A "singing wineglass" is a glass which generates a more or less pure tone when one rubs its rim with a wet finger. The frequency of this tone is lowered when water or wine is poured into the glass. One usually associates this downward frequency shift with an effective mass contributed by the liquid to the vibrating wineglass. We present experimental work and simplified theoretical models to show that this idea requires modifications for a couple of counter-intuitive phenomena.

A novel and high-performance Pd/oxide/GaAs hydrogen sensor based on a metal-insulator-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MISFET) is fabricated and studied. In the presence of the interfacial oxide, high sensitivity and significant increase in output drain current are observed. In the presence of hydrogen, a 2 × 200 µm 2 gate dimension device shows good dc characteristics including high turn-on voltage, an obvious variation of drain current and a short response time. In addition, under the applied voltage of −4 V and 537 ppm hydrogen in air, a very high sensitivity of 9473 is obtained. This performance shows that the device studied has a good potential for high-speed and high-sensitivity hydrogen sensor and MISFET integrated circuit applications.

Splenic infarction is a thromboembolic disease that is frequently missed in acute settings. Previous reviews were rarely presented from a clinical perspective. We aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics, risk factors with diagnostic value, and prognostic factors using large cohort data and a matched case–control study method. A retrospective medical record review of six hospitals in Taiwan from January 1, 2005, to August 31, 2020, was conducted. All patients who underwent contrast CT with confirmed the diagnosis of splenic infarction were included. Their characteristics were presented and compared to a matched control group with similar presenting characteristics. Prognostic factors were also analyzed. A total of 130 cases were included, two-thirds of whom presented with abdominal pain. Atrial fibrillation was the most common associated predisposing condition, followed by hematologic disease. A higher proportion of tachycardia, positive qSOFA score, history of hypertension or atrial fibrillation, leukocytosis, and thrombocytopenia were found in splenic infarction patients compared to their counterparts. An underlying etiology of infective endocarditis was associated with a higher proportion of ICU admission. Splenic infarction patients often presented with left upper abdominal pain and tachycardia. A history of hypertension, atrial fibrillation, a laboratory result of leukocytosis or thrombocytopenia may provide a clue for clinicians to include splenic infarction in the differential list. Among the patients diagnosed with splenic infarction, those with an underlying etiology of infectious endocarditis may be prone to deterioration or ICU admission.