BlueBeats

Our group’s senior project is called BlueBeats. The BlueBeats product was created in order to provide a wireless audio gateway between Bluetooth enabled devices. Users of BlueBeats can use an Android or computer application to interface with the BlueBeats device. The Android and computer applications allow the user to easily scan for devices, add/remove devices from their personal list, and pair/connect with a selected Bluetooth enabled device. Once the user is connected to the BlueBeats device, he/she has two options. The first option occurs when the user connects the BlueBeats device to a device with speakers (using 3.5mm audio jack or RCA cable) which will allow the user to wirelessly transmit audio to the BlueBeats device so it can be played through the device’s speakers. The second option occurs when the user connects a TV to the BlueBeats device (using 3.5mm audio jack or RCA cable) and chooses to wirelessly (using Bluetooth) connect the BlueBeats device to a headphones Bluetooth device. This allows the user to wirelessly transmit the audio from the TV to the user’s Bluetooth enabled headphones. As a result, BlueBeats gives users more flexibility with audio applications by allowing users to wirelessly transmit audio from their phone to a device with speakers or from a device with speakers to a pair of Bluetooth enabled headphones. The software for both the Android and computer applications were written in Java. The Android application uses the public Bluetooth APIs in order to make the connection between the phones and BlueBeats. The computer application uses the Bluecove Bluetooth APIs in order to make the connection between the computer and BlueBeats. Both applications contain the same options for the user and follow the same layout in order to increase the usability of both applications for the user. Additionally, both applications hide a lot of the complex Bluetooth functionality from users so that they just have to select devices they want to add to their personal list and then select a device from their list that they want to connect to. The hardware consists of a WT-32 BlueGiga chip that is used to communicate with the microcontroller board in order to play and receive audio. The design for the microcontroller board was created using the Eagle software. The microcontroller board and the WT-32 chip is placed inside an enclosure that keeps all of the hardware out of sight and keeps all of the delicate parts of the circuit board properly contained. The enclosure for the hardware is 2.6 inches by 2.5 inches and it has holes for the buttons, LED lights, and the audio jack. There are 3 LED lights that include one for power, one for bluetooth connection, and one if the battery needs charging. The four buttons consists of play/pause, next song, volume up, and volume down. Our team decided to further develop our project into a company after graduating. Since the team consists of only technical students, we had to learn the business side of our project on our own. We were able to see a glimpse of the business aspect through the resources that Cal Poly provides. The resources that were the most useful were the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) and the Student Startup Assistance Team (SSAT). We were given useful information about the basic process of starting a company, and how to setup a vision that the company could follow. We were also able to draft a provisional patent application from the resources that we received through the CIE. The original estimated cost for the BlueBeats was based on two main items for development, the Arduino Uno ($30) and Bluetooth chip WT-32 ($60), which is turns out to be around $90. The final cost for our senior project was$732.74 with the hardware development cost being $252.44. The most expensive part of our senior project was creating five BlueBeats devices using the 3D prototype printer and our own circuit board. At the end of our project, each BlueBeats device cost was cut down to a cost of$96.06

Systems-Scale Analysis Reveals Pathways Involved in Cellular Response to Methamphetamine

Background: Methamphetamine (METH), an abused illicit drug, disrupts many cellular processes, including energy metabolism, spermatogenesis, and maintenance of oxidative status. However, many components of the molecular underpinnings of METH toxicity have yet to be established. Network analyses of integrated proteomic, transcriptomic and metabolomic data are particularly well suited for identifying cellular responses to toxins, such as METH, which might otherwise be obscured by the numerous and dynamic changes that are induced. Methodology/Results: We used network analyses of proteomic and transcriptomic data to evaluate pathways in Drosophila melanogaster that are affected by acute METH toxicity. METH exposure caused changes in the expression of genes involved with energy metabolism, suggesting a Warburg-like effect (aerobic glycolysis), which is normally associated with cancerous cells. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that carbohydrate metabolism plays an important role in METH toxicity. In agreement with our hypothesis, we observed that increased dietary sugars partially alleviated the toxic effects of METH. Our systems analysis also showed that METH impacted genes and proteins known to be associated with muscular homeostasis/ contraction, maintenance of oxidative status, oxidative phosphorylation, spermatogenesis, iron and calcium homeostasis. Our results also provide numerous candidate genes for the METH-induced dysfunction of spermatogenesis, which have not been previously characterized at the molecular level. Conclusion: Our results support our overall hypothesis that METH causes a toxic syndrome that is characterized by the altered carbohydrate metabolism, dysregulation of calcium and iron homeostasis, increased oxidative stress, and disruption of mitochondrial functions

Effect of Oral Insulin on Prevention of Diabetes in Relatives of Patients With Type 1 Diabetes A Randomized Clinical Trial

Transplantation and autoimmunit

Age and frailty are independently associated with increased COVID-19 mortality and increased care needs in survivors: results of an international multi-centre study

Introduction: Increased mortality has been demonstrated in older adults with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but the effect of frailty has been unclear. Methods: This multi-centre cohort study involved patients aged 18 years and older hospitalised with COVID-19, using routinely collected data. We used Cox regression analysis to assess the impact of age, frailty and delirium on the risk of inpatient mortality, adjusting for sex, illness severity, inflammation and co-morbidities. We used ordinal logistic regression analysis to assess the impact of age, Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) and delirium on risk of increased care requirements on discharge, adjusting for the same variables. Results: Data from 5,711 patients from 55 hospitals in 12 countries were included (median age 74, interquartile range [IQR] 54–83; 55.2% male). The risk of death increased independently with increasing age (>80 versus 18–49: hazard ratio [HR] 3.57, confidence interval [CI] 2.54–5.02), frailty (CFS 8 versus 1–3: HR 3.03, CI 2.29–4.00) inflammation, renal disease, cardiovascular disease and cancer, but not delirium. Age, frailty (CFS 7 versus 1–3: odds ratio 7.00, CI 5.27–9.32), delirium, dementia and mental health diagnoses were all associated with increased risk of higher care needs on discharge. The likelihood of adverse outcomes increased across all grades of CFS from 4 to 9. Conclusion: Age and frailty are independently associated with adverse outcomes in COVID-19. Risk of increased care needs was also increased in survivors of COVID-19 with frailty or older age.</p

Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), Far Detector Technical Design Report, Volume I Introduction to DUNE

International audienceThe preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early universe, the dynamics of the supernovae that produced the heavy elements necessary for life, and whether protons eventually decay—these mysteries at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early evolution of our universe, its current state, and its eventual fate. The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is an international world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions as it searches for leptonic charge-parity symmetry violation, stands ready to capture supernova neutrino bursts, and seeks to observe nucleon decay as a signature of a grand unified theory underlying the standard model. The DUNE far detector technical design report (TDR) describes the DUNE physics program and the technical designs of the single- and dual-phase DUNE liquid argon TPC far detector modules. This TDR is intended to justify the technical choices for the far detector that flow down from the high-level physics goals through requirements at all levels of the Project. Volume I contains an executive summary that introduces the DUNE science program, the far detector and the strategy for its modular designs, and the organization and management of the Project. The remainder of Volume I provides more detail on the science program that drives the choice of detector technologies and on the technologies themselves. It also introduces the designs for the DUNE near detector and the DUNE computing model, for which DUNE is planning design reports. Volume II of this TDR describes DUNE's physics program in detail. Volume III describes the technical coordination required for the far detector design, construction, installation, and integration, and its organizational structure. Volume IV describes the single-phase far detector technology. A planned Volume V will describe the dual-phase technology