Arc magmatism as a window to plate kinematics and subduction polarity: Example from the eastern Pontides belt, NE Turkey

AbstractThe Eastern Pontides orogenic belt in the Black Sea region of Turkey offers a critical window to plate kinematics and subduction polarity during the closure of the Paleotethys. Here we provide a brief synthesis on recent information from this belt. We infer a southward subduction for the origin of the Eastern Pontides orogenic belt and its associated late Mesozoic–Cenozoic magmatism based on clear spatial and temporal variations in Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic arc magmatism, together with the existence of a prominent south-dipping reverse fault system along the entire southern coast of the Black Sea. Our model is at variance with some recent proposals favoring a northward subduction polarity, and illustrates the importance of arc magmatism in evaluating the geodynamic milieu associated with convergent margin processes

Electrical impedance tomography system: an open access circuit design

BACKGROUND: This paper reports a simple 2-D system for electrical impedance tomography EIT, which works efficiently and is low cost. The system has been developed in the Sharif University of Technology Tehran-Iran (for the author's MSc Project). METHODS: The EIT system consists of a PC in which an I/O card is installed with an external current generator, a multiplexer, a power supply and a phantom with an array of electrodes. The measurement system provides 12-bit accuracy and hence, suitable data acquisition software has been prepared accordingly. The synchronous phase detection method has been implemented for voltage measurement. Different methods of image reconstruction have been used with this instrument to generate electrical conductivity images. RESULTS: The results of simulation and real measurement of the system are presented. The reconstruction programs were written in MATLAB and the data acquisition software in C++. The system has been tested with both static and dynamic mode in a 2-D domain. Better results have been produced in the dynamic mode of operation, due to the cancellation of errors. CONCLUSION: In the spirit of open access publication the design details of this simple EIT system are made available here

Factor graph based detection approach for high-mobility OFDM systems with large FFT modes

In this article, a novel detector design is proposed for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems over frequency selective and time varying channels. Namely, we focus on systems with large OFDM symbol lengths where design and complexity constraints have to be taken into account and many of the existing ICI reduction techniques can not be applied. We propose a factor graph (FG) based approach for maximum a posteriori (MAP) symbol detection which exploits the frequency diversity introduced by the ICI in the OFDM symbol. The proposed algorithm provides high diversity orders allowing to outperform the free-ICI performance in high-mobility scenarios with an inherent parallel structure suitable for large OFDM block sizes. The performance of the mentioned near-optimal detection strategy is analyzed over a general bit-interleaved coded modulation (BICM) system applying low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes. The inclusion of pilot symbols is also considered in order to analyze how they assist the detection process

A high-performance 8 nV/root Hz 8-channel wearable and wireless system for real-time monitoring of bioelectrical signals

Background: It is widely accepted by the scientific community that bioelectrical signals, which can be used for the identification of neurophysiological biomarkers indicative of a diseased or pathological state, could direct patient treatment towards more effective therapeutic strategies. However, the design and realisation of an instrument that can precisely record weak bioelectrical signals in the presence of strong interference stemming from a noisy clinical environment is one of the most difficult challenges associated with the strategy of monitoring bioelectrical signals for diagnostic purposes. Moreover, since patients often have to cope with the problem of limited mobility being connected to bulky and mains-powered instruments, there is a growing demand for small-sized, high-performance and ambulatory biopotential acquisition systems in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and in High-dependency wards. Finally, to the best of our knowledge, there are no commercial, small, battery-powered, wearable and wireless recording-only instruments that claim the capability of recording electrocorticographic (ECoG) signals. Methods: To address this problem, we designed and developed a low-noise (8 nV/√Hz), eight-channel, battery-powered, wearable and wireless instrument (55 × 80 mm2). The performance of the realised instrument was assessed by conducting both ex vivo and in vivo experiments. Results: To provide ex vivo proof-of-function, a wide variety of high-quality bioelectrical signal recordings are reported, including electroencephalographic (EEG), electromyographic (EMG), electrocardiographic (ECG), acceleration signals, and muscle fasciculations. Low-noise in vivo recordings of weak local field potentials (LFPs), which were wirelessly acquired in real time using segmented deep brain stimulation (DBS) electrodes implanted in the thalamus of a non-human primate, are also presented. Conclusions: The combination of desirable features and capabilities of this instrument, namely its small size (~one business card), its enhanced recording capabilities, its increased processing capabilities, its manufacturability (since it was designed using discrete off-the-shelf components), the wide bandwidth it offers (0.5 – 500 Hz) and the plurality of bioelectrical signals it can precisely record, render it a versatile and reliable tool to be utilized in a wide range of applications and environments