Signal Quality Monitoring of GNSS Signals Using a Chip Shape Deformation Metric

The Global Navigation Satellite System continues to become deeply em-bedded within modern civilization, and is depended on for confident, accurate navigation information. High precision position and timing accuracy is typically achieved using differential processing, however these systems provide limited compensation for distortions caused by multi-path or faulty satellite hardware. Signal Quality Monitoring (SQM) aims to provide confidence in a receivers Position, Navigation, and Timing solution and to offer timely warnings in the event that signal conditions degrade to unsafe levels. The methods presented in this document focus on implementing effective SQM using low-cost Commercial Off-the-Shelf equipment, a Software Defined Radio, and a typical software receiver architecture that tracks the Galileo E1C signals and the Global Positioning System L1 Coarse-Acquisition signals. Techniques are centered on acquiring and discriminating signal chip shapes with a goal of identifying both 1) clean and 2) deformed signals. The demonstrated identification method is relevant to the growing significance of SQM for SoL applications while providing benefit for confidently monitoring received GNSS signal integrity without requiring specialized receiver hardware

Splitting between Bright and Dark excitons in Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Monolayers

The optical properties of transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers such as the two-dimensional semiconductors MoS$_2$ and WSe$_2$ are dominated by excitons, Coulomb bound electron-hole pairs. The light emission yield depends on whether the electron-hole transitions are optically allowed (bright) or forbidden (dark). By solving the Bethe Salpeter Equation on top of $GW$ wave functions in density functional theory calculations, we determine the sign and amplitude of the splitting between bright and dark exciton states. We evaluate the influence of the spin-orbit coupling on the optical spectra and clearly demonstrate the strong impact of the intra-valley Coulomb exchange term on the dark-bright exciton fine structure splitting.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure

Interaction of different cell types with magnesium modified by plasma electrolytic oxidation

Magnesium (Mg) is a material widely used in industrial applications due to its low weight, ductility, and excellent mechanical properties. For non-permanent implants, Mg is particularly well-suited because of its biodegradability, while its degradation products are not harmful. However, Mg is chemically reactive, and cytotoxic hydrogen gas is released as part of the degradation. This adverse degradation can be tuned using plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO). With PEO, a surface layer of MgO/Mg(OH)(2) is deposited on the surface of Mg in a controlled way. The electrolytes used during PEO influence the surface's chemistry and topography and thus expectedly the biological response of adhered cells. In this study, thin samples of commercial pure of Mg (c.p Mg) were modified by PEO guided by different electrolytes, and the biological activity was assessed on vascular cells, immune cells, and repair cells (adipose tissue-derived stromal cells, ASCs). Vascular cells were more vulnerable than ASCs for compounds released by surface-coated Mg. All surface coatings supported the proliferation of adhered ASC. Released compounds from surface-coated Mg delayed but did not block in vitro wound closure of fibroblasts monolayers. Preformed endothelial tubes were vulnerable for released compounds, while their supporting ASC was not. We conclude that PEO-based surface-coating of Mg supports adhesion and future delivery of therapeutic vascular repair cells such as ASC, but that the observed vulnerability of vascular cells for coated Mg components warrants investigations in vivo

Centromere-associated repeat arrays on Trypanosoma brucei chromosomes are much more extensive than predicted

BACKGROUND: African trypanosomes belong to a eukaryotic lineage which displays many unusual genetic features. The mechanisms of chromosome segregation in these diploid protozoan parasites are poorly understood. Centromeres in Trypanosoma brucei have been localised to chromosomal regions that contain an array of ~147 bp AT-rich tandem repeats. Initial estimates from the genome sequencing project suggested that these arrays ranged from 2 - 8 kb. In this paper, we show that the centromeric repeat regions are much more extensive. RESULTS: We used a long-range restriction endonuclease mapping approach to more accurately define the sizes of the centromeric repeat arrays on the 8 T. brucei chromosomes where unambiguous assembly data were available. The results indicate that the sizes of the arrays on different chromosomes vary from 20 to 120 kb. In addition, we found instances of length heterogeneity between chromosome homologues. For example, values of 20 and 65 kb were obtained for the arrays on chromosome 1, and 50 and 75 kb for chromosome 5. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that centromeric repeat arrays on T. brucei chromosomes are more similar in size to those of higher eukaryotes than previously suspected. This information provides a firmer framework for investigating aspects of chromosome segregation and will allow epigenetic features associated with the process to be more accurately mapped

Analysis of colorectal cancers in British Bangladeshi identifies early onset, frequent mucinous histotype and a high prevalence of RBFOX1 deletion

PMCID: PMC3544714This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Improved corrosion resistance of commercially pure magnesium after its modification by plasma electrolytic oxidation with organic additives

The optimal mechanical properties render magnesium widely used in industrial and biomedical applications. However, magnesium is highly reactive and unstable in aqueous solutions, which can be modulated to increase stability of reactive metals that include the use of alloys or by altering the surface with coatings. Plasma electrolytic oxidation is an efficient and tuneable method to apply a surface coating. By varying the plasma electrolytic oxidation parameters voltage, current density, time and (additives in the) electrolytic solution, the morphology, composition and surface energy of surface coatings are set. In the present study, we evaluated the influence on surface coatings of two solute additives, i.e. hexamethylenetetramine and mannitol, to base solutes silicate and potassium hydroxide. Results from in vitro studies in NaCl demonstrated an improvement in the corrosion resistance. In addition, coatings were obtained by a two-step anodization procedure, firstly anodizing in an electrolyte solution containing sodium fluoride and secondly in an electrolyte solution with hexamethylenetetramine and mannitol, respectively. Results showed that the first layer acts as a protective layer which improves the corrosion resistance in comparison with the samples with a single anodizing step. In conclusion, these coatings are promising candidates to be used in biomedical applications in particular because the components are non-toxic for the body and the rate of degradation of the surface coating is lower than that of pure magnesium

Magnetic effect in viscosity of magnetorheological fluids

ABSTRACT: In this work the study of viscosity is presented for a magnetorheological fluid made from iron oxides micrometre, under an external magnetic field. The material was characterized by magnetic loops in a vibrating sample magnetometer and its crystal structure by X-ray diffraction. The results show that saturation magnetization and coercive field have dependence with the powder size. The material has different crystal structure which lattice parameters were determined by Rietveld refinement. The viscosity of the magnetorheological fluid was measured by a viscometer with rotational symmetry with and without external field. This result evidence a dependency on the size, percentage iron oxide and the applied magnetic field, it is due to the hydrodynamic volume of iron oxide interacts with the external magnetic field, increasing the flow resistance

Prevalencia de algunas enfermedades infecciosas en bovinos de resguardos indígenas del Cauca, Colombia, 2017

La zona del Cauca posee resguardos indígenas que han presentado diferentes problemáticas asociadas a la lucha armada en Colombia, lo que ha limitado que las entidades puedan realizar programas de control de enfermedades bovinas. Por lo anterior, el objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar la prevalencia de algunas enfermedades infecciosas de carácter reproductivo en el ganado bovino de tres resguardos indígenas del Cauca, 2017. Se recolectaron muestras sanguíneas de 30 vacas para determinar la prevalencia de Neospora caninum, Brucella abortus, diarrea viral bovina (DVB), rinotraqueitis infecciosa bovina (IBR) y Leptospira sp. serovares Hardjo prajitno, bovis y Pomona. Las pruebas se realizaron por ELISA, rosa de bengala y microaglutinación. Mediante el software R se realizó un análisis descriptivo y se determinaron las prevalencias para cada enfermedad, se estimaron las co-infecciones y se realizó un modelo de regresión logística para determinar el efecto del hato, resguardo, componente racial, grupo etario, número de animales y tamaño del hato sobre la positividad a las enfermedades. Se encontró una prevalencia del 36% para N. caninum, 60% DVB, 30% IBR, 0% B. abortus, Leptospira spp. serovares Harjo prajitno 26%, Hardjo bovis 12% y Pomona 10%. De acuerdo al análisis de riesgo, la seropositividad para DVB e IBR estuvo asociada con el resguardo donde habitaban los animales, en este caso Tacueyó tuvo más riesgo y estuvo directamente relacionado con el área de los hatos, entre mayor área más animales fueron positivos. En general se encontró que la situación de la zona es similar a la de otros sitios de Colombia

Cytotoxicity Assessment of Surface-Modified Magnesium Hydroxide Nanoparticles

Magnesium-based nanoparticles have shown promise in regenerative therapies in orthopedics and the cardiovascular system. Here, we set out to assess the influence of differently functionalized Mg nanoparticles on the cellular players of wound healing, the first step in the process of tissue regeneration. First, we thoroughly addressed the physicochemical characteristics of magnesium hydroxide nanoparticles, which exhibited low colloidal stability and strong aggregation in cell culture media. To address this matter, magnesium hydroxide nanoparticles underwent surface functionalization by 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), resulting in excellent dispersible properties in ethanol and improved colloidal stability in physiological media. The latter was determined as a concentration- and time-dependent phenomenon. There were no significant effects on THP-1 macrophage viability up to 1.500 mu g/mL APTES-coated magnesium hydroxide nanoparticles. Accordingly, increased media pH and Mg2+ concentration, the nanoparticles dissociation products, had no adverse effects on their viability and morphology. HDF, ASCs, and PK84 exhibited the highest, and HUVECs, HPMECs, and THP-1 cells the lowest resistance toward nanoparticle toxic effects. In conclusion, the indicated high magnesium hydroxide nanoparticles biocompatibility suggests them a potential drug delivery vehicle for treating diseases like fibrosis or cancer. If delivered in a targeted manner, cytotoxic nanoparticles could be considered a potential localized and specific prevention strategy for treating highly prevalent diseases like fibrosis or cancer. Looking toward the possible clinical applications, accurate interpretation of in vitro cellular responses is the keystone for the relevant prediction of subsequent in vivo biological effects