A 64-Solenoid, Four-Level Fingertip Search Display for the Blind

This paper describes the design and prototype model of a nonvibrating fingertip search display device. It was designed for use in experiments to determine the importance of fingertip exploration in tactile vision substitution. An 8 ×8 array of miniature dc solenoids mounted on 5 mm centers forms a raised two-dimensional display. With the aid of an IBM PC, it translates a visual image into a contour map of raised pins similar to transitory braille. The four possible pin heights of 0, 0.33, 0.67, and 1 mm represent discrete levels of image intensity. The user controls the location and resolution of the image sent from the IBM PC to the display by moving a mouse.     

Report of an IEEE Task Force?An IEEE Opinion on Research Needs for Biomedical Engineerng Systems

MORE than 200 years ago, our forefathers made note of man's inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. To the engineering community (applied science in the service of man), these may be coincident with applications to medicine and biology (biomedical engineering), defense, and entertainment. Biomedical engineering research has the distinction, among these three missions, of not only contributing to the quality of human life through the industrial economy but also to life itself?the most fundamental concern of all people. It is through biomedical engineering research that we have been able to learn much concerning the functioning of living systems, and it is through such knowledge that we have been able to develop improved clinical diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment, including life-sustaining devices and aids to the handicapped. Each step represents an improvement in the quality of life, and each step forms the foundation upon which to gain new knowledge to improve upon earlier developments.     

Spectral analysis of microstrip antennas with CG-FFT:two-dimensional results

Theoretical expressions for the currents excited on the top and bottom surfaces of a coaxial-probe-fed patch antenna are derived. Exact expressions for the far-zone field in terms of the total current on the patch are found. The analysis is specialized to a two-dimensional case. Detailed results for current, far-zone fields, and radiating-aperture admittance have been computed for this two-dimensional antenna model using the conjugate-gradient-fast Fourier transform (CG-FFT) technique. For a thick-substrate antenna it is found that the upper surface current on the patch is significant. Under this condition the traditional approximation of the total current by the bottom surface current alone may be in considerable error     

Image-based characterization of cement pore structure using wood’s metal intrusion

Mercury intrusion porosimetry is a widely used technique for characterization of the pore size distribution of cement-based materials. However, the technique has several limitations, among which are the ink bottle effect and a cylindrical pore geometry assumption that lead to inaccurate pore size distribution curves. By substituting Wood’s metal for mercury as the intruding liquid, scanning electron microscopy and imaging techniques can be applied to the sample after intrusion. The molten Wood’s metal solidifies within the pore structure of the sample, which allows it to be sectioned and observed in the scanning electron microscopy. From here, the sample can be analyzed both qualitatively, by observing the changes in the appearance of the sample as the intrusion process progresses, and quantitatively, by applying image analysis techniques. This study provides insight for better interpretation of mercury intrusion porosimetry results and the possibility for quantitative characterization of the spatial geometry of pores in cement-based materials.     

A Physically Based Colour Model

We propose an intuitively simple way of representing colour which has the additional virtue that, it permits mixing and overlaying of transparent and opaque paints to an arbitrary degree. Our approach is related to the earlier alpha channel model used for compositing. It includes this as a special case but has applications in many other areas, especially animation, paint programs and graphics libraries.     

家庭住宅 法国拉马蒂埃尔

正几个世纪以来,不同的地理环境一直都采用这类封闭的庭院形式——每一次都根据当地气候、风俗习惯和建筑实践进行改造。作为一种在建筑物内捕捉户外景观的手段,庭院由建筑内部结构决定。流畅的庭院不但提供内外部隐私保护,而且也不断地向外延伸,积极融入周边景观。该住宅遵守严格的分区指导方针,同时通过在屋顶上扩建自然植物区系与景观融合。坐落在橄榄树林、松树和葡萄园内,该住宅充分利用坡地,从而获得可持续的拓展和种植     

Far‐Red Fluorogenic Probes for Esterase and Lipase Detection

Fluorogenic enzyme probes go from a dark to a bright state following hydrolysis and can provide a sensitive, real‐time readout of enzyme activity. They are useful for examining enzymatic activity in bacteria, including the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Herein, we describe two fluorogenic esterase probes derived from the far‐red fluorophore 7‐hydroxy‐9H‐(1,3‐dichloro‐9,9‐dimethylacridin‐2‐one) (DDAO). These probes offer enhanced optical properties compared to existing esterase probes because the hydrolysis product, DDAO, excites above 600 nm while retaining a good quantum yield (?=0.40). We validated both probes with a panel of commercially available enzymes alongside known resorufin‐ and fluorescein‐derived esterase substrates. Furthermore, we used these probes to reveal esterase activity in protein gel‐resolved mycobacterial lysates. These probes represent new tools for esterase detection and characterization and should find use in a variety of applications.     

Cover Image,Volume 97, Issue 11

The cover image, by Hannah C Wells et al., is based on the Research Article Deer leather: analysis of the microstructure affecting pebble, DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.8199 .

     

The developing ovary of the South American plains vizcacha, Lagostomus maximus (Mammalia, Rodentia): massive proliferation with no sign of apoptosis-mediated germ cell attrition

Apoptosis-dependent massive germ cell death is considered a constitutive trait of the developing mammalian ovary that eliminates 65-85% of the germinal tissue depending on the species. After birth and during adult lifetime, apoptotic activity moves from the germ cell proper to the somatic compartment, decimating germ cells through follicular atresia until the oocyte reserve is exhausted. In contrast, the South American rodent Lagostomus maximus shows suppressed apoptosis-dependent follicular atresia in the adult ovary, with continuous folliculogenesis and massive polyovulation, which finally exhausts the oocyte pool. The absence of follicular atresia in adult L. maximus might arise from a failure to move apoptosis from the germinal stratum to the somatic compartment after birth or being a constitutive trait of the ovarian tissue with no massive germ cell degeneration in the developing ovary. We tested these possibilities by analysing oogenesis, expression of germ cell-specific VASA protein, apoptotic proteins BCL2 and BAX, and DNA fragmentation by TUNEL assay in the developing ovary of L. maximus. Immunolabelling for VASA revealed a massive and widespread colonisation of the ovary and proliferation of germ cells organised in nests that disappeared at late development when folliculogenesis began. No sign of germ cell attrition was found at any time point. BCL2 remained positive throughout oogenesis, whereas BAX was slightly detected in early development. TUNEL assay was conspicuously negative throughout the development. These results advocate for an unrestricted proliferation of germ cells, without apoptosis-driven elimination, as a constitutive trait of L. maximus ovary as opposed to what is normally found in the developing mammalian ovary.