BlogForever D5.1: Design and Specification of Case Studies

This document presents the specification and design of six case studies for testing the BlogForever platform implementation process. The report explains the data collection plan where users of the repository will provide usability feedback through questionnaires as well as details of scalability analysis through the creation of specific log files analytics. The case studies will investigate the sustainability of the platform, that it meets potential users’ needs and that is has an important long term impact

Cold Atomic Collisions: Coherent Control of Penning and Associative Ionization

Coherent Control techniques are computationally applied to cold (1mK < T < 1 K) and ultracold (T < 1 microK) Ne*(3s,3P2) + Ar(1S0) collisions. We show that by using various initial superpositions of the Ne*(3s,3P2) M = {-2,-1,0,1,2} Zeeman sub-levels it is possible to reduce the Penning Ionization (PI) and Associative Ionization (AI) cross sections by as much as four orders of magnitude. It is also possible to drastically change the ratio of these two processes. The results are based on combining, within the "Rotating Atom Approximation", empirical and ab-initio ionization-widths.Comment: 4 pages, 2 tables, 2 figure

Application of phononic crystals as liquid sensors for the development of novel point of care technologies

Currently, a rapid development of point of care technologies can be observed, mainly due to the alternative they offer to traditional complex laboratory equipment, not only saving costs, but also improving patients convenience, delivering quick and reliable measurement results, increasing the confidence in clinical decisions and most importantly, improving patient care. Phononic crystals were recently introduced, and their unique capabilities to control the transmission of waves has paved the way for the development of many applications, including the development of acoustic sensors. Phononic crystal sensors offer a fundamentally different measurement principle to the development of point of care technologies by enabling the measurement of the acoustic properties of small liquid samples. So far, various phononic crystal sensors have been proposed to be used as liquid sensors. However, they are still in very early stages of development and suffer several drawbacks like high analyte consumption, complex manufacturing procedures, highly dependent on ambient variables and no portability, making it impossible to implement them in point of care devices. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the potential implementation of multi-layered phononic crystals as liquid sensors for biomedical applications, especially for developing point of care technologies. Theoretical and experimental studies were performed in order to evaluate the behaviour of the designed structures. For computing the frequency response of phononic crystals, the transmission line model and the finite element method were used. Different liquid analytes were utilised during the experimental realisations to corroborate the results obtained during the theoretical studies. Variations in the acoustic properties of small liquid samples, resulted in measurable changes in the transmission coefficient of the phononic crystal, specifically shifting the frequency of relevant transmission peaks located inside bandgaps, which provide boundary conditions for eliminating noise and enhancing their quality factor. The introduction of multiple defect modes showed to be a feasible alternative to generate differential measurements in phononic crystals and compensate the effect of temperature. Furthermore, the use of biorecognition agents was also utilised and discussed to enhance the detection capabilities of this new sensors

BlogForever D5.2: Implementation of Case Studies

This document presents the internal and external testing results for the BlogForever case studies. The evaluation of the BlogForever implementation process is tabulated under the most relevant themes and aspects obtained within the testing processes. The case studies provide relevant feedback for the sustainability of the platform in terms of potential users’ needs and relevant information on the possible long term impact

BlogForever D5.3: User Questionnaires and Reports

This report presents the feedback gathered from third party users during the BlogForever Case Studies. Therefore, the research framework is defined and the case studies results are presented, followed by a summary of conclusions and remarks