Choosing the right microcontroller: A comparison of 8-bit Atmel, Microchip and Freescale MCUs

When choosing a microcontroller there are many options, so which platform should you choose? There is little independent information available to help engineers decide which platform might best suit their needs and most designers tend to stick with the brand with which they are familiar. This is a difficult question to answer without bias if the people conducting the evaluations have had previous experience with MCU programming predominantly on one platform. This article draws on a case study. We built three “Smart” Sprinkler Taps, small, self-contained irrigation controllers, differing only in the microcontroller unit (MCU) on the inside. We compare cost, development software quality and hardware performance from the perspective of a new user to each of the platforms

C. O. D. : Come On Dance

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-ps/2841/thumbnail.jp

Status of the Habitat Evaluation Procedures

The 1970s was a decade of increased awareness of environmental problems, and emphasis was placed on the development of procedures for predicting impacts of proposed developmental activities on natural systems. Impact assessment has evolved from a focus on species numbers, human use, species richness, and related methods to include the investigation of habitat as a supplemental or alternative approach to environmental planning, mitigation, species management, and impact assessment (Schamberger 1979, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1980a, 1980b). The impetus for habitat-based assessment techniques came primarily from two sources: (1) environmental legislation requiring noneconomic project evaluations; and (2) an awareness within the scientific community that traditional methods of inventory and analysis were inadequate for land and water planning purposes. Baseline studies of the early 1970s typically resorted to inventories of existing plant and animal species. Such inventories were time consuming, documented only existing conditions, and did not provide a framework appropriate for predicting and evaluating future conditions. In addition, Federal land management agencies generally focus on habitat, not species, management (e.g., Crawford and Lewis 1978). Thus, a documented need exists for a habitat approach to impact assessment. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), in cooperation with the U.S. Soil Conservation Service (SCS), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BR), and State and private organizations developed a standardized, habitat-based evaluation technique to meet this need

Taxi

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Me-ow : song

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/2097/thumbnail.jp

Synchrony and social connection in immersive Virtual Reality

Synchronising movements in time with others can have significant positive effects on affiliative attitudes and behaviors. To explore the generalizability of synchrony effects, and to eliminate confounds of suggestion, competence and shared intention typical of standard laboratory and field experiments, we used an Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) environment. Participants, represented as virtual humans, took part in a joint movement activity with two other programmed virtual humans. The timings of the co-participant characters' movements were covertly manipulated to achieve synchrony or non-synchrony with the focal participant. Participants in the synchrony condition reported significantly greater social closeness to their virtual co-participants than those in the non-synchrony condition. Results indicate that synchrony in joint action causes positive social effects and that these effects are robust in a VR setting. The research can potentially inform the development of VR interventions for social and psychological wellbeing

Defective phagocytic corpse processing results in neurodegeneration and can be rescued by TORC1 activation

This work was supported by NIH Grants R01 GM094452 (K.M.) and F31 GM099425 (J.I.E.), BU Alzheimer's Disease Core Center NIH Grant P30 AG13846, Boston University Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program grants (J.A.T., V.S.), and NIH Grant R01 AG044113 to M.B.F. We thank the Bloomington Stock Center, TRiP at Harvard Medical School, the Kyoto Drosophila Genetic Resource Center, Estee Kurant, Eric Baehrecke, Marc Freeman, and Mary Logan for fly strains. We thank Todd Blute for assistance with electron microscopy and the Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank for antibodies. (R01 GM094452 - NIH; F31 GM099425 - NIH; R01 AG044113 - NIH; P30 AG13846 - BU Alzheimer's Disease Core Center NIH Grant; Boston University Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program)https://www.jneurosci.org/content/36/11/3170.longPublished versionPublished versio

Population Density and Home Range Estimates of Black Rat (Rattus rattus) Populations in Southwestern Puerto Rico

Black rats are among the world’s most invasive rodent species and are responsible for considerable agricultural losses and risks to human health through zoonotic disease. In Puerto Rico, rats may also compete with the primary rabies reservoir (the small Indian mongoose) for baits during oral rabies vaccination (ORV) programs. We evaluated black rat population density and home range size on the Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge, southwestern Puerto Rico. We fitted 10 rats with VHF transmitters and tracked them using radio telemetry for approximately 4 weeks. We entered locations into ArcGIS and obtained minimum convex polygon (MCP) home range estimates. We established two plots of 55 snap traps and performed removal for 5 consecutive days during January and July, to correspond roughly with wet and dry seasons for this region. To calculate abundance, we entered snap trap data using a removal model approach in Program MARK. We calculated the effective trapping area by creating a buffer around the trapping area based on the square root of mean home range estimate. We divided the abundance calculated in MARK by the effective trapping area to calculate the estimated population density. Mean MCP home range estimate was 0.28 ha (SE: 0.05, range: 0.07-0.50 ha). Population density estimates were 114.7 (SE: 201.80) and 19.3 (SE: 6.85) per ha for January and July, respectively. To reduce the potential for rat consumption of ORV baits, wildlife managers should consider conducting ORV activities in Puerto Rico during periods of lower rat abundance or density

Parkinson's Disease-Related Protein, α-Synuclein, in Malignant Melanoma

BACKGROUND: Melanoma is the major cause of skin cancer death worldwide. Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that is caused by mutation of alpha-synuclein or other genes. Importantly, epidemiological studies have reported co-occurrence of melanoma and Parkinson's disease, suggesting that these two diseases could share common genetic components. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Recently, we found that human melanoma cell lines highly express alpha-synuclein, whereas the protein is undetectable in the non-melanoma cancer cell lines tested. To investigate the expression of alpha-synuclein in human melanoma tissues, we immunostained sections of melanoma, nevus, non-melanocytic cutaneous carcinoma, and normal skin. alpha-Synuclein was positively detected in 86% of the primary and 85% of the metastatic melanoma sections, as well as in 89% of nevus sections. However, alpha-synuclein was undetectable in non-melanocytic cutaneous carcinoma and normal skin. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The Parkinson's disease-related protein, alpha-synuclein, is expressed in both malignant and benign melanocytic lesions, such as melanomas and nevi. Although alpha-synuclein cannot be used to distinguish between malignant and benign melanocytic skin lesions, it might be a useful biomarker for the diagnosis of metastatic melanoma

Comparative systems of assessment of illness or disability for the purposes of adult social welfare payments. Second report (Carers)

Purpose of the report: This is the second report of the study of comparative systems of assessment of illness or disability for the purposes of adult social welfare payments. This report considers assessment systems for carer payments in relation to disability status of an adult cared-for person. The purpose of the research, as set out in the RFT,is to examine systems for medical/disability assessment and review used in other comparable jurisdictions and to draw key learning for the Irish system.Methodology: The research looks at assessment systems for adult carers payments in a number of OECD countries, using 1) a review of relevant literature (including review of various online academic databases and legal databases) 2) access to online information from social security authorities and others 3) review of detailed evaluations of assessment systems (where these are available) 4)contacts with key informants in the chosen countries. The researchers first carried out a rapid review of assessment systems in a range of OECD countries (see Initial Review). On the basis of this study it was agreed to focus the research on Australia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nova Scotia (Canada) and the United Kingdom (UK).Structure of the report: In chapter 2, we provide a short overview of issues concerning support for carers drawing on the available literature. Chapter 3 provides an overview of the assessment systems in the five jurisdictions. Finally chapter 4 discusses the relevance of the findings to the Irish system.The detailed country reports are set out in the Annexes