Song et al [20] proposed an improved corona model with levels fo

Song et al. [20] proposed an improved corona model with levels for analyzing sensors with adjustable transmission ranges in WSNs with circular multi-hop deployment. They considered that the right transmission ranges of sensors in each corona is the decision factor for optimizing the network lifetime after nodes deployment. They also proved that searching optimal transmission ranges of sensors among all coronas is a multi-objective optimization problem, which is NP hard. Therefore, the authors proposed a centralized algorithm and a distributed algorithm for assigning the transmission ranges of sensors in each corona for different node distributions. The two algorithms can not only reduce the searching complexity but also obtain results approximated to the optimal solution.

Li and Mohapatra [11] developed a mathematical model to analyze the energy hole problem in a circular WSN and investigated the effect of several possible schemes that aim to mitigate the energy hole problem, such as deployment assistant, data compression and data aggregation. They assumed that nodes are uniformly and randomly distributed, and each node continuously generates constant bit rate data. Energy lost in data sensing, data transmission and reception is considered. The simulation results confirmed that hierarchical deployment, data aggragation and data compression can alleviate the energy hole problem, while under the same network diameter conditions, higher data rates will worsen the energy hole problem and higher node density cannot prolong the network lifetime.

Olariu and Stojmenovi? [12] were the first to study how to avoid the energy hole problem in WSNs. They investigated the theoretical aspects of uneven energy depletion problem in sink-based Carfilzomib WSNs with uniform node distribution and constant data reporting. They assumed an energy consumption model governed by E = d�� + c, where d is the transmission range and c is a positive constant parameter. They concluded that uneven energy depletion is intrinsic to the system and no routing strategy can avoid energy hole around the sink when �� = 2. For larger values of ��, the uneven energy consumption can be prevented by judicious system design and the energy consumption is suboptimally balanced across the network.

Lian et al. [13] proposed the SSEP-Non-uniform Sensor (SSEP-NS) distribution model and the SSEP-NS routing protocol to increase the network data capacity. The SSEP-
In the last years the employment of glucose oxidase (GOD) in glucose optical sensing has been largely investigated for clinical and GSK-3 industrial applications [1�C8].

s over lapped in two of the six studies varied dramatically Comp

s over lapped in two of the six studies varied dramatically. Comparative studies reveal commonly regulated and stage specifically regulated genes by HLB Despite our finding that only a small proportion of Pro besets are significantly regulated in any of two studies, we reasoned that those Probesets commonly regulated in all of the studies may rep resent either a common core pathway or default pathway in response to the Las infection. We first found a total of 13 Probesets that are commonly up regulated in all of the six studies, representing only 0. 4% of the HLB up regulated genes. However, the number of Probesets significantly regulated in any of five studies increased to 42.

It is possible that in the ab sence of the HLB bacterial challenge some of the HLB up regulated genes already had higher transcript levels in the relatively Cilengitide resistant germplasm US 897 compared to the relatively susceptible mandarin Cleopatra and thus they were not up regulated any more in US 897 in re sponse to the Las infection, however, they could be sig nificantly regulated in all other four studies. We did identify a total of eight Probesets for this type of expres sion pattern and consequently they were also added to the list of the HLB commonly regulated genes. Surprisingly, there was no Probeset commonly down regulated in all of the six studies and only one Probeset that is significantly down regulated in five stud ies. This Probeset, Cit. 18719. 1. S1 at, is annotated to en code a gene similar to Arabidopsis AT5G18600 encoded glutaredoxin family protein involved in cell redox homeostasis.

Gene Ontology analysis of the subset of 21 commonly up regulated Probesets indicates that metabolism, transport, hor mone responses and unknown processes are the largest groups. The three Probe sets representing the genes involved in hormone re sponse indicate that gibberelic acid, abscisic acid, auxin, ethylene and jasmonic acid may have certain role in mediating the citrus response to HLB. Interestingly, three Probesets belonging to the category of unknown process might also be involved in ethylene response as they exhibit the high est homology to genes that are associated with ethylene response using the manual BLAST search. In addition, there is a transcription factor gene represented by the Probeset, Cit. 12214. 1. S1 s at and another putative RAP2.

4 like ethylene transcription factor repre sented by Cit. 3534. 1. S1 s at. Taken together, the exist ence of these commonly up regulated genes strongly indicates that metabolism, transport, hormone response and transcriptional regulation play a critical role and may define the default or basal pathways in citrus dur ing the whole process of the Las infection. In contrast to the commonly regulated genes in HLB response, we found various numbers of stage specifically regulated genes as this group of genes were only regu lated at a particular stage. There are 27 and 7 Probesets that are respectively up regulated and down regulated o

proteins as well as altered matri protein synthe sis This overal

proteins as well as altered matri protein synthe sis. This overall catabolic shift leads to changes in the tis sue structure that have been e tensively described in the literature. Although large structural changes can be observed during degeneration, this age related process does not necessarily cause pain symptoms. There is certain evidence in the literature that in a subgroup of patients, painful disc degeneration is characterized by increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines, e. g. interleukin 1B, interleukin 6, interleukin 8 and tumor necrosis factor. Although proinflammatory med iators seem to play a crucial role in intervertebral disc diseases, little is known about inflammatory pathways in intervertebral disc cells.

Results from studies on the pathogenesis of cartilage degeneration indicate that proinflammatory processes are mostly regulated by the transcription factor NF ��B, whose activity is tightly AV-951 regulated in vivo, e. g. by ac tivation of the so called Toll like receptors. Another important inflammatory pathway is the MAP kinase pathway that consists of a family of pro tein kinases with the major members being p38, ERK and JNK. Due to the lack of knowledge con cerning the molecular events underlying discogenic back pain, treatment of painful disc disease is cur rently limited, with typical options for the patient being conservative treatment and oral pain medication, both of which often only have a temporary effect. Other options are various types of surgical interventions, but these lead to high risks for the patients and high costs for the health care systems.

Therefore, research in the most recent past has concentrated on the development of minimal in vasive, yet effective new treatment options, covering approaches from cell and gene therapy to anti inflammatory substances for intradiscal injection. Currently, corticosteroidal substances are frequently used, which are known to have a significant risk for side effects and may cause disc space infections. Although research on biodrugs with regard to spinal diseases is yet rare, these novel anti inflammatory candidates could potentially benefit patients with dis cogenic back pain. Curcuma is a per ennial herb that is cultivated in Asian countries. As a powder, it has not only been used for cooking for centur ies, but also as a drug in the traditional Chinese and Indian medicine, treating e.

g. diabetic wounds, hepatic disorders, rheumatism and sinusitis. Numerous pub lications demonstrated an anti inflammatory effect of curcuma, with its effect probably being related to a class of substances called curcuminoids. Based on a thorough literature review, we hypothesize that curcuma has the potential to interfere with catabolic and inflammatory pathways. Hence, the aim of this study was to analyze the effects of curcuma e tracts as well as of one selected component of curcuma on IL 1B mediated cellular responses of human intervertebral disc cells in vitro. Additionally, its mechanism o

For example, the topology of the carotid artery area is flat, whe

For example, the topology of the carotid artery area is flat, whereas the finger is curved. The PZT-based tactile sensors fabricated using the novel sol-gel process on a flexible stainless steel substrate can be used as rugged human pulse sensors with high performance. Future work application, the PZT thin film tactile sensor on stainless steel substrate and can be applied the structure health monitoring such as the bridge [31] or engineering structure [32]. In addition, the flexible PZT tactile sensor to apply energy harvesting [33], large area tactile sensors array [34], robot hard [5], touch sensor [35], pressure sensor [36] and fingerprint [37].2.?Experimental Section2.1. Solution Based Process for PZT Thin Film FormationDuring the sol-gel deposition process, the PZT solution was spun on the stainless steel substrate.

Two chemical reactions were performed during the sol-gel process, including hydrolysis and condensation reactions. The chemical reaction equations [38] of the hydrolysis reactions are shown in Equation (1), whereas the chemical reaction equations of the condensation reactions are shown in Equations (2) and (3):M(OR)+H2O��M(OH)+ROH(1)M(OH)+M(OH)��M?O?M+H2O(2)M(OH)+M(OR)��M?O?M+ROH(3)The PZT solution used to prepare the PZT thin-film in the sol-gel process consisted of lead acetate, zirconium n-prop-oxide, and titanium iso-propoxide, and the molar ratio of these compounds was 1.1:0.52:0.48. Organic solvents, such as acetic acid, lactic acid, glycerol, and ethylene glycol can be added to the mixed powders to prepare the PZT mixing solution.

The preparation Entinostat steps of the PZT mixing solution are shown in Figure 1. First, Solution A was prepared by mixing the zirconium n-prop-oxide and titanium iso-propoxideat at room temperature for 30 min. Second, Solution B was prepared by mixing lead acetate and acetic acid at 110 ��C for 5 min. Next, Solution A was mixed with Solution B for 15 min. The mixture of Solutions A and B was subsequently mixed with DI water for 15 min, followed by mixing with lactic acid for 15 min and glycerol/ethylene glycol for 15 min to obtain the final solution with a concentration of 1. 9 M.Figure 1.Preparation process of PZT solution Device.2.2. Device FabricationThe 100 ��m-thick stainless steel substrate for the tactile sensor was cleaned using ultrasound in acetone, isopropyl alcohol, and DI water for 10 min. Next, the PZT sol-gel was spin-coated on the stainless steel substrate followed by the pyrolysis processes at temperatures of 150 ��C and 500 ��C for 10 min and 5 min, respectively. After the pyrolysis process, the thin-film was annealed at 650 ��C for 10 min.

Heating up the four quadrants by applying an equal constant elect

Heating up the four quadrants by applying an equal constant electrical power to each quadrant, a circular symmetric temperature distribution is formed. When a flow passes through the sensor, the temperature field will be deflected in the flow direction and generates the temperature differences among the four quadrants. The simulated results using ANSYS FLUENT under a flow with different direction angles are shown in Figure 4.2.3. Sensitive Element and FabricationThe elements of the sensor are fabricated using a simple lift-off micromachining process shown in Figure 5. A 400��m thick polished glass wafer is used as substrate. The process starts with sputtering Ti/Au film (100 nm), which is then patterned to form the wire elements using photolithography.

Gold is selected as the material of the sensor elements because it has good thermoelectricity and conductivity for realizing the integration of the sensor elements, electric wires and pads. Afterwards the four element wires are electrically connected to the external electrical circuit via wire bonding; herein only five pads are needed for the sensor (the central pad is a shared ground of the four elements). Finally, a parylene film (10 nm) is deposited on the wafer and served as an encapsulation.Figure 5.Diagram of the fabrication process of the sensor prototype.The temperature coefficients of resistance (TCR) of the fabricated sensing elements are tested to be about 2,000 ppm/K, and the resistances of the elements are around 35 ��.2.4. Conditioning CircuitThe sensor is operated in constant temperature difference (CTD) modes with a built-in temperature compensation.

The CTD mode takes merits of the high sensitivity and fast dynamic response. The temperature compensation is realized by putting a temperature sensor (e.g., Pt100) into the resistor AV-951 bridge circuit of the anemometer and adopting a balance design to figure out the resistors of the bridge for implementing temperature compensation [26]. In CTD mode, a feedback is employed to maintain a constant temperature difference between the element and ambient fluid for the thermal flow sensor. Scheme of CTD mode conditioning circuits for operating the flow vector sensor is shown in Figure 6. It consists of four CTD units sharing a common ground (the central pad sho
Oligonucleotide microarrays represent one of the most widely used methods for the characterization of transcript level changes induced by various physical or chemical factors.

Despite a wide range of possibilities which allow identification of candidate genes responsible for the observed regulatory events, microarrays require complex statistical methods in order to distinguish changes induced the by experimental factors analyzed, from those which originate from method specificity and measurement inaccuracy.

The required number of detected stars, which we denote as Nmin, v

The required number of detected stars, which we denote as Nmin, varies depending on the operating mode of the star tracker and the performance of the matching algorithm. If no previous attitude information is known, at least three stars are required to solve the lost-in-space (LIS) problem using star tracker measurements. This limit of three stars stems not from the solution for attitude using vector observations, which only requires two stars [7,8], but from the identification of stars within an image [9]. If only two stars are detected in an image, typically not enough information is known to identify one star from another. Therefore, at least one additional star is required.This lower bound of Nmin = 3 represents the most optimistic case, which implies the matching algorithm can correctly identify each star based on the respective three-star pattern.

Due to pattern ambiguity in the star catalog, this lower bound is commonly increased to Nmin = 4, which is a more conservative representation of matching performance. Once the attitude of the spacecraft is known, the star tracker can switch into a tracking mode. In this mode, only two stars are generally required in each image to determine the incremental change in attitude between sequential images (Nmin = 2). For this study, we assume that pattern ambiguity is not a limiting factor and define the availability of an attitude solution by Nmin = 3. One problem with this definition is that it conflates stochastic effects (star detection) with non-stochastic effects (star distribution, slew rates, tracking modes, etc.

) and, therefore, is difficult to quantify over a range of operating conditions.Throughout the design and development process of a star tracker, several different models are used to predict the availability performance of the sensor. The lowest fidelity models generally assume idealized (static) imaging conditions and are useful for examining the top level performance of candidate optical systems [1,4]. These models are typically based on a fixed stellar detection threshold, mt, which is used in conjunction with the sensor field of view (FOV) to determine the number of detectable stars for a given sensor orientation. Repeating this calculation over a large number of orientations, equally spaced across the celestial sphere, yields an idealized measure of star tracker availability.

The fixed mt is typically defined by a minimum SNR set by the noise of the image detector and the size of the sensor’s point spread function (PSF). This type of model is summarized by the first row of Figure 1.Figure 1.Commonly used types Anacetrapib of availability testing.A step up from the lowest fidelity are various models that explicitly include the effects of slew rate. These models utilize a dynamic stellar detection threshold that is based on the slew rate, mt = f (��), and a minimum star SNR [10,11].

Direct detection of Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B Polyclon

Direct detection of Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B. Polyclonal anti-SEB antibodies were immobilized on the sensing channel, while anti-dinitrophenol antibodies were immobilized on the reference channel. T
In many remote sensing applications that require both high spatial and high spectral resolution, such as urban mapping, vegetation identification and land use classification, high resolution panchromatic images (HRPIs) and low resolution multispectral images (LRMIs) are fused using fusion methods to produce high resolution multispectral images (HRMIs), not only to increase the ability of humans to interpret the image dataset, but also for improving the accuracy of the classification [1].Many image fusion methods have been proposed [1�C3].

Initial methods mainly focused on intensity modulation for sharpening the LRMI by means of an HRPI. These methods provide good visual HRMIs, while overlooking the requirement of the high quality synthesis of spectral content which is very important for most remote sensing applications based on spectral signatures, such as soil and lithology [4]. Another family of methods, such as high pass filtering (HPF) [5] and gradient pyramid [6], yields HRMIs with much less spectral distortion by injecting high frequency information from the HRPI into the LRMI. However, it is not until the introduction of methods based on multiresolution analysis that HRMI achieved artistic results [7]. Conventional image fusion approaches based on �� trous wavelet transform (AWT) [8] implement multiresoltuion decomposition on the HRPI, and then the HRMI can be recovered by performing the inverse AWT (IAWT) from the LRMI and the wavelet planes of the HRPI.

However, wavelet based fusion methods do not consider the differences in high frequency information between the HRPI and the LRMIs [9].The Intensity Hue Saturation (IHS) method can quickly merge massive volumes of data by requiring only resampled LRMIs aside from its high spatial enhancement capability [10]. Its concept is based on the representation of the LRMIs in the IHS system, and then substituting the low resolution intensity component (LRIC) with the HRPI. The inverse IHS transformation allows one to produce the HRMIs. However, the use of such a method for multisensor image fusion often leads to important modifications of the spectral properties of the LRMIs.

This is due to the fact that all Anacetrapib details contained in the HRPI are directly substituted to the LRIC [10].A more appropriate use of the IHS method should rather consist of fusing the LRIC with the HRPI through image processing techniques to produce one high resolution intensity component (HRIC). For this purpose, empirical mode decomposition (EMD) is introduced into the fusion of the LRIC with the HRPI. The EMD is a recent method for analyzing nonlinear and nonstationary data, developed by Huang et al. [11].

The transfer matrix method [22�C24] is much more complicated alth

The transfer matrix method [22�C24] is much more complicated although it has a more accurate solution. In this work, the amount of absorbed gas is tiny, the solution of Wohltjen’s method, which is based the perturbation theory, has enough accuracy; therefore, Wohltjen’s method is adopted due to its simple expression. We assume that the absorbed gas forms an isotropic, non-piezoelectric, non-conducting layer with a thickness of h, a density of �� on the SAW detector surface. The change in oscillation frequency can be described by [18]:��f=(k1+k2)f02��h?k2f02��h4�̦�02(��+�̦�+2��)(1)where k1 and k2 are the coupling constants determined by the different displacement components of SAW in the substrate; f0 is the unperturbed oscillating frequency of the SAW oscillator, which is determined by the propagation velocity of SAW and the period of the IDTs fabricated on the surface of the piezoelectric substrate; �� and �� are the shear modulus and Lame constant of the layer; ��0 is the unperturbed velocity of SAW in the piezoelectric substrate.

The first term in Equation (1) represents the frequency change caused by mass loading and the second term depends on the acoustic wave coupled into the layer. Because the layer formed by adsorbed gas is very thin, it can be seen as a simple mass load attached to the surface of the SAW device. Thus Equation (1) can be simplified as:��f=(k1+k2)f02��(2)where �� = ��h is the areal density of the layer formed by the adsorbed gas. Equation (2) means that the sensor output is proportional to the quantity of the mass loaded on the surface of a SAW device, and it is the theoretical basis for the detection of SAW sensors.

2.2. Adsorption Mechanism of Gas on the Surface of SolidsDue to intermolecular forces or chemical bonding force, when a gas contacts with the surface of a solid, part of the gas molecules will stay on the solid surface for some time. This phenomenon is called adsorption. The adsorption generated by the intermolecular force is a physical AV-951 adsorption; the adsorption generated by chemical bonding force is a chemical adsorption. During the process of chemical adsorptions, chemical reactions will produce new molecules from the molecules of absorbed gas and the molecules in the solid surface, which means that the absorbed gas will be changed into a new material. Since chemical bonds are much stronger than molecular diffusions, chemical adsorptions are almost irreversible at room temperature and pressure, which means that no desorption will happen when the gas leaves. Thus, the sensor based on chemical adsorption is unrepeatable. Most of SAW gas sensors are required to be repeatable, so the adsorption is a physical one.

Therefore, planar calibration objects are preferred in computer v

Therefore, planar calibration objects are preferred in computer vision applications [8]. Planar calibration objects and projective constraints can be used for calibration of parametric and nonparametric distortions of a camera system [9]. The camera calibration problem for planar robotic manipulators through visual servoing under a fixed-camera configuration has been investigated in [10].Dual images of spheres and the dual image of the absolute conic have been used for solving the problem of camera calibration from spheres in [11]. The mirror-symmetric objects have been used for camera calibration in [12]. An accurate calibration procedure has been introduced for fish-eye lenses in [13]. The calibration of a projector-camera system by estimating the homography has been investigated in [14].

Online calibration methods have been used in virtual reality applications in [15]. A dynamic calibration method for multiple cameras has been investigated in [16]. Due to the noise-influenced image coordinates, most of the existing camera calibration techniques are unsuccessful aspects of robustness and accuracy.The artificial neural networks (ANNs) can mimic the transformation between the image plane and the global coordinate system. By using ANNs, it becomes unnecessary to know both the physical parameters and the geometrical parameters of the imaging systems for 3D perception of objects from their 2D images. ANNs have been intensively used for camera calibration in some recently introduced methods [17, 18, 19]. A planar pattern has been observed at different rotations for setting training and test data sets of the ANN used.

The rotation value of the planar pattern has been acquired by using an Xsens MTi-9 inertial sensor [20, 21]. Dacomitinib With the proposed method, the 3D global coordinates of object points have been predicted from their 2D corresponding image coordinates.The Xsens MTi-9 sensor is a miniaturized, gyro-based Attitude and Heading Reference System whose internal signal processor provides drift-error free 3D acceleration, 3D orientation, and 3D earth-magnetic field data. The drift-error growing nature of inertial systems limits the accuracy of inertial measurement devices. Inertial sensors can supply reliable measurements only for small time intervals. The inertial sensors have been used in some recent research for stabilization and control of digital cameras, calibration patterns and other equipment [22, 23].The Modified Direct Linear Transformation (MDLT) is one of the commonly used camera calibration methods in computational vision applications for 2D and 3D object reconstruction [24]. The success of the proposed method has been evaluated by comparing the test results of the proposed method and MDLT method.

Previous authors have referred to this juxtaposition as: ��Apple

Previous authors have referred to this juxtaposition as: ��Apples are compared to oranges.�� [3]. The reasons for this are partly because pHe measurement uses the same secondary measuring equipment (the glass pH electrode) and the same aqueous buffer solutions for calibration as its aqueous counterpart, but without a detailed understanding of the measurement being made [8], or with the traceability to the SI [9] that is available for aqueous pH measurements [10]. The result of this situation is that the numerical value produced by pHe measurements are dependent on the standard method used, and the type of glass electrode employed.

To a certain extent, therefore, the presence of a detailed documentary standard method such as ASTM D6423 should provide measurements results with some limited stability and comparability (if not traceability or coherence) [11].

However a detailed investigation into the sensitivities of method to slight variations in key parameters such as measurement time, stirring rate, temperature, etc., has never been undertaken. This paper presents data describing empirically determined sensitivities of the current ASTM D6423 method, additionally allowing a more robust estimate of uncertainty of the procedures to be made, and furthermore makes suggestions to improve the reproducibility and repeatability of the standard method which might be considered during any future revision.

The authors Carfilzomib are not aware of any existing relevant literature examining the ASTM D6423 method, although discussion of the basis and issues surrounding for pH determination in non-aqueous solution [12] is available [13] and guidelines for non-aqueous pH measurement [14] have been published [15], although in general these do not deal with mixtures of ethanol mass fraction close to 1 [16].2.?Experimental SectionAll experimentation was conducted in a laboratory at 20 �� 2 ��C. All chemicals used were of high-purity grade (Fisher), buffers were of high accuracy (Fisher) and solution were prepared gravimetrically throughout using deionised water (Millipore, MilliQ). Borosilicate glass vessels were used throughout.

Prior to use these were Brefeldin_A thoroughly cleaned and washed and then rinsed with deionised water, before being filled with deionised water and left to stand for 48 hours to leach any remaining impurities adhered to the glass. The vessels were then rinsed again with deionised water and dried in an oven at 120 ��C. When required, temperature control was exerted by placing the measurement vessels in a thermostatic water bath. Measurements were made based on the procedure described in the standard method ASTM D6423 [7].