A 2 MHz Wireless CMOS Transceiver for Implantable Biosignal Sensing Systems

An implementation of an implantable sensing biosystem composes of a readout circuit, a power management block, an embedded microcontroller unit (MCU), an implantable drug delivery section and a wireless uplink transceiver system. This paper describes a bi-directional wireless transceiver system for implantable sensing systems. The transceiver system is composed of an external and implantable transceiver, communicating through an inductive link. Half duplex communication between transceivers at a 10 Kbps data rate was achieved at a maximum distance of 4 cm. Command and data will be supplied to the implantable module by radio frequency (RF) telemetry utilizing an amplitude shift keying (ASK) modulated 2 MHz carrier frequency. A capacitor-less amplitude demodulation receiver architecture was produced in the research with implantable receiver core area measuring at 113.2 μm by 171.8 μm with average power dissipation at 815.1 μW at a 3.3 V single rail power supply. An active uplink transceiver utilizing load shift keying (LSK) as backward data telemetry was designed. Implantable transmitter core area measures 251.7 μm by 139.3 μm, consuming 103.62 mW while driving an RF ferrite core antenna at maximum reading range. Integrating both circuits, implantable transceiver, measuring 355.3 μm by 171.8 μm, was designed and implemented using TSMC 0.35 μm mixed-signal 2P4M 3.3 V standard CMOS process. The integrated circuit solution addressed solutions for many of the problems associated with implanted devices and introduces circuits which improve in several ways over previously published designs, in functionality and integration level. In addition to being fully integrated in plain CMOS technology, not relying at least partly on available specialized elements and expensive technologies, these building blocks improve on previous designs in performance and/or power consumption. This work succeeded in implementing building blocks for an implantable transceiver, which depends only on the absolute minimum off-chip components. A complete implantable chip is presented, which highlight the design tradeoffs and optimizations applied to the design of CMOS implantable system chips.     

Development and validation of gas chromatography and real‐time quantitative PCR for the quantification of landscape‐scale gene flow from varieties of high erucic acid (HEAR) oilseed rape

BACKGROUND: High erucic acid oilseed rape (HEAR) was tested as a source crop for estimates of regional geneflow. Two methods to detect HEAR in low erucic acid oilseed rape (LEAR) were compared: real‐time quantitative PCR (qPCR) and gas chromatography (GC). RESULTS: Fields (2.5 ha) of a LEAR variety (0.028% EA) in Tayside and Hertfordshire were juxtaposed adjacent to and 1 km distant from a HEAR (44% EA) field. The LEAR variety was a varietal association to ensure high cross‐pollination (CP). The methods were highly correlated, measuring between 30% and 0.5% CP. However, the qPCR method became unreliable below 0.5% CP, whereas GC was robust enough to detect raised EA equivalent to one F1 seed in 500 (0.2%). A statistical mixture model was fitted to the distributions of EA in samples in order to assign a CP value to each 500‐seed sample. Declines of CP from 30% to < 1%, and EA from 5% to 0.2%, with distance up to 150 m in the near fields was best fitted with a power function. The combined mean EA for both far fields was 0.11%, well above the background LEAR value of 0.028%, and mean CP was 0.36%. CONCLUSIONS: The GC method of detection raised %EA should be a reliable and high‐throughput means of estimating %CP between fields, provided the %EA of single F1 seed in receptor fields is measured to confirm the presence of F1 seed. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Electrochemical, structural and surface characterization of nickel/zirconia solid oxide fuel cell anodes in coal gas containing antimony

The interactions of antimony with the nickel-zirconia anode in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have been investigated. Tests with both anode-supported and electrolyte-supported button cells were performed at 700 and 800 °C in synthetic coal gas containing 100 ppb to 9 ppm antimony. Minor performance loss was observed immediately after Sb introduction to coal gas resulting in ca. 5% power output drop. While no further degradation was observed during the following several hundred hours of testing, cells abruptly and irreversibly failed after 800-1600 h depending on Sb concentration and test temperature. Antimony was found to interact strongly with nickel resulting in extensive alteration phase formation, consistent with expectations based on thermodynamic properties. Nickel antimonide phases, NiSb and Ni₅Sb₂, were partially coalesced into large grains and eventually affected electronic percolation through the anode support. Initial degradation was attributed to diffusion of antimony to the active anode/electrolyte interface to form an adsorption layer, while the late stage degradation was due the Ni-Sb phase formation. Assuming an average Sb concentration in coal gas of 0.07 ppmv, a 500 μm thick Ni/zirconia anode-supported cell is not expected to fail within 7 years when operated at a power output of 0.5 W cm⁻² and fuel utilization above 50%.     

A new method to develop typical weather years in different climates for building energy use studies

Principal component analysis of 30-year long-term meteorological variables was conducted. Typical principal component years (TPCYs) were determined for Harbin, Beijing, Shanghai, Kunming and Hong Kong representing the five major architectural climates across China: severe cold, cold, hot summer and cold winter, mild, and hot summer and warm winter. In each climate zone, the TPCY was compared with the 30 individual years and the widely used typical meteorological year (TMY). The monthly principal component and the predicted total building energy consumption based on the TPCY and TMY were very close to the 30-year long-term mean estimation. TPCY for the 21st century in each of the five cities was also identified using predictions from general climate models. The TPCY approach is a good alternative to the TMY method. Firstly, predicted building energy use from TPCY is closer to the long-term estimation than that from the TMY in different climates. Secondly, because only monthly data are considered, the development of TPCY is much simpler and less time-consuming. This would have important applications in the regular updating of typical weather years for building energy studies and in the assessment of the impact of climate change on energy use in the built environment.     

Effective Repair for Corrosion Control Using FRP Wraps

This paper presents results from a multiyear study to evaluate the role of prewrap substrate preparation on corrosion mitigation in a marine environment. Seventeen one-third scale prestressed piles were corroded to 20% metal loss to simulate severe corrosion. Subsequently, two types of prewrap substrate preparation were carried out: (1) full repair in which the delaminated concrete was removed and the section reformed and (2) epoxy injection repair in which the cracks were sealed and the surface cleaned. Specimens were then wrapped using carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) and exposed to simulated tidal cycles at 60°C for 28 months. The postexposure wrap performance was evaluated from gravimetric testing in which the metal loss in all specimens was measured. Results showed that the performance of the full repair and the epoxy injection were comparable with relatively minor increased steel loss despite the severity of the exposure. In contrast, the steel in unwrapped controls exposed to the same environment was totally corroded in several regions. The findings provide compelling evidence that epoxy sealing of cracks followed by FRP wrapping is effective even when corrosion damage is severe.     

Comparison of the crushing performance of hollow and foam-filled small-scale composite tubes with different geometrical shapes for use in sacrificial cladding structures

This paper presents the quasi-static crushing performance of nine different geometrical shapes of small-scale glass/polyester composite tubes filled with polyurethane closed-cell foam for use in sacrificial cladding structures. The effect of polyurethane foam on the crushing characteristics and the corresponding energy absorption is addressed for each geometrical shape of the composite tube. Composite tubes with two different thicknesses (1 mm and 2 mm) have been considered to study the influence of polyurethane foam on the crushing performance. From the present study, it was found that the presence of polyurethane foam inside the composite tubes suppressed the circumferential delamination process and fibre fracturing; consequently, it reduced the specific energy absorption of composite tubes. Furthermore, the polyurethane foam attributed to a higher peak crush load for each composite tube. However, the presence of polyurethane foam inside the composite tubes significantly increased the stability of the crushing phenomena especially for the square and hexagonal cross-sectional composite tubes with 1 mm wall thickness. The results from this study are compared with our previous results for composite tubes without polyurethane foam [1].     

5-Ethynyluridine: A Bio-orthogonal Uridine Variant for mRNA-Based Therapies and Vaccines

The identification of pseudo- and N¹-methylpseudo-uridine (Ψ and mΨ, respectively) as immunosilent uridine analogues has propelled the development of mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics. Here, we have characterised another uridine analogue, 5-ethynyluridine (EU), which has an ethynyl moiety. We show that this uridine analogue does not cause immune activation in human macrophages, as it does not induce interleukin-6 secretion or expression of the inflammatory and antiviral genes MX1, PKR, and TAP2. Moreover, EU allows for prolonged expression, as shown with mRNA coding for yellow fluorescent protein (YFP). Side-by-side comparisons of EU with unmodified, Ψ, and mΨ revealed that EU-modified mRNA is expressed at lower levels, but confers similar stability and low immunogenicity to the other uridine analogues. Furthermore, structure analysis of modified mRNAs suggests that the observed phenotype is largely independent of RNA folding. Thus, EU is a potential candidate for RNA-based vaccines and therapeutics.     

Das Magnitude 8.8 Maule (Chile)‐Erdbeben vom 27. Februar 2010 — Ingenieuranalyse der Tsunamischäden,Teil 2

Das Maule (Chile)‐Erdbeben vom 27. Februar 2010 gehört zu den stärksten, weltweit jemals registrierten Erdbeben. Das seismische Ereignis löste einen Tsunami aus, der durch mehrere Wellenfronten verheerende Schäden an der Küste Chiles verursachte. Ereignisspezifische Besonderheiten aus der überlagerung der Effekte aus Erdbeben und darauffolgenden Flutwellen (Tsunami) waren Motivation, im Rahmen einer Erkundungsmission der Ingenieurgruppe der Deutschen Task Force im betroffenen Gebiet die Bauwerksschäden aufzunehmen und ihre regionale Verteilung zu dokumentieren. Der Beitrag vermittelt einen Eindruck von den durch den Tsunami bedingten Schäden; es wird der Versuch unternommen, das Verhalten der typischen Bauweisen unter den zeitlich sequentiell auftretenden extremen Einwirkungen aufzuzeigen. Die Auswertungen schließen an die Ingenieuranalyse der Erdbebenschäden an, so dass auf die im vorangegangenen 1. Teil des Beitrags vom August 2010 [1] gegebene allgemeine übersicht zum Gebäudebestand in Chile und zur Typisierung der Bauweisen verwiesen werden kann. Die Schäden aus dem Tsunami konzentrieren sich auf die eher ländlichen und ohnehin weniger tauglichen traditionellen Bauweisen in den Küstenregionen. An den wesentlichen Wirkungsmechanismen eines Tsunami werden die Verletzbarkeit der Bauweisen und die Effizienz einfacher baulicher Schutzmaßnahmen herausgearbeitet. Wie gezeigt werden kann, tragen Schäden aus Treibgut erheblich zum Schadensbild bei. The Magnitude 8.8 Maule (Chile) earthquake of February 27, 2010 — Engineering analysis of tsunami damages. The Maule (Chile) February 27, 2010 earthquake is regarded as one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded world‐wide. The seismic event triggered a tsunami which caused by several wave fronts serious damage alongside the coastal border. Event‐specific characteristics from the overlay of the effects from earthquakes and following flood wave (Tsunami) were motivation to examine building damage and to document their regional distribution, in the context of a reconnaissance mission of the engineering group of the German Task Force for earthquakes. The paper provides an impression from the tsunami induced damage to the different building types under the impact of time‐varying sequence of extreme natural events. First results of the studies in [1] are related to the engineering analysis of earthquake damage. Therefore it can be referred to the overview of the building stock and the predominant structural systems in Chile given there. Damage caused by the tsunami is concentrated on rural and often less resistant traditional buildings in coastal areas. The main loading and impact components induced by the tsunami are used to explain the vulnerability of building types and the efficiency of simple structural measures. As the damage cases demonstrate, debris in its general sense has contributed to the observed effects.