The spread of disease through a physical-contact network and the spread of information about the disease on a communication network are two intimately related dynamical processes. We investigate the asymmetrical interplay between the two types of spreading dynamics, each occurring on its own layer, by focusing on the two fundamental quantities underlying any spreading process: epidemic threshol...

The electric-double-layer structure in an electrolyte close to a solid substrate near the three-phase contact line is approximated by considering the linearized Poisson-Boltzmann equation in a wedge geometry. The mathematical approach complements the semianalytical solutions reported in the literature by providing easily available characteristic information on the double-layer structure. In par...

Contact-active antibacterial surfaces play a vital role in preventing bacterial contamination of artificial surfaces. In the past, numerous researches have been focused on antibacterial surfaces comprising of antifouling upper-layer and antibacterial sub-layer. In this work, we demonstrate a reversed surface structure which integrate antibacterial upper-layer and antifouling sub-layer. These su...

BACKGROUND Postprandial accumulation of gastric secretions in the proximal stomach above the meal adjacent to the esophagogastric junction (EGJ), referred to as the 'acid pocket', has been proposed as a pathophysiological factor in gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) and as a target for GERD treatment. This study assessed the effect of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy on the volume, dist...

This study investigated the effect of Cloisite15A (C15A) organoclay in the substrate layer on the performance of reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. The substrate of the RO membranes was modified using different loading of C15A (ranging from 0.3 - 0.7 wt%) within polysulfone (PSf) substrate and the polyamide (PA) selective layer was formed on the top. Effect of the modified substrate layer on the w...

Abstract In this second part of a two-part article, we provide an overview the heart valve flow analyses conducted with boundary layer and contact representation, made possible space–time (ST) computational methods described in first part. With these ST methods, are able to represent layers near moving solid surfaces, including leaflet accuracy one gets from moving-mesh without need for leaving...

The electrical, thermal, and microstructural characteristics of Ti/Al/Ti/Au ~30 nm/100 nm/30 nm/30 nm! multilayer Ohmic contacts to n-GaN ~doping level 5310 cm) were studied. The lowest contact resistivity derived from the annealed contact was rS53.0310 V cm. The contacts were robust and showed high-thermal stability. X-ray diffraction and Auger electron spectroscopy studies were made to invest...

The ceramic crown structures under occlusal contact are idealized as flat multilayered structures that are deformed under Hertzian contact loading. Those multilayers consist of a crown-like ceramic top layer, an adhesive layer and the dentin-like substrate. Bio-inspired design of the adhesive layer proposed functionally graded multilayers (FGM) that mimic the dentin-enamel junction in natural t...

We present the first quantitative measurement of the receding contact angle between a soft viscoelastic material and a solid surface during the debonding of the material. We developed a new method of observation, based on the technique pioneered by Yamaguchi et al. (T. Yamaguchi, K. Koike, and M. Doi, Euro. Phys. Lett., 2007, 77, 64002). In a probe-tack geometry, we obtained a 3D-like view of t...

Edge contact geometries are thought to yield ultralow contact resistances in most nonferromagnetic metal-graphene interfaces, owing to their large metal-graphene coupling strengths. Here, we examine the contact resistance of edge- versus surface-contacted ferromagnetic metal-graphene interfaces (i.e., nickel- and cobalt-graphene interfaces) using both single-layer and few-layer graphene. Good q...