scholarly journals A Low-Cost Automated Digital Microscopy Platform for Automatic Identification of Diatoms

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (17) ◽  
pp. 6033
Author(s):  
Jesús Salido ◽  
Carlos Sánchez ◽  
Jesús Ruiz-Santaquiteria ◽  
Gabriel Cristóbal ◽  
Saul Blanco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Automatic Identification ◽  
Digital Microscopy ◽  
Image Descriptors ◽  
Sample Classification ◽  
Difficult Time ◽  
Challenging Tasks ◽  
The Status ◽  
Selection Of

Currently, microalgae (i.e., diatoms) constitute a generally accepted bioindicator of water quality and therefore provide an index of the status of biological ecosystems. Diatom detection for specimen counting and sample classification are two difficult time-consuming tasks for the few existing expert diatomists. To mitigate this challenge, in this work, we propose a fully operative low-cost automated microscope, integrating algorithms for: (1) stage and focus control, (2) image acquisition (slide scanning, stitching, contrast enhancement), and (3) diatom detection and a prospective specimen classification (among 80 taxa). Deep learning algorithms have been applied to overcome the difficult selection of image descriptors imposed by classical machine learning strategies. With respect to the mentioned strategies, the best results were obtained by deep neural networks with a maximum precision of 86% (with the YOLO network) for detection and 99.51% for classification, among 80 different species (with the AlexNet network). All the developed operational modules are integrated and controlled by the user from the developed graphical user interface running in the main controller. With the developed operative platform, it is noteworthy that this work provides a quite useful toolbox for phycologists in their daily challenging tasks to identify and classify diatoms.

Bibliography of publications written by Alwyne (Wyn) Cooper Wheeler (1929–2005)

2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANN DATTA
Keyword(s):  
Fish Fauna ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Changing Environment ◽  
Scientific Papers ◽  
The Status ◽  
Fish Remains ◽  
Important Fish ◽  
Selection Of

The bibliography brings together more than 250 scientific papers and books written by Alwyne (Wyn) Wheeler over fifty years, from 1955–2006. This chronological list shows that from the beginning his research followed three themes: taxonomy of historically important fish collections; identification and distribution of the British and European fish fauna ; the status of British fishes in a changing environment. Until the mid-point in Wyn's career he published regularly on the identification of fish remains in archaeological sites in Britain and Europe. Wyn also wrote under an alias, Allan Cooper, and these have been listed separately. The bibliography concludes with a selection of the regular columns he contributed to angling magazines.

The Selection of Children's Books Translated from Spanish to Galician, Basque and Catalan (1940–80)

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-258
Author(s):  
Mónica Domínguez Pérez
Keyword(s):  
Social Economic ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Intercultural Relations ◽  
Children's Books ◽  
Source Text ◽  
The Status ◽  
Castilian Spanish ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Selection Of

This study deals with children's literature translated from Castilian Spanish into Galician, Basque and Catalan by a different publisher from that of the source text, between 1940 and 1980, and with the criteria used to choose books for translation during that period. It compares the different literatures within Spain and examines the intersystemic and intercultural relations that the translations reflect. Following the polysystems theory, literature is here conceived as a network of agents of different kinds: authors, publishers, readers, and literary models. Such a network, called a polysystem, is part of a larger social, economic, and cultural network. These extra-literary considerations play an important role in determining the selection of works to be translated. The article suggests that translations can be said to establish transcultural relations, and that they demonstrate different levels of power within a specific interliterary community. It concludes that, while translations may aim to change the pre-existent relationships, frequently they just reflect the status quo.

An Update on the Use of Alginate in Additive Biofabrication Techniques

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 1249-1264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amoljit Singh Gill ◽  
Parneet Kaur Deol ◽  
Indu Pal Kaur
Keyword(s):  
Fused Deposition Modeling ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Selective Laser Sintering ◽  
Layer By Layer ◽  
Three Dimension ◽  
Anionic Polymer ◽  
Fused Deposition ◽  
The Status ◽  
Deposition Modeling ◽  
Extrusion Printing

Background: Solid free forming (SFF) technique also called additive manufacturing process is immensely popular for biofabrication owing to its high accuracy, precision and reproducibility. Method: SFF techniques like stereolithography, selective laser sintering, fused deposition modeling, extrusion printing, and inkjet printing create three dimension (3D) structures by layer by layer processing of the material. To achieve desirable results, selection of the appropriate technique is an important aspect and it is based on the nature of biomaterial or bioink to be processed. Result & Conclusion: Alginate is a commonly employed bioink in biofabrication process, attributable to its nontoxic, biodegradable and biocompatible nature; low cost; and tendency to form hydrogel under mild conditions. Furthermore, control on its rheological properties like viscosity and shear thinning, makes this natural anionic polymer an appropriate candidate for many of the SFF techniques. It is endeavoured in the present review to highlight the status of alginate as bioink in various SFF techniques.

scholarly journals Design Considerations and Selection of Cost-Effective Switched Reluctance Drive for Radiator Cooling Fans

Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 917
Author(s):  
Ickjin Son ◽  
Grace Firsta Lukman ◽  
Mazahir Hussain Shah ◽  
Kwang-Il Jeong ◽  
Jin-Woo Ahn
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Magnetic Characteristics ◽  
Switched Reluctance Motors ◽  
Switched Reluctance ◽  
Design Considerations ◽  
Cooling Fan ◽  
Cooling Fans ◽  
Power Switches ◽  
Selection Of

Switched reluctance motors (SRMs) are simple in structure, easy to manufacture, magnet-less, brushless, and highly robust compared to other AC motors which makes them a good option for applications that operate in harsh environment. However, the motor has non-linear magnetic characteristics, and it comes with various pole-phase combinations and circuit topologies that causes many difficulties in deciding on which type to choose. In this paper, the viability of SRM as a low-cost, rugged machine for vehicle radiator cooling fan is considered. First, necessary design considerations are presented, then three commonly use types of SRM are analyzed: A 3-phase 6/4, 3-phase 12/8, and a 4-phase 8/6 to find their static and dynamic characteristics so the most suitable type can be selected. Simulation results show that the 8/6 SRM produces the highest efficiency with less phase current which reduces the converter burden. However, with asymmetric half bridge converter, eight power switches are required for 8/6 SRM and thus put a burden on the overall drive cost. As a solution, the Miller converter with only six switches for four phase SRM. To verify the proposed idea, the 8/6 SRM was manufactured and tested. The results show that Miller converter can be used for the proposed SRM with slightly reduced efficiency at 80.4%.

scholarly journals An IoT-Based Participatory Antitheft System for Public Safety Enhancement in Smart Cities

Smart Cities ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 919-937
Author(s):  
Nikos Papadakis ◽  
Nikos Koukoulas ◽  
Ioannis Christakis ◽  
Ilias Stavrakas ◽  
Dionisis Kandris
Keyword(s):  
Smart Cities ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Asset Tracking ◽  
Tracking Tasks ◽  
Tracking Process ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Operation Center ◽  
Safety Enhancement ◽  
Selection Of

The risk of theft of goods is certainly an important source of negative influence in human psychology. This article focuses on the development of a scheme that, despite its low cost, acts as a smart antitheft system that achieves small property detection. Specifically, an Internet of Things (IoT)-based participatory platform was developed in order to allow asset-tracking tasks to be crowd-sourced to a community. Stolen objects are traced by using a prototype Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)-based system, which sends signals, thus becoming a beacon. Once such an item (e.g., a bicycle) is stolen, the owner informs the authorities, which, in turn, broadcast an alert signal to activate the BLE sensor. To trace the asset with the antitheft tag, participants use their GPS-enabled smart phones to scan BLE tags through a specific smartphone client application and report the location of the asset to an operation center so that owners can locate their assets. A stolen item tracking simulator was created to support and optimize the aforementioned tracking process and to produce the best possible outcome, evaluating the impact of different parameters and strategies regarding the selection of how many and which users to activate when searching for a stolen item within a given area.

scholarly journals Theoretical and Empirical Characterization of Water as a Factor: Examples and Related Issues with the World Trade Model

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 459
Author(s):  
Ignacio Cazcarro ◽  
Albert E. Steenge
Keyword(s):  
World Trade ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Considerable Change ◽  
Water Research ◽  
Trade Model ◽  
The World ◽  
Main Model ◽  
Selection Of

This article originates from the theoretical and empirical characterization of factors in the World Trade Model (WTM). It first illustrates the usefulness of this type of model for water research to address policy questions related to virtual water trade, water constraints and water scarcity. It also illustrates the importance of certain key decisions regarding the heterogeneity of water and its relation to the technologies being employed and the prices obtained. With regard to WTM, the global economic input–output model in which multiple technologies can produce a “homogeneous output”, it was recently shown that two different mechanisms should be distinguished by which multiple technologies can arise, i.e., from “technology-specific” or from “shared” factors, which implies a mechanism-specific set of prices, quantities and rents. We discuss and extend these characterizations, notably in relation to the real-world characterization of water as a factor (for which we use the terms technology specific, fully shared and “mixed”). We propose that the presence of these separate mechanisms results in the models being sensitive to relatively small variations in specific numerical values. To address this sensitivity, we suggest a specific role for specific (sub)models or key choices to counter unrealistic model outcomes. To support our proposal we present a selection of simulations for aggregated world regions, and show how key results concerning quantities, prices and rents can be subject to considerable change depending on the precise definitions of resource endowments and the technology-specificity of the factors. For instance, depending on the adopted water heterogeneity level, outcomes can vary from relatively low-cost solutions to higher cost ones and can even reach infeasibility. In the main model discussed here (WTM) factor prices are exogenous, which also contributes to the overall numerical sensitivity of the model. All this affects to a large extent our interpretation of the water challenges, which preferably need to be assessed in integrated frameworks, to account for the main socioeconomic variables, technologies and resources.

scholarly journals TEAM Malawi: Low Cost Digital Microscopy for Automated Lab Testing

2017 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
D. De La Torre Campos ◽  
J. Achempong ◽  
A. Atta ◽  
S. Claybon ◽  
D. DeVincentis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Digital Microscopy

Physically Self-assembled Au Nanorod Arrays for SERS

2006 ◽  
Vol 951 ◽  
Author(s):  
Motofumi Suzuki ◽  
Kaoru Nakajima ◽  
Kenji Kimura ◽  
Takao Fukuoka ◽  
Yasushige Mori
Keyword(s):  
Raman Spectroscopy ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Major Axis ◽  
Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy ◽  
Nanorod Arrays ◽  
Au Nanorods ◽  
Surface Enhanced ◽  
Surface Enhanced Raman ◽  
Oblique Deposition ◽  
Selection Of

ABSTRACTWe have demonstrated surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy on arrays of Au nanorods aligned in line by a dynamic oblique deposition technique. For the light polarized along the major axis of the nanorods, the plasma resonance of the Au nanorods has been tuned to a wavelength suitable for Raman spectroscopy. The Raman scattering on the discrete nanorods is enhanced significantly compared with that on semi continuous Au films. Since the preparation process is physically bottom-up, it is robust in its selection of the materials and is useful in providing the SERS sensors at low cost.

Improving quality of life for dialysis patients through telecare

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 80-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl A Stroetmann ◽  
Peter Gruetzmacher ◽  
Veli N Stroetmann
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Video Communication ◽  
Daily Routine ◽  
Dialysis Patients ◽  
Home Dialysis ◽  
Service Support ◽  
Initial Results ◽  
Selection Of

Home dialysis can improve the care and quality of life for patients with renal failure. We have explored the possibility of extending home care to more patients needing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) using telemedicine. We tested videoconferencing support for five CAPD patients using low-cost ISDN equipment (128 kbit/s). Initial results indicated that it was possible to integrate video-communication into the daily routine of the clinic and the response from patients was surprisingly positive. Selection of appropriate, affordable technology and the ISDN service support by the telecommunications provider proved to be considerably more difficult than anticipated. The first indications also suggest medical advantages for home teledialysis.

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