengal gram were chosen to understand the health benefits on diabetes patients over refined flour. Mixture Optimal (Custom) Design of Design Expert, v.11 was used for the statistical analysis. For the experimental design, the composite flour components (Foxtail millet, Pearl millet, Finger millet and Bengal gram) were the variables while the functional properties i.e., Water absorption capacity (WAC), oil absorption capacity (OAC), swelling power (SP), foaming capacity (FC), foaming stability (FS) and bulk density (BD) were the responses. The optimised flour with 20 % wheat flour was tested for dough characteristics using Brabender. Optimization with mixture optimal custom design resulted in six different solutions. Amongst them the best solution with highest desirability was selected which was foxtail millet (49.65%,), finger millet (10%), pearl millet (10%) and Bengal gram (10.35%) with desirability of 0.864. The ANOVA, R2 and R2 adjusted values for WAC, OAC, SP, FC and BD showed that the composite flours were statistically significant whereas FS model was not fit implying no significant effect of any composite flour ingredient on FS. Farinograph confirms that the optimised composite flour is high-quality strong flour. Composite flour with accepted functiona

Custom fabrication of cast splint microimplant-assisted rapid palatal expansion appliances for treatment of maxillary deficiency in young adults

Background: The objective of this article was to illustrate the process in the fabrication of a custom cast splint Microimplant-Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion (MARPE) appliance for treatment of maxillary deficiency in young adults. Findings: The fabrication of a custom-made MARPE appliance allows the casting base to design according to the shape of the patient’s palate close to the palatal mucosa. In this new design, one end consists of a casting body, inserting hole, and teeth retention device (circumferential rings) connected to the other end by a jackscrew. Connection of all parts in the integral casting unit increases the strength of the expansion appliance and avoids distortion, deformation, or damage to the palatal mucosa due to increased resistance from the oromaxillofacial area. Conclusion: This custom design can improve the clinical outcome of maxillary expansion, especially in patients with narrow and high-arched palates.