Development of a portable reflectance confocal microscope and its application in the noninvasive in vivo evaluation of mesenchymal stem cell-promoted cutaneous wound healing

The process of wound healing is routinely evaluated by histological evaluation in the clinic,which may cause scarring and secondary injury.Reflectance confocal microscopy(RCM)represents a noninvasive,real-time imaging technique that allows in vivo evaluation of the skin.Traditional RCM was wide-probe-based,which limited its application on uneven and covered skin.In this study,we report the development of a portable reflectance confocal microscope(PRCM)in which all components were assembled in a handheld shell.Although the size and weight of the PRCM were reduced based on the use of a microelectromechanical system,the resolution was kept at 0.91μm,and the field of view of the system was 343μm×532μm.When used in vivo,the PRCM was able to visualize cellular and nuclear morphology for both mouse and human skin.PRCM evaluations were then performed on wounds after topically applied mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs)or saline treatment.The PRCM allowed visualization of the formation of collagen bundles,re-epithelization from the wound edge to the wound bed,and hair follicle regeneration,which were consistent with histological evaluations.Therefore,we offer new insights into monitoring the effects of topically applied MSCs on the process of wound healing by using PRCM.This study illustrates that the newly developed PRCM represents a promising device for real-time,noninvasive monitoring of the dynamic process of wound healing,which demonstrates its potential to diagnose,monitor,or predict disease in clinical wound therapy.

Thermoacoustic imaging:From single-element scanning to portable and array-based imaging

The microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging(TAI)technology has both the advantages of high contrast of microwave imaging and high resolution of ultrasound imaging(UI),so it has carried out exploratory application research in various areas,such as the early detection of breast tumors and cerebrovascular diseases.However,the microwave generator used in the traditional TAI technology is huge and expensive,and the temporal resolution is also too low due to the single-element scanning mechanism.Thus,it is difficult to meet the needs of clinical applications.In this paper,the iterative process and the analysis of related application scenarios from single-element scanning to portable and array-based TAI,such as the miniaturized microwave generator,handheld antenna,multi-channel data acquisition,and UI/TAIdual-modality imaging,are reviewed,and the future trends of this technology are discussed.This review helps researchers in the field of TAI learn the technological development process and future trends.It also deepens clinicians’understanding of TAI so as to put forward more application requirements.

Portable FBAR based E-nose for cold chain real-time bananas shelf time detection

Being cheap,nondestructive,and easy to use,gas sensors play important roles in the food industry.However,most gas sensors are suitable more for laboratory-quality fast testing rather than for cold-chain continuous and cumulative testing.Also,an ideal electronic nose(E-nose)in a cold chain should be stable to its surroundings and remain highly accurate and portable.In this work,a portable film bulk acoustic resonator(FBAR)-based E-nose was built for real-time measurement of banana shelf time.The sensor chamber to contain the portable circuit of the E-nose is as small as a smartphone,and by introducing an air-tight FBAR as a reference,the E-nose can avoid most of the drift caused by surroundings.With the help of porous layer by layer(LBL)coating of the FBAR,the sensitivity of the E-nose is 5 ppm to ethylene and 0.5 ppm to isoamyl acetate and isoamyl butyrate,while the detection range is large enough to cover a relative humidity of 0.8.In this regard,the E-nose can easily discriminate between yellow bananas with green necks and entirely yellow bananas while allowing the bananas to maintain their biological activities in their normal storage state,thereby showing the possibility of real-time shelf time detection.This portable FBAR-based E-nose has a large testing scale,high sensitivity,good humidity tolerance,and low frequency drift to its surroundings,thereby meeting the needs of cold-chain usage.

Impact of Portable Executable Header Features on Malware Detection Accuracy

One aspect of cybersecurity,incorporates the study of Portable Executables(PE)files maleficence.Artificial Intelligence(AI)can be employed in such studies,since AI has the ability to discriminate benign from malicious files.In this study,an exclusive set of 29 features was collected from trusted implementations,this set was used as a baseline to analyze the presented work in this research.A Decision Tree(DT)and Neural Network Multi-Layer Perceptron(NN-MLPC)algorithms were utilized during this work.Both algorithms were chosen after testing a few diverse procedures.This work implements a method of subgrouping features to answer questions such as,which feature has a positive impact on accuracy when added?Is it possible to determine a reliable feature set to distinguish a malicious PE file from a benign one?when combining features,would it have any effect on malware detection accuracy in a PE file?Results obtained using the proposed method were improved and carried few observations.Generally,the obtained results had practical and numerical parts,for the practical part,the number of features and which features included are the main factors impacting the calculated accuracy,also,the combination of features is as crucial in these calculations.Numerical results included,finding accuracies with enhanced values,for example,NN_MLPC attained 0.979 and 0.98;for DT an accuracy of 0.9825 and 0.986 was attained.

In Search of Portable Water Supplies within a Brine and Mine Water-Invaded Region for Serving Some Communities around Ishiagu, Afikpo and Environs in Abakaliki Basin, Southeast Nigeria

The study investigates the hydrogeochemical characteristics of some towns in the Abakaliki Basin, comprising, Ishiagu, Aka Eze, Amaseri, Afikpo and Okposi communities, with the aim of sourcing for portable water in the area. The basin is underlain by Albian sediments, essentially shales, in the lowlands, which were affected by low-grade metamorphism that had produced slates. The highlands comprise basic intrusives from episodes of magmatism and metallic ore mineralisation. Injection of brines into the aquifer system and low, seasonal aquifer recharge from rainfall results in poor water quality in the area. The study analyzes the geochemical distribution in water sources in the area and identifies sources of pollutants to guide the better choice of portable water. Results of hydrogeochemical analysis of both surface and groundwater from the communities were compared with World Health Organization to identify portable water locations in the area. While the salt lake at Okposi is the main source of brine intrusion in the study area, the Pb/Zn mine at Ishiagu is the main source of mine-water pollution in the study area. Most chemical parameters, (especially Cl-, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, SO42-, HCO3-) maintain high concentrations within the salt lake area, with the values declining away from the salt lake. The main anthropogenic source of pollution in the area, especially at Ishiagu, is the indiscriminate surface mining of lead-zinc without proposer waste management practices. Possible sourcing for portable water in the study area includes a deep borehole at Ishiagu, away from lead-zinc intrusives. At the Okposi axis, searching for portable water in boreholes should target shallower aquifers that do not communicate with the deeper-seated brine zones, likewise targeting zones farther away from these brine-invaded areas. A controlled pumping rate could potentially ensure that the cone of depression was not low enough to reach the brine zone at depth. In addition, desalination could also potentially render the salt water drinkable if properly handled to eliminate the high concentration of salts in the water to the level of acceptable limit by the WHO. Based on the study, the best area to target for portable water in the study area is Afikpo, with most geochemical elements naturally occurring within WHO’s standard concentration while portable water could be harnessed in areas further away from mining sites, especially at deep groundwater.

Update on the use of portable monitoring system for the diagnosis of sleep apnea in specific population

The prevalence and severity of obstructive sleep apnea(OSA) is higher in specific population: children, elderly,obese and patients with pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases, compared to the general population. OSA is associated with greater morbidity and mortality in these patients. Although full-night polysomnography is still the gold standard diagnostic sleep study for OSA, it is a time consuming, expensive and technically demanding exam. Over the last few years, there is growing evidence on the use of portable monitors(PM) as an alternative for the diagnosis of OSA. These devices were developed specially for sleep evaluation at home, at a familiar environment, with easy selfapplication of monitoring, unattended. The use of PM is stablished for populations with high pre-test probability of OSA. However, there is a lack of studies on the use of PM in age extremes and patients with comorbidities. The purpose of this review is to present the studies that evaluated the use of PM in specific population, as well as to describe the advantages, limitations and applications of these devices in this particular group of patients. Although the total loss rate of recordings is variable in different studies, the agreement with fullnight polysomnography justifies the use of PM in this population.

Portable System for CWA Detection Using Micro Array Gas Sensor

Biochemistry weapon is raising new tools of war and terror.This research is an experiment about portable system for CWAs (chemical warfare agents) detection using micro array gas system.CWAs were divided into four types such as blood, nerve,vesicant,and choking agent.To detect various CWAs,semiconductor thick film sensor array based on tin oxide was fabricated and their gas responses were examined.Operating temperature was range of 250℃to 350℃and gas concentration was range of 0.1μg/g to 10μg/g.Sensor array was measured as operating temperatures,concentrations for four simulant agents of CWAs.Extracted parameters from results were carried out classification among CWAs through the principal component analysis (PCA).Also,classification of gases is studied using adaptive resonance theory (ART) that is one of neural network algorithm.Results displayed using PDA system.

Portable mixed abrasive water jet equipment for rescue in high gas mine shaft

In order to rescue a trapped miner and clean out roadways quickly in a high gas mine shaft after a mining mishap, a special portable cold-cutting equipment is needed, the main technology parameters were calculated according to the advanced cold-cutting technology of high pressure abrasive water jet and the portable mixed abrasive water jet equipment （PAWE） was designed to meet the needs of emergency rescue in high gas mine shafts. Tested the PAWE in a high gas environment, and the result shows that the maximum cutting depth of solid iron pipe is 18 mm and the recoilforce of the sprayer is 28.9 N under the conditions that actual cutting pressure is 29 MPa, starting target distance is 10 ram, cutting speed is 180 mm/min and concentration of abrasive is 32%. The course of the experiment in the high gas environment was smooth and continuous, without any explosion. The PAWE is easy to move and operate, but the nozzle which was worn badly in the sprayer should be changed every 8 minutes.

An Information Hiding Algorithm Based on Bitmap Resource of Portable Executable File

An information hiding algorithm is proposed, which hides information by embedding secret data into the palette of bitmap resources of portable executable （PE） files. This algorithm has higher security than some traditional ones because of integrating secret data and bitmap resources together. Through analyzing the principle of bitmap resources parsing in an operating system and the layer of resource data in PE files, a safe and useful solution is presented to solve two problems that bitmap resources are incorrectly analyzed and other resources data are confused in the process of data embedding. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm are confirmed through computer experiments.

Localization of a Robotic Capsule for GI Motility Inspection with a Portable Ultrasonic System

The micro-systems used for in vivo physical inspection have many advantages over traditional methods. In order to aid diagnosis of gastrointestinal (GI) motility disorders, a capsule is developed for GI pressure and pH inspection. Localization of the capsule in GI tract with time is a necessary condition for subsequent data analysis and medical diagnosis. It is also a common problem facing all in vivo mobile micro-systems. An approach of segment localization by utilizing some key points along GI tract is proposed. A portable ultrasonic detecting device was designed for this purpose. Experiments under conditions similar to GI tract were carried out and the results proved the effectiveness and reliability of this method and the device.

Use of portable X-ray fluorescence in the analysis of surficial sediments in the exploration of hydrothermal vents on the Southwest Indian Ridge

Hydrothermal plumes released from the eruption of sea floor hydrothermal fluids contain large amounts of oreforming materials. They precipitate within certain distances from the hydrothermal vent. Six surficial sediment samples from the Southwest Indian Ridge（SWIR） were analyzed by a portable X-ray fluorescence（PXRF） analyzer on board to find a favorable method fast and efficient enough for sea floor sulfide sediment geochemical exploration. These sediments were sampled near, at a moderate distance from, or far away from hydrothermal vents. The results demonstrate that the PXRF is effective in determining the enrichment characteristics of the oreforming elements in the calcareous sediments from the mid-ocean ridge. Sediment samples（〉40 mesh） have high levels of elemental copper, zinc, iron, and manganese, and levels of these elements in sediments finer than 40 mesh are lower and relatively stable. This may be due to relatively high levels of basalt debris/glass in the coarse sediments, which are consistent with the results obtained by microscopic observation. The results also show clear zoning of elements copper, zinc, arsenic, iron, and manganese in the surficial sediments around the hydrothermal vent. Sediments near the vent show relatively high content of the ore-forming elements and either high ratios of copper to iron content and zinc to iron content or high ratios of copper to manganese content and zinc to manganese content. These findings show that the content of the ore-forming elements in the sediments around hydrothermal vents are mainly influenced by the distance of sediments to the vent, rather than grain size. In this way, the PXRF analysis of surface sediment geochemistry is found to satisfy the requirements of recognition geochemical anomaly in mid-ocean ridge sediments. Sediments with diameters finer than 40 mesh should be used as analytical samples in the geochemical exploration for hydrothermal vents on mid-oceanic ridges. The results concerning copper, zinc, arsenic, iron, and manganese and their ratio features can be used as indicators in sediment geochemical exploration of seafloor sulfides.

Portable and automated analyzer for rapid and high precision in vitro dissolution of drugs

We developed a novel portable and automated dissolution test analyzer for rapid and high precision in vitro dissolution testing of drugs.The analyzer consists of a flow-through-cell drug dissolution system,an automated sequential sampling system,a high-speed capillary electrophoresis(HSCE)system,and a data acquisition system.Combining the high-temporal resolution flow-gating sampling approach with HSCE,which has outstanding advantages of efficient separation and resolution,the analyzer can achieve rapid analysis and exhibits the ability in miniaturization for on-site assessment of different active pharmaceutical ingredients.To integrate the flow-through-cell dissolution system with HSCE,a specially designed flow-gating-injection(FGI)interface was employed.The performance of the analyzer was investigated by analyzing the dissolution of immediate-release drugs including single dose(amoxicillin dispersible tablets)and fixed dose combination(amoxicillin and clavulanate potassium)drug tablets with the high-temporal resolutions of 12 s and 20 s,respectively.The dissolution profiles of different active pharmaceutical ingredients could be simultaneously and automatically monitored with high repeatability and accuracy.The analyzer was successfully utilized for the pharmaceutical quality control and bio-relevant dissolution testing,as well as in vivo-in vitro correlation analysis.Our portable analyzer is miniaturized,convenient and of low-cost,and will provide a valuable tool for dissolution testing in pharmaceutical research and development.

Collecting Traffic Video Data Using Portable Poles: Survey, Proposal, and Analysis

Several initiatives have been launched to help prevention of traffic accidents and near-accidents across the European Union. To aid the overall goal of reducing deaths and injuries related to traffic, one must understand the causation of the traffic accidents in order to prevent them. Rather than deploying a person to physically monitor a location, the task is eased by camera equipment installed in existing infrastructure, e.g. poles, and buildings, etc. In rural areas there is however a very limited infrastructure available which complicates the data acquisition. But even if there is infrastructure available in either the rural area or the urban area, this might not serve as an ideal position to capture video data from. In this work, we survey and provide an overview of available and relevant portable poles setups with respect to capturing data in both urban areas and rural areas. The conclusion of the survey shows a lack of a mobile, lightweight, compact, and easy deployable portable pole. We therefore design and develop a new portable pole meeting these requirements. The new proposed portable pole can be deployed by 2 persons in 2 hours in both rural areas as well as urban areas due to its compactness. The deployment and usage of the new portable pole is a complimentary tool, which may improve the camera capturing angle in case existing infrastructure is insufficient. This ultimately improves the traffic monitoring opportunities. Further, the survey of selected portable poles provides an excellent overview and can aid multiple applications within road traffic.

Occlusion of the middle cerebral artery Guidance by screen imaging using an EDA-H portable medium-soft electronic endoscope

The present study aimed to verify the practicability of performing screen-based surgical operations under the guidance of a real-time viewing and recording system （RTVRS） using a portable medium-soft electronic endoscope （pmsEE）. The middle cerebral artery in rats was occluded under screen-imaging guidance using a pmsEE RTVRS to reproduce an animal model of human cerebral infarction. The screen imaging of the pmsEE RTVRS was clear, life-like, stereoscopic and synchronous with the actual operation. Screen-imaging guidance led to an accurate, smooth, minimally invasive and comparatively easy surgical procedure. The surgical success rate, time of model establishment, neurological function scores, and infarct volume were similar to those using an operating microscope. These results indicate that the self-designed pmsEE RTVRS could be utilized for portable endoscopic screen-based surgical operations.

Real-Time Black Carbon Emissions from Light-Duty Passenger Vehicles Using a Portable Emissions Measurement System

Black carbon(BC)is considered the second largest anthropogenic climate forcer,but the radiative effects of BC are highly correlated with its combustion sources.On-road vehicles are an important source of anthropogenic BC.However,there are major uncertainties in the estimates of the BC emissions from on-road light-duty passenger vehicles(LDPVs),and results obtained with the portable emissions measurement system(PEMS)method are particularly lacking.We developed a PEMS platform and evaluated the on-road BC emissions from ten in-use LDPVs.We demonstrated that the BC emission factors(EFs)of gasoline direction injection(GDI)engine vehicles range from 1.10 to 1.56 mg.km^(-1),which are higher than the EFs of port fuel injection(PFI)engine vehicles(0.10–0.17 mg.km^(-1))by a factor of 11.The BC emissions during the cold-start phase contributed 2%–33%to the total emissions.A strong correlation(R^(2)=0.70)was observed between the relative BC EFs and average vehicle speed,indicating that traffic congestion alleviation could effectively mitigate BC emissions.Moreover,BC and particle number(PN)emissions were linearly correlated(R^(2)=0.90),and compared to PFI engine vehicles,the instantaneous PN-to-BC emission rates of GDI engine vehicles were less sensitive to vehicle specific power-to-velocity(VSPV)increase in all speed ranges.

Accuracy and Electromagnetic Safety Evaluation of a Portable Electromagnetic Localization System for Micro Invasive Medical Devices in Vivo

Aiming at localizing the telemetric capsule for detecting gastrointestinal physiological parameters in vivo accurately,a portable alternating current(AC)electromagnetic localization system is designed.To verify the feasibility of the method,the model and construction of the localization system are detailed.And static and dynamic accuracy of the localization system are tested by experiments.Next,we compare the simulating results of the electromagnetic radiation aroused by the localization system with the electromagnetic safety standards of human(ICNIRP guidelines and IEEE standard C95.1-1991).Finally,in terms of the results of the static and dynamic experiments,conclusions are drawn that the accuracy of portable positioning system is high(less than 10 mm)enough to satisfy the localization need of the micro invasive medical devices in vivo,and there is no harm of electromagnetic radiation to human.

Automatic Measurement of Fetal Abdominal Biometric Parameters—Feasibility on a Portable Ultrasound Device

An automatic method for measuring the fetal mean abdominal diameter (MAD) or abdominal circumference (AC) with ultrasound is proposed. From a correctly presented abdominal section suitable for MAD or AC measurement, the location of fetal abdomen is detected by image processing. Thereafter, an active contour model is converged along the abdominal boundary for measurement purposes. The validation data set contained 310 images of fetuses with gestational age (GA) from 14 to 41 weeks. The measurement success rate was 88.1%. By manually indicating the location of the abdomen, the success rate was further improved to 95.8% for the failed cases. The correlation between manual and automatic measurements was 0.95 and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.976 (95% confidence interval (CI);0.969 - 0.981). The average method execution time was 0.3 s. The mean error was lower in young fetuses (0.4%) than in older fetuses (-2.1%). The proposed cross-platform method was implemented on a portable, low-cost ultrasound machine prototype targeted for low- and middle-income countries (LMIC);the results achieved were comparable to those of other state-of-the-art automatic methods.

Application of a Portable XRF Spectrometer for <i>In-Situ</i>and Nondestructive Investigation of Pigments in Two 15th Century Icons

A simple portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer was successfully used for in-situ and nondestructive identification of the painting materials in two 15th century icons from the Onufri Museum in Beart, Albania. The spectrometer is based on a low power X-ray tube, a thermoelectrically cooled Si PIN detector and the spectrum acquisition system. It was assembled and adjusted at our laboratory for the investigation of the icons. A small number of pigments were clearly identified by X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) measurements in both icons. This includes Lead white for the white color, gold and yellow ochre for the yellow color, red lead, cinnabar and red ochre for the red color, as well as cooper based pigments for the green color. At the same time, the investigation raised some new questions that need further investigations by the use of additional analytical techniques. The results show that in both icons are used similar pigments, which are in accordance with the Byzantine icon painting tradition.

RESEARCH OF A NEW PORTABLE GC INSTRUMENTATION AND ITS APPLICATION IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

-A Portable gas chromatograPhy (GC) instrument is presented in this paper. In this GC instrument a new gaseous sampling device was used in place of conventional sampling valves.It has no quantitative tube or movable components in the sample Path. The sampling size si determined by time with a high precision,which is not sensitive to the sample temperature and pressure.Especially,the sample can not only inject into the column head,but also the carrier gas blow the column reversely and clean it.The portable GC instrument based on the sampling device can be used in enviromental and biomedical monitoring.

Condition Assessment of August A. Busch Bridge Deck Using Portable Seismic Property Analyzer and Ground Penetrating Radar

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) and the portable seismic property analyzer (PSPA) have been extensively used in the past two decades for monitoring, quantifying, and mapping the deterioration of bridge decks. Using PSPA and GPR ensures regular monitoring of bridge conditions, leads to the early detection of deterioration. This research is to address the condition of August A. Busch bridge deck owned by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Visual inspection, GPR, and PSPA data were acquired on the bridge deck. Over 90% of the bridge deck was in fair to good condition with an average compressive strength of over 2500 psi. GPR data showed no indication of significant deterioration. The overall bridge deck was determined to be in fair to good condition.