Scaling Configuration of Energy Harvesting Sensors with Reinforcement Learning

With the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT), an increasing number of energy harvesting methods are being used to supplement or supplant battery based sensors. Energy harvesting sensors need to be configured according to the application, hardware, and environmental conditions to maximize their usefulness. As of today, the configuration of sensors is either manual or heuristics based, requiring valuable domain expertise. Reinforcement learning (RL) is a promising approach to automate configuration and efficiently scale IoT deployments, but it is not yet adopted in practice. We propose solutions to bridge this gap: reduce the training phase of RL so that nodes are operational within a short time after deployment and reduce the computational requirements to scale to large deployments. We focus on configuration of the sampling rate of indoor solar panel based energy harvesting sensors. We created a simulator based on 3 months of data collected from 5 sensor nodes subject to different lighting conditions. Our simulation results show that RL can effectively learn energy availability patterns and configure the sampling rate of the sensor nodes to maximize the sensing data while ensuring that energy storage is not depleted. The nodes can be operational within the first day by using our methods. We show that it is possible to reduce the number of RL policies by using a single policy for nodes that share similar lighting conditions.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Surgical Management of Ovarian Cancer

Advanced ovarian cancer remains a disease with a poor prognosis. Surgical therapy remains the cornerstone of treatment with essential contribution from chemotherapy. The combination therapy continues to offer the best treatment strategy. Complete cytoreductive surgery is still the most important prognostic marker. The role of primary debulking surgery in advanced ovarian cancer remains under investigation through high quality rigorous clinical trials. The current evidence regarding primary versus interval debulking surgery has drawn much criticism regarding patient recruitment and quality of surgery, both of which are key pillars in achieving complete cytoreduction. It is expected that greater centralisation and development of ‘ovarian cancer surgery teams’ will further enhance clinical outcomes

Improving the Performance of Fuel Cells using Pt-Based Nano-Crystalline Catalysts

Reduction of global carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emission necessitates the use of energy conversion devices that generate electricity directly without involving the combustion of fossil fuels. The fuel cell meets this criterion by producing electricity through an oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and fuel (e.g. hydrogen or methanol) oxidation at the electrodes. However, the efficient functioning of a fuel cell requires the use of catalysts that are a) highly active, b) exposing a large surface area for the reactions and c) being chemically stable for long cycles of operation on the electrodes. The study shows that Pt-based nano-crystalline catalysts alloyed with 3d-transition metals such as Fe, Ni, Co can produce desired facets through manipulation of their noncrystalline shape and meet all three basic criteria. Furthermore, the size and shape of the nano-crystals can be accurately controlled by optimizing the precursors and tuning the synthesis conditions, thereby facilitating the growth of a wide variety of nanocatalysts with designed structures that may be well suited to improve the ORR performance that is the bottle-neck in the fuel cell development. These catalysts show great promise in not only achieving high ORR activity but also lowering the materials cost in the fuel cell technology, potentially enabling mass production of the new generation fuel cell catalysts with some earth-abundant metals.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1083/thumbnail.jp

Does the Monocot Mode of Leaf Development Characterize all Monocots?

Patterns of early leaf development in monocots are analyzed in a phylogenetic context. Recent developmental and phylogenetic studies enable this reevaluation of the leaf base model of the developing monocot leaf. Two questions are addressed: a) is the presence of the Vorläuferspitze (fore-runner tip) invariably correlated with development of the lamina from the lower leaf zone? and b) was the ancestral monocot characterized by the leaf base mode of development? Scanning electron microscopic observations are made of young primorida using the mold and cast method. These data are combined with data from the literature and examined in a phylogenetic context using parsimony analysis. The results suggest that in some taxa the Vorläuferspitze may be associated with a lamina that is derived from the upper leaf zone, and that the ancestral monocot may not have been characterized by the leafbase mode of development. It is concluded that the leaf-base model, in a strict sense, may apply to a nested subset, but not all, of the monocotyledons

USING THE FROG EPIDERMIS TO UNCOVER DESMOSOME FUNCTION AND REGULATION IN THE DEVELOPING EMBRYO

The desmosome is one of the major cell adhesion junctions found in the epithelia, heart, and hair follicle. Described as a “rivet” that hold cells together, it provides these tissues with the integrity to withstand the tremendous forces they face in everyday life. Defects in this junction can lead to devastating diseases where patients are susceptible to skin infections and cardiovascular defects. Limited treatments exist for diseases of the desmosome, and strategies do not target all symptoms. Therefore, delineating the function and regulation of desmosomes is of paramount importance for the development of prevention and treatment strategies. The Xenopus laevis has been utilized for the study of embryonic development and tissue movements. This study takes advantage of the frog model to study a key desmosomal protein, desmoplakin (Dsp), in the epidermal development of the embryo. First, Xenopus embryonic epidermis has junctional desmosomes as early as the blastula stages. Desmosomes numbers per junction increase as the embryo develops. Dsp is present in many epidermally-derived structures in the embryo at varying levels. Xenopus embryos deficient in desmoplakin have phenotypic defects in epidermal structures and the heart, mimicking mammalian models. Embryos with reduced Dsp exhibit an increased susceptibility to epidermal damage under applied mechanical forces. Assays also reveal a potential role for desmosomes in radial intercalation, a process through which cells move from the inner to the outer epidermal layers. Embryos with reduced Dsp exhibit a slight reduction in intercalation and defects in intercalating cell types, including multiciliated cells and small secretory cells. Finally, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) may have a potential role in the regulation of desmosome assembly and adhesion. Embryos with deficient Dsp display a partial recovery of mechanical integrity when treated with a JNK inhibitor

Hybrid Cooling Systems for Low-Temperature Geothermal Power Production

The overall objective of this investigation is to identify and evaluate methods by which the net power output of an air-cooled geothermal power plant can be enhanced during hot ambient conditions using minimal amounts of water. Geothermal power plants that use air-cooled heat rejection systems experience a decrease in power production during hot periods of the day. This decrease in power output typically coincides with the time when utilities need power to address high air conditioning loads. Hybrid cooling options, which use both air and water, have been studied for this report to assess how they might mitigate the net power decrease