In at least one embodiment, a microporous membrane having a moderate to high water vapor permeability and high liquid water penetration resistance is disclosed. The microporous membrane may be used in building applications, including as or as part of a building wrap, a rain screen, a roofing underlayment, a flashing, a sound proofing material, or an insulation material. The microporous membrane may include at least one thermoplastic polymer, at least one filler, and at least one processing oil. The microporous membrane may be flat or may have ribs. The microporous membrane may include at least one scrim component. A method for forming the microporous membrane is also disclosed.

Disclosed herein are rolled-membrane microfluidic diffusion devices and corresponding methods of manufacture. Also disclosed herein are three-dimensionally printed microfluidic devices and corresponding methods of manufacture. Optionally, the disclosed microfluidic devices can function as artificial lung devices.

The present invention provides enthalpy exchanger elements (E, E′) and enthalpy exchangers comprising such elements. Furthermore, the invention discloses a method for producing such enthalpy exchanger elements and enthalpy exchangers, comprising the steps of a) providing an air-permeable sheet element (1); b) laminating at least one side (1a, 1b) of the sheet element (1) with a thin polymer film (3, 4) with water vapor transmission characteristics; and c) forming the laminated sheet element (1) into a desired shape exhibiting a three-dimensional corrugation pattern (5, 5, . . . ).

An exemplary method includes forming a sacrificial layer along sidewalls of an array of trenches that are indented into a substrate, depositing a fill layer over the sacrificial layer, and then creating an array of gaps between the fill layer and the substrate by removing the sacrificial layer along the sidewalls of the trenches, while maintaining a structural connection between the substrate and the fill layer at the floors of the trenches. The method further includes covering the substrate, the fill layer, and the gaps with a cap layer that seal fluid-tight against the substrate and the fill layer. The method further includes indenting a first reservoir and a second reservoir through the cap layer, and into the substrate and the fill layer, across the lengths of the array of gaps, so that the array of gaps connects the first reservoir in fluid communication with the second reservoir.

A particle capturing device including a substrate, a particle capturing film configured to capture particles, and a support configured to support the particle capturing film when tension is applied to the particle capturing film such that the particle capturing film is in parallel with the substrate and a space is formed between the particle capturing film and the substrate.

Provided is a water-treatment filter module, an apparatus and a method for manufacturing a helical strand for a water-treatment filter module, and a method for manufacturing a spacer. Also provided is a water-treatment filter module comprising a membrane for filtering raw water, and a spacer laminated to the membrane and providing a plurality of passages for passing the raw water through to the membrane, wherein the spacer includes a first member extending in a first direction and a second member extending in a second direction that is different from the first direction and disposed so as to form spacer cells by intersecting with the first member, and at least one of the first member and the second member is wound in a spiral shape having a predetermined pitch of a predetermined radius around a central axis.

A tunable nanofiber filter device can include a filter housing defining an interior space, the housing having defined therein and inlet and an outlet, each in fluid communication with the interior space, and a plurality of filter laminas disposed within the interior space, each filter lamina including an upper surface, a lower surface, and an aperture defined therethrough. The plurality of filter laminas can be arranged in a stack wherein the opposing surfaces of adjacent filter laminas define a portion of an interlaminar flow space extending between the opposing surfaces. The flow space can be in fluid communication with the apertures of corresponding adjacent filter laminas to form a continuous flow passage extending through the lamina stack from the inlet to the outlet. An array nanofibers can extend into the flow passage from a portion of each filter lamina such that a fluid flowed through the flow passage flows across a portion of said array.

Embodiments of the present invention provide for the deposition of spacing elements for spiral wound elements that prevent nesting of adjacent spacer layers and occlusion of feed space during element rolling.

Porous membranes are provided according to the invention having desirable coefficient of thermal expansion and large surface area, for example at least about 4,000 mm.sup.2. These porous membranes may be made according to an exemplary process employing lithographic patterning of a photoresist followed by development of the photoresist and etching. In one aspect, the etch barrier layer is chosen from a material that does not react with or incorporate metal or other contaminants into the membrane layer.

Described are platforms, systems, media, and methods for maintaining a database of items associated with one or more skill requirements and a visit duration; maintaining a database of experts associated with one or more skill proficiencies, a location, and a schedule; receiving a request from a consumer for delivery by an expert of one or more items in the database to a consumer address; identifying experts in the database having skill proficiencies matching the skill requirements of the one or more items and available in a timeslot for the visit duration of the one or more items; presenting timeslots for which one or more experts are identified to the consumer and allowing the consumer to select a timeslot; and selecting an expert from among the identified experts in the selected timeslot based on shortest travel time; provided that utilization of the selected expert exceeds a predetermined utilization threshold.