A battery-less switch for use in 802.15.4 / ZigBee applications

Wireless switches to control light systems are important parts of wireless networks in building automation. For success, it is important to avoid frequent battery replacement, or even better to eliminate them. Although this is possible in some proprietary systems today, at the expense of some features, it is still a challenge for networks such as ZigBee. The main difficulties lie in the power available and the requirements for communication. In this paper, we present the design of a battery-less wireless switch that can be integrated in 802.15.4 / ZigBee systems. We use a standard energy harvesting module for generating power when the switch is activated. The important and required power management aspects implemented in hardware and software are discussed, in the light of the network specifications. After showing the challenges needed to overcome the use of a battery-less switch in wireless systems such as 802.15.4, we present our solutions and the results of some tests

Ribofsm: Frequent Subgraph Mining For the Discovery of RNA Structures and Interactions

Frequent subgraph mining is a useful method for extracting meaningful patterns from a set of graphs or a single large graph. Here, the graph represents all possible RNA structures and interactions. Patterns that are significantly more frequent in this graph over a random graph are extracted. We hypothesize that these patterns are most likely to represent biological mechanisms. The graph representation used is a directed dual graph, extended to handle intermolecular interactions. The graph is sampled for subgraphs, which are labeled using a canonical labeling method and counted. The resulting patterns are compared to those created from a randomized dataset and scored. The algorithm was applied to the mitochondrial genome of the kinetoplastid species Trypanosoma brucei, which has a unique RNA editing mechanism. The most significant patterns contain two stem-loops, indicative of gRNA, and represent interactions of these structures with target mRNA

Thrombosis in the critically ill neonate: incidence, diagnosis, and management

Among children, newborn infants are most vulnerable to development of thrombosis and serious thromboembolic complications. Amongst newborns, those neonates who are critically ill, both term and preterm, are at greatest risk for developing symptomatic thromboembolic disease. The most important risk factors are inflammation, DIC, impaired liver function, fluctuations in cardiac output, and congenital heart disease, as well as exogenous risk factors such as central venous or arterial catheters. In most clinically symptomatic infants, diagnosis is made by ultrasound, venography, or CT or MRI angiograms. However, clinically asymptomatic vessel thrombosis is sometimes picked up by screening investigations or during routine imaging for other indications. Acute management of thrombosis and thromboembolism comprises a variety of approaches, including simple observation, treatment with unfractionated or low molecular weight heparin, as well as more aggressive interventions such as thrombolytic therapy or catheter-directed revascularization. Long-term follow-up is dependent on the underlying diagnosis. In the majority of infants, stabilization of the patients’ general condition and hemodynamics, which allows removal of indwelling catheters, renders long-term anticoagulation superfluous. Nevertheless, in certain types of congenital heart disease or inherited thrombophilia, long-term prophylaxis may be warranted. This review article focuses on pathophysiology, diagnosis, and acute and long-term management of thrombosis in critically ill term and preterm neonates

Origin and Genetic Diversity of Pig Breeds

10 páginas, 5 figuras, 1 tabla.Genetic and archaeological findings suggest that pig domestication began about 9000–10 000 YBP at multiple sites across Eurasia, followed by their subsequent spread at a worldwide scale. Development of local types throughout the centuries led to the foundation, mostly during the nineteenth century, of current modern breeds with defined phenotypes and production abilities. Extensive intercrossing markedly increased the gene pool of these founder populations. For instance, it is well known that many European pig breeds carry Far Eastern haplotypes at high frequencies because of an ancient introgression with Chinese swine. Since then, artificial selection, genetic bottlenecks and inbreeding have significantly modified the allelic diversity of pig breeds. In the next future, state-of-the-art scientific advances as well as conservation programmes will be fundamental to preserve the genetic reservoir of pig breeds as well as to exploit it in the context of artificial selection schemes.Peer reviewe

Impenetrable infiltration: air permeability of Dutch dwellings

Het is wenselijk dat gebouwen beschikken over voldoende en de juiste mogelijkheden om te ventileren. Buiten de benodigde ventilatievoorzieningen is het echter de bedoeling een gebouw zo luchtdicht mogelijk te maken ten einde comfortklachten en onnodig energiegebruik te voorkomen. In het Bouwbesluit zijn eisen met betrekking tot de luchtdoorlatendheid – het tegenovergestelde van luchtdichtheid – opgenomen. Met betrekking tot een heel gebouw wordt in Art. 5.4 lid 1 het volgende geëist: De volgens NEN 2686 bepaalde luchtvolumestroom van het totaal aan verblijfsgebieden, toiletruimten en badruimten van een gebruiksfunctie is niet groter dan 0,2 m³/s. De Universiteit Twente en de Technische Universiteit Eindhoven hebben samen met het bouwbedrijf SelektHuis gewerkt aan de uitvoering van het onderzoek “Impenetrable Infiltration”. Dit onderzoek naar de luchtdoorlatendheid van woningen kent drie onderdelen, namelijk: A. Een veldonderzoek waarbij luchtdichtheidsmetingen worden uitgevoerd op vrijstaande woningen om zo te bepalen tegen welke keuzemogelijkheden luchtdichtheidsmeters en uitvoerende bouwondernemingen aanlopen om de luchtvolumestroom te beïnvloeden; B. Een deskstudie waarbij rapportages van luchtdichtheidsmetingen worden bestudeerd om zo te bepalen wat de huidige stand van zaken is betreffende de luchtdichtheid van woningen; C. Een vergelijkend praktijkonderzoek naar het bepalen van de luchtdichtheid, waarbij drie partijen de luchtdichtheid van dezelfde duurzaam gebouwde vrijstaande woning zullen vaststellen. Om de veldstudie en het praktijkonderzoek uit te kunnen voeren, is de nodige apparatuur aangeschaft. Er is gebruik gemaakt van een blower door, een ventilator en een digitale manometer. Tevens is er tijdens de metingen gebruik gemaakt van twee dataloggers om de luchtdruk, binnen- en buitentemperatuur elke minuut vast te leggen. Er werd een anemometer gebruikt om de windsnelheid op locatie te bepalen. Om inzicht te krijgen waar eventuele lekken zich bevonden, werden een rookmachine en een infraroodcamera ingezet

Intermittent preventive treatment for malaria and anaemia control in Tanzanian infants; the development and implementation of a public health strategy.

Minimizing the time between efficacy studies and public health action is important to maximize health gains. We report the rationale, development and implementation of a district-based strategy for the implementation of intermittent preventive treatment in infants (IPTi) for malaria and anaemia control in Tanzania. From the outset, a research team worked with staff from all levels of the health system to develop a public-health strategy that could continue to function once the research team withdrew. The IPTi strategy was then implemented by routine health services to ensure that IPTi behaviour-change communication materials were available in health facilities, that health workers were trained to administer and to document doses of IPTi, that the necessary drugs were available in facilities and that systems were in place for stock management and supervision. The strategy was integrated into existing systems as far as possible and well accepted by health staff. Time-and-motion studies documented that IPTi implementation took a median of 12.4 min (range 1.6-28.9) per nurse per vaccination clinic. The collaborative approach between researchers and health staff effectively translated research findings into a strategy fit for public health implementation