Assessing the Aging Effect on Ti/Au Bilayers for Transition-Edge Sensor (TES) Detectors.

Transition-edge sensor (TES) microcalorimeters are advanced cryogenic detectors that use a superconducting film for particle or photon detection. We are establishing a new production line for TES detectors to serve as cryogenic anticoincidence (i.e., veto) devices. These detectors are made with a superconducting bilayer of titanium (Ti) and gold (Au) thin films deposited via electron beam evaporation in a high vacuum condition on a monocrystalline silicon substrate. In this work, we report on the development of such sensors, aiming to achieve stable sensing performance despite the effects of aging. For this purpose, patterned and non-patterned Ti/Au bilayer samples with varying geometries and thicknesses were fabricated using microfabrication technology. To characterize the detectors, we present and discuss initial results from repeated resistance-temperature (R-T) measurements over time, conducted on different samples, thereby augmenting existing literature data. Additionally, we present a discussion of the sensor's degradation over time due to aging effects and test a potential remedy based on an easy annealing procedure. In our opinion, this work establishes the groundwork for our new TES detector production line.

Integration of a body sensor network of wearable devices for cardio-respiratory monitoring.

Wearable devices represent a non-invasive tool to monitor cardio-respiratory parameters. This paper presents a telemedicine platform constituted of four wireless units. Three wearable inertial measurement units monitor the respiratory-related excursions of the thorax and of the abdomen with respect to a reference unit (positioned on the lower back), through which respiratory rate and normalized tidal volume are extracted. The fourth unit is a reflectance wrist-worn pulse oximeter. To validate the system, 20 healthy volunteers (12 men) participated in a protocol designed to induce desaturation conditions and subsequent changes in the respiratory pattern by means of rebreathing. The results were evaluated against two different gold standards (SenTec for pulse oximetry and Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing machine for all units) with Bland-Altman analyses. The resulting biases for the oxygen saturation comparison between the device to be validated and the SenTec and CPET systems are -0.90% and -2.68% respectively, with agreement intervals equal to [-6.37, 4.57] and [-9.00, 3.63]. Regarding the respiratory rate comparison with respect to the CPET system, the bias is -0.01 bpm with a [-11.36, 11.35] agreement interval.Clinical Relevance-This paper provides a validation of an integrated non-invasive wearable system for cardio-respiratory monitoring to be used outside of clinical settings and during the daily life of patients.

Reproducing a decision-making network in a virtual visual discrimination task.

We reproduced a decision-making network model using the neural simulator software neural simulation tool (NEST), and we embedded the spiking neural network in a virtual robotic agent performing a simulated behavioral task. The present work builds upon the concept of replicability in neuroscience, preserving most of the computational properties in the initial model although employing a different software tool. The proposed implementation successfully obtains equivalent results from the original study, reproducing the salient features of the neural processes underlying a binary decision. Furthermore, the resulting network is able to control a robot performing an in silico visual discrimination task, the implementation of which is openly available on the EBRAINS infrastructure through the neuro robotics platform (NRP).

Development and validation of a SYBR-Green I real-time PCR protocol to detect hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) in foods through calibration via plasmid reference standard.

Many tree nuts are considered to be a serious problem in food safety, because of the presence of causative factors in IgE-mediated food allergies. Among these, hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) seeds are largely used in a range of confectionery products and contain many well-characterized allergens. DNA-based methods and ELISA tests may prove to be useful to assess the presence of hidden ingredients in foods. The aim of this work was the development and validation of a species-specific SYBR Green I real-time PCR protocol for the detection of hazelnut in foods. A novel efficient primer pair on the Cor a 8 genomic coding region was designed by preparing a plasmid vector-based internal reference standard to calibrate the PCR. A good sensitivity, down to 20 (genomic) and 15 (plasmid) DNA copies, was established. All of the commercial samples considered in our study (containing hazelnut as ingredient or as a potential trace cross-contamination) were effectively amplified by PCR, showing a perfect correspondence with an ELISA commercial test, employed as a reference standard method.