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In this paper, a new sensor system for simultaneous and quasi-independent strain and temperature measurements is presented. The interrogation of the sensing head has been carried out by monitoring the FFT phase variations of two of the microstructured optical fiber (MOF) cavity interference frequencies. This method is independent of the signal amplitude and also avoids the need to track the wavelength evolution in the spectrum, which can be a handicap when there are multiple interference frequency components with different sensitivities. The sensor is operated within a range of temperature of 30°C-75°C, and 380µɛ of maximum strain were applied; being the sensitivities achieved of 127.5pm/°C and -19.1pm/µɛ respectively. Because the system uses an optical interrogator as unique active element, the system presents a cost-effective feature. ; Financial support from the Spanish Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología within projects TEC2016-76021- C2-1-R, TEC2013-47264-C2-2-R and SUDOE ECOAL-MGT and FEDER funds from the European Union is acknowledged.

In this paper, a new sensor system for simultaneous and independent multipoint strain and temperature measurements is presented. The interrogation of the sensing heads has been carried out by monitoring their FFT phase variations. In particular, two of each microstructured optical fiber (M0F) cavity interference frequencies were used for the measures. This method is independent of the signal amplitude and also avoids the necessity of tracking the wavelength evolution in the spectrum, which can be a handicap when there are multiple interference frequency components with different sensitivities. The sensing heads present birefringent and multimodal properties and therefore both characteristics lead to their own interference with different properties and sensitivities. The multiplexing capability of the sensing heads and the interrogator method has also been tested and validated. Sensors were operated within a range of temperature 30°C-80°C and a deformation of ̴450 με was applied. Crosstalk between measurements can be corrected through simple math operations leading to independent and crosstalk-free multipoint and multiparameter sensors. ; This work was supported in part by the Spanish Comisi´on Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnolog´ıa within projects TEC2016-76021-C2-1-R and TEC2013-47264-C2-2-R, in part by Cost action MP1401, and in part by FEDER funds from the European Union.

Abstract
A tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV)–derived vector system was applied for the delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing materials, to facilitate rapid, transient assays of host–virus interactions involved in the RNA silencing pathway. Toward this, single guide RNAs designed to target key components of the virus-induced host RNA silencing pathway (AGO2, DCL2, HEN1) were inserted into TBSV-based GFP-expressing viral vectors TBSV-GFP (TG) and its P19 defective mutant TGΔP19. This produced rapid, efficient, and specific gene editing in planta. Targeting AGO2, DCL2, or HEN1 partially rescued the lack of GFP accumulation otherwise associated with TGΔP19. Since the rescue phenotypes are normally only observed in the presence of the P19 silencing suppressor, the results support that the DCL2, HEN1, and AGO2 proteins are involved in anti-TBSV RNA silencing. Additionally, we show that knockdown of the RNA silencing machinery increases cargo expression from a nonviral binary Cas9 vector. The TBSV-based gene editing technology described in this study can be adapted for transient heterologous expression, rapid gene function screens, and molecular interaction studies in many plant species considering the wide host range of TBSV. In summary, we demonstrate that a plant virus can be used to establish gene editing while simultaneously serving as an accumulation sensor for successful targeting of its homologous antiviral silencing machinery components.

In this work, two all-fiber loop mirrors using a clover microstructured fiber for the simultaneous measurement of temperature and strain are presented. The sensing heads are formed by a short piece of clover microstructured fiber with 35 mm and 89 mm length respectively. The geometry of the fiber allowed observing different interferences created by the microstructured fiber core section. Different sensitivities to temperature and strain were obtained and, using a matrix method, it is possible to discriminate both physical parameters. Resolutions of ±2ºC and ±11 μ for the first structure and ±2.3ºC and ±18 μ for the second one, for temperature and strain, respectively, were attained. ; This work was supported in part by the European COST action TD1001, FEDER founds and the Spanish Government project TEC2013-47264-C2-2-R1.

A prototype imaging surface plasmon resonance-based multiplex microimmunoassay for mycotoxins is described. A microarray of mycotoxin–protein conjugates was fabricated using a continuous flow microspotter device. A competitive inhibition immunoassay format was developed for the simultaneous detection of deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN), using a single sensor chip. Initial in-house validation showed limits of detection of 21 and 17 ng/mL for DON and 16 and 10 ng/mL for ZEN in extracts, which corresponds to 84 and 68 μg/kg for DON and 64 and 40 μg/kg for ZEN in maize and wheat samples, respectively. Finally, the results were critically compared with data obtained from liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry confirmatory analysis method and found to be in good agreement. The described multiplex immunoassay for the rapid screening of several mycotoxins meets European Union regulatory limits and represents a robust platform for mycotoxin analysis in food and feed samples.

Wearable sensing systems are becoming widely used for a variety of applications including sports, entertainment, and the military. These systems have recently enabled a variety of medical monitoring and diagnostic applications. Such sensing systems have high potential to significantly improve the quality of life for large segments of the population and enable conceptually new types of applications. However, various research challenges including energy sensitivity and semantic complexity must be addressed before these devices can reach their full potential in improving our lives. The need for multiple sensors, high frequency sampling and constant monitoring leads these systems to be power-hungry and expensive with a short operation lifetime. In addition these systems generate a massive amount of data, where designing efficient and effective data mining algorithms to interpret and analyze the data is very costly due to field experts' involvement. This dissertation presents a methodology that takes advantage of contextual and semantic properties in human physiological behavior to enable efficient design and optimization of such systems from the data and information point of view. The methodology uses combinatorial modeling and simultaneous minimization to reduce the wireless communication and local processing power consumption. The effectiveness of this technique is shown on an insole instrumented with 99 pressure sensors placed in each shoe, which is used for human gait analysis. Further, the proposed methodology is used to design unsupervised data mining techniques to extract information such as frequent or rare events and patterns from collected multi-dimensional time series data of wearable sensing devices, where high level of noise and uncertainty is inherent. This approach transforms multi-dimensional time series data to combinatorial space and constructs behavior models, which is used for frequent and rare event detection and pattern classification. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated by applying this technique to discovery and classification of frequent human activities and abnormalities.

High-throughput real-time optical sensing and imaging instruments for capture and analysis of fast phenomena are among the most essential tools for scientific, industrial, military, and most importantly biomedical applications. The key challenge in these instruments is the fundamental trade-off between speed and sensitivity of the measurement system due to the limited signal energy collected in each measurement window. Based on two enabling technologies, namely photonic time-stretch dispersive Fourier transform and optical amplification, we developed several novel high-throughput optical measurement tools for applications such as flow cytometry, vibrometry, and volumetric scanning.We demonstrated optical Raman amplification at about 800 nm wavelength for the first time and extended time-stretch dispersive Fourier transform to this region of electromagnetic spectrum. We used this enabling technology to make an ultrafast three-dimensional laser scanner with about hundred thousand scans per second and an imaging vibrometer with nanometer-scale axial resolution. We also employed our high-speed laser scanner to perform label-free cell screening in flow. One of the fundamental challenges in cell analysis is the undesirable impact of cell labeling on cellular behavior. To eliminate the need for these labels, while keeping the cell classification accuracy high, additional label-free parameters such as precise measurement of the cell protein concentration is required. We introduced a high-accuracy label-free imaging flow cytometer based on simultaneous measurement of morphology and optical path length through the cell at flow speeds as high as a few meters per second. Finally, the ultimate challenge in ultra-high-throughput instrumentation is the storage and analysis of the torrent of generated data. As an example, our imaging flow cytometer generates about ten terabytes of cell images over a course of one hour acquisition, which captures images of every single cell in more than two milliliters of sample e.g. blood. We enabled practical use of these big data volumes by efficient combination of analog preprocessing techniques such as quadrature demodulation with parallel storage and digital post-processing.

The divergent results of two roughly simultaneous negotiations about international regimes for TV broadcasting and remote sensing from satellites reveal that governments do not form preferences by referring only to the interests emphasized in rational choice accounts or to the identities emphasized in sociological institutionalist ones. Tracing the course of the negotiations reveals that governments' perceptions of the interests and identities at stake, and their formulation of their preferences are shaped by their understanding of the contours of the problem or issue at hand. These understandings, or situation definitions, structure political interactions by indicating the causal and moral beliefs relevant to the question at hand, the range of efficacious and acceptable policy means available for addressing it, and the sorts of authority, expertise, skills, and other resources that give particular actors strong claims to inclusion in the process of deciding how to address it.

Abstract
The engineering space for magnetically manipulated biomedical microrobots is rapidly expanding. This includes synthetic, bioinspired, and biohybrid designs, some of which may eventually assume clinical roles aiding drug delivery or performing other therapeutic functions. Actuating these microrobots with rotating magnetic fields (RMFs) and the magnetic torques they exert offers the advantages of efficient mechanical energy transfer and scalable instrumentation. Nevertheless, closed-loop control still requires a complementary noninvasive imaging modality to reveal position and trajectory, such as ultrasound or X-rays, increasing complexity and posing a barrier to use. Here, we investigate the possibility of combining actuation and sensing via inductive detection of model microrobots under field magnitudes ranging from 100 s of microtesla to 10 s of millitesla rotating at 1 to 100 Hz. A prototype apparatus accomplishes this using adjustment mechanisms for both phase and amplitude to finely balance sense and compensation coils, suppressing the background signal of the driving RMF by 90 dB. Rather than relying on frequency decomposition to analyze signals, we show that, for rotational actuation, phase decomposition is more appropriate. We demonstrate inductive detection of a micromagnet placed in two distinct viscous environments using RMFs with fixed and time-varying frequencies. Finally, we show how magnetostatic selection fields can spatially isolate inductive signals from a micromagnet actuated by an RMF, with the resolution set by the relative magnitude of the selection field and the RMF. The concepts developed here lay a foundation for future closed-loop control schemes for magnetic microrobots based on simultaneous inductive sensing and actuation.