Monthly Archives: June 2017

Imagine sportswear that not only stays dry through the most sweat-inducing workouts, but also turns perspiration into a design element. Named after the driest desert in the world, Atacama uses microfluidic technology to create textiles that can do just that. The recipient of a grant from the National Science Foundation, Atacama is also exploring how its technology can be applied in a diverse range of industries, including apparel, auto manufacturing, and healthcare.

The medical industry started using microfluidics in the 1980s for lab-on-a-chip devices that allow researchers to use very small samples of blood and other fluids. By figuring out how to integrate microfluidics into textiles, Atacama can create activewear that feels more comfortable because almost all of the fabric remains dry. While most moisture-wicking fabrics currently on the market draw sweat to the surface of clothing so it evaporates more quickly, microfluidics directs moisture into tiny three-dimensional channels and then controls the direction of the fluid so it collects or drips off textiles exactly where manufacturers wants it to.

Atacamas tech was created by a group of UC Davis researchers including Siyuan (Alex) Xing, who is now the startups chief scientist. Xing tells TechCrunch that the biggest challenge they faced was that most microfabrication processes used to make microfluidic devices, including photolithography and laser cutting, were developed for rigid substrates such as silicon wafers and glass. This made it hard to create channels on fabric. Finally, they realized that the solution needs to come from the fabric side.

The team studied textile manufacturing methods and figured out which ones can be used to create microfluidic channels in a cost-effective way. They took a close look at embroidery, weaving, textile printing, and knitting, as well as the latest state-of-the-art machinery used for those techniques.

For example, in knitting, people have been using jacquard knitting to create different patterns on the front and back of fabrics. The resolution of the pattern is actually as fine as one loop, which can be around 100 micrometers and is 3D, Xing says. In embroidery, the needle is manipulating a single strand of yarn through a fabric substrate, similar to a through hole on a microfluidic chip. Once we understood how textile manufacturing methods could serve as an alternative to microfabrication, we became confident in our ability to create and pattern microstructures in textiles.

After a paper Xing co-authored about his findings caught the attention of several manufacturers in the military, healthcare, and automotive sectors, a friend introduced him to Susan Neal, who had previously served in leadership roles at Mens Wearhouse and Gymboree. He asked her to join Atacamas board to help him talk to companies. Neal decided to take on Atacamas CEO position after seeing Xing demonstrate its technology.

It was at a board meeting where I saw the prototype, a shirt, that they had developed. Seeing it work and in action, it had that wow factor, says Neal.

She adds, He was able to directionally control moisture as it moves through the surface of fabric. First of all, Id never seen that before. I run and do Bikram yoga and were all used to moisture-wicking fabric that just pulls sweat and spreads it. Alex demonstrated how he could directionally control moisture, move it from the skin to the outside of the shirt, and then have it drip off. The shirt remains absolutely dry, and its something youve just never seen.

While Atacamas tech has been applied mostly to synthetics like polyester and nylon, the company is also testing it on natural fibers like cotton and merino wool. Consumer products using the technology arent on the market yet, but Neal says Atacama is developing prototypes with several companies. Being able to manipulate how fluid travels over the surface of fabric in channels means Atacamas technology can be incorporated into apparel design and shown off, a potential selling point for sportswear labels.

While its most obvious use is for workout gear and other apparel (in dress shirts, for instance, Atacamas tech can prevent underarm stains), it also has a whole host of other potential applications. For example, it can be used in protective clothing or to create better diapers, bandages, casts, and hospital linen.

Weve been asked to look at car seats. What were finding is that there is a lot of interest in this technology to keep moisture and spilled drinks away from electronics in autonomous cars, says Neal.

Because the technology is so new, there has been some great dialogue with the scientists, she adds. Theyve been asked, can it do this or that, and they go back into the lab to figure out more ideas where it can be useful.

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Atacama uses microfluidic technology to create moisture-control fabric that actually stays dry - TechCrunch

Memory-chip maker Micron Technology (MU) received at least 10price-target increases on its stock Friday, a day after delivering a beat-and-raise fiscal third-quarter report, but shares tumbled, apparently due to investor profit taking.

XAutoplay: On | OffBoise, Idaho-based Micron earned an adjusted $1.62 a share, reversing a year-earlier loss of 3 cents, in the quarter ended June 1. Sales rose 92% to $5.57 billion. Analysts expected $1.51 and $5.41 billion.

For the current quarter, Micron expects to earn an adjusted $1.80 a share, compared witha year-earlier loss of 5 cents, on sales of $5.9 billion that would be up 83%, based on the midpoint of its guidance. Wall Street was modeling for $1.57 and $5.62 billion.

Micron stock received price-target hikes from Baird, Cowen, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Rosenblatt Securities, Stifel, Susquehanna Financial Group and UBS. All have buy ratings or the equivalent on the stock.

Rosenblatt analyst Hans Mosesmann was most bullish, raising his price target on Micron to 75 from 60.

Micron rose in premarkettrading, but quickly reversed, on the stock market today. By the closing bell, shares fell 5.1% to 29.86.

Analysts attributed the stock drop to profit-taking, selling on the news and concerns that Micron has hit peak average selling prices.

IBD'S TAKE: The IBD 50 list of top-performing growth stocks now includes six chip-industry players, such as Nvidia and Lam Research.

Micron is benefiting from sustained strong demand for its memory chips, especially from the data-center and cloud-computing markets, Mosesmann said in a note to clients.

"The duration and nature of this cycle is set to be the best memory cycle in the semiconductor industry," Mosesmann said. "We are about four quarters into the current cycle that has legs for 3 to 4 years."

Micron is being helped by continued high DRAM pricing and increased Nand unit shipments, Needham analyst Rajvindra Gill said in a report. He rates Micron as buy with a price target of 50.

"We believe that memory is an integral part of AI (autonomous driving, cloud computing, mobile machine learning, etc.) and expect a continued strong (pricing) environment," Gill said.

Power-conversion chipmaker Power Integrations (POWI) received a bullish report Friday from investment bank Stifel.

Stifel analyst Tore Svanberg reiterated his buy rating on the stock and raised his price target to 82 from 75.

"POWI is at the forefront of the key, long-term secular trend towards greater energy efficiency, with industry-leading products across the power spectrum," Svanberg said in a report. "From smartphones to home appliances to commercial lighting to energy transmission and high power industrial applications, POWI has developed a design win pipeline across all its market segments that is poised to capture this secular growth trend over the coming years."

Power Integrations stock was down 0.2%, near 73.95, in middaytrading.

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Micron Technology Gets Slew Of Price-Target Hikes, But Shares Fall - Investor's Business Daily

Since being introduced in 1998, the Dodge Durango has remained popular by listening to the needs and wants of consumers and improving each year. Now, the Dodge Durango is the longest-standing model in its class.

Since being introduced in 1998, the Dodge Durango has remained popular by listening to the needs and wants of consumers and improving each year. Now, the Dodge Durango is the longest-standing model in its class.

This popular SUV has been a staple in the Chapman Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram showroom for many years and continues to lead the way in technology innovation. With added technology features for convenience and safety, the 2017 Dodge Durango packs a powerful punch for an affordable SUV.

The 2017 Dodge Durango is a well-liked vehicle for customers from all walks of life, said Don Hamrick, general manager of Chapman Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram. With features that fit the needs of almost anyone, the Durango is a classic Dodge model that stands the test of time.

With technology at the forefront, the 2017 Dodge Durango was designed to be the most convenient SUV on the market. An available memory system comes programmed and allows drivers to save two tailored settings for radio station presets, power tilt and, most importantly, the power driver seat position. Truly ideal for couples, the memory system can also remember settings for personalized steering wheel and pedal positions.

Updated key fobs allow for entry by simply pulling on the handle and can even be set to only unlock the driver-side door. To keep passengers occupied, the Durango is fitted with a dual-screen Blu-Ray entertainment system featuring two 9-inch mounted screens behind the driver and passenger seats that include HDMI ports and Bluetooth compatibility.

Advanced braking technology was implemented with new features to perform in any condition. Complete with a four-wheel antilock brake system that tracks the individual speed of each wheel, the 2017 Dodge Durango allows each tire to brake independently from the others for maximum control.

Rain brake support is activated once the windshield wipers are on and removes water from the brake pads by placing a small amount of pressure onto the caliper. Brake assist and ready-alert braking technology can sense emergency braking and prep the brakes for peak performance.

The 2017 Dodge Durango starts at $29,603 and is available at Chapman Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram. Located at 3175 E. Sahara Ave., the dealership sells and services new and used vehicles. For more information, call 702-457-1061 or visit vegasdcj.com.

About the dealer

Chapman Automotive has four locations in Southern Nevada. All dealerships are open for sales from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Parts and service are open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

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Technology, convenience create power-packed Durango - Las Vegas Review-Journal

June 30, 2017 Microcontact printing. Credit: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST)

The field of medicine is always on the lookout for better disease diagnostic toolssimpler, faster, and cheaper technologies to enhance patient treatment and outcomes. Currently, microfluidic bioassay devices are the preferred diagnostic tools that allow clinicians to measure the concentration of disease biomarkers within a patient's biological sample, such as blood. They can indicate the likelihood of a disease based on a comparison of the biomarker concentration in the sample relative to the normal level. To detect this concentration, the patient's sample is passed across a surface containing immobilized bioreceptors, or "biomarker-capturing" molecules that have been attached to this surface. A researcher can then record the biomarker abundance, determine whether the level is normal, and reach a diagnosis. Since the efficiency of these devices relies on how intact and functional the attached bioreceptors are, immobilizing these bioreceptors without causing damage has proved daunting.

Over the last two decades, microcontact printing, which uses a rubber stamp to immobilize the bioreceptors, has been established as a robust method to create a variety of assays with multiple applications. Yet this method also has its flaws, particularly when utilized at the nano scalethe scale where proteins and DNA reign. At this scale, the harsh and elaborate techniques currently used compromise the device's resolution, whether by deforming the stamp or damaging the bioreceptors, thus yielding data somewhat unmanageable for use in diagnostics or other applications. However, in a recent article published in the journal Analyst, researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) describe a new sequence of printing steps that have rectified these issues.

For microcontact printing, "you need a stamp, an ink, and a surface, and then you create your pattern on your surface. It's as simple as that," explains Shivani Sathish, OIST PhD student in the Micro/Bio/Nanofluidics Unit, and first author on the paper.

The stamp is made of polydimethylsiloxane, which is a flexible solid similar to the rubber used in everyday stamps. The ink is a solution composed of silicon- and oxide-containing molecules called APTES, and the surface is glass. After coating the stamp with the ink, the stamp is pressed onto the glass, and then removed after a short incubation. The result is a patterned layer of APTES on the glassa checkerboard of regions with or without APTES. Next, a microfluidic device, which contains one or more microchannels configured to guide fluid through specified pathways, is sealed over the patterned glass. Finally, the bioreceptors are chemically linked to the APTES regions within the microfluidic channels. The device as a whole is about the size of a postage stamp.

The system is now ready for use as a diagnostic assay. To carry out the assay, a fluid sample from a patient is delivered through the microfluidic device attached to the glass. If the pertinent disease biomarker is present, the molecule will "stick" to the areas containing the bioreceptors.

What is important about the APTES solution is its convenient chemistry. "Depending on your bioreceptor of interest, you just have to choose the appropriate chemistry to link the molecule with the APTES," Ms. Sathish explains. Or in other words, one stamp can be used to prepare an assay with the ability to immobilize a variety of different bioreceptorsone stamp allows for multiple tests and diagnoses on a single surface. This feature would be advantageous for diagnosing complex diseases such as cancer, which relies on tests that can detect multiple markers to improve the diagnosis.

In their research, Ms. Sathish and colleagues developed an improved technique to create the most optimal disease diagnostic device for use at the nano scale. Here, they first patterned nanoscale features of APTES using an ink made of APTES in water, as opposed to harsh chemicals, which eliminated the stamp-swelling issue. Then, they immobilized the bioreceptors onto the surface as the very last step of the process, after patterning the APTES and attaching the microfluidic device. By attaching the bioreceptors as the final step, the researchers avoided exposing them to extreme and damaging conditions. They then demonstrated the efficacy of the final device by running an assay to capture the biomarkers interleukin 6 and human c-reactive protein, two substances that are often elevated in the body during inflammation.

"The final goal is to create a point-of-care device," explains OIST Professor Amy Shen, who headed the research.

"If you get your bioreceptors pre-immobilized within microfluidic devices you can then use them as diagnostic tools as and when required," Ms. Sathish continues. "[Eventually] instead of having a whole clinical team that processes your sample...we're hoping that the patients can do it themselves at home."

Explore further: Novel sensor capable of measuring both charge and mass of biomolecules

More information: Shivani Sathish et al, Microcontact printing with aminosilanes: creating biomolecule micro- and nanoarrays for multiplexed microfluidic bioassays, The Analyst (2017). DOI: 10.1039/C7AN00273D

OIST researchers create a novel sensor capable of measuring both charge and mass of biomolecules with potential applications in healthcare diagnostics.

When remote regions with limited health facilities experience an epidemic, they need portable diagnostic equipment that functions outside the hospital. As demand for such equipment grows, EPFL researchers have developed a ...

A new process for creating patterns of individual molecules on a surface combines control of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and a soft lithography technique known as microcontact printing. Scientists use the process, known ...

"Printing" on the micrometer scale is the technology of the future for the production of the electronic components used for such things as flat-screen monitors or (bio)sensors.

Swapping delicate microscopic flow valves for a universal modular valve system has enabled A*STAR researchers to dramatically decrease the cost and complexity of microfluidic diagnostic chipsbusiness card-sized devices ...

An important concept in future healthcare is the development of devices called "lab on a chip." These "chips," not related to the electronic ones found in computers, are small devices in which biological fluids blood ...

A research group from the Institute of Process Engineering (IPE), Chinese Academy of Sciences, recently reported the development of a new technology to boost performance of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) using high-concentration ...

A diagnostic system developed at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology enables rapid and accurate customization of the antibiotic to the patient. The system makes for faster diagnostics, earlier and more effective treatment ...

Taking inspiration from an unusual source, a Sandia National Laboratories team has dramatically improved the science of scintillatorsobjects that detect nuclear threats. According to the team, using organic glass scintillators ...

A novel composite material has been developed by scientists in the Energy Safety Research Institute (ESRI) at Swansea University which shows promise as a catalyst for the degradation of environmentally-harmful synthetic dye ...

Scientists from Trinity College Dublin and AMBER, the Science Foundation Ireland-funded materials science research centre hosted in Trinity College Dublin, have created 'molecular cages' that can maximise the efficiency of ...

A pioneering X-ray technique that can analyse artefacts of any shape or texture in a non-destructive way has been developed by an international team of researchers led by the University of Leicester.

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Miniature technology, big hope for disease detection - Phys.Org

Although our lives are dominated by a myriad of screens, along with an ever-increasing selection of audio and video streaming services, it appears that the radio star is alive and well. Despite being bombarded by the equivalent of a few hundred newspapers of data every day, radio continues to reach 91% of the population each week.

We might be living in a digital world, but it seems there are still elements of our analog past that are desperately in need of a tech makeover. Today, brands and agencies expect radio performance measurement data to be on par with that of digital. Obtaining meaningful data is something we often take for granted and quickly run of patience when its not available.

NextRadio recently released a new audience measurement tool that aims to enable radio sellers to offer advertisers proof of who heard their ads when listening to FM radio through smartphones. The new Dial Report is a digital measurement of analog radio usage. It provides location-based data, demographics and radio listening data within 48 hours of airing spots.

The report highlights how to enable users to drill down into MSAs and/or device activity to uncover revealing specific measurement insights into radio campaigns. The in-depth analytics reveals data around engagement, campaign listens, demographic reach, listener proximity, and in-store traffic along with real-time listener behavior for advertisers.

Pandora radio was recently accused of cooking their figures and hiding the fact that the streaming giant has a fake listeners problem. While advertisers receive the all-important impressions reports, they are also questioning the relevance of ads playing to an empty room.

Dial Reports robust analytics appears to be exposing the inaccurate streaming data from services such as Pandora radio and is providing a much-needed wake-up call for marketers. For example, despite Pandora having a total of 21.96 billion listener hours in 2016, the platform is currently unable to identify active and inactive listeners.

The introduction of are you still listening? alerts is making marketers question whether their ads are reaching their target demographics. Dial Reports is attempting to solve this problem by offering real-time insights of listeners behavior.

News that the decline in average active sessions during the fourth quarter of 2016 marks the first time that Pandora has sustained a year over year decline (-1%) in average active sessions further. This verifies the effect of increasing competition and saturation in music streaming.

Average Active Sessions for AM/FM radio streaming has grown year over year for the fifth straight quarter. Listeners are increasingly looking to AM/FM radio stations for music, information, entertainment, and a sense of community. Streaming makes this destination content available wherever listeners demand it. (source).

Pandora routinely asks for user zip code upon sign up of their service. However, this translates to only sharing targeted local ads that equal a static form of target marketing in a digital age that demands various forms of data to deliver dynamic real-time locational analytics.

The worlds of digital and the more traditional AM/FM radio stations have collided, but there is room for both to work alongside each other. Trends suggest that listeners are increasingly tuning into the traditional stations they know and love. But they are embracing the freedom that comes with streaming the content in any location.

However, the measurement of streaming digital audio along with FM Chip listening (unique to NextRadio) is being brought into the 21st century by new solutions such as those offered by Next Radio and their Dial Report. Marketers need to move away from measuring meaningless impression metrics and understand how they can engage with an audience rather than an empty room.

Generating meaningful information from an engaged audience is where advertisers are finding the elusive ROI they have been searching for. The alternative is watching a campaign grinding to a halt quicker than the decline of Pandora Radio.

Read next: Understand the building blocks of coding and pay what you want

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How technology is enabling advertisers to connect with a highly engaged radio audience - TNW