Whenever a nanoindent is placed near an edge, such as the free edge of the specimen or heterophase interface intersecting the surface, the elastic discontinuity associated with the edge produces artifacts in the load–depth data. Unless properly handled in the data analysis, the artifacts can produce spurious results that obscure any real trends in properties as functions of position. Previously, we showed that the artifacts can be understood in terms of a structural compliance, Cs, which is independent of the size of the indent. In the present work, the utility of the SYS (Stone, Yoder, Sproul) correlation is demonstrated in its ability to remove the artifacts caused by Cs. We investigate properties: (i) near the surface of an extruded polymethyl methacrylate rod tested in cross section, (ii) of compound corner middle lamellae of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) surrounded by relatively stiff wood cell walls, (iii) of wood cell walls embedded in a polypropylene matrix with some poorly bonded wood–matrix interfaces, (iv) of AlB2 particles embedded in an aluminum matrix, and (v) of silicon-on-insulator thin film on substrate near the free edge of the specimen.

An estimated 1.5 billion microbial infections occur globally each year and result in ∼4.6 million deaths. A technology gap associated with commercially available diagnostic tests in remote and underdeveloped regions prevents timely pathogen identification for effective antibiotic chemotherapies for infected patients. The result is a trial-and-error approach that is limited in effectiveness, increases risk for patients while contributing to antimicrobial drug resistance, and reduces the lifetime of antibiotics. This paper addresses this important diagnostic technology gap by describing a low-cost, portable, rapid, and easy-to-use microfluidic cartridge-based system for detecting the ESKAPE (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter spp.) bacterial pathogens that are most commonly associated with antibiotic resistance. The point-of-care molecular diagnostic system consists of a vacuum-degassed microfluidic cartridge preloaded with lyophilized recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) assays and a small portable battery-powered electronic incubator/reader. The isothermal RPA assays detect the targeted ESKAPE pathogens with high sensitivity (e.g., a limit of detection of ∼10 nucleic acid molecules) that is comparable to that of current PCR-based assays, and they offer advantages in power consumption, engineering, and robustness, which are three critical elements required for the point-of-care setting.IMPORTANCE This paper describes a portable system for rapidly identifying bacteria in resource-limited environments; we highlight the capabilities of the technology by detecting different pathogens within the ESKAPE collection, which cause nosocomial infections. The system is designed around isothermal DNA-based assays housed within an autonomous plastic cartridge that are designed with the end user in mind, who may have limited technological training. Displaying excellent sensitivity and specificity, the assay systems that we demonstrate may enable future diagnoses of bacterial infection to guide the development of effective chemotherapies and may have a role in areas beyond health where rapid detection is valuable, including in industrial processing and manufacturing, food security, agriculture, and water quality testing.

We demonstrate embedded growth of cortical mouse neurons in dense arrays of semiconductor microtubes. The microtubes, fabricated from a strained GaAs/InGaAs heterostructure, guide axon growth through them and enable electrical and optical probing of propagating action potentials. The coaxial nature of the microtubes -similar to myelin -is expected to enhance the signal transduction along the axon. We present a technique of suppressing arsenic toxicity and prove the success of this technique by overgrowing neuronal mouse cells.

We describe and characterize a pumping mechanism that leverages the momentum present in small droplets ejected from a micro-nozzle to drive flow in an open microfluidic device. This approach allows driving flow in a microfluidic device in a regime that offers unique features different to those achievable with typical passive pumping or syringe-pump driven flow. Two flow regimes with specific flow characteristics are described: inertia enhanced passive pumping, in which fluid exchange times in the channel are significantly reduced, and inertia actuated flow, in which it is possible to initiate flow in an empty channel or against natural pressure gradients. Momentum is leveraged to create rapid fluid exchanges, instantaneous flow reversal, filling and mixing inside the microfluidic device.