Feature-Oriented Programming (FOP) and Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP) are programming techniques based on composition mechanisms, called refinements and aspects, respectively. These techniques are assumed to be good variability mechanisms for implementing Software Product Lines (SPLs). Aspectual Feature Modules (AFM) is an approach that combines advantages of feature modules and aspects to i...

Introduction Failure analysis is a vital process in the development of a new product and/or improvement of existing products in the semiconductor industry. Successful failure analysis can identify the root cause of a failed device and guide through corrective actions. Semiconductor failure analysis often involves a number of different techniques, such as curve tracing, scanning electron microsc...

Casein micelles (CMs) are supramolecular structures highly dependent on their mineral content, especially colloidal calcium phosphate. When colloidal calcium phosphate is removed, the micellar structures dissociate and release minerals and casein molecules in the continuous phase. The aim of this work was to study the effects of solubilization of the colloidal calcium phosphate induced by acidi...

AFM has developed into a powerful tool in structural biology, providing topographs of proteins under close-to-native conditions and featuring an outstanding signal/noise ratio. However, the imaging mechanism exhibits particularities: fast and slow scan axis represent two independent image acquisition axes. Additionally, unknown tip geometry and tip-sample interaction render the contrast transfe...

Mechanosensing by adherent cells is usually studied by quantifying cell responses on hydrogels that are covalently linked to a rigid substrate. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) represents a convenient way of characterizing the mechanoadaptation response of adherent cells on hydrogels of varying stiffness and thickness. Since AFM measurements reflect the effective cell stiffness, therefore, in addi...

In this study AFM technique has been used to observe the degradation of cellulose fibres in paper samples used as substrata for the growth of a filamentous fungus known to be responsible for damage to art works made from or supported on paper. Images obtained from the analysis of artificially deteriorated samples have been used for comparison with topographies obtained by AFM from naturally aff...

Mechanical properties of cells and extracellular matrix (ECM) play important roles in many biological processes including stem cell differentiation, tumor formation, and wound healing. Changes in stiffness of cells and ECM are often signs of changes in cell physiology or diseases in tissues. Hence, cell stiffness is an index to evaluate the status of cell cultures. Among the multitude of method...

Study of interaction forces between mineral particles and air bubbles is a key to understanding flotation processes. Measurement of such interaction forces has only recently been made possible with the introduction of the atomic force microscope (AFM) and the colloidal probe technique. Using AFM, interactions between a single particle attached to the AFM cantilever and an air bubble placed on a...

atomic force microscopy (afm) is a three-dimensional topographic technique with a high atomic resolution to measure surface roughness. afm is a kind of scanning probe microscope, and its near-field technique is based on the interaction between a sharp tip and the atoms of the sample surface. there are several methods and many ways to modify the tip of the afm to investigate surface properties, ...

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a state of the art imaging system that uses a sharp probe to scan backwards and forwards over the surface of an object. The probe tip can have atomic dimensions, meaning that AFM can image the surface of an object at near atomic resolution. Two big advantages of AFM compared to other methods (for example scanning tunneling microscopy) are: the samples in AFM mea...