The polymer electrolyte fuel cells are electrochemical devices that can produce electricity, water, and heat through chemical reactions of hydrogen and oxygen. This manuscript focuses on one detailed state of degradation, called as Membrane Chemical Stability and Metrics. The Accelerated Stress Test under study was standardized by the Department of Energy. Recent advancements in the study of degra

Unlike any other group of animals, all ant species are social: individual ants share the food they gather with their nestmates and as a consequence they must repeatedly leave their nest to find food and then return home with it. These back-and-forth foraging trips have been studied for about a century and much of our growing understanding of the strategies underlying animal navigation has come fro

Many forms of bioimage analysis involve the detection of objects and their outlines. In the context of microscopy-based high-throughput drug and genomic screening and even in smaller scale microscopy experiments, the objects that most often need to be detected are cells. In order to develop and benchmark algorithms and neural networks that can perform this task, high-quality datasets with annotate

Pesticide exposure can be harmful to insect pollinators and the ecosystem services they provide. As many pesticide guidelines warn against applying such products when pollinators are active, it is important to evaluate how pollinator activity changes with time of day to determine the most appropriate time to spray.We walked transects from sunrise to sunset in oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) field

Free-standing nanowires can gain intracellular access without causing stress or apoptosis. Current approaches to generate nanowires focus on lithographic patterning and inorganic materials (Si, GaAs, Al2O3, etc.) while organic materials are less explored. Use of organic conductive polymers allows for the creation of soft mixed ion–electron conducting nanowires. Processing conductive polymers into

Preemptive identification of potential failure under loading of engineering structures is a critical challenge. Our study presents an innovative approach to design built-in prefailure indicators within multiscale structural designs with optimized load carrying capabilities utilizing the design freedom of topology optimization. The indicators are engineered to visibly signal load conditions approac

Concrete features significant microstructural heterogeneity which affects its mechanical behavior. Strain localization in the matrix phase of concrete has received significant attention due to its relation to microcracking and our ability to quantify it with X-ray computed tomography (XRCT). In contrast, stresses in sand and aggregates remain largely unmeasured but remain critical for micromechani

BACKGROUND: Low-level viremia during antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been associated with inferior outcomes, but knowledge on the impact of low-level viremia in the current era of dolutegravir-based ART in low-income countries is limited.OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether low-level viremia predicts virologic non-suppression and attrition from care in people with HIV receiving ART in Ethiopia.METHO

Aluminum is a promising carbon-free energy carrier. The combustion of aluminum in steam offers a novel method for the simultaneous production of hydrogen and heat through the reaction: 2Al + 3H2O = Al2O3 + 3H2 + heat. A comprehensive understanding of the combustion mechanism is crucial for predicting and optimizing the performance of aluminum-fueled devices.This thesis develops different lab-scale

When a storm exceeds the design storm or when the hydraulic capacity of a conduit is reduced, flooding occurs. The flooded water moves outside the conduit system. The volumes, discharges and overland flow depth when flooding occurs in upstream and downstream parts of an urban basin are computed for a hypothetical basin as well as for real basins, for very extreme flows as well as for moderate flow

An economical and optimal construction of rainwater storage cistern in the Loess Plateau of Gansu is introduced. The collection alternatives of rainwater showed a dramatic difference on cistern water quality. Roof-yard catchment systems can harvest drinking water that generally meets the international guidelines. Among the tested disinfectants - chlorine dioxide, potassium permanganate, chloramine