scholarly journals Low-Cost Open-Source Device to Measure Maximal Inspiratory and Expiratory Pressures

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Aymerich ◽  
Miguel Rodríguez-Lázaro ◽  
Gorka Solana ◽  
Ramon Farré ◽  
Jorge Otero
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Technical Information ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Measurement Tool ◽  
Measuring Device ◽  
Wide Range

The measurement of maximal inspiratory (MIP) and maximal expiratory (MEP) pressures is a widely used technique to non-invasively evaluate respiratory muscle strength in clinical practice. The commercial devices that perform this test range from whole body plethysmographs to portable spirometers, both expensive and include a wide range of other respiratory tests. Given that a portable, low-cost, and specific option for MIP and MEP measuring device is not currently available in the market. A high-performance and easy-to-build prototype has been developed and the detailed technical information to easily reproduce it is freely released. A novel device is based on an Arduino microcontroller with a digital display, an integrated pressure transducer, and three-dimensional (3D) printed enclosure (total retail cost €80). The validation of the device was performed by comparison with a laboratory reference setting, and results showed accuracy within ±1%. As the device design is available according to the open-source hardware approach, measuring MIP/MEP can greatly facilitate easily available point-of-care devices for the monitoring of patients and, most important, for making this lung function measurement tool affordable to users in low- and middle-income countries.

Effect of Different Iron Sources on In-Situ Growth of Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks-8: For Efficient Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysts

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (10) ◽  
pp. 5319-5328
Author(s):  
Sha-Sha Luo ◽  
Yu-Meng Ma ◽  
Peng-Wei Li ◽  
Ming-Hua Tian ◽  
Qiao-Xia Li
Keyword(s):  
Catalytic Activity ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Oxygen Reduction ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Precious Metals ◽  
High Catalytic Activity ◽  
Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks ◽  
Wide Range

Transition metal and nitrogen co-doped carbon-based catalysts (TM-N-C) have become the most promising catalysts for Pt/C due to their wide range of sources, low cost, high catalytic activity, excellent stability and strong resistance to poisoning, especially Fe–N–C metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which are some of the most promising precursors for the preparation of Fe–N–C catalysts due to their inherent properties, such as their highly ordered three-dimensional framework structure, controlled porosity, and tuneable chemistry. Based on these, in this paper, different iron sources were added to synthesis a sort of zeolitic imidazole frameworks (ZIF-8). Then the imidazole salt in ZIF-8 was rearranged into high N-doped carbon by high-temperature pyrolysis to prepare the Fe–N–C catalyst. We studied the physical characteristics of the catalysts by different iron sources and their effects on the catalytic properties of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). From the point of morphology, various iron sources have a positive influence on maintaining the morphology of ZIF-8 polyhedron. Fe–N/C–Fe(NO3)3 has the same anion as zinc nitrate, and can maintain a polyhedral morphology after high-temperature calcination. It had the highest ORR catalytic activity compared to the other four catalyst materials, which proved that there is a certain relationship between morphology and performance. This paper will provide a useful reference and new models for the development of high-performance ORR catalysts without precious metals.

scholarly journals Pocket MUSE: an affordable, versatile and high-performance fluorescence microscope using a smartphone

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yehe Liu ◽  
Andrew M. Rollins ◽  
Richard M. Levenson ◽  
Farzad Fereidouni ◽  
Michael W. Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Consumer Electronics ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Point Of Care Diagnostics ◽  
Optical Module ◽  
Optical Configuration ◽  
User Friendly

AbstractSmartphone microscopes can be useful tools for a broad range of imaging applications. This manuscript demonstrates the first practical implementation of Microscopy with Ultraviolet Surface Excitation (MUSE) in a compact smartphone microscope called Pocket MUSE, resulting in a remarkably effective design. Fabricated with parts from consumer electronics that are readily available at low cost, the small optical module attaches directly over the rear lens in a smartphone. It enables high-quality multichannel fluorescence microscopy with submicron resolution over a 10× equivalent field of view. In addition to the novel optical configuration, Pocket MUSE is compatible with a series of simple, portable, and user-friendly sample preparation strategies that can be directly implemented for various microscopy applications for point-of-care diagnostics, at-home health monitoring, plant biology, STEM education, environmental studies, etc.

scholarly journals Integrating high-performing electrochemical transducers in lateral flow assay

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonia Perju ◽  
Nongnoot Wongkaew
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Lateral Flow ◽  
Analytical Performance ◽  
Label Free ◽  
High Performing ◽  
Lateral Flow Assays ◽  
Electrochemical Transducers

AbstractLateral flow assays (LFAs) are the best-performing and best-known point-of-care tests worldwide. Over the last decade, they have experienced an increasing interest by researchers towards improving their analytical performance while maintaining their robust assay platform. Commercially, visual and optical detection strategies dominate, but it is especially the research on integrating electrochemical (EC) approaches that may have a chance to significantly improve an LFA’s performance that is needed in order to detect analytes reliably at lower concentrations than currently possible. In fact, EC-LFAs offer advantages in terms of quantitative determination, low-cost, high sensitivity, and even simple, label-free strategies. Here, the various configurations of EC-LFAs published are summarized and critically evaluated. In short, most of them rely on applying conventional transducers, e.g., screen-printed electrode, to ensure reliability of the assay, and additional advances are afforded by the beneficial features of nanomaterials. It is predicted that these will be further implemented in EC-LFAs as high-performance transducers. Considering the low cost of point-of-care devices, it becomes even more important to also identify strategies that efficiently integrate nanomaterials into EC-LFAs in a high-throughput manner while maintaining their favorable analytical performance.

scholarly journals Applicability of Cork as Novel Modifiers to Develop Electrochemical Sensor for Caffeine Determination

Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Mayra K. S. Monteiro ◽  
Djalma R. Da Silva ◽  
Marco A. Quiroz ◽  
Vítor J. P. Vilar ◽  
Carlos A. Martínez-Huitle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electrochemical Sensor ◽  
Linear Response ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Pharmaceutical Formulations ◽  
Caffeine Concentration ◽  
Real Samples ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Potential Use

This study aims to investigate the applicability of a hybrid electrochemical sensor composed of cork and graphite (Gr) for detecting caffeine in aqueous solutions. Raw cork (RAC) and regranulated cork (RGC, obtained by thermal treatment of RAC with steam at 380 °C) were tested as modifiers. The results clearly showed that the cork-graphite sensors, GrRAC and GrRGC, exhibited a linear response over a wide range of caffeine concentration (5–1000 µM), with R2 of 0.99 and 0.98, respectively. The limits of detection (LOD), estimated at 2.9 and 6.1 µM for GrRAC and GrRGC, suggest greater sensitivity and reproducibility than the unmodified conventional graphite sensor. The low-cost cork-graphite sensors were successfully applied in the determination of caffeine in soft drinks and pharmaceutical formulations, presenting well-defined current signals when analyzing real samples. When comparing electrochemical determinations and high performance liquid chromatography measurements, no significant differences were observed (mean accuracy 3.0%), highlighting the potential use of these sensors to determine caffeine in different samples.

scholarly journals Carbon nanomaterial hybrids via laser writing for high-performance non-enzymatic electrochemical sensors: a critical review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Simsek ◽  
Nongnoot Wongkaew
Keyword(s):  
Noble Metal ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Carbon Nanomaterials ◽  
Electrochemical Sensors ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Laser Writing ◽  
Enzyme Mimicking ◽  
Natural Enzyme

AbstractNon-enzymatic electrochemical sensors possess superior stability and affordability in comparison to natural enzyme-based counterparts. A large variety of nanomaterials have been introduced as enzyme mimicking with appreciable sensitivity and detection limit for various analytes of which glucose and H2O2 have been mostly investigated. The nanomaterials made from noble metal, non-noble metal, and metal composites, as well as carbon and their derivatives in various architectures, have been extensively proposed over the past years. Three-dimensional (3D) transducers especially realized from the hybrids of carbon nanomaterials either with metal-based nanocatalysts or heteroatom dopants are favorable owing to low cost, good electrical conductivity, and stability. In this critical review, we evaluate the current strategies to create such nanomaterials to serve as non-enzymatic transducers. Laser writing has emerged as a powerful tool for the next generation of devices owing to their low cost and resultant remarkable performance that are highly attractive to non-enzymatic transducers. So far, only few works have been reported, but in the coming years, more and more research on this topic is foreseeable. Graphical abstract

scholarly journals Towards a Glass New World: The Role of Ion-Exchange in Modern Technology

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 4610
Author(s):  
Simone Berneschi ◽  
Giancarlo C. Righini ◽  
Stefano Pelli
Keyword(s):  
Ion Exchange ◽  
Communication Networks ◽  
High Speed ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Modern Technology ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Happy Marriage

Glasses, in their different forms and compositions, have special properties that are not found in other materials. The combination of transparency and hardness at room temperature, combined with a suitable mechanical strength and excellent chemical durability, makes this material indispensable for many applications in different technological fields (as, for instance, the optical fibres which constitute the physical carrier for high-speed communication networks as well as the transducer for a wide range of high-performance sensors). For its part, ion-exchange from molten salts is a well-established, low-cost technology capable of modifying the chemical-physical properties of glass. The synergy between ion-exchange and glass has always been a happy marriage, from its ancient historical background for the realisation of wonderful artefacts, to the discovery of novel and fascinating solutions for modern technology (e.g., integrated optics). Getting inspiration from some hot topics related to the application context of this technique, the goal of this critical review is to show how ion-exchange in glass, far from being an obsolete process, can still have an important impact in everyday life, both at a merely commercial level as well as at that of frontier research.

scholarly journals Pulsed Electromagnetic Cross-Well Exploration for Monitoring Permafrost and Examining the Processes of Its Geocryological Changes

Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Viacheslav Glinskikh ◽  
Oleg Nechaev ◽  
Igor Mikhaylov ◽  
Kirill Danilovskiy ◽  
Vladimir Olenchenko
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Geophysical Methods ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Data Interpretation ◽  
Industrial Facilities ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Vector Finite Element ◽  
A New Technique ◽  
Pulsed Electromagnetic

This paper is dedicated to the topical problem of examining permafrost’s state and the processes of its geocryological changes by means of geophysical methods. To monitor the cryolithozone, we proposed and scientifically substantiated a new technique of pulsed electromagnetic cross-well sounding. Based on the vector finite-element method, we created a mathematical model of the cross-well sounding process with a pulsed source in a three-dimensional spatially heterogeneous medium. A high-performance parallel computing algorithm was developed and verified. Through realistic geoelectric models of permafrost with a talik under a highway, constructed following the results of electrotomography field data interpretation, we numerically simulated the pulsed sounding on the computing resources of the Siberian Supercomputer Center of SB RAS. The simulation results suggest the proposed system of pulsed electromagnetic cross-well monitoring to be characterized by a high sensitivity to the presence and dimensions of the talik. The devised approach can be oriented to addressing a wide range of issues related to monitoring permafrost rocks under civil and industrial facilities, buildings, and constructions.

scholarly journals Optimization of Plant Extract Purification Procedure for Rapid Screening Analysis of Sixteen Phenolics by Liquid Chromatography

Separations ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Petra Ranušová ◽  
Ildikó Matušíková ◽  
Peter Nemeček
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Chromatography ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Sinapic Acid ◽  
Rapid Screening ◽  
Coumaric Acid ◽  
Laboratory Equipment ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Methoxycinnamic Acid

A solid-phase extraction (SPE) procedure was developed for simultaneous monitoring of sixteen different phenolics of various polarity, quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The procedure allowed screening the accumulation of intermediates in different metabolic pathways that play a crucial role in plant physiology and/or are beneficial for human health. Metabolites mostly involved in phenylpropanoid, shikimate, and polyketide pathways comprise chlorogenic acid, gentisic acid, vanillic acid, caffeic acid, protocatechuic acid, ferulic acid, rutin, quercetin, epicatechin, gallic acid, sinapic acid, p-coumaric acid, o-coumaric acid, vanillin; two rarely quantified metabolites, 2,5-dimethoxybenzoic acid and 4-methoxycinnamic acid, were included as well. The procedure offered low cost, good overall efficiency, and applicability in laboratories with standard laboratory equipment. SPE recoveries were up to 99.8% at various concentration levels. The method allowed for routine analysis of compounds with a wide range of polarity within a single run, while its applicability was demonstrated for various model plant species (tobacco, wheat, and soybean), as well as different tissue types (shoots and roots).

Developing low-cost methane gas concentration measuring device

2021 ◽  
pp. 54-59
Author(s):  
Md. Mahidy Hossain ◽  
Nadim Khandaker
Keyword(s):  
Promising Result ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Measurement Techniques ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Methane Content ◽  
Measuring Device ◽  
Methane Generation ◽  
Methane Gas ◽  
Wide Range

In every aspect of Engineering more advanced, efficient and progressive solutions are required. The modern age of science requires innovative minds. The field of environmental engineering is also advancing with modern science and technology innovations. Measuring of methane concentration and flow rate is nothing new, yet a complicated process. The need for more accurate measurement is a necessity in proper operation of bio digesters for methane generation. The traditional process of the measuring methane content in biogas is time consuming yet complicated. The need for development and application of methane measurement techniques is not only limited to biogas but has other monitoring value as well in other health and safety applications in built environments. Winsen Electronics and Hanwei Electronics are two of the leading sensor-manufactures of China who are providing a wide range of gas detecting sensors that are locally available in Bangladesh and yet has not been applied to methane content measurement in biogas operations. In This paper we are reporting on the application of a purpose-built propane, butane detector for methane gas detection within the range of accuracy for it to be applied in methane detection in a biogas stream. This paper, reports on application and calibration of the methane detecting sensor MQ-4 with promising result. Based on the study we postulate that the sensor can be used to detect methane for an on-line monitoring of many environmental, industrial purposes such as bio digesters, integrated waste management facility. The cost of fabrication of the sensor system is only $18 making it a viable sensor with respect to cost for application in Bangladesh.

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