Flexible sensors are currently the subject of intensive research, as they allow cost-effective and environmentally friendly production large-area, flexible, when fabricated on ultrathin substrates, highly conformable devices. Among many intriguing applications, tactile biosignal monitoring, where lightweight with high wearing comfort particularly interesting, is focused here. The required spati...

A big challenge in studying organic rich shale is to predict its kerogen content and maturity from indirect observations. Kerogen maturation changes shale texture; for example, it generates microcracks and fractures in the matrix. Assessment of maturity from indirect measurements can be greatly enhanced by exploiting any existing correlations between physical properties, microstructure, and ker...

It is now widely accepted that skin sensitivity will be very important for future robots used by humans in daily life for housekeeping and entertainment purposes. Despite this fact, relatively little progress has been made in the field of pressure recognition compared to the areas of sight and voice recognition, mainly because good artificial "electronic skin" with a large area and mechanical f...

Conducting polymers entered the research field in late 70 ́s and efforts aimed at achieving printed electronics started a decade later. This thesis treats printable organic electrochemical transistors (OECT). Some conjugated polymers can be switched between a high conducting and a low conducting state in an electrochemical cell. In this thesis, the work carried out using poly(3,4ethylenedioxythi...

Fossilized calcareous structures in chalk collected from exposures of the Selma formation in Alabama yielded organic components comparable to the organic matrices of the calcium carbonate (CaCO3) shells of sea urchin and oyster. The organic matrix of the chalk was composed of 0.05% soluble protein and 0.17% soluble carbohydrate per dry weight. The possible role of the organic matrix as a regula...

Laser irradiation on hard tissue has produced a resistant surface that is likely to prevent caries. In this study, human enamel and dentine were exposed to nanosecond pulsed Nd:YAG laser with energy densities of 20-40 J/cm(2) and pulse width of 6 ns inducing chemical changes in these tissues. Infrared analysis of human dental enamel and dentine was performed using the KBr method (2mg sample/300...

Three hundred and nine men with organic dementia, cerebral atrophy, or psycho-organic syndrome admitted for five nights or more to one of 18 Quebec hospitals were individually matched with patients admitted (1) with some other psychiatric diagnosis and (2) to a general hospital. Lifetime occupational histories were obtained by telephone. Occupational exposure to solvents was assessed blind to t...