A microfluidic system for separating biological entities includes a cooling device including a thermoelectric heat pump, a first fan, and a first heat exchanger disposed between the first fan and the thermoelectric heat pump; a first housing structure having a first shell that encases the first fan and the first heat exchanger; a microfluidic device and one or more piezoelectric transducers attached thereto; and a second housing structure reversibly attached to the first housing structure and having a second shell that encloses therein the microfluidic device and the one or more piezoelectric transducers. When the first and second housing structures are coupled, a first air passage is formed between a side of the first heat exchanger and an end of the microfluidic device, a second air passage is formed between the first fan and the piezoelectric transducers, thereby allowing air to circulate between the first and second air passages.

A microfluidic system for separating biological entities includes a cooling device including a thermoelectric heat pump, a first fan, and a first heat exchanger disposed between the first fan and the thermoelectric heat pump; a first housing structure having a first shell that encases the first fan and the first heat exchanger; a microfluidic device and one or more piezoelectric transducers attached thereto; and a second housing structure reversibly attached to the first housing structure and having a second shell that encloses therein the microfluidic device and the one or more piezoelectric transducers. When the first and second housing structures are coupled, a first air passage is formed between a side of the first heat exchanger and an end of the microfluidic device, a second air passage is formed between the first fan and the piezoelectric transducers, thereby allowing air to circulate between the first and second air passages.

A method for detecting mentholated tobacco, comprising irradiating tobacco containing menthol and a fluorescent taggant with radiation and observing the tobacco for fluorescence from the taggant. A system and method for detecting and separating mentholated tobacco from non-mentholated tobacco within a product stream is also provided.

A portable, self-cleaning aggregate mixture analysis device that accepts a sample of an aggregate mixture, separates the sample into particles, analyzes the compositions of the sample, displays results to a user and washes away sample residue, so as to prepare the device for analysis of a subsequent material sample.

An apparatus and process for beneficiating ores in an economic and environmentally friendly manner can often beneficiate ores, often from less than 20% concentration, to over 70%, an increase of over 50 percentage points, or a 250% increase. The apparatus and process may further by utilized for removing chemical contaminants, such as hydrocarbons, from solid media such as, but not limited to, soil and drill cuttings. An aqueous slurry of the material is pumped as a slurry through a -inch to 4-inch nozzle, for example, to collide with a stationary plate in an impact chamber at high velocities. The impact partially and preferentially disassociates these materials. The post impact slurry exiting the impact chamber may be usable as-is, or may be further treated, as desired, by secondary component material separation methods, such as gravity, magnetic, mechanical or the like.

A compact dedusting apparatus induces air flow through the housing by a vacuum generator mounted within the housing. The discharge of dust and debris can be passed through a conduit to a remote location without losing air flow velocity to facilitate the use of the compact dedusting apparatus within a clean room. The metering device is formed from stainless steel and mounted on a spring-loaded mounting plate to permit vertical movement of the metering device when a jam of the particulate material is encountered. The metering device can be driven by a low torque stepper motor operable at selectively variable speeds to control the flow rate of the particulate material. The discharge transition is formed with an enlarged cross-sectional area compared to the shape of the Venturi zone so that carryover pellets can be returned to the product flow instead of being lost with the dirty air discharge.

A system and method of scheduling tasks, comprising receiving activity and performance data from registers or storage locations maintained by hardware and an operating system; storing calibration coefficients associated with the activity and performance data; computing an energy dissipation rate based on at least the activity and performance data; and scheduling tasks under the operating system based on the computed energy dissipation rate.

A system and method of scheduling tasks, comprising receiving activity and performance data from registers or storage locations maintained by hardware and an operating system; storing calibration coefficients associated with the activity and performance data; computing an energy dissipation rate based on at least the activity and performance data; and scheduling tasks under the operating system based on the computed energy dissipation rate.

An apparatus for separating particles from a medium includes a capillary defining a flow path therein that is in fluid communication with a medium source. The medium source includes engineered acoustic contrast capture particle having a predetermined acoustic contrast. The apparatus includes a vibration generator that is operable to produce at least one acoustic field within the flow path. The acoustic field produces a force potential minima for positive acoustic contrast particles and a force potential minima for negative acoustic contrast particles in the flow path and drives the engineered acoustic contrast capture particles to either the force potential minima for positive acoustic contrast particles or the force potential minima for negative acoustic contrast particles.

A microfluidic system for separating biological entities comprises a cooling device including a thermoelectric heat pump, a first fan, and a first heat exchanger disposed between the first fan and the thermoelectric heat pump; a first housing structure having a first shell that encases the first fan and the first heat exchanger; a microfluidic device and one or more piezoelectric transducers attached thereto; and a second housing structure reversibly attached to the first housing structure and having a second shell that encloses therein the microfluidic device and the one or more piezoelectric transducers. When the first and second housing structures are coupled, a first air passage is formed between a side of the first heat exchanger and an end of the microfluidic device, a second air passage is formed between the first fan and the piezoelectric transducers, thereby allowing air to circulate between the first and second air passages.