Recording fetal and adult magnetocardiograms using high-temperature Superconducting quantum interference device gradiometers

In this paper, we analyze the influence of the superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) gradiometer baseline on the recording of magnetocardiographic measurements. The magnetometers consist of high-temperature superconducting radio-frequency SQUIDs fabricated from YBaCuO thin films, and a substrate resonator which serves as tank circuit. The gradiometers are formed using two or three such magnetometers with individual readouts in electronic difference. We have compared the measurement results using a magnetometer and first- and second-order gradiometers with different baselines. In a standard magnetically shielded room, we found not only an increasing signal-to-noise ratio in adult magnetocardiographic measurements, but also a decreasing distortion of the magnetic field map with increasing baseline of the gradiometer. Using a first-order gradiometer with an ultralong baseline of 18 cm, we have successfully measured the heart signal of a fetus in real time.     

Der PC in zehn Jahren und seine Auswirkungen auf die Gesellschaft

In this article it is argued that in ten years’ time personal computers as we know them now won’t exist anymore — all their functions will by then be integrated in mobiles which will be our steady companions. As such, mobiles will change our lives to an enormous extent. Technology as well as consequences will be discussed in this paper.     

Fibre-polarimeter based on grating taps

The fabrication of novel tilted fibre Bragg gratings coupling light out of the fibre core into two different directions is demonstrated. These gratings in combination with a fibre based quarter waveplate are used to form a high-speed fibre polarimeter for real-time polarisation monitoring.     

Performance evolution of trellis coding in Multiple Input Multiple Output communication systems—A review

In recent years, it has been realized that the Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) communication system is inevitable in accelerating the evolution of high data rate applications. Also the latest research in Information and Communication Technology has told that considerable gains in capacity of wireless communication are feasible in MIMO systems. MIMO with Space Time Trellis Code (STTC) offers both diversity gain and coding gain. This paper discusses the evolutional variants of Space Time Trellis Code developed over a decade. The performance of New Trellis code for STTC, STTC for 4-PSK, Space Frequency Trellis code (SFTC), Space Time Bit Trellis Code, and Silver STTC have been studied and discussed. STTC with Trellis Coded Modulation creates a bandwidth efficient system with coding gain.     

Multi-focus image fusion by local optimization over sliding windows

This article presents a technique to solve the problem of multi-focus image fusion. This technique is based on the maximization of a linear function with spatial coherence constraints. The final fused image is computed as the sum of the source images using a segmentation map. We can compute the segmentation map using the Simplex method, where the objective function includes one variable associated with each pixel. The Simplex method requires a huge amount of memory resources to produce it. We present an algorithm called CPW-S, which uses some strategies to solve the problem in a context with fewer variables; images are split into regions, thus reducing the computational effort. We present results for two pairs of synthetic images in order to quantify the results, obtaining more than \(98\%\) of pixel accuracy for the segmentation map. We also present results for several pairs of real images (widely used in the literature) and a triad of multi-focus images. The resulting fused images are qualitatively good for all the real images included in the experiments.     

Retarding Thermal Degradation in Hybrid Perovskites by Ionic Liquid Additives

Recent years have witnessed considerable progress in the development of solar cells based on lead halide perovskite materials. However, their intrinsic instability remains a limitation. In this context, the interplay between the thermal degradation and the hydrophobicity of perovskite materials is investigated. To this end, the salt 1‐(4‐ethenylbenzyl)‐3‐(3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,8‐tridecafluorooctylimidazolium iodide (ETI), is employed as an additive in hybrid perovskites, endowing the photoactive materials with high thermal stability and hydrophobicity. The ETI additive inhibits methylammonium (MA) permeation in methylammonium lead triiodide (MAPbI₃) occurring due to intrinsic thermal degradation, by inhibiting out‐diffusion of the MA⁺ cation, preserving the pristine material and preventing decomposition. With this simple approach, high efficiency solar cells based on the unstable MAPbI₃ perovskite are markedly stabilized under maximum power point tracking, leading to greater than twice the preserved efficiency after 700 h of continuous light illumination and heating (60 °C). These results suggest a strategy to tackle the intrinsic thermal decomposition of MAI, an essential component in all state‐of‐the‐art perovskite compositions.     

The Effect of Ageing on Exciton Dynamics,Charge Separation,and Recombination in P3HT/PCBM Photovoltaic Blends

A study of how light‐induced degradation influences the fundamental photophysical processes in the active layer of poly(3‐hexylthiophene)/[6,6]‐phenyl C₆₁‐butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT/PCBM) solar cells is presented. Non‐encapsulated samples are systematically aged by exposure to AM 1.5 illumination in the presence of dry air for different periods of time. The extent of degradation is quantified by the relative loss in the absorption maximum of the P3HT, which is varied in the range 0% to 20%. For degraded samples an increasing loss in the number of excitons within the P3HT domains is observed with longer ageing periods. This loss occurs rapidly, within the first 15 ps after photoexcitation. A more pronounced decrease in the population of polarons than excitons is observed, which also occurs on a timescale of a few picoseconds. These observations, complemented by a quantitative analysis of the polaron and exciton population dynamics, unravel two primary loss mechanisms for the performances of aged P3HT/PCBM solar cells. One is an initial ultrafast decrease in the polaron generation, apparently not related to the exciton diffusion to the polymer/fullerene interface; the second, less significant, is a loss in the exciton population within the photoexcited P3HT domains. The steady‐state photoinduced absorption spectra of degraded samples exhibits the appearance of a signal ascribed to triplet excitons, which is absent for non‐degraded samples. This latter observation is interpreted considering the formation of degraded sites where intersystem crossing and triplet exciton formation is more effective. The photovoltaic characteristics of same blends are also studied and discussed by comparing the decrease in the overall power conversion efficiency of solar cells.     

Antennas for next generation mobile communications

In future mobile communications many antennas will coexist on the device. This creates a number of problems related to bandwidth, efficiency, and correlation. Remedies are discussed in the paper, and attention is called to the promising area of adaptive matching, which also can solve problems related to the user.     

Thermoresponsive Hydrogels as Microniches for Growth and Controlled Release of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

The recently emerging stem-cell artificial niche engineering in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSCs) 3D cultures has provided enormous opportunities to fully utilize the potential of these cells in biomedical applications. Although a fully chemically defined niche environment can supply cells with desirable safety for clinical use, establishing an artificial degradable niche environment for the controlled release of proliferated cells under mild conditions is still a big challenge. Here, an advanced controlled releasable iPSC 3D artificial niche is reported based on dendritic polyglycerol and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-co-polyethylene glycol polymers via a physical–chemical cogelation strategy. Benefiting from the chemically defined synthetic materials and their precise cooperation by covalent cross-linking and physical phase transition, the cogelation-based artificial niche system can be adjusted with optimal parameters and owns high cell biocompatibility to support the robust production of high quality iPSCs with an excellent expansion efficiency. Moreover, the expanded cells can be released out of their niche environment controllably only by adjusting the temperature. Overall, this controlled release hydrogel scaffold shows great promise in iPSC 3D culture for downstream applications.