1,303 research outputs found
Personalised Feedback Control, Social Contracts, and Compliance Strategies for Ensembles
This paper describes the use of Distributed Ledger Technologies as a mean to
enforce social contracts and to orchestrate the behaviour of agents in a smart
city environment. Specifically, we present a scheme to price personalised risk
in sharing economy applications. We provide proofs for the convergence of the
proposed stochastic system and we validate our approach through the use of
extensive Monte Carlo simulations
Textile sensors to measure sweat pH and sweat-rate during exercise
Sweat analysis can provide a valuable insight into a
personâs well-being. Here we present wearable textile-based
sensors that can provide real-time information regarding sweat activity. A pH sensitive dye incorporated into a fabric fluidic system is used to determine sweat pH. To detect the onset of sweat activity a sweat rate sensor is incorporated into a textile substrate. The sensors are integrated into a waistband and controlled by a central unit with wireless connectivity. The use of such sensors for sweat analysis may provide valuable physiological information for applications in sports performance
and also in healthcare
The Alström Syndrome Protein, ALMS1, Interacts with α-Actinin and Components of the Endosome Recycling Pathway
Alström syndrome (ALMS) is a progressive multi-systemic disorder characterized by cone-rod dystrophy, sensorineural hearing loss, childhood obesity, insulin resistance and cardiac, renal, and hepatic dysfunction. The gene responsible for Alström syndrome, ALMS1, is ubiquitously expressed and has multiple splice variants. The protein encoded by this gene has been implicated in ciliary function, cell cycle control, and intracellular transport. To gain better insight into the pathways through which ALMS1 functions, we carried out a yeast two hybrid (Y2H) screen in several mouse tissue libraries to identify ALMS1 interacting partners. The majority of proteins found to interact with the murine carboxy-terminal end (19/32) of ALMS1 were α-actinin isoforms. Interestingly, several of the identified ALMS1 interacting partners (α-actinin 1, α-actinin 4, myosin Vb, rad50 interacting 1 and huntingtin associated protein1A) have been previously associated with endosome recycling and/or centrosome function. We examined dermal fibroblasts from human subjects bearing a disruption in ALMS1 for defects in the endocytic pathway. Fibroblasts from these patients had a lower uptake of transferrin and reduced clearance of transferrin compared to controls. Antibodies directed against ALMS1 N- and C-terminal epitopes label centrosomes and endosomal structures at the cleavage furrow of dividing MDCK cells, respectively, suggesting isoform-specific cellular functions. Our results suggest a role for ALMS1 variants in the recycling endosome pathway and give us new insights into the pathogenesis of a subset of clinical phenotypes associated with ALMS
Numerical modeling of highly doped Si:P emitters based on FermiâDirac statistics and self-consistent material parameters
We have established a simulation model for phosphorus-doped silicon emitters using FermiâDirac statistics. Our model is based on a set of independently measured material parameters and on quantum mechanical calculations. In contrast to commonly applied models, which use Boltzmann statistics and apparent band-gap narrowing data, we use FermiâDirac statistics and theoretically derived band shifts, and therefore we account for the degeneracy effects on a physically sounder basis. This leads to unprecedented consistency and precision even at very high dopant densities. We also derive the hole surface recombination velocity parameter Spo by applying our model to a broad range of measurements of the emitter saturation current density. Despite small differences in oxide quality among various laboratories, Spo generally increases for all of them in a very similar manner at high surfacedoping densities Nsurf. Pyramidal texturing generally increases Spo by a factor of five. The frequently used forming gas anneal lowers Spo mainly in low-doped emitters, while an aluminumanneal(Al deposit followed by a heat cycle) lowers Spo at all Nsurf.P.P.A. is on a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Australian
Research Council ~ARC!. The Center for Photovoltaic
Engineering is supported by ARCâs Special Research Centres
Scheme. A.C. and M.K. also acknowledge funding by the
ARC
Characterization of a Silicon Drift Detector for High-Resolution Electron Spectroscopy
Silicon Drift Detectors, widely employed in high-resolution and high-rate
X-ray applications, are considered here with interest also for electron
detection. The accurate measurement of the tritium beta decay is the core of
the TRISTAN (TRitium Investigation on STerile to Active Neutrino mixing)
project. This work presents the characterization of a single-pixel SDD detector
with a mono-energetic electron beam obtained from a Scanning Electron
Microscope. The suitability of the SDD to detect electrons, in the energy range
spanning from few keV to tens of keV, is demonstrated. Experimental
measurements reveal a strong effect of the detector's entrance window structure
on the observed energy response. A detailed detector model is therefore
necessary to reconstruct the spectrum of an unknown beta-decay source
BIOTEX-biosensing textiles for personalised healthcare management.
Textile-based sensors offer an unobtrusive method of continually monitoring physiological parameters during daily activities. Chemical analysis of body fluids, noninvasively, is a novel and exciting area of personalized wearable healthcare systems. BIOTEX was an EU-funded project that aimed to develop textile sensors to measure physiological parameters and the chemical composition of body fluids, with a particular interest in sweat. A wearable sensing system has been developed that integrates a textile-based fluid handling system for sample collection and transport with a number of sensors including sodium, conductivity, and pH sensors. Sensors for sweat rate, ECG, respiration, and blood oxygenation were also developed. For the first time, it has been possible to monitor a number of physiological parameters together with sweat composition in real time. This has been carried out via a network of wearable sensors distributed around the body of a subject user. This has huge implications for the field of sports and human performance and opens a whole new field of research in the clinical setting
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