The Ektachem story starts in 1970 at the Eastman Kodak Co. in Rochester, NY. For some time, Eastman Organic Chemicals had supplied reagents to the clinical laboratory. Al Baitsholts, product manager for a thin-layer chromatographic system of impressive analyte sensitivity, became convinced that some kind of thin-layer format might form the basis for a new approach to routine clinical chemistry ...

Playas are low-lands which is considered to be the locations of accumulation of superficial and ground waters fromhigher elevations and these waters have different types of salts and various salinity level. Therefore, because of lack ofrainfall and fresh-water both for human and animal useage or even for plants, it is needed to apply proper methods toharvest fresh water from these saline-waters...

Upon water contact, phthalate-plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) surfaces are highly unstable because the plasticizer molecules are not covalently bound to the polymer network. As a result, it is difficult to predict how the surface polymer chains and plasticizers may interact with water without directly probing the plastic/water interface in situ. We successfully studied the molecular surf...

In human knee joints, synovial fluid film covers the surface of synovium and cartilage within the joint space. Synovial joints acts as bearing in mechanical system. Although the artificial human joints differ from most mechanical bearings in their nature, they have been modeled and analyzed in terms of hydrodynamic bearing of engineering. In this study, nature inspired an algorithm, the simulat...

This review covers recent advances and work on the microstructure features, mechanical properties and cracking processes of conducting polymer film/coating- substrate structures under different testing conditions. An attempt is made to characterize and quantify the relationships between mechanical properties and microstructure features. In addition, the film cracking mechanism on the micro scal...

The mechanical properties of sputter-deposited NiTi shape memory alloy thin films ranging in thickness from 35 nm to 10 μm were examined using nanoindentation and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Indents made in films as thin as 150 nm showed partial shape recovery upon heating, although film thickness was found to have a marked effect on the results. A modified spherical cavity model is used to ...

Reiter has recently reported a situation in which the dewetting of quasi-solid films is linked to plastic deformation--rather than viscous flow--resulting from capillary forces. Herein we propose that, in thin films of some glassy polymers--especially poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)--prepared by spin-casting from solvent, structural relaxation might impart sufficient stress to cause plastic de...

We demonstrate a process to fabricate silicon photonic devices directly on a plastic film which is both flexible and transparent. This process allows the integration of complex structures on plastic films without the need of transferring from another substrate. Waveguides, grating couplers, and microring resonators are fabricated and optically characterized. An optical strain sensor is shown as...

The retention of nitrous oxide in samples of nitrous oxide in air held in disposable plastic syringes, glass syringes and custom-made nylon film bags was studied by means of gas chromatography at intervals of 90 min, 24, 48 and 120 h after filling the containers. After 24 h the nylon bags retained a mean concentration of 94.5% of the original concentration of nitrous oxide. The disposable plast...

BACKGROUND In children, a diagnosis of peanut allergy causes concern about accidental exposure because even small amounts of peanut protein could trigger an allergic reaction. Contamination of toys, books or other items by peanut butter in areas where individuals have eaten may occur in hospital waiting rooms and cafeterias. It is not known if hospital cleaning wipes are effective in removing p...