Self-heating in pulsed mode for signal quality improvement: application to carbon nanostructures-based sensors

Sensor signal instability and drift are still unresolved challenges in conductometric gas sensors. Here, the use of self-heating effect to operate a gas sensor in a pulsed temperature modulation mode (pulsed self-heating operation) is presented as an effective method to enhance signal stability and reduce consumption figures down to a few W. The sensor operation temperature was pulsed periodically between two levels, obtaining two different sensing states from one single device driven with self-heating, i.e. free of heater. The signal differences between both operating points correlated well with gas concentrations and displayed no drift. This methodology is exemplified with a thorough study of the response of carbon nanofibers to humidity. Specifically, after analyzing the influence of the pulse characteristics (i.e. temperature variation, pulse period and pulse duty cycle) on the sensor performance, thumb rules to select suitable pulsing conditions are provided. The methodology is successfully extended to other target gases, such as NO2 and NH3. Finally, its implementation in a real-time sensing system with low computational requirements is demonstrated and discussed in detail

Spectrally and spatially resolved cathodoluminescence of undoped/Mg-doped GaN core-shell nanowires: a local probe into activation of Mg acceptors in non-polar and semi-polar crystal faces

Producción CientíficaSpectrally and spatially resolved cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements were carried out at 80 K on undoped/Mg-doped GaN core-shell nanowires grown by selective area growth metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy in order to investigate locally the optical activity of the Mg dopants. A study of the luminescence emission distribution over the different regions of the nanowires is presented. We have investigated the CL fingerprints of the Mg incorporation into the non-polar lateral prismatic facets and the semi-polar facets of the pyramidal tips. The amount of Mg incorporation/activation was varied by using several Mg/Ga flow ratios and post-growth annealing treatments. For lower Mg/Ga flow ratios, the annealed nanowires clearly display a donor-acceptor pair band emission peaking at 3.26-3.27 eV and up to 4 LO phonon replicas, which can be considered as a reliable indicator of effective p-type Mg doping in the nanowire shell. For higher Mg/Ga flow ratios, a substantial enhancement of the yellow luminescence emission as well as several emission subbands are observed, which suggests an increase of disorder and the presence of defects as a consequence of the excess Mg doping,Junta de Castilla y León (programa de apoyo a proyectos de investigación – Ref. VA302U13

Self-heating effects in large arrangements of randomly oriented carbon nanofibers: Application to gas sensors

Herein, we prove that self-heating effects occur in sensor films made of randomly oriented nanoparticles (electro-sprayed, drop-casted and paint-brushed films of carbon nanofibers). A 2-point calibration method, reliable enough to overcome the lack of reproducibility of low cost fabrication methods, is also proposed. Self-heating operation makes possible reaching temperatures up to 250 °C with power consumptions in the range of tens of mW. For certain low-temperature applications (<100 °C) typical power consumptions are as low as tens of μW. The method is suitable to modulate the response towards gases, such as humidity, NH3 or NO2. This approach overcomes the complex fabrication requirements of previous self-heating investigations and opens the door to use this effect in cost-effective devices

A low-cost approach to low-power gas sensors based on self-heating effects in large arrays of nanostructures

The usual operation of a conductometric sensor device requires of an external energy source (i.e. an embedded heater). In the last years, the Joule effect in the sensing material, the so called self-heating effect, offered and alternative method to provide this energy: the probing current (or voltage) applied to measure the sensor signal also serves to heat up the sensor active film. Here, evidences of self-heating effects occurring on large arrays of nanostructures fabricated with low-cost methods are provided. The methodology is proven to be suitable to sense gases (humidity, NH3 and NO2) with low-powered heater-free devices

Highly Specific and Wide Range NO2 sensor with color readout

We present a simple and inexpensive method to implement a Griess-Saltzman-type reaction that combines the advantages of the liquid phase method (high specificity and fast response time) with the benefits of a solid implementation (easy to handle). We demonstrate that the measurements can be carried out using conventional RGB sensors; circumventing all the limitations around the measurement of the samples with spectrometers. We also present a method to optimize the measurement protocol and target a specific range of NO2 concentrations. We demonstrate that it is possible to measure the concentration of NO2 from 50 ppb to 300 ppm with high specificity and without modifying the Griess-Saltzman reagent

Biased sex ratios in Western Europe populations of little bustard (Tetrax tetrax) as a potential warning signal of unbalanced mortalities

Adult sex ratios (ASRs) have proved to correlate with population trends, which make them potential useful indicators of a species’ population trajectory and conservation status. We analysed ASRs and proportion of juveniles in flocks of an endangered steppe bird, the Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax, using surveys made during the non-breeding period in seven areas within its Western European range (one in Portugal, four in Spain, and two in France). We found overall male-biased ASRs, as all the seven surveyed areas showed a male-biased ASR mean value. Five areas were below the threshold median value (female sex ratio = 0.4) considered to be consistent with an increased probability of extinction, according to earlier population viability analyses for the species. We also found a significant positive correlation between female ratio and the proportion of young individuals in the non-breeding flocks surveyed. Our results (strongly male-biased ASRs) support the hypothesis that the viability of Little Bustard populations in Western Europe is threatened by an excess of female mortality, something that should be quantified in the future, and emphasise the value of monitoring sex ratio as a population viability indicator in species where monitoring survival is difficult to achieve.This paper is a contribution to the REMEDINAL 3 (S2013/MAE-2719) network which funded a post-doc contract for ESD. It also contributes to the Excellence Network REMEDINAL 3CM (S2013/ MAE2719), supported by Comunidad de Madrid. We thank all the field workers that collaborated in this study. Thanks to Ricardo Montero from Extremadura Birding who provided us with a Little Bustard winter flock video record. We are grateful to Julia Gómez-Catasús for her help with the bootstrapping analysis. This study was carried out with no funds from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation

Localized self-heating in large arrays of 1D nanostructures

One dimensional (1D) nanostructures offer a promising path towards highly efficient heating and temperature control in integrated microsystems. The so called self-heating effect can be used to modulate the response of solid state gas sensor devices. In this work, efficient self-heating was found to occur at random networks of nanostructured systems with similar power requirements to highly ordered systems (e.g. individual nanowires, where their thermal efficiency was attributed to the small dimensions of the objects). Infrared thermography and Raman spectroscopy were used to map the temperature profiles of films based on random arrangements of carbon nanofibers during self-heating. Both the techniques demonstrate consistently that heating concentrates in small regions, the here-called 'hot-spots'. On correlating dynamic temperature mapping with electrical measurements, we also observed that these minute hot-spots rule the resistance values observed macroscopically. A physical model of a random network of 1D resistors helped us to explain this observation. The model shows that, for a given random arrangement of 1D nanowires, current spreading through the network ends up defining a set of spots that dominate both the electrical resistance and power dissipation. Such highly localized heating explains the high power savings observed in larger nanostructured systems. This understanding opens a path to design highly efficient self-heating systems, based on random or pseudo-random distributions of 1D nanostructures

A Novel Intragenic Duplication in the HDAC8 Gene Underlying a Case of Cornelia de Lange Syndrome

Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS) is a multisystemic genetic disorder characterized by distinctive facial features, growth retardation, and intellectual disability, as well as various systemic conditions. It is caused by genetic variants in genes related to the cohesin complex. Single-nucleotide variations are the best-known genetic cause of CdLS; however, copy number variants (CNVs) clearly underlie a substantial proportion of cases of the syndrome. The NIPBL gene was thought to be the locus within which clinically relevant CNVs contributed to CdLS. However, in the last few years, pathogenic CNVs have been identified in other genes such as HDAC8, RAD21, and SMC1A. Here, we studied an affected girl presenting with a classic CdLS phenotype heterozygous for a de novo ~32 kbp intragenic duplication affecting exon 10 of HDAC8. Molecular analyses revealed an alteration in the physiological splicing that included a 96 bp insertion between exons 9 and 10 of the main transcript of HDAC8. The aberrant transcript was predicted to generate a truncated protein whose accessibility to the active center was restricted, showing reduced ease of substrate entry into the mutated enzyme. Lastly, we conclude that the duplication is responsible for the patient’s phenotype, highlighting the contribution of CNVs as a molecular cause underlying CdLS

Individual signatures and environmental factors shape skin microbiota in healthy dogs

The individual, together with its environment, has been reported as the main force driving composition and structure of skin microbiota in healthy dogs. Therefore, one of the major concerns when analyzing canine skin microbiota is the likely influence of the environment. Despite the dense fur covering, certain skin diseases exhibit differential prevalence among skin sites, dog breeds, and individuals. We have characterized the normal variability of dog skin microbiota in a well-controlled cohort of a large number of Golden-Labrador Retriever crossed dogs (N = 35) with similar ages, related genetic background, and a shared environment. We found that the individual drives the skin microbiota composition and structure followed by the skin site. The main bacterial classes inhabiting dog skin in this cohort are Gammaproteobacteria and Bacilli. We also detected bacteria associated to the environment on different dog skin sites that could be reflecting the different degrees of exposure of each skin site and each dog. Network analyses elucidated bacterial interactions within and between skin sites, especially in the chin, abdomen, axilla, and perianal region, with the highly shared interactions probably representing an anatomical, behavioral, or environmental component. When analyzing each skin site independently to assess host-specific factors, we found that temporality (season of birth and time spent in the kennel) affected all the skin sites and specially the inner pinna. The most abundant taxon driving this difference was Sphingomonas. We also found taxonomic differences among male and female dogs on the abdomen, axilla, and back. We observed a large inter-individual variability and differences among skin sites. Host-specific variables, such as temporality or sex, were also shaping skin microbiota of healthy dogs, even in an environmental homogenous cohort. The online version of this article (10.1186/s40168-017-0355-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users