The basis for some common gypsum wallboard mold remediation practices was examined. The bottom inch of several gypsum wallboard panels was immersed in bottled drinking water; some panels were coated and others were untreated. The panels were examined and tested for a period of 8 weeks. This study investigated: (a) whether mold growth, detectable visually or with tape lift samples, occurs within...

T he issue of mold contamination has drawn the national and international spotlight on the heels of publicity about prominent situations , such as a hotly contended link between mold and severe illness—and one death—in 10 Ohio infants in 1993 and 1994; a major 2001 insurance battle over the moldy Dripping Springs, Texas, house of Melinda Ballard and her family; the mushrooming mold infestations...

In-mold assembly process has been used for manufacturing articulated structures at the macro scale. But the in-mold assembly process at the mesoscale behaves differently and poses new challenges due to reduced structural rigidity of the mesoscale premolded component. One of the major challenges that need to be addressed is that of the plastic deformation of the premolded component during the se...

Mold is ubiquitous, and exposure to mold and its products of metabolism is unavoidable, whether indoors or outdoors. Mold can produce a variety of adverse health outcomes by four scientifically validated pathophysiologic mechanisms: hypersensitivity, toxicity, infection, and irritation. Some adverse health outcomes have been attributed to mold for which mechanisms of injury are not well defined...

In this paper we introduce a blanket mold imprinting process to prevent complication of the fluid flow and difficulties in producing high pressure seals. Inchannel embedded metal lines were also fabricated within the channel allowing electrochemical detections of analytes. Electrochemical microfluidc device has been fabricated on the PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) substrate by using imprintin...

Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) can be used to drive liquids in portable microfluidic chips via the acoustic counterflow phenomenon. In this video we present the fabrication protocol for a multilayered SAW acoustic counterflow device. The device is fabricated starting from a lithium niobate (LN) substrate onto which two interdigital transducers (IDTs) and appropriate markers are patterned. A poly...

A polymeric microfluidic device for solid-phase extraction (SPE)-based isolation of nucleic acids is demonstrated. The plastic chip can function as a disposable sample preparation system for different biological and diagnostic applications. The chip was fabricated in a cyclic polyolefin by hot-embossing with a master mold. The solid phase consisted of a porous monolithic polymer column impregna...

In the conventional continuous casting of steel, either mold powder or oil can be added to lubricate the mold from sticking to the solidifying steel shell. The mold powder melts to form a molten slag or flux layer, and also acts to protect the molten steel from oxidation, to insulate the molten steel from heat loss, to absorb inclusions from the molten steel, to regulate heat transfer to mold w...

This paper utilizes a probabilistic mold risk assessment method, introducing a novel mold risk indicator (MRI). The MRI captures the risk of mold occurrence at identified “trouble spots” under uncertainty. It will show how the MRI can enhance decision-making in a mold remediation case. When used in decision making under uncertainty, the MRI enables the best selection of remediation actions in t...

Exposure to indoor dampness and mold is associated with numerous adverse respiratory conditions, including asthma. While no quantitative health-based threshold currently exists for mold, the conditions that support excessive dampness and mold are known and preventable; experts agree that controlling these conditions could lead to substantial savings in health care costs and improvement in publi...