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A sensitive surface enhanced Raman scattering chemical sensor is demonstrated by using inexpensive gold-coated nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide substrates. To optimize the performance of the substrates for sensing by the Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technique, the size of the nanopores is varied from 18 nm to 150 nm and the gold film thickness is varied from 30 nm to 120 nm. The sensitivity of gold-coated nanoporous surface enhanced Raman scattering sensor is characterized by detecting low concentrations of Rhodamine 6G laser dye molecules. The morphology of the SERS substrates is characterized by atomic force microscopy. Optical properties of the nanoporous SERS substrates including transmittance, reflectance, and absorbance are also investigated. Relative signal enhancement is plotted for a range of substrate parameters and a detection limit of 10−6 M is established.

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This study examines the effects of wet pavement surface conditions on the likelihood of occurrences of nonsevere crashes in two-and four-lane urban and rural highways in Alabama. Initially, sixteen major highways traversing across the geographic locations of the state were identified. Among these highways, the homogenous routes with equal mean values, variances, and similar distributions of the crash data were identified and combined to form crash datasets occurring on dry and wet pavements separately. The analysis began with thirteen explanatory variables covering engineering, environmental, and traffic conditions. The principal terms were statistically identified and used in a mathematical crash frequency models developed using Poisson and negative binomial regression models. The results show that the key factors influencing nonsevere crashes on wet pavement surfaces are mainly segment length, traffic volume, and posted speed limits.

Holographic gratings are recorded in azo-dye nitrobenzoxazole-labeled phospholipid thin films by use of 244-nm UV light. The gratings continue to grow for more than 1 h, even after the recording light is removed. The diffraction efficiency of these gratings shows extreme sensitivity to humidity and can increase reversibly by 2 orders of magnitude in air that is saturated with water vapor. This effect is related to the unique characteristics of phospholipid molecules that undergo hydration-dependent structural reorganization and self-assembly.