Mobile sensing system for cycling power output control

This paper describes the development of a novel cycling effort control sys-tem that contributes to promote the users’ physical health and mobility. This system controls the motor assistance level of an electric bicycle in order to ensure that the cyclist’s power output remains inside the desired limits, regardless of changes in variables such as the speed of the bicycle or the slope of the terrain. The power output is monitored using a sensor device that provides raw torque and cadence data, whereas a smartphone application processes these data, implements the effort control algorithm and provides the user interface. Modules on the bicycle handle the data acquisition, wire-less communication with the smartphone and driving of the motor assis-tance level. Experimental results validate the effectiveness of the imple-mented power output control system.This work is supported by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) with the reference project UID/EEA/04436/2013, and by FEDER funds through the COMPETE 2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) with the reference project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006941

RF CMOS Wireless Implantable Microsystem for Sacral Roots Stimulation with On-Chip Antenna and Far-Field Wireless Powering

The use of heterogeneous integration technologies is the path for the development of further miniaturized, smarter, and energy autonomous microdevices, which are required to tackle the challenge of monitoring and/or control the health condition of everyone, everywhere. The interaction with human body requires the use of flexible materials, while the electronic component are based on rigid materials, like silicon substrates. Also, once inside the human body, it is desirable to have a wireless link for data communication, as well for RF powering, using energy harvesting techniques or dedicated powering RF links. This paper shows the design of an implantable microsystem to be used for functional electrical stimulation of sacral roots. The proposed system includes flexible electrodes, integrated with an RF CMOS chip, which is powered by a wireless link through an efficient on-chip antenna.This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (SFRH/BD/62608/2009), FCT-PTDC/EEI-TEL/2881/2012, Programa Operacional Temático Fatores de Competitividade (COMPETE) and Fundo Comunitário Europeu FEDER.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Effort control in cycling using electric bicycles and smartphones

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia de ComunicaçõesO principal objetivo desta dissertação visa o estudo, desenvolvimento e teste de um sistema de monitorização e controlo da resistência e do esforço no ciclismo com recurso a bicicletas elétricas e smartphones, em tempo real, com base em tecnologia sem fios e direcionado para transporte, desporto e lazer. Através desta monitorização e controlo de esforço torna-se possível disponibilizar as vantagens de controlo do esforço, que é característico de bicicletas estáticas, com o benefício da atividade física ao ar livre fornecido pelas bicicletas convencionais. Para a concretização deste sistema, foram instalados diversos módulos de hardware na bicicleta elétrica, integrados no sistema central de processamento da bicicleta, entre os quais sensores de torque e cadência e um módulo para comunicação sem fios Bluetooth. Utilizou-se ainda um smartphone Android para comunicação com a bicicleta elétrica. Conjuntamente, foram também desenvolvidos vários módulos de software para o sistema central de processamento da bicicleta, para o módulo Bluetooth e também para o smartphone. A aplicação desenvolvida para o smartphone implementa um algoritmo de controlo de esforço capaz de receber e interpretar os valores dos sensores, relativos ao desempenho físico do ciclista, e decidir qual o melhor nível de ajuda do motor, em tempo real, com base em perfis pré-definidos com diferentes tolerâncias de esforço admitidas pelo ciclista. Para que fosse possível verificar o correto comportamento de todo o sistema, foram realizados diversos testes, assentes em diferentes cenários. Os resultados obtidos indicam que o sistema desenvolvido permite reduzir as variações no esforço efetuado pelo ciclista ao longo do tempo seja por influência da cadência ou do torque, desde que a cadência tenha uma boa resolução relativamente ao comportamento que o ciclista está a realizar sobre a pedaleira e salvaguardando sempre que o período de amostragem dos valores dos sensores seja superior ao tempo necessário para aquisição dos valores dos sensores, processamento de dados e transmissão das tramas por parte da bicicleta elétrica para o smartphone, via Bluetooth, somado ao tempo para que este interprete os valores recebidos, processe qual o melhor nível de ajuda a aplicar ao motor elétrico e transmita a resposta para a bicicleta.The main goal of this thesis is to study, develop and test a system for monitoring and control of both the resistance and effort on cycling, in real-time, using electric bikes, smartphones and wireless technologies, for application in the areas of transportation, sports and leisure. Through this effort monitoring and control system, it is possible to combine the advantages of effort control which are characteristic of static bikes with the benefits of outdoor physical activity provided by conventional bikes. To implement this system, several hardware modules were installed in the electrical bike, integrated in the central processing system, including torque and cadence sensors and a Bluetooth wireless communication module. An Android smartphone was also used to communicate with the electrical bike. Several software components were also developed, for the bike’s central processing system, the Bluetooth module and the smartphone. The application developed for the smartphone implements an effort control algorithm which is able to receive and interpret the sensors values, regarding the cyclist’s performance, and decide which is the most adequate level of motor assistance, in real-time, based on pre-defined profiles with different effort tolerances allowed by the cyclist. In order to verify the correct behavior of the whole system, several tests were carried, based on different scenarios. The results show that the system allows to reduce the variations of the effort exerted by the cyclist effort over the time, either by influence of the cadence or the torque, as long as the cadence has a good resolution and that the sensors sampling period is higher than the time needed to acquire the sensors values, process them and transmit the data from the electric bike to the smartphone, through Bluetooth, added to the time needed for the smartphone to process the values received, in order to determine the best level of assistance to apply to the electrical motor, and to transmit the response to the bike

Tuning the Refractive Index Sensitivity of LSPR Transducers Based on Nanocomposite Thin Films Composed of Noble Metal Nanoparticles Dispersed in TiO₂

This work reports on the development of nanoplasmonic thin films consisting of Au, Ag, or Au-Ag nanoparticles dispersed in a TiO2 matrix and the optimization of the deposition parameters to tune their optical response. The thin films were produced by reactive DC magnetron sputtering of a Ti target with Au and/or Ag pellets placed on the erosion zone. The thicknesses (50 and 100 nm) of the films, the current density (75 and 100 A/m2) applied to the target (titanium), and the number of pellets placed on its surface were the deposition conditions that were used to tailor the optical (LSPR) response. The total noble metal content varied between 13 and 28 at.% for Au/TiO2 films, between 22 and 30 at.% for Ag/TiO2 films, and 8 to 29 at% for the Au-Ag/TiO2 systems with 1:1, 1:1.5, and 1:2 Au:Ag atomic ratios. After thermal annealing at 400 and 600 °C, LSPR bands were found for all films concerning the Au-TiO2 and Au-Ag/TiO2, while for Ag/TiO2, only for thin films with 28 and 30 at.% of Ag concentration. Refractive index sensitivity (RIS) was evaluated for Au and Au-Ag/TiO2 thin films. It was found that for bimetallic nanoparticles, the sensitivity can increase up to five times when compared to a monometallic nanoplasmonic system. Using Au-Ag/TiO2 thin films can decrease the cost of fabrication of LSPR transducers while improving their sensitivity

Thin films composed of Au nanoparticles embedded in AlN: Influence of metal concentration and thermal annealing on the LSPR band

Nanocomposite thin films, with noble nanoparticles dispersed in a dielectric matrix, are known to present unique optical properties. Based on the Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) phenomenon, these "nanoplasmonic" materials are the basis of a wide range of technological applications, namely (bio)molecular LSPR-sensors. They are regulated by the concentration, size, shape and distribution of the nanoparticles and dielectric environment properties. In this work, the possibility of using aluminium nitride (AlN) as a host dielectric matrix for LSPR films was evaluated. For this purpose, nanocomposite Au:AlN films were prepared by magnetron sputtering, followed by thermal annealing to promote the growth of the nanoparticles. Three sets of films were deposited with atomic Au concentrations of 2.2, 4.4 and 6.0 at.%. LSPR bands appeared from the temperature of 500 degrees C, with resonance positions of 520-540 nm. The films showed potential to be tested in LSPR-sensing applications due to their optical responses.- This work is financed by National Funds through FCT - Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology, in the framework of the project PTDC/FIS-NAN/1154/2014 (FCT Projet 9471-RIDTI Reforcar a Investigacao, o Desenvolvitnento Tecnologico e a Inovactio), co-financed by FEDER (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016902). This research was also sponsored by FCT in the framework of the Strategic Funding UID/FIS/04650/2013. The authors also acknowledge project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007679 (FCT Ref. UID/CTM/50011/2013), financed by national funds through the FCT/MEC and when appropriate co-financed by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement. Joel Borges acknowledges FCT for his Post-Doc Grant SFRH/BPD/117010/2016, Marco S. Rodrigues acknowledges his PhD-Grant from FCT, with reference SFRH/BD/118684/2016. The authors also acknowledge P. Pedrosa from Institut FEMTO-ST, Universite Bourgogne Franche-Comte, Besancon, France, for SEM analysis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network

International audienceThe shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved