UV-enhanced sacrificial layer stabilised graphene oxide hollow fibre membranes for nanofiltration

Graphene oxide (GO) membranes have demonstrated great potential in gas separation and liquid filtration. For upscale applications, GO membranes in a hollow fibre geometry are of particular interest due to the high-efficiency and easy-assembly features at module level. However, GO membranes were found unstable in dry state on ceramic hollow fibre substrates, mainly due to the drying-related shrinkage, which has limited the applications and post-treatments of GO membranes. We demonstrate here that GO hollow fibre membranes can be stabilised by using a porous poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) sacrificial layer, which creates a space between the hollow fibre substrate and the GO membrane thus allowing stress-free shrinkage. Defect-free GO hollow fibre membrane was successfully determined and the membrane was stable in a long term (1200 hours) gas-tight stability test. Post-treatment of the GO membranes with UV light was also successfully accomplished in air, which induced the creation of controlled microstructural defects in the membrane and increased the roughness factor of the membrane surface. The permeability of the UV-treated GO membranes was greatly enhanced from 0.07 to 2.8 L m(−2) h(−1) bar(−1) for water, and 0.14 to 7.5 L m(−2) h(−1) bar(−1) for acetone, with an unchanged low molecular weight cut off (~250 Da)

SCRIPTKELL : a tool for measuring cognitive effort and time processing in writing and other complex cognitive activities

We present SCRIPTKELL, a computer-assisted experimental tool that makes it possible to measure the time and cognitive effort allocated to the subprocesses of writing and other cognitive activities, SCRIPTKELL was designed to easily use and modulate Kellogg's (1986) triple-task procedure,.which consists of a combination of three tasks: a writing task (or another task), a reaction time task (auditory signal detection), and a directed retrospection task (after each signal detection during writing). We demonstrate how this tool can be used to address several novel empirical and theoretical issues. In sum, SCRIPTKELL should facilitate the flexible realization of experimental designs and the investigation of critical issues concerning the functional characteristics of complex cognitive activities

Floor Mapping: A Novel Method of Integrating Anatomical Structure with Immunological Function

Session - Assessment (Abstract)This free journal suppl. entitled: Special Issue: Abstracts of the 13th Asia Pacific Medical Education Conference (APMEC) ... 2016The Biomedical Common Year 1 occurs prior to admission to the medical programme. Students achieving a grade point average over 6.0 are eligible for an admissions interview. The research question of the study was, “If students have a definite interest in becoming a future doctor in their premedical course, does this relate to their levels of motivation, competitiveness, perceived stress, quality of life and grade attainment?” A total of 1369 students who completed a high stakes biosciences assessment were asked to disclose their grade (converted to a numerical value) and to complete the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire, a World Health Organisation Quality Of Life (QoL) questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale, and Revised Competitiveness Index. To explore differences between those students who aimed to be doctors vs those who did not, a binary logistic regression was conducted. Twenty five percent of students participated in the research. Significant predictors of course intention (medicine; other) were academic attainment, perceived stress, and physical and environmental QoL. Post hoc analyses revealed that perceived stress and physical QoL were moderating variables. Students with an intention to become a doctor tend to attain higher grades and have better environmental quality of life scores. This may indicate that students who are admitted into medical school gain higher grades but also likely come from more affluent and well-resourced backgrounds. Physical health problems and perceived stress are likely to moderate the impact of grade achievement, environmental QoL, competition and motivation.link_to_OA_fulltex

A geometry of interaction machine for Gödel's System T

Gödel’s System T is the simply typed lambda calculus extended with numbers and an iterator. The higher-order nature of the language gives it enormous expressive power—the language can represent all the primitive recursive functions and beyond, for instance Ackermann’s function. In this paper we use System T as a minimalistic functional language. We give an interpretation using a data-flow model that incorporates ideas from the geometry of interaction and game semantics. The contribution is a reversible model of higher-order computation which can also serve as a novel compilation technique

Fabrication of porous matrix membrane (PMM) using metal-organic framework as green template for water treatment

published_or_final_versio

Alexander representation of tangles

A tangle is an oriented 1-submanifold of the cylinder whose endpoints lie on the two disks in the boundary of the cylinder. Using an algebraic tool developed by Lescop, we extend the Burau representation of braids to a functor from the category of oriented tangles to the category of Z[t,t^{-1}]-modules. For (1,1)-tangles (i.e., tangles with one endpoint on each disk) this invariant coincides with the Alexander polynomial of the link obtained by taking the closure of the tangle. We use the notion of plat position of a tangle to give a constructive proof of invariance in this case.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure

Building an Argument for the Use of Science Fiction in HCI Education

Science fiction literature, comics, cartoons and, in particular, audio-visual materials, such as science fiction movies and shows, can be a valuable addition in Human-computer interaction (HCI) Education. In this paper, we present an overview of research relative to future directions in HCI Education, distinct crossings of science fiction in HCI and Computer Science teaching and the Framework for 21st Century Learning. Next, we provide examples where science fiction can add to the future of HCI Education. In particular, we argue herein first that science fiction, as tangible and intangible cultural artifact, can serve as a trigger for creativity and innovation and thus, support us in exploring the design space. Second, science fiction, as a means to analyze yet-to-come HCI technologies, can assist us in developing an open-minded and reflective dialogue about technological futures, thus creating a singular base for critical thinking and problem solving. Provided that one is cognizant of its potential and limitations, we reason that science fiction can be a meaningful extension of selected aspects of HCI curricula and research.Comment: 6 pages, 1 table, IHSI 2019 accepted submissio

Effects of VEGF on bone cells' metabolism and activity

published_or_final_versio

Dependence of the optical conductivity on the uniaxial and biaxial strains in black phosphorene

© 2018 American Physical Society. By using the Kubo formula, the optical conductivity of strained black phosphorene was studied. The anisotropic band dispersion gives rise to an orientation dependent optical conductivity. The energy gap can be tuned by the uniaxial and biaxial strains which can be observed from the interband optical conductivity polarized along the armchair (x) direction. The preferential conducting direction is along the x direction. The dependence of the intraband optical conductivity along the zigzag (y) direction on the Fermi energy and strain exhibits increasing or decreasing monotonously. However, along the x direction this dependence is complicated which originates from the carriers' inverse-direction movements obtained by two types of the nearest phosphorus atom interactions. The modification of the biaxial strain on the energy structure and optical-absorption property is more effective. The imaginary part of the total optical conductivity (Imσ) can be negative around the threshold of the interband optical transition by modifying the chemical potential. Away from this frequency region, Imσ exhibits positive value. It can be used in the application of the surface plasmon propagations in multilayer dielectric structures