The infrared imaging spectrograph (IRIS) for TMT: on-instrument wavefront sensors and NFIRAOS interface

The InfraRed Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) is a first light client science instrument for the TMT observatory that operates as a client of the NFIRAOS facility multi-conjugate adaptive optics system. This paper reports on the concept study and baseline concept design of the On-Instrument WaveFront Sensors (OIWFS) and NFIRAOS interface subsystems of the IRIS science instrument, a collaborative effort by NRC-HIA, Caltech, and TMT AO and Instrument teams. This includes work on system engineering, structural and thermal design, sky coverage modeling, patrol geometry, probe optics and mechanics design, camera design, and controls design.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures, SPIE7735-28

Comprehensive optical and data management infrastructure for high-throughput light-sheet microscopy of whole mouse brains

Comprehensive mapping and quantification of neuronal projections in the central nervous system requires high-throughput imaging of large volumes with microscopic resolution. To this end, we have developed a confocal light-sheet microscope that has been optimized for three-dimensional (3-D) imaging of structurally intact clarified whole-mount mouse brains. We describe the optical and electromechanical arrangement of the microscope and give details on the organization of the microscope management software. The software orchestrates all components of the microscope, coordinates critical timing and synchronization, and has been written in a versatile and modular structure using the LabVIEW language. It can easily be adapted and integrated to other microscope systems and has been made freely available to the light-sheet community. The tremendous amount of data routinely generated by light-sheet microscopy further requires novel strategies for data handling and storage. To complete the full imaging pipeline of our high-throughput microscope, we further elaborate on big data management from streaming of raw images up to stitching of 3-D datasets. The mesoscale neuroanatomy imaged at micron-scale resolution in those datasets allows characterization and quantification of neuronal projections in unsectioned mouse brains

A Low Cost UWB Based Solution for Direct Georeferencing UAV Photogrammetry

Thanks to their flexibility and availability at reduced costs, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been recently used on a wide range of applications and conditions. Among these, they can play an important role in monitoring critical events (e.g., disaster monitoring) when the presence of humans close to the scene shall be avoided for safety reasons, in precision farming and surveying. Despite the very large number of possible applications, their usage is mainly limited by the availability of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) in the considered environment: indeed, GNSS is of fundamental importance in order to reduce positioning error derived by the drift of (low-cost) Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) internal sensors. In order to make the usage of UAVs possible even in critical environments (when GNSS is not available or not reliable, e.g., close to mountains or in city centers, close to high buildings), this paper considers the use of a low cost Ultra Wide-Band (UWB) system as the positioning method. Furthermore, assuming the use of a calibrated camera, UWB positioning is exploited to achieve metric reconstruction on a local coordinate system. Once the georeferenced position of at least three points (e.g., positions of three UWB devices) is known, then georeferencing can be obtained, as well. The proposed approach is validated on a specific case study, the reconstruction of the façade of a university building. Average error on 90 check points distributed over the building façade, obtained by georeferencing by means of the georeferenced positions of four UWB devices at fixed positions, is 0.29 m. For comparison, the average error obtained by using four ground control points is 0.18 m

Novel technologies for studies of structural and functional connections

To understand the mechanisms underlying the correct functioning of an organ it is important to study its architecture and how the interactions between cells are leading to a specific function. Specifically, the connections that form in the brain are related to the pattern of activation that neurons have, and can help to understand what is the function of each region. Combining the structural knowledge with functional studies is crucial to understand how the cells communicate and propagate the depolarization. Another way to understand the mechanisms underlying tissue functionality is to try to replicate its features and inspect if the resulting behavior is similar to the original one. In this thesis I am describing different tools that we developed to inspect the cells connectivity from the architectural and functional point of view, focusing on imaging, analytic and engineering techniques. To inspect the connection within the brain, in paper I we developed a microscopy system capable of performing fast volumetric imaging of large cleared samples (called LSTM, Light Sheet Theta Microscopy). LSTM is built upon the LSM (Light Sheet Microscopy) system, but instead of illuminating the sample from the sides –which leads to a physical constrain to the samples lateral dimension or depth– the light sheet is scanned on the imaging plane from an angle smaller than 90°. Therefore this approach eliminates the constraints on the lateral size without compromising the image quality and speed. Furthermore, it overcomes the LSM limitation that leads to huge scattering on the center part of the sample. In fact, LSTM images each plane with the same intensity leading to homogeneous x-y acquisition throughout the whole dept. This system can help to create maps of long ranging connections of neurons of intact rodents organs (eg brain) and can theoretically be used to acquire un entire human brain, slab by slab, in a reasonable amount of time. In paper II we propose a tool to inspect the evolution of living cultures for an extended period of time. To do so, we developed a mini-microscope to be placed in the incubator that performs long lasting recordings and automatically detects the Regions Of Interest (ROI), calculates the intensity profiles, and compresses the data after every time-point. This system (called XDscope) is designed to limit the user interaction with the culture, minimize the light exposure and to ease the process of getting the desired information out of the experiment and store as little data as possible. Using the XDscope we performed long term monitoring of GCaMP6 expressing neurosphere (NSP) networks for over 2 weeks, showing that the cells behavior is not affected by the long acquisition. Furthermore we used the system to evaluate the uptake mechanism of p-HTMI, an LCO (Luminescent Conjugated Oligothiophene) over the NSP network, showing that the targeted cells are progenitor cells as expected, since the fluorescent cells are mainly located around the spheres. Finally we investigated further the specific target of p-HTMI within the cells performing double labeling with proteins that seemed to be in the targeted area. From the results it seems like GM130/Golga2, a protein that facilitates the transportation between ER and Golgi apparatus has a high percentage of overlap with the molecule. Finally in paper III we tried to mimic the features and the cell spatial arrangement of a leaving tissue to infer similar properties to an engineered construct. We propose an innovative strategy to integrate a patterned gold microelectrode into a flexible biomimetic hybrid actuator with double muscle-like patterned layers made using PEG (Polyethylene Glycol) and CNT-GelMA (Carbon Nano Tubes- Gelatin Methacryloyl). The CNT-GelMA patterned layer acted as a substrate for cell culture to induce maturation of cardiac muscle cells, while the PEG layer acts as the backbone of the whole membrane. The resulting muscle-like biohybrid actuator showed excellent mechanical integrity with an inserted Au microelectrode and advanced electrophysiological functions with strong muscle contractions. Therefore, we successfully fabricated a biomimetic hybrid actuator with muscle-like pattern, and controllable movement under an electrical field produced by integrated electrodes

Biometrics

Biometrics-Unique and Diverse Applications in Nature, Science, and Technology provides a unique sampling of the diverse ways in which biometrics is integrated into our lives and our technology. From time immemorial, we as humans have been intrigued by, perplexed by, and entertained by observing and analyzing ourselves and the natural world around us. Science and technology have evolved to a point where we can empirically record a measure of a biological or behavioral feature and use it for recognizing patterns, trends, and or discrete phenomena, such as individuals' and this is what biometrics is all about. Understanding some of the ways in which we use biometrics and for what specific purposes is what this book is all about

The doctoral research abstract. Vol:9 2016 / Institute of Graduate Studies, UiTM

FOREWORD: Seventy three doctoral graduands will be receiving their scroll today signifying their achievements in completing their PhD journey. The novelty of their research is shared with you through The Doctoral Abstracts on this auspicious occasion, UiTM 84th Convocation. We are indeed proud that another 73 scholarly contributions to the world of knowledge and innovation have taken place through their doctoral research ranging from Science and Technology, Business and Administration, and Social Science and Humanities. As we rejoice and celebrate your achievement, we would like to acknowledge dearly departed Dr Halimi Zakaria’s scholarly contribution entitled “Impact of Antecedent Factors on Collaborative Technologies Usage among Academic Researchers in Malaysian Research Universities”. He has left behind his discovery to be used by other researchers in their quest of pursuing research in the same area, a discovery that his family can be proud of. Graduands, earning your PhD is not the end of discovering new ideas, invention or innovation but rather the start of discovering something new. Enjoy every moment of its discovery and embrace that life is full of mystery and treasure that is waiting for you to unfold. As you unfold life’s mystery, remember you have a friend to count on, and that friend is UiTM. Congratulations for completing this academic journey. Keep UiTM close to your heart and be our ambassador wherever you go. / Prof Emeritus Dato’ Dr Hassan Said Vice Chancellor Universiti Teknologi MAR

Software-Defined Radio Demonstrators: An Example and Future Trends

Software-defined radio requires the combination of software-based signal processing and the enabling hardware components. In this paper, we present an overview of the criteria for such platforms and the current state of development and future trends in this area. This paper will also provide details of a high-performance flexible radio platform called the maynooth adaptable radio system (MARS) that was developed to explore the use of software-defined radio concepts in the provision of infrastructure elements in a telecommunications application, such as mobile phone basestations or multimedia broadcasters

Recent Application in Biometrics

In the recent years, a number of recognition and authentication systems based on biometric measurements have been proposed. Algorithms and sensors have been developed to acquire and process many different biometric traits. Moreover, the biometric technology is being used in novel ways, with potential commercial and practical implications to our daily activities. The key objective of the book is to provide a collection of comprehensive references on some recent theoretical development as well as novel applications in biometrics. The topics covered in this book reflect well both aspects of development. They include biometric sample quality, privacy preserving and cancellable biometrics, contactless biometrics, novel and unconventional biometrics, and the technical challenges in implementing the technology in portable devices. The book consists of 15 chapters. It is divided into four sections, namely, biometric applications on mobile platforms, cancelable biometrics, biometric encryption, and other applications. The book was reviewed by editors Dr. Jucheng Yang and Dr. Norman Poh. We deeply appreciate the efforts of our guest editors: Dr. Girija Chetty, Dr. Loris Nanni, Dr. Jianjiang Feng, Dr. Dongsun Park and Dr. Sook Yoon, as well as a number of anonymous reviewers

A Survey Study of the Current Challenges and Opportunities of Deploying the ECG Biometric Authentication Method in IoT and 5G Environments

The environment prototype of the Internet of Things (IoT) has opened the horizon for researchers to utilize such environments in deploying useful new techniques and methods in different fields and areas. The deployment process takes place when numerous IoT devices are utilized in the implementation phase for new techniques and methods. With the wide use of IoT devices in our daily lives in many fields, personal identification is becoming increasingly important for our society. This survey aims to demonstrate various aspects related to the implementation of biometric authentication in healthcare monitoring systems based on acquiring vital ECG signals via designated wearable devices that are compatible with 5G technology. The nature of ECG signals and current ongoing research related to ECG authentication are investigated in this survey along with the factors that may affect the signal acquisition process. In addition, the survey addresses the psycho-physiological factors that pose a challenge to the usage of ECG signals as a biometric trait in biometric authentication systems along with other challenges that must be addressed and resolved in any future related research.