Incu-Stream 1.0: An Open-Hardware Live-Cell Imaging System Based on Inverted Bright-Field Microscopy and Automated Mechanical Scanning for Real-Time and Long-Term Imaging of Microplates in Incubator

Microplate (i.e. microwell plate) is a flat plate that has a specific number of wells to be used as small test tubes in cell-culture studies. In most of the low-budget mammalian cell study laboratories, highly skilled laboratory personnel should determine microscopic changes in microplate well media by taking the microplate outside the incubator and by imaging each well medium under a microscope, with the risk of contamination and reliability degrading. An alternative solution is to use an in-incubator operated live-cell imaging device, which, however, cannot be afforded by low-cost laboratories. In this paper, we present the design, realization, and test stages of a microplate compatible inverted bright-field microscope system that can be used in incubators. The developed system enables real-time and long-term in-incubator imaging of any user-selectable microplate type. The device can capture bright-field microscopic images by using a low-cost CMOS image sensor, an inverted varifocal CCTV lens and an array of light emitting diodes. In addition, by developed two-axial movement stage and image augmenting algorithms, the whole area of a user selectable well (e.g. area of a 6.5 mm diameter well in a 96-well plate) can be automatically imaged without using any other third party software. The long-term performance of the system is tested in incubators with human embryonic kidney and breast cancer cell lines

VibroCap: A Mobility Supporting Hat For Blind

In this paper, we present the VibroCap, a mobility aiding hat which is designed to detect obstacles and alert the visually impaired user. By using low cost PVDF (Polyvinylidene Fluoride) ultrasonic sensors, hat detects obstacles, which are located across the upper part of the human body and cannot normally be detected by white cane. Depending on the distance of the detected obstacle, visually impaired person is informed by three vibration motors placed on the forehead. The design stages and experimental results of the obstacle detection system are presented

A spiking and bursting neuron circuit based on memristor

In this paper, we propose two emulator circuits. Firstly, we present a novel memristor emulator based on operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) which is different from classical TiO2 memristor. This memristor emulator has a threshold switching mechanism. Secondly, we create a novel neuron circuit using proposed memristor, which is capable of generating spiking and bursting firing behaviors, with a biologically plausible spike shapes. The behavior of this neuron circuit can be adjusted by changing only one external biasing voltage. This neuron circuit mimics the behavior of cortical neurons, such as regular spiking (RS), intrinsic bursting (IB), chattering (CH) and fast spiking (FS). Proposed emulator circuits are compatible with. VLSI systems and they can also be implemented by using discrete circuit components for different applications. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

DESIGN AND EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF QUADRATURE OSCILLATOR EMPLOYING SINGLE FB-VDBA

This paper presents an attractive and a new voltage-mode quadrature oscillator using a single Fully Balanced-Voltage Differencing Buffer Amplifier (FB-VDBA) as the active element. The circuit structure is very simple, consisting of merely one FB-VDBA, one resistor and two capacitors. The circuit is implemented using the commonly available OPA860 which results in low output impedance and high current drive capability. The proposed circuit also has a suitable architecture for IC production. Experimental results which are matched well with the theoretical assumptions are given

Lossless grounded inductance simulator employing single VDBA and its experimental band-pass filter application

Actively simulated grounded inductors have been used in several applications ranging from filter to oscillator design as well as cancelation of parasitic inductances. In this paper, new lossless grounded inductance simulator employing only one voltage differencing buffer amplifier (VDBA) and two passive components is proposed. The aim of this paper is to present new inductance simulator using the minimum number of active and passive components. The proposed inductance simulator can be tuned electronically by changing the transconductance of the VDBA. Finally, using the proposed inductance simulator a band-pass filter is constructed. The performance of the filter is simulated by using PSPICE and simulation results are verified experimentally. (C) 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved

Maximum Load Behaviour of a Fuel Cell Stack under Different Ambient Temperatures

We studied the full load behavior of a proton exchange membrane fuel- cell(PEMFC) stack at under different ambient temperatures. We switched a load to the FC system and observed the system parameters as FC temperature, current and voltage under two different ambient temperature. We extracted to ambient temperature effects on the power transferred to load. We also investigated the effect of hydrogen tube temperature and hydrogen tube pressure relation on FC system

Synthesis, characterization and bending behavior of electroresponsive sodium alginate/poly(acrylic acid) interpenetrating network films under an electric field stimulus

Dielectric characterization and electroresponsive behavior of glutaraldehyde (GA) crosslinked sodium alginate/poly(acrylic acid) (SA-AA-GA) interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) films were studied. Further characterizations of the films were performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and swelling measurements. Sodium alginate (SA) and SA-AA semi-IPN films were also prepared for comparison. The effect of initial concentration of acrylic acid on the dielectric and thermal properties of SA-AA semi-IPN and SA-AA-GA full-IPN films was studied. The presence of poly(acrylic acid) and the crosslinking of SA by GA decreased the dielectric constant and the conductivity values. The bending of SA-AA-GA films in an electrolyte solution at 8 V was investigated as a function of electrolyte (NaCl) concentration (0.05-0.15 M) and the composition of the film. The response rate of SA-AA-GA films to electric field decreased with the increase in PAA content of the film. Amongst the NaCl solutions with various concentrations, the maximum total bending of SA-AA-GA film was obtained in 0.15 M NaCl solution. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Electric field responsive chitosan-poly(N,N-dimethyl acrylamide) semi-IPN gel films and their dielectric, thermal and swelling characterization

The electroresponsive, dielectric and swelling behavior of semi-interpenetrated polymer network (semi-IPN) gel films prepared from chitosan (CS) and N,N-dimethyl acrylamide (DA) were investigated and compared with those CS film. CS-DA semi-IPN films were also characterized by Fourier transform infrared, x-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry measurements. The electrosensitivity of CS-DA films to an electric field was investigated by determining their bending at 8 V in (0.05 M/0.1 M/0.15 M) NaCl solution. Equilibrium swelling values of CS-DA films both in distilled water and buffer solution with pH = 2:2 decreased with poly-DA (PDA) content of the films. While the maximum decomposition of CS film took place at about 296 degrees C, the presence of PDA in CS-DA semi-IPN films reduced the thermal stability, and their maximum decomposition temperature shifted from 261 to 240 degrees C with the increase in PDA content. In addition, the PDA network led to a decrease in the dielectric constant (epsilon'), dielectric loss (epsilon '') and conductance (sigma) of CS-DA semi-IPN films in the frequency range between 12 Hz and 100 kHz. The values of electric modulus and impedance, and Cole-Cole plots confirmed that the conductance values of CS-DA films are lower than that of CS film. The PDA network also led CS-DA films to respond more slowly to electric field. The increase in NaCl concentration in the bending medium increased the response rate of CS-DA films to an electric field. The final bending angle of all CS-DA films was 90 degrees, and it was not dependent on either NaCl concentration or PDA content of the films

Wireless 3-Axis Accelerometer System for Measurement of Structural Displacement

In this study, we present the design of a 3-axis acceleration measurement system that is capable of UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) time-stamping captured from a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver module. With this achievement, the system is able to monitor and record the 3-axis vibrations with respect to an absolute time rather than the local sensor (and computer) time. Acquired 3-axis acceleration data and UTC are transferred via Bluetooth (R) protocol and developed software which enables monitoring and recording of UTC and acceleration data on a PC, respectively. For verification and synchronization quality test of acceleration data, shake-table tests were conducted for simulation of structural displacement and the calculated displacements were compared with a displacement sensor of a commercially available shake table system