Source Module Research Articles

Alpha-linolenic acid enhances the phagocytic and secretory functions of alternatively activated macrophages in part via changes to the oxylipin profile.

Alternatively activated macrophages are innate immune cells that contribute to resolution of inflammation and maintenance of homeostasis. Modulation of available fatty acid sources is thought to affect cellular physiology through a variety of mechanisms, including through alterations to the profile of oxygenated free fatty acid metabolites, called oxylipins, produced in a cell type specific manner. Here, we investigated how treatment with the plant-sourced omega-3 fatty acid α-linolenic acid (ALA) affects the oxylipin profile and functional capacity of a cell culture model of human alternatively activated (M2a-like) macrophages. In a targeted but unbiased screen, ALA enhanced the production of oxylipins from all polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) precursors, with oxylipins derived from ALA being enhanced the most. Consistently, ALA treatment enhanced the expression of both cytoplasmic and calcium-independent phospholipase A2. At a functional level, ALA treatment increased phagocytic activity and altered production of the chemokine MCP-1 by M2a-like cells in a manner dependent on the time of treatment. ALA treatment during polarization increased MCP-1 secretion, which was sensitive to pharmacological inhibition of 15-LOX-1 by ML351. Thus, ALA modulates the phenotype of alternatively activated macrophages, likely through its own LOX-derived oxylipins and/or through general modulation of oxylipin biosynthesis. These effects likely contribute to the overall anti-inflammatory benefit observed with ALA supplementation.

Free and Open Source Software Codes for Antenna Design: Preliminary Numerical Experiments

Abstract In both industrial and scientific frameworks, free and open source software codes create novel and interesting opportunities in computational electromagnetics. One of the possible applications, which usually requires a large set of numerical tests, is related to antenna design. Despite the well-known advantages offered by open source software, there are several critical points that restrict its practical application. First, the knowledge of the open source programs is often limited. Second, by using open source packages it is sometimes not easy to obtain results with a high level of confidence, and to integrate open source modules in the production workflow. In the paper, a discussion about open source programs for antenna design is carried out. Furthermore, some preliminary numerical tests are presented and discussed, also in comparison with those obtained by means of commercial software. Results are related to the simulation of various typologies of antennas in order to assess the capabilities of open source software in different configurations. The presented comparisons show that, despite the abovementioned limitations, the examined open source packages have similar performance with respect to their commercial counterparts.

Spatial velocity of the dynamic vectorcardiographic loop provides crucial insight in ventricular dysfunction

Vectorcardiogram (VCG) represents the trajectory of the tip of cardiac vectors in three dimensional space with varying time. It is a recurring, near-periodic pattern of cardiac dynamics that is constructed by drawing the instantaneous vectors from a zero reference point according to direction, magnitude and polarity in the space. Being a three dimensional entity, it is more informative and more sensitive than conventional ECG as an evaluation tool of the physiology of cardiac dynamics, because of its extra degree of freedom. Accordingly, it is possible to find out even a minute and early electrophysiological alteration in diseases.Each cardiac cycle primarily consists of three loops in VCG corresponding to P, QRS, and T wave activities. The morphological assessment of the QRS loop was carried out in three dimensional space in order to analyze the spatial vectors of the ventricles and their patho-physiological correlation in various cardiac diseases.Spatial Velocity (SV) is a virtual velocity that represents the rate of movement of the tip of the cardiac vector through space, coordinated by three orthogonal leads, and can be estimated by using simple mathematical formula. It is the rate of change in amplitude and the directionality of instantaneous vectors in seriatim in the three dimensional space to quantify their the temporo-spatial characteristic pattern.We propose to evaluate this novel VCG descriptor SV, in normal individuals and patients of ventricular dysfunction. The possible mechanisms consistent with the patho-physiological basis of ventricular dysfunction or heart failure with altered SV would enrich the current understanding of the disease.Heart failure is the final common pathway of multitude of cardiac pathologies. Despite etiological heterogeneity, there are common mechanisms involved in the complex electrophysiological alteration of the failing myocardium. The changes observed as a consequence of ventricular dysfunction involve ion channel remodeling, intercellular uncoupling, myocardial ischemia, alterations in calcium handling, remodeling of the extracellular matrix, the presence of scars, activation of the sympathetic & the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system, dilatation as well as stretch of viscous etc. The source modulation of the depolarization wave and its propagation in the heart and body fluid volume conductor also influence the visual pattern of cardiac vectors. In addition, patients with heart failure receive pharmacological or non-pharmacological therapies that also influence the electrophysiological changes.We hypothesize that the spatial velocity of ventricular depolarization and repolarization vectors of the VCG loop alters with a characteristic pattern in the patients with ventricular dysfunction and can differentiate healthy individuals from patients with ventricular dysfunction and also differentiate various categories, gradations and severity stratifications of the patients with ventricular dysfunction.

Visibility of the phantom array effect according to luminance, chromaticity and geometry

Light-emitting diode-based lighting systems are now applied in both general lighting and automotive lighting. Time-modulated control methods such as pulse width modulation are frequently applied as a dimming method. This paper presents the characteristics of the visibility of the phantom array effect according to luminance, chromaticity and angular field of view. The threshold frequency of the visibility of the phantom array increases in proportion to the logarithm of the luminance of the light source. As the angular field of view of the light source increases, the threshold frequency of the visibility of the array decreases exponentially over a range from 0.125° to 4° in our experimental conditions. The threshold frequency at which the array is visible depends on chromaticity at high light source modulation frequencies. When designing time-modulated light sources, our findings can be applied so as to minimize the phantom array effect.

Predicting Reliability of Open Source Hardware Platform

Embedded system today are influencing every sphere of life and all application domains. These systems were initially designed according to the application requirement as special hardware. This approach of embedded system design was influenced by particular family of processor. The new approach of embedded system design envisages the use of general purpose on the shelf hardware modules to be incorporated. These on the shelf hardware modules are also referred open source hardware platforms as their entire hardware module design in available in public domain. Thus populating such hardware platforms by different individuals becomes easy. At instances these open source modules are not as good as the original ones. This is because calculating and predicting the successes achieved or failure caused by the copy is not tested. This can be verified by the performance of the module designed in terms of reliability.

Security analysis of practical continuous-variable quantum key distribution systems under laser seeding attack.

Here, we investigate the security of the practical one-way CVQKD and CV-MDI-QKD systems under laser seeding attack. In particular, Eve can inject a suitable light into the laser diodes of the light source modules in the two kinds of practical CVQKD systems, which results in the increased intensity of the generated optical signal. The parameter estimation under laser seeding attack shows that the secret key rates of these two schemes may be overestimated, which indicates that this attack can open a security loophole for Eve to successfully obtain information about secret key in these practical CVQKD systems. To close this loophole, we propose a real-time monitoring scheme to precisely evaluate the secret key rates of these schemes. The analysis results indicate the implementation of the proposed monitoring scheme can effectively resist this potential attack.

Self-Measurements of Point-Spread Function for Remote Sensing Optical Imaging Instruments

A point-spread function (PSF) is able to describe the spatial characteristics of a remote sensing optical imaging instrument (i.e., camera). Specifically, the PSF of a camera characterizes the image quality degeneration inevitably produced by the camera itself link, involving an optical system, an image sensor, and an electronic system in the imaging process of space optical cameras. In the nonblind reconstruction applications, the PSF is the prerequisite for remote sensing image reconstructions. On-orbit PSF measurement approaches are basically based on ground targets hidden remote sensing images, such as edge-based and point-pulse-based approaches. However, external targets used in these measurement methods are easily accessed because the imaging condition is limited by space and time. Here, we propose a real-time self-measurement method using optical fiber illuminations in conjunction with a Lasso-based reconstruction algorithm to measure the on-orbit PSF in real time. First, we construct an infinite object-point generation module by enclosing a laser, a fiber, and optics into a fiber micropoint-illuminator (mFPI), which can produce the collimated thin beams. The mFPI is composed of the head, fiber, and light source. The light source module is located external to the camera, where the lights from a laser are coupled into the input of an optical fiber by using a lens. The head is composed of the fiber output and lens, which is located on the internal of the camera. The light is guided into the head by the fiber, and the head acts as an infinite point target. Second, we propose a PSF reconstruction algorithm based on an extended Lasso model. Finally, confirmation experiments on a camera with optical fibers are performed. The proposed method provides a valuable self-measurement method for on-orbit cameras.

Optical Spatial Modulation for FSO IM/DD Communications With Photon-Counting Receivers: Performance Analysis, Transmit Diversity Order and Aperture Selection

This paper investigates two pulse-based Optical Spatial Modulation (OSM) schemes as cost-efficient solutions for multi-aperture Free-Space Optical (FSO) communications with Intensity-Modulation and Direct-Detection (IM/DD). Namely, we consider Optical Space Shift Keying (OSSK) where information is encoded in the index of the pulsed optical source and Spatial Pulse Position Modulation (SPPM) where additional bits determine the position of the transmitted optical pulse resulting in higher transmission rates. A performance analysis is carried out over gamma-gamma channels with the exact Poisson photon-counting detection model. Exact Symbol Error Probability (SEP) expressions, simple upper bounds and the achievable transmit diversity orders are derived for both the open-loop and closed-loop scenarios. Based on the presented performance analysis, a transmit aperture selection scheme capable of maximizing the transmit diversity order is proposed for OSSK and SPPM in the closed-loop case. Results show that for open-loop OSSK, open-loop SPPM and closed-loop OSSK, the transmit diversity order does not depend on the severity of scintillation unlike the closed-loop SPPM case.

Pengembangan Program Pelatihan Teknik Penulisan Modul Untuk Widyaiswara BPSDM Provinsi DKI Jakarta

This development research aims to develop an appropriate training program about module writing which intended to the Instructors of BPSDM Jakarta in order to increase ones’ knowledge and competencies in module writing. The program development refers to the Instructional Development Model by M. Atwi Suparman. Basde on these models, research and developmenta has been through the stages of assess needs to identify instructional goal, conduct instructional analysis, analyze learners and contexts, write performance objectives, develop assessment instrument, develop instructional strategy, develop and select instructional, and design and conduct formative evaluation. This research also developed a book of training program for Instructors, training module, and presentation media, in order to assist the training process. The evaluation of the training program includes two phases which consist of expert review and one-to-one evaluation. The evaluation scores from expert review phase by Instructional Design Expert is 3.73 which considered as very good, also the scores from media expert for learning source module is 3.88 which considered as very good and for presentation media 3.17 which considered as very good either. The one-to-one evaluation phase involved 3 Instructors and the scores obtained is 3 which considered as good. Based on the results of evaluation, it can be concluded that this training program is appropriate to be implemented in order to increase the competencies of module writing for the Instructors of BPSDM DKI Jakarta.

Handheld projective imaging device for near-infrared fluorescence imaging and intraoperative guidance of sentinel lymph node resection.

.We propose a handheld projective imaging device for orthotopic projection of near-infrared fluorescence images onto target biological tissue at visible wavelengths without any additional visual aid. The device integrates a laser diode light source module, a camera module, a projector, an ultrasonic distance sensor, a Raspberry Pi single-board computer, and a battery module in a rugged handheld unit. It is calibrated at the detected working distance for seamless coregistration between fluorescence emission and projective imaging at the target tissue site. The proposed device is able to achieve a projection resolution higher than and a planar projection bias less than 1 mm at a projection field of view of and a working distance of 27 cm. Technical feasibility for projective imaging is verified in an ex vivo model of chicken breast tissue using indocyanine green as a fluorescence agent. Clinical utility for image-guided surgery is demonstrated in a clinical trial where sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer patients are identified and resected under the guidance of projective imaging. Our ex vivo and in vivo experiments imply the clinical utility of deploying the proposed device for image-guided surgical interventions in resource-limited settings.

Hollow Light Guide Module Involving Mini Light-Emitting Diodes for Asymmetric Luminous Planar Illuminators

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have numerous advantages. However, LEDs only offer a point light source. Therefore, transforming LEDs into planar light sources is a new objective in general lighting applications. Solid light guides have strong uniformity but are marred by their material absorption characteristics and weight. Hollow light guides constitute a solution to the weight problem but exhibit poor uniformity and necessitate sacrificing efficiency to enhance uniformity. To resolve the uniformity, weight, and efficiency problems simultaneously, we propose a hollow light guide architecture involving mini-LEDs with asymmetric luminous intensity. To develop this guide module, we first optimized the aspect ratio of the cavity and then modulated the light path by using varied angles of the reflection surface on the end wall of the module. We then designed a beveled reflection surface near the mini-LEDs to further enhance uniformity. An archetype of the proposed architecture for planar light source modules had a width and depth of 51.5 and 9.95 mm, respectively. Experimental results revealed a total efficiency of 83.9% and uniformity of 92.3%. The module weight was determined to be 215 g, which was 40% lighter than that of similarly sized solid light guide modules.

Fluorescent Lamp Effect Correction on Capacitive Touch Panel by Timely Update Predicted Covariance Matrix

This paper proposes an adaptive Kalman filter (AKF) control algorithm for capacitive touch panels under the radiation effect of a commercial fluorescent lamp. The predicted covariance matrix of the proposed algorithm is timely updated by two-dimensional gesture compensation. It adaptively adjusts the filter correction manner between fast tracking and smoothing modes. The trajectory area and velocity concept builds up the compensation method and proves in real-time practice by a microprocessor unit. The electromagnetic radiation effect is investigated to obtain the lamp emission noise level. A comprehensive system structure provides the flexibility and efficiency in competing with different algorithms for comparison. A microprocessor unit completed the AKF method calculation in 8.23 ms under fluorescent lamp lightening condition in real time. All Python environments are implemented in the merit of hardware peripheral support, rich programming environments, and open source modules.

Development of National Forest/Land Fire Monitoring System Using Remote Sensing Satellite Data (Terra/Aqua Modis and SNPP) by Automation and Nearly Real-time.

Hotspot monitoring system using remote sensing satellite data such as Terra/Aqua Modis and SNPP VIIRS. In order to manage national natural disaster (such as forest/land fire disaster), accurate-real time-accessible data and information are required. In this case the use of remote sensing satellites data is use for the monitoring of natural disasters, especially forest/land fires that occur very massive need monitoring in real time and up to date. Information systems for monitoring of forest/land fires, can be built using remote sensing data of Terra/Aqua Modis and SNPP satellites that continuously monitor the condition of the land/forest by photographing the Indonesian territory respectively four times a day. The hotspot data requirement is 30 minute after the reception in ground station. The built system consists of the reception, processing, cataloguing and dissemination data, in order to fit the requirement the system need to be automation. The data receiving process is done at Parepare and Rumpin ground stations, followed by sending data to Pekayon in real time. Data processing is done in Pekayon using automated software open source module. Furthermore, data cataloguing is built using spatial and numerical based databases. The appearance system is built interactively with web-based online and mobile, user can do searching hotspot information based on location, degree of trust and time of incident. The monitoring system of forest / land fires that have been built have been published and utilized nationally, especially the BNPB in the context of the prevention and mitigation of forest / land fire disasters in Indonesia. Users can access through the website http://modis-catalog.lapan.go.id or can download android-based mobile app “Hotspot LAPAN”. It is expected that with online and mobile web based online and mobile fire monitoring system, it can be used for the prevention and mitigation of forest/land fire disaster in Indonesia.

P‐203: Late‐News Poster: Integrated Full‐Color RGB Superluminescent LED Module for Micro‐Displays

We present the first light source module that is realized with RGB superluminescent LEDs in a compact 14‐pin butterfly housing for speckle‐free display applications. The module provides a free‐space output with collimated RGB beams that are colinearly aligned having 10 mW output power per color.

Software Reuse in the Era of Opportunistic Design

Opportunistic design, an approach in which people develop new software systems by routinely reusing and combining components that were not designed to be used together, has become very popular. This emergent pattern places focus on largescale reuse and developer convenience with the developers trawling for most suitable open source components and modules online. The availability of open source assets for almost all imaginable domains has led to software systems in which the visible application code, as written by the application developers themselves, forms only the tip of the iceberg, compared to the reused bulk that remains mostly unknown to the developers. The actual reuse takes place in an ad hoc, mix-and-match fashion. In this article, we take a look at this increasingly popular approach in light of our industry experiences. We argue that challenges associated with such a development model are quite different from traditional software development and reuse.

A Light Guide Plate That Uses Asymmetric Intensity Distribution of Mini-LEDs for the Planar Illuminator

Traditional backlights are designed with new dot patterns, and then injection molding, laser beam fabrication, or UV (Ultraviolet) roll-to-plate imprinting is used to apply dot patterns to a light guide plate—the process consumes considerable time and resources. Therefore, we propose a novel light guide design that does not use a dot pattern. We designed an asymmetric intensity distribution of mini-LEDs (Light Emitting Diode) and a light guide plate with a fully printed diffusion reflection on the bottom surface for a planar illuminator. The design rules for the proposed architecture are described in this paper. The archetype design with a 152.4 mm circular down-light has a diameter of 143 mm for the planar light source module. The experiment achieved a total efficiency of 85% and uniformity of 92.6%.

Designing odoo’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)

To promote Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia, especially within the scope of Sidoarjo Regency. Odoo ERP is the right choice with complete and open source modules that allow users to customize modules as needed and do not require a lot of capital to apply to MSMEs. Designing ERP for Odoo Sinar Mentari that uses make to stock strategy can overcome the problems faced, namely the flow of information that has not been integrated between lines as well as in purchasing activities, these MSMEs cannot control the amount of material to be purchased and stock in stock also often accumulates or lacks material that results in a high total cost that has an impact on the benefits of MSMEs. This problem solving in Sinar Mentari in Terik Village is by designing Odoo ERP system using Sales module, Purchases Manufacturing, Contacts Directory, and Employees by first calculating the next period demand forecasting using moving average method and making production master schedule using POM-QM software system design research results in an Odoo-based ERP system that has many advantages, namely being able to access information on business activities such as inventory, improve work processes, efficiency, reduce paper use, improve system control and automation that greatly impact business income.

Luminescence material characterizations on laser-phosphor lighting techniques.

This study examines three different types of laser carriers, including the phosphors in silicone (PiS), the phosphor in glass (PiG), and alumina-based ceramic binders (CP), for laser-phosphor lighting characterizations via a laser projector light source module. The thermal influence of heat spreading on these phosphor materials and their luminescence performance is also investigated. The conversion efficiency of PiS, PiG and CP was found to be 29.7%, 34.6% and 31.8%, with their corresponding maximum laser power operations of 3.9 W, 7.9 W, and 17.2 W, respectively. This work further correlates the maximum laser operation power with the thermal conductivity of luminescence material. From the optical engine perspective, it was found that CP exhibits the superior thermal conductivity of 17.0 W/m⋅K for slight hot-spot IR observation and higher laser power operation. This work finally delivers a CP device for 50.2W maximum laser operation with the operating temperature below 100 °C. The simulation is also carried out in order to examine spreading resistance's influence, when subject to convective boundary condition. CP's response sensitivity to heat transfer coefficient was found to be rather small.

Energy Guarantee Scheme for Real-time Systems with Energy Harvesting Constraints

The growth of environmental energy harvesting has been explosive in wireless computing systems especially when replacing or recharging batteries manually is impracticable. This work investigates the scheduling of periodic weekly hard real-time tasks under energy constraints. Based on this motivation, we proposed a real-time scheduling algorithm, namely energy guarantee dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (EG-DVFS), that utilizes the earliest deadline-harvesting (ED-H) scheduling algorithm combined with dynamic voltage and frequency scaling. This one is qualified as real-time since tasks must satisfy their timing constraints. We assume that the preemptable tasks receive dynamic priorities according to the earliest deadline first (EDF) rule. EG-DVFS adjusts the processor’s behavior by characterizing the properties of the energy source module, capacity of the stored energy as well as the harvested energy in a future duration. Specifically, tasks are executed at full processor speed if the amount of energy in the battery is enough to finish its execution. Otherwise, the processor slows down task execution to the lowest possible processor speed while still guaranteeing to meet all the timing constraints. EG-DVFS mainly depends on the on-line computation of the slack time and the slack energy with dynamic voltage and frequency selection in order to achieve an improved system performance. Experimental results show that EG-DVFS can achieve capacity savings up of up to 33% when compared to ED-H.

Thermal analyses of heat source assembly for a dual loop, Turbo-Brayton Radioisotope power system

This paper presents the results of 3-D thermal analyses of the heat source assembly (HSA) for a dual-loop, Turbo-Brayton Radioisotope Power System (RPS) for generating in excess of 300 We. The HSA with 6 Step 2 General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) modules, is thermally coupled to two Brayton loops, each with a 300 We Turbo-Brayton unit. Results show that with either vacuum or helium gas in all internal gaps and voids of the GPHS modules the temperatures of the 238PuO2 fuel pellets, the Iridium (Ir) alloy cladding, and the Fine Weave Pierced Fabric (FWPF) aeroshell are largely within safe margins. With vacuum in all internal gaps and voids, the highest aeroshell is 1271 K which is 102 K below the NASA specified maximum of 1373 K to limit potential heating of the Ir-alloy cladding during an unlikely reentry. The Ir alloy cladding temperature is ≥300 K above the suggested low limit of 1173 K, and ≥112 K below its recrystallization temperature of 1603 K. With helium gas in all internal gaps and voids, the highest surface temperature of the aeroshell is ≥145 K below 1373 K, while that of the Ir-alloy cladding is 80 K above the suggested minimum temperature (1173 K) to maintain ductility and 326 K below that for recrystallization and the onset of grain growth.