Hybrid Data Acquisition and Analysis System for Flowing Medium Lasers

The medium gas lasers involves in-situ generation of the lasing medium, hence are associated with several complex processes including mixing of pumping and lasing species, energy exchange between the species, heat generation during reaction and its influence on the flow domain to list a few. Thus, the characterisation of lasing medium, condition of operation of individual critical subsystems and corresponding phenomenon thereof is essential in real time. It is here that a customised data acquisition and analysis system (DAAS) plays a key role. The paper dwells on the realisation of a customised hybrid DAAS with a master-slave architecture, which is portable and provides remote system operation. The noteworthy aspects of the developed DAAS include capability to handle close to 150 channels [64 analog input, 64 digital output, 5 analog output and 17 digital input] simultaneously with varied sampling rates requirement ranging from 100 samples/s to 200 k samples/s, modularity in design enabling scalability. Further, the efficacy of the developed DAAS has been tested by conducting several real time experiments with an existing chemical oxygen iodine laser source with a mass flow rate of 2.3 moles.s-1 both from close ranges and at line of sight remote distances of up to 80 m and nearly 35 m with obstacles.

Principles of Modularity in Design and Maintenance of Locomotives

Thematic patent search was performed that determined design directions for modular systems in transport and industry. The largest percentage of use is characteristic of: railway, agricultural, power engineering, space industry and shipbuilding. To a lesser extent, the modular design principle is involved in medium heavy and precision engineering. A new concept of application of modules of the main and auxiliary equipment on locomotives is considered, in which key attention is paid to the components of modules and unification of their components. It is necessary to change the philosophy of design and creation of modules, taking into account all possible risks and organizational hazards during modernization of production. The use of modular equipment layout in the engine compartment can significantly reduce operating costs and speed up the service operations during locomotive maintenance. A comparison of operations of current maintenance of Formula 1 cars and modular locomotives has been made.

A compact synthetic pathway rewires cancer signaling to therapeutic effector release

An important goal in synthetic biology is to engineer biochemical pathways to address unsolved biomedical problems. One long-standing problem in molecular medicine is the specific identification and ablation of cancer cells. Here, we describe a method, named Rewiring of Aberrant Signaling to Effector Release (RASER), in which oncogenic ErbB receptor activity, instead of being targeted for inhibition as in existing treatments, is co-opted to trigger therapeutic programs. RASER integrates ErbB activity to specifically link oncogenic states to the execution of desired outputs. A complete mathematical model of RASER and modularity in design enable rational optimization and output programming. Using RASER, we induced apoptosis and CRISPR-Cas9–mediated transcription of endogenous genes specifically in ErbB-hyperactive cancer cells. Delivery of apoptotic RASER by adeno-associated virus selectively ablated ErbB-hyperactive cancer cells while sparing ErbB-normal cells. RASER thus provides a new strategy for oncogene-specific cancer detection and treatment.

A method for modularity in design rules for additive manufacturing

Purpose As the technology matures, design rules for additive manufacturing (AM) can help ensure manufacturability, which can be viewed as compatibility between designs and the fabrication processes that produce those designs. Though often informal, current rules frequently provide direct guidelines or constraints for designing AM-destined parts. The aim of this paper is to standardize how design rules are developed and conveyed in AM by presenting design rules as sets of modular components and associated formalisms. Design/methodology/approach The proposed methodology decomposes fundamental geometry, process and material relationships into reusable modules. Independent of context, modular representations can be more easily interpreted and efficiently implemented than current one. By providing task-specific context, components are specialized to represent process-specific parameters for different AM builds and processes. This method of specialization enables designers to reconfigure design rules, rather than create new rules from scratch, thus preserving fundamental AM principles while supporting customization and explicit representation. Findings Modularity and formalisms provide both structure for the generalizations and a means to tailor that structure for a specific process, machine or build. The adoption of principles and formalisms that allow us to modify, extend, reconfigure or customize generalized rules as needed – instinctively and deliberately. Originality/value This method of specialization enables designers to reconfigure design rules, rather than create new rules from scratch, thus preserving fundamental AM principles while supporting customization and explicit representation.