Passive UHF RFID Voice Prosthesis Mounted Sensor for Microbial Growth Detection

Capacitive loading due to human tissue can lead to low efficiency for implantable Passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) antennas. The presented passive UHF antenna sensor provides read distances above 0.5 meters (within a body phantom) by utilizing a convoluted half-wave dipole design. It is able to detect simulated early to mature Candida albicans biofilm growth when mounted upon a voice prosthesis (up to a 30 μm biofilm thickness). Depending on the propagation frequency of interest, as early 4-hour growth (5 to 10 μm biofilm thickness) equivalent could be detected and before any device failure could occur due to the colonization. This was accomplished by utilising thin layers of polyurethane to decouple the saliva from the presented UHF sensor (biofilm growth is known to increase layer hydrophobicity). This presented sensor has better functionality within the US UHF frequency band as it detects changes above 5 μm. If there is a need for implantation within additional tissues with variable dielectric properties, a shunt capacitance of 2.6 pF could allow the system functionality within the permittivity range of 21 to 58. Allowing for immediate medical intervention before medical prosthesis failur

Synchrotron radiography studies of shear-induced dilation in semi-solid Al alloys and steels

An improved understanding of the response of solidifying microstructures to load is required to further minimize casting defects and optimize casting processes. This article overviews synchrotron radiography studies that directly measure the micromechanics of semisolid alloy deformation in a thin sample direct-shear cell. It is shown that shear-induced dilation (also known as Reynolds’ dilatancy) occurs in semisolid alloys with morphologies ranging from equiaxed-dendritic to globular, at solid fractions from the dendrite coherency point to ~90% solid, and it occurs in both Al alloys and carbon steels. Discrete-element method simulations that treat solidifying microstructures as granular materials are then used to explore the origins of dilatancy in semisolid alloys

Passive Wireless UHF RFID Antenna Label for Sensing Dielectric Properties of Aqueous and Organic Liquids

The in situ wireless sensing of dielectric properties for organic aqueous solutions with a wide range of relative permittivities is presented. The use of a UHF passive label antenna design attached to either clear borosilicate glass bottle or petri plate is proposed and which allows for the unobtrusive, safe monitoring of the liquid solutions. The meandered dipole antenna (with a parasitic loop matching component) frequency is highly reliant on the chosen container as well as on the liquid present within, and adjusts with shifting dielectric properties. Tested solutions of high relative permittivity (such as water) along with low permittivity, lossy liquids (such as xylene) presented distinctive frequency characteristics with read distances of up to 7 meters for each type of container tested. The sensor was also able to detect ‘unknown’ solutions and determine the dielectric properties by utilizing standard curve analysis with an accuracy of ± 0.834 relative permittivity and ± 0.050 S·m-1 conductivity (compared to a standard dielectric measurement system available on the market). With the accuracy known, tuning the design to fit any necessary frequency is possible as a means to detect specific changes in any one liquid system. This sensor is a possible candidate for discreet real-time monitoring of liquid storage containers and an alternative for low-cost bulk liquid dielectric property identification which could be implemented in areas requiring, constant, or remote monitoring as needed

A Passive UHF RFID Dielectric Sensor for Aqueous Electrolytes

The one step modification of a commercial RFID sensing tag is demonstrated using polydimethylsiloxane based thin film chemistry to construct reusable passive RFID sensors for changes in the dielectric properties of electrolyte solutions as a function of concentration. The effects of PDMS film thickness were characterized as a function of RFID sensor code value. The output sensor code of the RFMicron RFM2100-AER wireless flexible moisture sensor (taken between 800-860 MHz) was compared to readings taken when the tag was dry and when the tag had a water deposition on the sensor area. The effect of the direct application of liquid water to the tag was to alter the capacitance presented to the integrated chip which auto-tunes to correct for the reactance. By varying the thickness of the PDMS film between the interdigitated sensor and deposited liquid, the sensitivity of the tag to a high dielectric medium could be controlled. Aqueous salt solutions were tested on a 500 m thickness film. It was found that the sensing platform could be used as a means of measuring the concentration of various salt solutions within the range 0-2M, and in turn could be used as a passive UHF RFID dielectric measuring tool. The measurement capability of the platform was subsequently demonstrated using a reduced frequency range (845-865 MHz)

Yeast between life and death: a summary of the Ninth International Meeting on Yeast Apoptosis in Rome, Italy, 17–20 September 2012

Remembering the ancient latin saying omnes viae Romam ducunt, the yeast cell death community came to the eternal city to attend the 9th International Meeting on Yeast Apoptosis (IMYA), from 17–20 September 2012. More than one hundred investigators from around the world presented and discussed their researches on programmed cell death (PCD) and its role in stress responses, aging and development employing yeast as model organism. On the first day, the meeting took place at the historical Angelicum Congress Center, sharing its opening session with the last session of the 20th Euroconference on Apoptosis (ECDO)

cAMP/PKA signaling balances respiratory activity with mitochondria dependent apoptosis via transcriptional regulation

Background Appropriate control of mitochondrial function, morphology and biogenesis are crucial determinants of the general health of eukaryotic cells. It is therefore imperative that we understand the mechanisms that co-ordinate mitochondrial function with environmental signaling systems. The regulation of yeast mitochondrial function in response to nutritional change can be modulated by PKA activity. Unregulated PKA activity can lead to the production of mitochondria that are prone to the production of ROS, and an apoptotic form of cell death. Results We present evidence that mitochondria are sensitive to the level of cAMP/PKA signaling and can respond by modulating levels of respiratory activity or committing to self execution. The inappropriate activation of one of the yeast PKA catalytic subunits, Tpk3p, is sufficient to commit cells to an apoptotic death through transcriptional changes that promote the production of dysfunctional, ROS producing mitochondria. Our data implies that cAMP/PKA regulation of mitochondrial function that promotes apoptosis engages the function of multiple transcription factors, including HAP4, SOK2 and SCO1. Conclusions We propose that in yeast, as is the case in mammalian cells, mitochondrial function and biogenesis are controlled in response to environmental change by the concerted regulation of multiple transcription factors. The visualization of cAMP/TPK3 induced cell death within yeast colonies supports a model that PKA regulation plays a physiological role in coordinating respiratory function and cell death with nutritional status in budding yeast

Novel RFID pressure sensor on trachaeotomy tubing

A tracheal tube (1) has an inflatable sealing cuff (13, 113) and a pressure sensor (20, 120) in the form of an RFID tag (20, 120) mounted on the shaft (10) of the tube under the cuff to measure pressure within the cuff. Alternatively, the sensor could be o mounted on the cuff itself and be responsive to pressure exerted by the cuff against the tracheal wall

Transverse Λ0\Lambda^0 polarization in inclusive quasi-real photoproduction at the current fragmentation

It is shown that the recent HERMES data on the transverse $\Lambda^0$ polarization in the inclusive quasi-real photoproduction at $x_F>0$ can be accommodated by the strange quark scattering model. Relations with the quark recombination approach are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted by Eur. Phys. J.

Application of pharmacogenomics and bioinformatics to exemplify the utility of human <i>ex vivo</i> organoculture models in the field of precision medicine

Here we describe a collaboration between industry, the National Health Service (NHS) and academia that sought to demonstrate how early understanding of both pharmacology and genomics can improve strategies for the development of precision medicines. Diseased tissue ethically acquired from patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), was used to investigate inter-patient variability in drug efficacy using ex vivo organocultures of fresh lung tissue as the test system. The reduction in inflammatory cytokines in the presence of various test drugs was used as the measure of drug efficacy and the individual patient responses were then matched against genotype and microRNA profiles in an attempt to identify unique predictors of drug responsiveness. Our findings suggest that genetic variation in CYP2E1 and SMAD3 genes may partly explain the observed variation in drug response

New FOCUS results on charm mixing and CP violation

We present a summary of recent results on CP violation and mixing in the charm quark sector based on a high statistics sample collected by photoproduction experiment FOCUS (E831 at Fermilab). We have measured the difference in lifetimes for the $D^0$ decays: $D^0 \to K^-\pi^+$ and $D^0 \to K^-K^+$. This translates into a measurement of the $y_{CP}$ mixing parameter in the \d0d0 system, under the assumptions that $K^-K^+$ is an equal mixture of CP odd and CP even eigenstates, and CP violation is negligible in the neutral charm meson system. We verified the latter assumption by searching for a CP violating asymmetry in the Cabibbo suppressed decay modes $D^+ \to K^-K^+\pi^+$, $D^0 \to K^-K^+$ and $D^0 \to \pi^-\pi^+$. We show preliminary results on a measurement of the branching ratio $\Gamma(D^{*+}\to \pi^+ (K^+\pi^-))/\Gamma(D^{*+}\to \pi^+ (K^-\pi^+))$.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, requires espcrc2.sty. Presented by S.Bianco at CPConf2000, September 2000, Ferrara (Italy). In this revision, fixed several stylistic flaws, add two significant references, fixed a typo in Tab.