We demonstrate a novel parallel micro assembly process based on both shape recognition and capillary-driven self-assembly in an air environment. Mechanically diced 790 μm square silicon parts with flat or step edges were used for proof-of-concept demonstrations. Each part had only one hydrophobic 790μm × 790 μm face and its other faces were hydrophilic. On a vibrating plate, tumbling parts were...

Designs of heat exchangers have mostly been disconnected to the performance of thermoelectric generator (TEG) systems. The development work, mostly focused on thermoelectric materials, required a significant amount of engineering parametric analysis. In this work, a micro plate-fin heat exchanger applied to a TEG is investigated and optimized to maximize the output power and the cost performanc...

Introduction: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disease of a whole joint. Yet most of the diagnostic methods are focused mainly on cartilage degeneration and erosion. However, there is increasing evidence that the subchondral bone significantly contributes to the pathogenesis of OA. It has even been suggested that first tissue-level changes in OA occur in the subchondral bone before any signs of degener...

Mantle oxygen fugacity exerts a primary control on mass exchange between Earth's surface and interior at subduction zones, but the major factors controlling mantle oxygen fugacity (such as volatiles and phase assemblages) and how tectonic cycles drive its secular evolution are still debated. We present integrated measurements of redox-sensitive ratios of oxidized iron to total iron (Fe3+/SigmaF...

At large NAs a micro-Fresnel zone plate produces a focal spot that is more elliptical than that produced by an objective lens with the same NA. Using this anisotropy we demonstrate a method for modulating the spring constant of an optical trap by rotating the linear input polarization. The focal spot ellipticity is enhanced by the apodization factor of the zone plate and its extremely high NA. ...

In the present study, plate-impact experiments are employed to better understand the stress threshold for inelasticity in Westerly granite. The experiments are designed to obtain the Hugoniot Elastic Limit (HEL) as well as spall strength following shock-induced compression in the Westerly granite samples. The HEL for Westerly granite is estimated to be in the range 3.2 to 3.5 GPa, while the spa...

BACKGROUND Carbon-fiber-reinforced poly-ether-ether-ketone (CFR-PEEK) has superior radiolucency compared to other orthopedic implant materials, e.g. titanium or stainless steel, thus allowing metal-artifact-free postoperative monitoring by computed tomography (CT). Recently, high-resolution peripheral quantitative CT (HRpQCT) proved to be a promising technique to monitor the recovery of volumet...

Significant progress is being made in the development of the next generation of low cost life detection instrumentation with much smaller size, mass and energy requirements. Here, we describe in situ life detection and sequencing in the field in soils over laying ice wedges in polygonal permafrost terrain on Axel Heiberg Island, located in the Canadian high Arctic (79°26'N), an analog to the po...

Between 2006 and 2009, 18 patients of distal clavicle fracture were treated with micro-movable and anatomical acromioclavicular plate (MAAP) in our department. According to the Neer's classification, all cases were unstable with type IIA (12 cases) and type IIB (6 cases). Functional outcome was evaluated using the Karlsson's criteria. The mean follow-up was 18 months (range, 12-36months). No po...

We obtained medial and lateral subchondral cancellous bone specimens from ten human post-mortem proximal tibiae with early osteoarthritis (OA) and ten normal age- and gender-matched proximal tibiae. The specimens were scanned by micro-CT and the three-dimensional microstructural properties were quantified. Medial OA cancellous bone was significantly thicker and markedly plate-like, but lower in...