Parallel generation of uniform fine droplets at hundreds of kilohertz in a flow-focusing module

Droplet-based microfluidic systems enable a variety of biomedical applications from point-of-care diagnostics with third world implications, to targeted therapeutics alongside medical ultrasound, to molecular screening and genetic testing. Though these systems maintain the key advantage of precise control of the size and composition of the droplet as compared to conventional methods of production, the low rates at which droplets are produced limits translation beyond the laboratory setting. As well, previous attempts to scale up shear-based microfluidic systems focused on increasing the volumetric throughput and formed large droplets, negating many practical applications of emulsions such as site-specific therapeutics. We present the operation of a parallel module with eight flow-focusing orifices in the dripping regime of droplet formation for the generation of uniform fine droplets at rates in the hundreds of kilohertz. Elevating the capillary number to access dripping, generation of monodisperse droplets of liquid perfluoropentane in the parallel module exceeded 3.69 × 10⁵ droplets per second, or 1.33 × 10⁹ droplets per hour, at a mean diameter of 9.8 μm. Our microfluidic method offers a novel means to amass uniform fine droplets in practical amounts, for instance, to satisfy clinical needs, with the potential for modification to form massive amounts of more complex droplets.     

Journalism

IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST-III: A REPORT BY THE NATIONAL NEWS COUNCIL, 1979-4983 (National News Council, 805 Third Ave., New York, NY 10022---$10.00, paper)

VIDEOTEX JOURNALISM: TELETEXT, VIEWDATA, AND THE NEWS by David H. Weaver (Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1984---$18.00)

THE NEW BUSINESS JOURNALISM: AN INSIDER'S LOOK AT THE WORKINGS OF AMERICA'S BUSINESS PRESS by Don Gussow (San Diego: Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich, 1984---$14.95)

STRAIGHT STUFF: THE REPORTERS, THE WHITE HOUSE AND THE TRUTH by James Deakin (New York: Morrow, 1984---$17.95)

COVERING CAMPAIGNS: JOURNALISM IN CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS by Peter Clarke and ' H. Evans (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University 1983---$17.50)

TERRORISM: THE MEDIA AND THE LAW, edited by Abraham H. Miller (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: Transnational Publishers, 1982---$25.00, with paperback available)

THE DISSIDENT PRESS: ALTERNATIVE JOURNALISM IN AMERICAN HISTORY by Lauren Kessler (Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage, 1984---$8.95, paper)

AGENTS OF POWER: THE ROLE OF THE NEWS MEDIA IN HUMAN AFFAIRS by J. Herbert Altschull (New York: Longman, 1984---$29.95)

THE PROCESS OF ELECTRONIC NEWS GATHERING by Frederick Shook (1982, 180 pp.---no price given, paper)

THE BROADCAST NEWS PROCESS by Frederick Shook and Dan Lattimore (1982, 375 pp.---no price given, spiral bound, plus a short “Instructor's Manual”)     

Extending the understanding of mobile banking adoption: When UTAUT meets TTF and ITM

Mobile banking (mBanking) enables customers to carry out their banking tasks via mobile devices. We advance the extant body of knowledge about mBanking adoption by proposing a model for understanding the importance and relationship between the user perception of mBanking, initial trust in mBanking services, and the fit between the technology and mBanking task characteristics. We synergistically combine the strengths of three IS theories – task technology fit (TTF) model, unified theory of acceptance and usage of technology (UTAUT), and initial trust model (ITM). The model was tested in a study conducted in Portugal, one of the European Union (EU) countries with the highest mobile phone adoption. Based on the sample of 194 individuals we applied partial least squares (PLS) to test the conceptual model propose. The path significance levels were estimated using the bootstrapping method (500 resamples). The study found that facilitating conditions and behavioral intentions directly influence mBanking adoption. Initial trust, performance expectancy, technology characteristics, and task technology fit have total effect on behavioral intention. The paper offers valuable insights to decision-makers involved in the implementation and deployment of mBanking services. For researchers, the paper highlights the usefulness of integrating TTF, UTAUT and ITM in the development of a decision support framework to study the adoption of new technologies.     

The Andamans as a “sea of islands”: reconnecting old geographies through poaching

The rise of military and political tensions in the Indo-Pacific maritime zone has brought new attention to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. With this visibility has come a disturbing awareness in some quarters that this Indian archipelago is qualitatively different from the rest of the country. Whether defined in terms of unorthodox cultural practices or the unauthorized presence of other national bodies, the multicultural habitus of the Andamans is deeply unsettling from a geopolitical standpoint that imagines the islands as a natural extension of a homogeneous national-territorial space. This article argues that the persistence of cultural and other heterogeneities in the Andamans should be read as a trace of histories that are intimately tied to the location of this archipelago. Framing the archipelago as a “sea of islands” lying off the littoral of the Andaman Sea rather than as an extension of Indian national space permits unauthorized social relations to become visible again. Once we redraw island geographies, spectral presences begin to appear, taking the form of both foreign bodies as well as narrative contradictions. Currently, these specters are interpellated under the sign of “poaching,” a portmanteau of activities that joins indigenous, settlers, outsiders, and Nature in an illicit assemblage that is presumed to lie outside the law. Contradictions of the poaching discourse should be read as signs of recalcitrance: the complexity of the Andamans that cannot be erased by the violence of denial.     

The impact of digital distraction on lecture note taking and student learning

Instructional Science - Laptop computers allow students to type lecture notes instead of relying on the traditional longhand (i.e. paper–pencil) method. The present research compared laptop...     

NAGPRA: Effective Repatriation Programs and Cultural Change in Museums

A survey of museums in the United States sought to identify evidence of broad impact on the organisational culture and practices of museums in their relatioships with indiginous peoples as a result of the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act 1990 (NAGPRA). NAGPRA establishes a process for the repatriation of human remains and other specified items held in museum collections to Native Americans who can prove they are lineal descendants or members of tribes which are culturally affiliated with identified items covered by the legislation. Effective repatriation programs are characterised by: * a genuine belief in the primary rights of indigenous people in the management of their cultural material presently held in museum collections; * a commitment to greater collaboration between the museum and indigenous people in the management of scientific research and public programs pertaining to items of indigenous cultural heritage; * practices which are indicative of an organisational culture which acts in ways which go beyond the minimum requirements of the legislation. Our research shows that museums are engaging in consultation with indigenous people in the management of collections of indigenous cultural heritage, and that this engagement is influencing conservation strategies. Museums espouse goals which promote external consultation, the involvement of indigenous people in their activities, respect for the cultural goals of indigenous people and a commitment to increasing public awareness of indigenous cultural heritage and social issues. However, only in the areas where NAGPRA has mandated it should happen—collections of human remains and secret/sacred material—is there evidence of communication and consultation, commitment of resources and sharing of authority with indigenous people consistent with the outcomes intended under NAGPRA.