Imunokromatografsko testiranje lateralnog toka (LFIA) čitača trake temeljeno na rasporedu i 8051 IP jezgri

Lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (LFIA) testing is essential for accurate detection and diagnoses of diseases and physical conditions. However, the existing LFIA strip reader equipped with high cost of hardware confines its simplicity and portability. Therefore, this study develops a simple, low cost LFIA strip reader comprising 4 major modules --- mechanical, optical, processing and control modules. The mechanical module pulls in and out the test strip automatically to be read by the optical module and the data processing module provides the test results by analyzing the data sent by the optical module. All the individual modules are controlled by a control module. To reduce the hardware budget and control complexity, a time-triggered cooperative (TTC) scheduler implemented on an 8051 IP core was chosen as control system. In addition, special, high sensitivity C- reactive protein (CRP) strips with 10 different concentrations were tested to evaluate the performance of the system. Further, a commercial ESEQuant lateral flow reader (QIAGEN, Germany) was tested as a comparative study. The test results show that the proposed reader was stable with a coefficient of variation (CV) factor within 3%. To test the qualitative performance of the system, each of the CRP concentration were examined for 10 times, which indicates that the system has a large dynamic detection range and good detection linearity (^2 = 0.998). In short, the proposed LFIA strip reader has high potential relative to existing readers, especially in simplicity and cost.Imunokromatografsko testiranje lateralnog toka (LFIA) nužno je za preciznu detekciju i dijagnozu oboljenja te psihičkih stanja. Međutim, postojeći LFIA opremljeni s hardverom visoke cijene limitiraju jednostavnost i prenosivost. Ovo istraživanje razvija jednostavni, niske cijene, čitač traka koji se sastoji od 4 glavna dijela - mehanički, optički, procesni i upravljački. Mehanički modul povlači testnu traku automatski kako bi optički modul mogao čitati. Procesni modul analizira podatke dobivene s optičkog čitača. Svaki modula upravlja se upravljačkim modulom. Vremensko ovisno kooperativni raspored implementiran je na 8051 IP jezgri kako bi se smanjili računski zahtjevi. Dodatno, visoko osjetljiva CRP traka s deset različitih koncentracija korištena je u svrhe evaluacije sustava. Rezultati su uspoređeni s komercijalnim čitačem lateralnog toka ESEQuant (QIAGEN, Njemačka). Rezultati pokazuju da je predložena metoda stabilna s koeficijentom varijacije unutar 3%. Kako bi se kvalitativno testirao sustav, svaka od CRP koncentracija testirana je deset puta, što ukazuje da sustav veliki dinamički raspon detekcije te dobru linearnost detekcije (R^2 = 0.998). Predloženi LFIA čitač traka ima dosta potencijala u usporedbi s postoječim čitačima, posebno u smislu jednostavnosti i cijene

OCIS codes: (230.5298) Photonic crystals; (140.3945) Nanocavities; (140.5960) Semiconductor lasers

Abstract: We propose a point-shifted nanocavity based on square lattice photonic crystal, which sustains a lowest-order whispering-gallery (WG) mode. In simulation, the optimized WG mode (quality (Q) factor ~14,000) in point-shifted nanocavity can be with smaller mode volume (~5.5(λ/2n) 3 ) but larger nano-post tolerance than those in single-defect cavity design. From well-fabricated device, single WG mode lasing with measured Q factor of 4,100 and low threshold of 160 µW is obtained. Besides, we also observe the changed polarization of WG mode due to modal symmetry breaking caused by the presence of a nearby dielectric nano-particle, which would be useful in sensing molecule binding or attaching for bio-chemical applications. (C ©2010 Optical Society of Americ

Sleep’s Role in Schema Learning and Creative Insights

Purpose of Review A recent resurgence of interest in schema theory has influenced research on sleep-dependent memory consolidation and led to a new understanding of how schemata might be activated during sleep and play a role in the reorganisation of memories. This review aims to synthesise recent findings into a coherent narrative and draw overall conclusions. Recent Findings Rapid consolidation of schematic memories has been shown to benefit from an interval containing sleep. These memories have shown reduced reliance on the hippocampus following consolidation in both humans and rodents. Using a variety of methodologies, notably including the DRM paradigm, it has been shown that activation of a schema can increase the rate of false memory as a result of activation of semantic associates during slow wave sleep (SWS). Memories making use of a schema have shown increased activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, which may reflect both the schematic activation itself and a cognitive control component selecting an appropriate schema to use. SWS seems to be involved in assimilation of new memories within existing semantic frameworks and in making memories more explicit, while REM sleep may be more associated with creating entirely novel associations while keeping memories implicit. Summary Sleep plays an important role in schematic memory consolidation, with more rapid consolidation, reduced hippocampal involvement and increased prefrontal involvement as the key characteristics. Both SWS and REM sleep may have a role to play

Does incubation enhance problem solving? A meta-analytic review.

A meta-analytic review of empirical studies that have investigated incubation effects on problem solving is reported. Although some researchers have reported increased solution rates after an incubation period (i.e., a period of time in which a problem is set aside prior to further attempts to solve), others have failed to find effects. The analysis examined the contributions of moderators such as problem type, presence of solution-relevant or misleading cues, and lengths of preparation and incubation periods to incubation effect sizes. The authors identified a positive incubation effect, with divergent thinking tasks benefiting more than linguistic and visual insight tasks from incubation. Longer preparation periods gave a greater incubation effect, whereas filling an incubation period with high cognitive demand tasks gave a smaller incubation effect. Surprisingly, low cognitive demand tasks yielded a stronger incubation effect than did rest during an incubation period when solving linguistic insight problems. The existence of multiple types of incubation effect provides evidence for differential invocation of knowledge-based vs. strategic solution processes across different classes of problem, and it suggests that the conditions under which incubation can be used as a practical technique for enhancing problem solving must be designed with care

Sleep on it, but only if it is difficult: Effects of sleep on problem solving

Previous research has shown that performance on problem solving improves over a period of sleep compared to wakefulness. However, these studies have not determined whether sleep is beneficial for problem solving or whether sleep merely mitigates against interference due to an interruption to solution attempts. Sleep-dependent improvements have been described in terms of spreading-activation, which raises the prediction that an effect of sleep should be greater for problems requiring a broader solution search. We presented participants with a set of remote associates tasks that varied in difficulty as a function of the strength of the stimuli-answer associations. After a period of sleep, wake, or no-delay, participants reattempted previously unsolved problems. The sleep group solved more difficult problems than the other groups, but no difference was found for easy problems. We conclude that sleep facilitates problem solving, most likely via spreading activation, but this has its primary effect for harder problems

A Novel Field-Circuit FEM Modeling and Channel Gain Estimation for Galvanic Coupling Real IBC Measurements

Existing research on human channel modeling of galvanic coupling intra-body communication (IBC) is primarily focused on the human body itself. Although galvanic coupling IBC is less disturbed by external influences during signal transmission, there are inevitable factors in real measurement scenarios such as the parasitic impedance of electrodes, impedance matching of the transceiver, etc. which might lead to deviations between the human model and the in vivo measurements. This paper proposes a field-circuit finite element method (FEM) model of galvanic coupling IBC in a real measurement environment to estimate the human channel gain. First an anisotropic concentric cylinder model of the electric field intra-body communication for human limbs was developed based on the galvanic method. Then the electric field model was combined with several impedance elements, which were equivalent in terms of parasitic impedance of the electrodes, input and output impedance of the transceiver, establishing a field-circuit FEM model. The results indicated that a circuit module equivalent to external factors can be added to the field-circuit model, which makes this model more complete, and the estimations based on the proposed field-circuit are in better agreement with the corresponding measurement results