Personal glucose meters coupled with signal amplification technologies for quantitative detection of non-glucose targets:Recent progress and challenges in food safety hazards analysis

Ensuring food safety is paramount worldwide.Developing effective detection methods to ensure food safety can be challenging owing to trace hazards,long detection time,and resource-poor sites,in addition to the matrix effects of food.Personal glucose meter(PGM),a classic point-of-care testing device,possesses unique application advantages,demonstrating promise in food safety.Currently,many studies have used PGM-based biosensors and signal amplification technologies to achieve sensitive and specific detection of food hazards.Signal amplification technologies have the potential to greatly improve the analytical performance and integration of PGMs with biosensors,which is crucial for solving the challenges associated with the use of PGMs for food safety analysis.This review introduces the basic detection principle of a PGM-based sensing strategy,which consists of three key factors:target recognition,signal transduction,and signal output.Representative studies of existing PGM-based sensing strategies combined with various signal amplification technologies(nanomaterial-loaded multienzyme labeling,nucleic acid reaction,DNAzyme catalysis,responsive nanomaterial encapsulation,and others)in the field of food safety detection are reviewed.Future perspectives and potential opportunities and challenges associated with PGMs in the field of food safety are discussed.Despite the need for complex sample preparation and the lack of standardization in the field,using PGMs in combination with signal amplification technology shows promise as a rapid and cost-effective method for food safety hazard analysis.

Weekly Physical Activity from IPAQ (Arabic) Recalls and from IDEEA Activity Meters

Objective: Determine the Test reliability and the objective validity of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Methods: IPAQ was evaluated for test-retest reliability within 6 - 8 days of its first administration. Criterion validity was tested comparing IPAQ data with those from an activity meter (Intelligent Device for Energy Expenditure and Activity, IDEEA). Results: The test-retest correlation (n = 71) for items of IPAQ ranged from r = 0.63 to r = 0.74 and was r = 0.79 for the total weekly PA in MET*min per week. Average PA (in MET*min/week) measured with the IDEEA meter, decreased from normal (15,840), to 14,278 in overweight (BMI > 25- < 30) and further to 12,803 in obese subjects (>30. BMI). The weekly energy expenditure measured by IDEEA correlated significantly (r = 0.61, r2 = 0.38) with the IPAQ data, providing an objective criterion for validity of IPAQ. The mean values of weekly PA estimated from IPAQ (in MET*min/week) differed significantly in the high (15,690) vs. the low (11,398) activity groups but not between the moderate (12,056) compared to the low PA group. The IPAQ criteria used to categorize subjects as moderately active, erred by including too many low PA subjects. IDEEA measurements in sedentary subjects overestimated their energy expenditure. Conclusions: IPAQ can be reliably used to distinguish low and high PA groups and yields relatively low estimates (−18%) of weekly PA in these groups compared to those measured with the activity meter. Stricter criteria are needed to distinguish moderate from low PA groups. Overweight and obese subjects showed significantly lower levels of PA than normal BMI subjects. IDEEA overestimates low levels of PA.

The Design and Management of Intelligent Systems in Mechanical Domestic Water Meters

The design and implementation of mechanical domestic water meters in current industrial organization and intellectual properties have been registered as an invention to solve the problems of current meters. The device operation includes inquiry of printing, subscription connection and disconnection in an emergency. This system includes a software and hardware parts on the users and the control center connecting with two-way mobile phone. Central control software sends the message through the wireless telecommunication lines to the user’s software, requesting the desired information and also provides the commands needed to be sent through the same. The same information can also be submitted to the control center. Through the same way, some of advantages of this method are as follows: installing on existing meters, cheap cost of inquiry call meter, the possibility of declaring illegal manipulation to the control center, the exchange of information using information encoding, and manipulating digital meters applying minor changes.

Intercomparison of Environmental Gamma doses Measured with A NaI(Tl) Survey Meter and Thermoluminescent Dosimeters(TLDs) in the Poonch Division of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan

This study presents the intercomparison of the outdoor environmental gamma dose rates measured using a Nal （TI） based survey meter along with thermoluminescent dosimeters （TLDs） and estimation of excess lifetime cancer risk （ELCR）, for the inhabitants of Poonch division of the Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. CaF2： Dy （TLD-200） card dosimeters were installed at height of 1 m from ground at fifteen different locations covering the entire Poonch division comprising of three districts.

Session RPE and Speed High Intensity Distance in Meters(D_SHI mt):A Valid Method to Analyze Training Load in Soccer Players

The purpose of this study is to verify the physiological effect and describe the intensity of training in response to internal and external loads,through Session Rate of Perceived Exertion and Speed High Intensity Distance in Meters reports,on professional soccer players engaged in weekly training(199 Sessions,43 weeks)and league games(32 official matches).Twenty-two male professional soccer players(n=22)of the Italian national championship under-19 are involved in this study during the season 2014-2015.Daily,Weekly and Monthly RPE(perceived exertion)Session(Borg CR-10 Scale)is a good indicator of the amount of work done:training time multiplied by perceived effort(TL=Training Time×RPE).With Arbitrary units(a.u.)produced by the individual and used for team-based data analysis,we analyze the intensity produced by workout depending on the working time.Furthermore,by means of global positioning system technology(K-Sport,Montelabbate PU,Italy 10 Hz),we statistically established the existing relationship with high intensity speed distance(>16 km/h)and session rate of perceived exertion to describe how the internal(represented by the sum of the stresses that the body undergoes an external load;is strictly subjective)and external loads(the objective quantification of the means used in training km routes,running speed,slope,type of recovery),are correlated(r=0.87,p<0.01,95%CI).The statistical analysis highlights how these methods are suitable to quantifying the high-intensity work done by the soccer player during the workout and the game.

Determination of Some Design Parameters for Roller Type Seed Metering Device

There are many design parameters in precision planters to be considered such as cell diameter, peripheral speed of roller, number of cells, manner of feeding seeds into cell and travel speed. In precision planters each cell must contain only one seed. Therefore, sliding the seed to the cell is important and depends on several parameters such as seed repose angle, seed dimensions and physics of cell. To help the seed to repose in the cell, making a groove on the roller would be very useful. Dimensions of this groove are very important and are considered as basic design parameters. This research was performed to determine some design parameters such as roller speed, travel speed, length and depth of groove for tomato seeds precision planting. In this regard, seeds with a diameter of 4 mm were used. The range of variation was based on calculations obtained. A roller with 42 mm width, 118 mm diameter and 15 cells on the surface was used in the experiment. For each cell, a triangular groove was created on the roller. The groove depth varied from zero at the beginning to the maximum value where the groove connected to the cell. The test unit had a continued and wide belt with 1 l m length. In each replication, planter worked for 20 s to reach a stable state. Thereafter, seeds were allowed to drop on the grease belt. Number of seeds and their spacing were measured on the 4.5 m of the belt. Results showed that the roller speed of 41.5 rpm, the planter travel speed of approximately 1 km/h, groove length of 6-8 mm and groove depth of 1.5 mm can improve planter performance for tomato pelleted seed.

Yatai Meters & Instruments to Occupy Domestic and International Markets

Shanghai Yatai Meters & Instruments Co. Ltd. was set up in 1991. It is engaged in research and development of meters and instruments for industrial duration measurement and control system. It is a new hi-tech enterprise worthy of the name. Recently it has completed the reform of holdings system.

Study on the Wireless Heat Meters

The design of a new type heat meters based on RFID technology are presented in this paper. By use of RFID technology in heat meters, the data can be exchanged between heat meters and heat supplying department by RF cards. The information can be transmitted in a non-contact way. In this way, the purpose of automatic identification can be achieved. The experimental study of the heat meters is also performed in the paper. The results show that the new type of heat meters can meet the demands of users. Compared with the ordinary heat meters, the new type of heat meters have the advantages of small in meter volume, high accuracy, no impact of water quality and good reliability.

2013 Production of China's Shale Gas Reaches 200 Million Cubic Meters and the First Transportation Pipeline Constructed

Results of the global shale gas resources show that minable resources of global shale gas are 187 trillion cubic meters （tern）, of which China accounts for 36 tcm （about 20% of the total amount）, which is mainly distributed in the Sichuan Basin, Yangtze Terrace, and Ordos Basin. From 2009 to 2012, China completed an accumulative number of 129 drilling wells related to shale gas, including 46 investigated vertical wells, 55 exploration wells and 28 evaluation wells, with 2012 production ranging from 25 million cubic meters （mcm） to 30 mcm.

Monitoring earthquakes with gravity meters

Seismic waves from a magnitude 8.3 earthquake in Japan were consistently recorded by five nearly identical gPhone gravity meters in Colorado. Good correlation was also found in the response of two different types of gravity meters and a standard seismometer in Walferdange, Luxembourg to an earthquake of magnitude 8.2 in Japan, indicating that all of them were capable of measuring the surface waves reliably. The gravity meters, however, recorded 11 separate arrivals of Raleigh waves, while the seismometer only one. Thus the gravity meters may be useful for obtaining new information in the study of seismic velocities, attenuation and dispersion.

A new PC control software for ZLS-Burris gravity meters

The previous operation of the ZLS-Burris gravity meter using a PDA already provides a significant improvement of the operation of a metal spring gravity meter. But in the practical field work the observer usually wishes more information about the measurement and the collected data. This situation sug- gested an improvement of the software and computer hardware. The goal was to develop a small useful PC tool that eliminates these deficits. However, it resulted in a very extensive application software, which was developed during 2011-2015. Along the way, some unwanted effects of the original control circuit were detected. Therefore as a last step a complete new control circuit for the feedback system was developed. This new circuit is fast and smooth and without resonance effects to the system. The algorithm parameters can be specifically adapted to the specific gravity meter. The software has a security system that ensures the user, depending on his level of knowledge, a limited access to the software options. Furthermore, a customer project management system is integrated. The observer, the gravity meters, the projects and maps can be assigned. Several ZLS Burris gravity meters can be managed. A large station data management is integrated. Every station has up to more than twenty parameters, such as the mandatory coordinates or supplementary pictures of the station. External storage and documentation of the measurements are possible with extra modules. In addition the maintenance of the gravity meter system is significantly improved. The motor control of the early ZLS Burris gravity meter is also improved. The complete rotation is displayed on the screen. Finally, two survey examples show the advantages of the software related to the accuracy and the time needed for a measurement.

Evaluation of the calibration factors of neutron dose rate meters in a 241Am–Be neutron field

Calibrations were performed for three types of neutron ambient dose equivalent rate meters, i.e., Aloka TPS-451C (Hitachi), KSAR1U.06 (Baltic Scientific Instruments), and Model 12-4 (Ludlum), using a standard field of a 241Am–Be source. The measured total neutron ambient dose equivalent rates, H*(10)' tot, were analyzed to obtain the direct neutron ambient dose equivalent rates, H*(10)' dir, using the ISO 8529-2-recommended generalized- fit method, semiempirical fit method, and reducedfitting method (RFM) fit methods. The calibration factor (CF), defined as the ratio between the conventional true value of the neutron ambient dose equivalent rates in a free field, H*(10)' FF, and H*(10)' dir, was evaluated as one of the important characteristics of the neutron meters in the present work. The fitting results show that the H*(10)' dir values of the meters are in good agreement within the theoretical data within 4%. The averaged CFs of the three neutron meters were evaluated as 0:99 ± 0:01, 1:00 ± 0.03;and 0:99 ± 0:08, respectively. The largest standard uncertainty of these values was determined to be approximately 18.47%(k =1). The standard uncertainty of the CFs obtained using the RFM method was less than 4.23%(k=1), which is the smallest uncertainty among the three methods.