The testing apparatus facilitates the testing of surfaces for contaminants such as soluble salts prior to applying a protective coating. The testing apparatus includes an air-permeable water-resistant membrane, an overlay, and a test chamber. When assembled, the testing apparatus provides an easily removable and testing apparatus that encloses a void into which a solvent may be injected to determine the level of contamination of the surface.

A substrate analysis method using a nozzle for substrate analysis which discharges an analysis liquid from a tip thereof, scans a substrate surface with a discharged analysis liquid, and sucks the analysis liquid. This is done by arranging a liquid catch plate that catches the discharged analysis liquid, thus retaining analysis liquid discharged between the nozzle tip and the liquid catch plate; positioning the substrate so that the end part thereof can be inserted between the nozzle tip and the liquid catch plate; bringing the end part of the substrate into contact with analysis liquid retained between the nozzle tip and liquid catch plate; and moving the nozzle and liquid catch plate concurrently along a periphery of the substrate, while keeping the end part of the substrate in contact with the analysis liquid, to analyze the end part of the substrate.

Contamination detection systems, kits, and techniques are described for testing surfaces for the presence of hazardous contaminants, while minimizing user exposure to these contaminants. Even trace amounts of contaminants can be detected. A collection kit provides a swab that is simple to use, easy to hold and grip, allows the user to swab large areas of a surface, and keeps the user's hands away from the surface being tested. The kit also provides open and closed fluid transfer mechanism to transfer the collected fluid to a detection device while minimizing user exposure to hazardous contaminants in the collected fluid. Contamination detection kits can rapidly collect and detect hazardous drugs, including trace amounts of antineoplastic agents, in healthcare settings at the site of contamination.

A transfer and online detection system for deep-sea sediment samples and an application method thereof are provided. A sample gripping and feeding device, a sample segment cutting device, a sample online detection device, a high-pressure ball valve and a pressure-retaining drill disengaging device of the system are coaxially connected with one another. A seawater booster pump is connected with a water inlet ball valve, and a valve control panel is connected with the sample gripping and feeding device, the sample segment cutting device, the high-pressure ball valve and the pressure-retaining drill disengaging device. The pressure-retaining drill disengaging device is configured for disengaging an inner barrel and an inner barrel joint, and the sample gripping and feeding device and the sample segment cutting device are configured for gripping and cutting core samples, and conveying the cut core samples into a subsample pressure-retaining storage cylinder for storage.

An optical measurement instrument is an integrated instrument that includes an optical cavity with a light source, a sample cuvette, and an optical sensor. The light source and sensor are on a bench that is on a translational or rotational mechanical platform such that optical beam can be moved to multiple sample containers. Each sample containers holds a distinct microorganism-attracting substance and a portion of a fluid sample containing an unknown microorganism. Each distinct microorganism-attracting substance is configured to bind with a single type of microorganism. The unknown microorganism in the fluid sample binds with the distinct microorganism-attracting substance in a single sample container. The instrument incubates the microorganism in the single sample container and detects the presence of the microorganism in the single sample container to thereby simultaneously identify the unknown microorganism.

A non-contact cell manipulation system comprises a supporting member, a micro-positioner, a probe holder having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end connected to the micro-positioner, a probe adapter removably connected to the distal end of the probe holder and a non-contact multiphysics probe fluidly and electrically connected to the probe adapter, wherein the probe includes at least one electrode, at least one aperture, and wherein the probe is configured to utilize electropermealization and electroheating in combination with hydrodynamic flow confinement to perform non-contact cell manipulation. A non-contact multiphysics probe and non-contact cell manipulation method are also disclosed.

The invention relates to an apparatus (100) for collecting dust samples. The apparatus comprises a piston (102) and a cylinder (110) for holding the piston with a body having a hole (108) extending through the body. The cylinder (110) has a first end (112), which is open, the first end of the cylinder being slanted such that underside (130) of the cylinder extends farther than upper side (132). A mechanism (114) moves the piston between inward and outward positions. The apparatus gathers dust flowing past the piston into the hole of the piston when the piston is in the outward position and moves the gathered dust by moving the piston into the inward position. An input feed (116) is configured to spread fluid through the hole filled with dust to flush the dust to an output feed (118).

The present disclosure provides an integrated collection, filtration, and analysis system which is configured to automatically collect fluid samples from a surrounding open water environment, isolate floating particles of a target size range, and perform analysis on the collected particles in-situ. The particles may also be filtered by one or more parameters other than size, and also provided herein is a two-stage vortex filter specially adapted to isolate floating particles of a desired density range from a fluid.

A method for recovering an acidic gas, includes: a step of bringing a gas to be treated that contains an acidic gas into gas-liquid into contact with an amine absorbing solution, allowing the amine absorbing solution to absorb the acidic gas, thereby removing the acidic gas from the gas to be treated; a step of allowing the amine absorbing solution that has absorbed the acidic gas to release the acidic gas, thereby regenerating the amine absorbing solution, and at the same time, recovering the released acidic gas; and an analysis step of calculating concentrations of iron ions and/or heavy metal ions in the amine absorbing solution.

A dynamic device for sampling of a body of water, featuring the use of sterile collection equipment and precise parametric controls based on feedback data, so that when the device is activated the product of the sampling and filtration process therein accurately indicates the characteristics of the body of water from which the sample was taken. Various sensors help in providing data for bringing about precise parametric control of the dynamic device.