ABSTRACT
Goal: Dynamically monitoring serotonin in real-time within target brain regions would significantly improve the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to a variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Current systems for measuring serotonin lack immediacy and portability and are bulky and expensive. Methods: We present a new miniaturised device, named SmartFSCV, designed to monitor dynamic changes of serotonin using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV). This device outputs a precision voltage potential between -3 to +3 V, and measures current between -1.5 to +1.5 µA with nano-ampere accuracy. The device can output modifiable arbitrary waveforms for various measurements and uses an N-shaped waveform at a scan-rate of 1000 V/s for sensing serotonin. Results: Four experiments were conducted to validate SmartFSCV: static bench test, dynamic serotonin test and two artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm tests. Conclusions: These tests confirmed the ability of SmartFSCV to accurately sense and make informed decisions about the presence of serotonin using AI.
ABSTRACT
Current camera traps use passive infrared triggers; therefore, they only capture images when animals have a substantially different surface body temperature than the background. Endothermic animals, such as mammals and birds, provide adequate temperature contrast to trigger cameras, while ectothermic animals, such as amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates, do not. Therefore, a camera trap that is capable of monitoring ectotherms can expand the capacity of ecological research on ectothermic animals. This study presents the design, development, and evaluation of a solar-powered and artificial-intelligence-assisted camera trap system with the ability to monitor both endothermic and ectothermic animals. The system is developed using a central processing unit, integrated graphics processing unit, camera, infrared light, flash drive, printed circuit board, solar panel, battery, microphone, GPS receiver, temperature/humidity sensor, light sensor, and other customized circuitry. It continuously monitors image frames using a motion detection algorithm and commences recording when a moving animal is detected during the day or night. Field trials demonstrate that this system successfully recorded a high number of animals. Lab testing using artificially generated motion demonstrated that the system successfully recorded within video frames at a high accuracy of 0.99, providing an optimized peak power consumption of 5.208 W. No water or dust entered the cases during field trials. A total of 27 cameras saved 85,870 video segments during field trials, of which 423 video segments successfully recorded ectothermic animals (reptiles, amphibians, and arthropods). This newly developed camera trap will benefit wildlife biologists, as it successfully monitors both endothermic and ectothermic animals.
Subject(s)
Animals, Wild , Mammals , Algorithms , AnimalsABSTRACT
A vast amount of civil infrastructure is constructed using reinforced concrete, which can be susceptible to corrosion, posing significant risks. Corrosion of reinforced concrete has various causes, with chloride ingress known to be a major contributor. Monitoring this chloride ingress would allow for preventative maintenance to be less intrusive at a lower cost. Currently, chloride sensing methods are bulky and expensive, leaving the majority of concrete infrastructures unmonitored. This paper presents the design and fabrication of a miniature, low-cost device that can be embedded into concrete at various locations and depths. The device measures localized concrete resistance, correlating to the chloride ingress in the concrete using equations listed in this paper, and calculated results from two experiments are presented. The device benefits from a four-probe architecture, injecting a fixed frequency AC waveform across its outer electrodes within the cement block. Voltage across the internal electrodes is measured with a microcontroller and converted to a resistance value, communicated serially to an external computer. A final test showcases the ability of the device for three-dimensional mass deployment.
