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In this work we present a micro manufacturing platform for the production of polymeric microfluidic devices on a mass scale, based on the integration of microinjection moulding and femtosecond laser (fs-laser) micromachining technologies. A mould prototype was designed for the fabrication of polymeric thin plates characterized by simplified microfeatures representative of typical Lab-on-a-Chip (LoC) devices. The injection moulding master tool includes replaceable metallic inserts, which were fabricated by exploiting the extreme flexibility and accuracy of fs-laser milling. Here, the laser process parameters have been studied and properly adjusted to meet the target geometry and surface quality of the mould inserts, which were subsequently characterized by confocal and SEM microscopy. The micro injection moulding (μIM) process parameters for the device production have been defined by complete three-dimensional filling and packing process simulations. Finally, the micro-injection mould with reconfigurable inserts was employed for the production of thin plates with simplified microfeatures using PMMA. The ability to reproduce these microfeatures via μIM is an essential step to approach to the mass-production of a polymeric LoC and the use of replaceable micro-inserts fabricated by direct fs-laser ablation promises high flexibility in the design and manufacturing of such devices.

Material jetting is an additive manufacturing technology used to produce resin parts with high accuracy and good surface finish. It is often used for visual prototypes or for rapid tooling applications to realise moulds for the standard injection moulding process because of the mechanical properties of the material. However, owing to the poor thermal properties of the resin, this technology is limited by the melting temperature of the material and the production rate. Currently, newer resins are able to withstand temperatures up to 250 °C. To enhance the potential of this technology, in this study the authors tested the performance of a mould insert for microinjection moulding application, produced with a high-temperature resin. In particular, it has been analysed how the orientation of the mould insert on the build plate significantly affects the insert resistance and surface roughness and consequently the quality of the moulded part. The results obtained open up new possibilities for testing a series of small batches and highlight new challenges to improve the process performance.

Visits Como, perhaps the prettiest lake in Italy. Geography; History; Points of interest; Restaurants; Villas.

A native New Yorker who frequently traveled to Thailand, offers her impressions of Bangkok.

Visits Costa Rica, an oasis of sanity wedged between Nicaragua and Panama, where the population is predominantly middle-class and the land ranges from dramatic volcanic craters and rain forests to sunstruck coastal beaches. History; Description;Points of interest; Hotel and restaurant information; Recipes.

Visits Bucks County, a lush and idyllic farm area in Southeastern Pennsylvania. History; Description and impressions; Points of interest; Hotel and restaurant information.

Visits Grenada, a small Caribbean island that epitomizes all the varied appeals of that southern sea. Description; Travel tips; Restaurant information; Recipes.

Vacationing on Block Island, in the Atlantic Ocean between Long Island and Rhode Island. Recipes; History; Sites.

Describes shopping in Thailand's capital, Bangkok. History of the country that was once Siam; Sightseeing; Shops' goods as examples of the Siamese heritage--a blend of peoples and cultures influenced by both India and China.

Hong Kong is an extraordinary marketplace where shopping is a fine art and an exhilarating sport. Sampling of shops not to be missed.

Profiles the Hawaiian island of Kauai, including places to see, things to do, hotels, restaurants, and eight recipes with a `tropical flavor.'

A look at Williamstown, Massachusetts in the Berkshire Mountains. Describes country inns of the area, Williams College, the Williamstown Theatre Festival and the Clark Art Institute.

Visits the Museum of English Native Art, which opened in August 1987, in Bath, England. Appreciation and collection of English folk art by Hungarian immigrant Andras Kalman; Creation of museum and description of its building and contents.

Visits the world-class chocolate shop, Du Rhone Chocolatier, in Geneva, Switzerland. Dating from 1875, the shop produces some of the most luxurious sweets and perhaps the quintessential chocolate truffle. History; Description of shop.

Over the last ten years there was being a strong advancement in photodetection. Different application fields are involved in their use in particular high energy physics, astrophysics and nuclear medicine. They usually work by coupling a scintillation crystal and more recent scintillation arrays with pixel size as small as 0.5 mm. PSPMT represents today the most ready technology for photodetection with large detection areas and very high spatial resolution. Flat panel PMT represents the last technological advancement. Its dimension is 50x50 mm 2 with a narrow peripheral dead zone (0.5 mm final goal). Its compactness allow to assemble different modules closely packed, achieving large detection areas with an effective active area of 97%. In this paper we analyze the imaging performances of PSPMT by coupling two scintillation arrays and by light spot scanning of photocathode to evaluate the linearity position response, spatial resolution and uniformity gain response as a function of light distribution spread and the number of photoelectrons generated on photocathode. The results point out a very narrow PMT intrinsic charge spread and low cross-talk between anodes. Energy resolution and spatial resolution show a good linearity with DRF variation. An unexpected intra-anode gain variation is carried out. In this paper we present the results obtained with this PSPMT regarding imaging performances principally addressed to nuclear medicine application. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]