Article explores degradation of Portland concrete and finds that the combination of fly ash with polymers provides significantly improved properties.

Article presenting research where concurrent oxalic acid-catalyzed reactions, including cellulose hydrolysis and esterification of the hydrolyzed cellulose, were performed to prepare the nanocellulose from sugarcane bagasse.

Data management plan for the grant, "REU Site: TaMaLe - Testing and Machine Learning for Context-Driven Systems: Research Experience for Undergraduates." TaMaLe (Testing and Machine Learning for Context-Driven Systems), a renewal Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site at University of North Texas, engages 10 undergraduate students for 10 weeks with problems in the context-driven system domain. The students explore research problems to improve the reliability and security of context-driven systems. Context-driven systems, such as mobile apps, face constant streams of input from both users and context changes in their environments. Users interact with apps through touch and speech interfaces. These systems also respond to context events that occur in their environments such as changes to network connection, battery level, screen orientation, and more. The combined explosion of possible user events and context event sequences pose new challenges that require cost effective testing solutions. Students and mentors in this REU program work in small teams to develop and empirically evaluate new software testing techniques for context-driven systems using strategies such as reinforcement learning and combinatorial-based techniques.

Article describes how this study was aiming at enhancing the stain resistance and durability of varnish on wood surfaces, a super hydrophobic solution was created by blending the synthetic ZIF-8/paraffin with Hexadecyltrimethoxysilane at a specified mass ratio. This superhydrophobic mixture was then directly applied onto the wood varnish coating using a one-step method.

Data management plan for the grant "Development of Genetic Sensors and Circuits for Creating Novel Cellular Behaviors." This research is expected to advance the capability to engineer organisms for biomedical uses. Specifically, the outcomes of this project include design principles for engineering regulators from different protein families, an extensive set of genetic sensors for detecting a broad range of signals, and novel genetic circuits that address uprising problems in biomedical fields. It uses a novel multidisciplinary approach to enhance the health of the nation by creating tools that facilitate both medical-related discoveries and the implementation of new strategies for biomedical applications.

This article proposes a software framework for identifying the percentage and sources of communication non-determinism.

This article presents a comprehensive overview of the key enabling technologies required for 5G and 6G networks, highlighting the massive MIMO systems. The authors discuss the fundamental challenges related to pilot contamination, channel estimation, precoding, user scheduling, energy efficiency, and signal detection in massive MIMO systems and discuss state-of-the-art mitigation techniques. Recent trends such as terahertz communication, ultra massive MIMO (UM-MIMO), visible light communication (VLC), machine learning, and deep learning for massive MIMO systems are outlined. Finally, future research for massive MIMO systems for 5G and beyond is discussed.

This article proposes a novel preconditioned and accelerated Gauss–Siedel algorithm referred to as Symmetric Successive Overrelaxation Preconditioned Gauss-Seidel (SSORGS) to address the signal detection challenges associated with massive MIMO technology.

Article describes how, amorphous magnesium alloy, especially Mg-Zn-Ca series, has been receiving continuous attention in biomedical field, because of its favorable corrosion resistance, suitable modulus and biocompatibility. In this work, laser powder bed fusing with unique characteristics of rapid solidification and layer-by-layer fashion was used to fabricate bulk Mg-Zn-Ca and Mg-Zn-Ca-Y amorphous parts.

This article develops a molecular cell tracker with a strong fluorescence signal in the second near-infrared (NIR-II) window (1,000-1,700 nm) for real-time monitoring of in vivo cell behaviors in both healthy and diseased animal models to address the issue of precisely and quantitatively evaluating the in vivo cell distribution, migration, and engraftment in stem cell therapy.

This article highlights a study of a bio adhesive was developed from soybean meal and larch tannin that was designed for exterior use. Phenol hydroxymethylated tannin oligomer (PHTO) was synthesized and then mixed with soybean meal flour in order to obtain a soybean meal-based adhesive (SPA). The results showed that the moisture absorption rate, residual rate, and solid content of SPA with 10 wt % PHTO (mass ratio with respect to the entire adhesive) were improved by 22.8%, 11.6%, and 6.8%, respectively, as compared with that of pure SPA.

Article describes how understanding the relationship among elemental compositions, nanolamellar microstructures, and mechanical properties enables the rational design of high-entropy alloys (HEAs). In this article the authors construct nanolamellar Alx-CoCuFeNi HEAs with alternating high- and low-Al concentration layers and explore their mechanical properties using a combination of molecular dynamic simulation and density functional theory calculation.

Article describes how cell-derived extracellular matrix has become increasingly popular in tissue engineering applications due to its ability to provide tailored signals for desirable cellular responses. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of two detergent-based decellularization methods: a combination of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and sodium dodecyl sulfate and a combination of sodium deoxycholate and deoxyribonuclease.

Article describes how, while additive manufacturing (AM) of single-phase solid solution based high entropy alloys (HEAs) has attracted a lot of recent attention, such processing of precipitation strengthenable multi-phase HEAs has not been actively investigated. This becomes important since AM processing results in each layer experiencing rapid solidification followed by multiple heating-cooling cycles, mimicking in situ heat treatments, potentially influencing the phase evolution.

Article reviewing several several flexible and stretchable materials used as substrate, stretchable electrical conduits and encapsulation, design modifications for stretchability, fabrication techniques, methods of signal transmission and monitoring, and the power sources for these stretchable bioelectronics. Ultimately, these bioelectronic devices can be used for wide range of applications from skin bioelectronics and biosensing devices, to neural implants for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes.

Article describes how thiol-ene polymers are a promising class of biomaterials with a wide range of potential applications, including organs-on-a-chip, microfluidics, drug delivery, and wound healing. This study investigated the incorporation of di-acrylate chain extenders to improve the stretchability and conformability of those flexible thiol-ene polymers.

Data management plan for the grant, "Cancer Detection and Treatment Based on Low-Level Light Interaction with Biological Cells: Augmentation to Existing Human Performance Research Capabilities."

Data management plan for the grant "Nuclear Safety Testing and Analysis Research (NSTAR) Fellowship Program at the University of North Texas." The proposed NSTAR fellowship program at UNT aims to reinforce the workforce in the nuclear energy safety community by engaging the selected fellowship students (fellows) with interdisciplinary education and research. The overarching theme and research focus of the proposed NSTAR program is acoustics-based non-destructive testing and analysis and nanoparticle processing for thermal management applications. An interdisciplinary research team will investigate these research areas with backgrounds in mechanical engineering, material science, and/or physics. The program will fully support two fellows over four years including full tuition and stipends.

Data management plan for the grant "Charge Transport in Two-Dimensional Materials Based Integrated Flexible Energy System."

Data management plan for the grant, "Self-powered Wireless Sensors and Interfaces for UAVs." Self-powered wireless sensors acting as nanogenerators can not only harvest ambient environment energy during the flight but also are capable of wirelessly monitoring pressure, temperature and other parameters to make the UAV truly an intelligent transportation system (ITS). This proposal requests the acquisition of a Mask Aligner to pattern such self-powered sensors with nano-antenna structures for wireless communication. The addition of the proposed system will enable researchers to study novel 2D materials as self-powered sensors and actuators. The proposed infrastructure would allow the development of smart, autonomous mobility systems with breakthroughs in intelligent technologies, research and workforce preparation.

This article investigates the reliability and effectiveness of nonwoven zinc(II) oxide-polyvinylidene fluoride (ZnO-PVDF) nanocomposite fiber textiles as an embedded corrosion sensor using an accelerated thermal cyclic method paired to electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Results suggest that the flexible sensor is reliable at both monitoring the corrosion and acting as a corrosion barrier.

Article investigating a non-conductive sensor textile as a viable solution for corrosion in underground and submerged steel pipes. The results offer a new option for sub-surface corrosion sensing using low cost, easily fabricated sensor textiles.

This article is motivated by the promise of emerging nanocomposites and reports for the first time the adsorption performance of an aluminum-based MOF (MIL-53(Al)) and GO nanocomposite for Pb(II) removal from aqueous solutions.

Data management plan for the grant, "Establishing a Journey of Inclusion, Identity and Intersectionality through Guided Pathways to Enhance Latinx Success in Engineering and Computer Science." This project will bring together the University of North Texas (UNT) and North Central Texas College (NCTC) to decrease the time to graduation for transfer students in engineering and computer science (ECS) and better meet the needs of Latinx students. Three research questions will guide the project efforts. 1) How do Latinx students navigate the engineering fields at an HSI and how do their opportunities and experiences at an HSI relate to their outcomes? 2) How do faculty and staff incorporate Latinx students’ collective cultural wealth into their curricular and co-curricular programs? 3) How do the community college experiences of Latinx students inform their pathways through engineering and computer science programs at an HSI? The project will disseminate a collection of best practices arising from their collaborative effort that can serve as a model for partnerships between community colleges and universities designed to increase representation of the Latinx community in the engineering and computer science workforce.