Methods are disclosed including increasing the rate by which a dissimilar material separates in an aqueous-based mixture, comprising passing a first aqueous-based mixture through a magnetically conductive conduit having magnetic energy directed along the longitudinal axis of the magnetically conductive conduit and extending through at least a portion of the first aqueous-based mixture thereby providing a conditioned aqueous-based medium; and separating the conditioned aqueous-based medium into at least two distinct phases in at least one separation apparatus downstream of the magnetically conductive conduit, wherein the at least one dissimilar material separates from water in the conditioned aqueous-based medium at an increased rate as compared to a rate of separation of the at least one dissimilar material from water in the first aqueous-based mixture.

Methods are disclosed including increasing the rate by which a dissimilar material separates in an aqueous-based mixture, comprising passing a first aqueous-based mixture through a magnetically conductive conduit having magnetic energy directed along the longitudinal axis of the magnetically conductive conduit and extending through at least a portion of the first aqueous-based mixture thereby providing a conditioned aqueous-based medium; and separating the conditioned aqueous-based medium into at least two distinct phases in at least one separation apparatus downstream of the magnetically conductive conduit, wherein the at least one dissimilar material separates from water in the conditioned aqueous-based medium at an increased rate as compared to a rate of separation of the at least one dissimilar material from water in the first aqueous-based mixture.

The present teachings relate to methods, systems, and kits for the preparation, purification and/or analysis of a glycan or glycoconjugate, and specifically to a magnetic bead based sample preparation protocol that can enable full automation and reduced sample preparation time relative to current methods of glycoanalysis. In some aspects, the sample preparation protocol can provide for glycoconjugate capture, glycan release, fluorescent derivatization, and glycan purification for subsequent capillary electrophoresis, liquid chromatography, or other glycoanalytical method without requiring time-consuming sample preparation steps such as centrifugation or vacuum-centrifugation.

At least one filling mechanism for use in packaging of hazelnut processed in hazelnut processing facilities. The improvement of the present invention is that the subject matter filling mechanism comprises at least one first filling unit which can provide filling of hazelnut into at least one big bag, at least one second filling unit which can provide vacuuming and putting of hazelnut into packages which are dimensioned in a smaller manner when compared with the big bag, and at least one guide which can be associated with a hazelnut source in order to enable selectively feeding of hazelnut into at least one of the first filling unit and the second filling unit.

A computational cytometer operates using magnetically modulated lensless speckle imaging, which introduces oscillatory motion to magnetic bead-conjugated rare cells of interest through a periodic magnetic force and uses lensless time-resolved holographic speckle imaging to rapidly detect the target cells in three-dimensions (3D). Detection specificity is further enhanced through a deep learning-based classifier that is based on a densely connected pseudo-3D convolutional neural network (P3D CNN), which automatically detects rare cells of interest based on their spatio-temporal features under a controlled magnetic force. This compact, cost-effective and high-throughput computational cytometer can be used for rare cell detection and quantification in bodily fluids for a variety of biomedical applications.

A computational cytometer operates using magnetically modulated lensless speckle imaging, which introduces oscillatory motion to magnetic bead-conjugated rare cells of interest through a periodic magnetic force and uses lensless time-resolved holographic speckle imaging to rapidly detect the target cells in three-dimensions (3D). Detection specificity is further enhanced through a deep learning-based classifier that is based on a densely connected pseudo-3D convolutional neural network (P3D CNN), which automatically detects rare cells of interest based on their spatio-temporal features under a controlled magnetic force. This compact, cost-effective and high-throughput computational cytometer can be used for rare cell detection and quantification in bodily fluids for a variety of biomedical applications.

Methods are provided for separating magnetically responsive beads from a droplet in a droplet actuator. Droplet operations electrodes and a magnet are arranged in a droplet actuator to manipulate a bead-containing droplet and position it relative to a magnetic field region that attracts the magnetically responsive beads. The droplet operations electrodes are operated to control the droplet shape and transport it away from the magnetic field region to form a concentration of beads in the droplet. The continued transport of the droplet away from the magnetic field causes the concentration of beads to break away from the droplet to yield a small, concentrated bead-containing droplet immobilized by the magnet.

Methods are provided for separating magnetically responsive beads from a droplet in a droplet actuator. Droplet operations electrodes and a magnet are arranged in a droplet actuator to manipulate a bead-containing droplet and position it relative to a magnetic field region that attracts the magnetically responsive beads. The droplet operations electrodes are operated to control the droplet shape and transport it away from the magnetic field region to form a concentration of beads in the droplet. The continued transport of the droplet away from the magnetic field causes the concentration of beads to break away from the droplet to yield a small, concentrated bead-containing droplet immobilized by the magnet.

A method for recovering metal values from a molten slag composition includes atomizing the slag with an oxygen-containing gas in a gas atomization apparatus, to produce solid slag granules. Oxygen in the atomizing gas converts metals to magnetic metal compounds, thereby magnetizing the metal-containing slag granules. These metal-containing slag granules are then magnetically separated. Larger amounts of metals may be removed by passing the molten slag through a pre-settling pan with an adjustable base, and/or discontinuing atomization where the metal content of the slag exceeds a predetermined amount. Solid slag granules produced by atomization may be charged to a recovery unit for recovery of one or more metal by-products. An apparatus for recovering metal values from molten slag includes a gas atomization apparatus, a flow control device for controlling the flow of atomizing gas, a control system, and one or more sensors to detect metal values in the slag.

A method for recovering metal values from a molten slag composition includes atomizing the slag with an oxygen-containing gas in a gas atomization apparatus, to produce solid slag granules. Oxygen in the atomizing gas converts metals to magnetic metal compounds, thereby magnetizing the metal-containing slag granules. These metal-containing slag granules are then magnetically separated. Larger amounts of metals may be removed by passing the molten slag through a pre-settling pan with an adjustable base, and/or discontinuing atomization where the metal content of the slag exceeds a predetermined amount. Solid slag granules produced by atomization may be charged to a recovery unit for recovery of one or more metal by-products. An apparatus for recovering metal values from molten slag includes a gas atomization apparatus, a flow control device for controlling the flow of atomizing gas, a control system, and one or more sensors to detect metal values in the slag.