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The ever-increasing demand for wireless communication has led to an incentive to increase the data rate and reduce the size of communication devices, be it antennas or other components of RF front-ends. The emphasis is primarily on increasing data rate, which leads to the use of higher frequency bands and wider bandwidths in modern communication technology research and innovations. However, increasing frequency in many technology areas cannot necessarily be beneficial because of physical constraints. For example, communication under seawater or other RF harsh environment requires very-low-frequency (VLF) or ultra-low-frequency (ULF) signals to penetrate lossy media that block high-frequency signals. Furthermore, recent advances in neuroscience have demonstrated the potential of VLF and ULF electromagnetic (EM) waves for studying brain function and treating neurological conditions. The main challenge is that most VLF and ULF generators are large and power-hungry, making them impractical to use in many applications. As a result, recent approaches using permanent magnets have started to provide groundbreaking solutions that can revolutionize VLF/ULF communication. This work presents a new method for generating low-frequency EM waves for navigation and communication in challenging environments, such as underwater and underground, as well as magnetic stimulation of brain neurons. The key concept is to disturb the magnetic energy stored around a permanent magnet in a time-variant fashion. The magnetic reluctance of the medium around the permanent magnet is modulated to alter the magnetic flux intensity and direction (disturb the stored energy) in order to achieve this goal. The nonlinear properties of the surrounding magnetic material are a critical phenomenon for efficient and effective modulation. Since the proposed method of generating the EM field is not based on a second-order system (resonant structure), the bandwidth of any modulation schema is not limited to the overall system quality factor. A transmitter is prototyped as a proof of concept, and the generated field is measured. Compared to the rotating magnet, the prototyped transmitter can modulate up to 50% of the permanent magnet's stored energy with much lower power consumption. The magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) approach is also used to analyze the transmitter. Finally, the transmitter is optimized, and the measurement results show a 7 dB improvement in efficiency compared to the primary structure. As a result of promising performance, we propose that this method be used to improve the performance of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) devices. Furthermore, the comparison simulated results back up the validity of the proposed technique, revealing that focality and penetration depth are improved while utilizing much less power than traditional TMS devices. Doctor of Philosophy The growing demand for wireless communication has created an incentive to increase the data rate while decreasing the size of communication devices, whether they are antennas or other radio frequency (RF) components between the antenna and at least one mixing stage of a receiver and/or the power amplifier of the transmitter. The emphasis is primarily on increasing data rate, which leads to the use of higher frequency bands and wider bandwidths in modern communication technology research and innovations. However, increasing frequency in many technology areas may not be beneficial because of physical constraints. For example, communication under seawater or underground requires very-low-frequency (VLF) or ultra-low-frequency (ULF) signals to penetrate lossy media that block high-frequency signals. Furthermore, recent advances in neuroscience have demonstrated the potential of VLF and ULF electromagnetic (EM) waves for studying brain function and treating neurological conditions. The main challenge is that most VLF and ULF generators are large and power-hungry, making them unsuitable for many applications. As a result, recent approaches using permanent magnets have started to provide groundbreaking solutions that can revolutionize VLF/ULF communication. This work presents a new method for generating low-frequency EM waves for navigation and communication in challenging environments, such as underwater and underground, as well as magnetic stimulation of brain neurons. The key idea is to disturb the magnetic energy stored around a permanent magnet in a time-variant fashion. The magnetic reluctance of the medium around the permanent magnet is modulated to change the magnetic flux intensity and direction (disturb the stored energy) in order to achieve this goal. The nonlinear properties of the surrounding magnetic material are a critical factor in achieving efficient and effective modulation. Since the proposed method of generating the EM field does not rely on a second-order system (resonant structure), the bandwidth of any modulation schema is not constrained by the overall system quality factor. As a proof of concept, a transmitter is prototyped, and the generated field is measured. Compared to the rotating magnet, the prototyped transmitter can modulate up to 50% of the permanent magnet's stored energy with much lower power consumption. The magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) approach is also used to analyze the transmitter. Finally, the transmitter is optimized, and the measurement results show a 7 dB improvement in efficiency compared to the primary structure. As a result of promising performance, we propose that this method be used to improve the performance of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) devices. Furthermore, the comparison simulated results support the validity of the proposed technique, revealing that focality and penetration depth are improved while using much less power than traditional TMS devices.

This study explored the effect of a solenoid magnetic field (SOMF) as a pre-treatment on anaerobic sewage sludge (ASS) before using it in an osmotic microbial fuel cell (OMFC) as an inoculant. The ASS efficiency in terms of colony-forming unit (CFU) was improved ten times by applying SOMF compared to the control conditions. The obtained highest power density, current density, and water flux in the OMFC were 32.70 ± 5 mW·m-2, 135.13 ± 15 mA·m-2, and 4.24 ± 0.11 L·m-2h-1 respectively, for 72 h at 1 mT magnetic field. The coulombic efficiency (CE) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency were increased to 40-45% and 4-5% respectively, compared to un-treated ASS. Also, the start-up time of the ASS-OMFC system was almost reduced to 1-2 days based on open circuit voltage data. On the other hand, increasing the pre-treatment intensity of SOMF with time, it decreased the performance of OMFC. Also, the low intensity with increased pre-treatment time up to a specific limit enhanced the performance of OMFC.

The recalcitrant structures either from substrate or microbial biomass contained in digestates after anaerobic digestion (AD) highly influence digestate valorization. To properly assess the microbial biomass contribution to the digested organic matter (OM), a combination of characterization methods and the use of various substrate types in anaerobic continuous reactors was required. The use of totally biodegradable substrates allowed detecting soluble microbial products via fluorescence spectroscopy at emission wavelengths of 420 and 460 nm while the protein-like signature was enhanced by the whey protein. During reactors' operation, a transfer of complex compounds to the dissolved OM from the particulate OM was observed through fluorescence applied on biochemical fractionation. Consequently, the fluorescence complexity index of the dissolved OM increased from 0.59-0.60 to 1.06-1.07, whereas it decreased inversely for the extractable soluble from the particulate OM from 1.16-1.19 to 0.42-0.54. Accordingly, fluorescence regional integration showed differences among reactors based on visual inspection and orthogonal partial latent structures (OPLS) analysis. Similarly, the impact of the substrate type and operation time on the particulate OM was revealed by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance using OPLS, providing a good model (R2X = 0.93 and Q2 = 0.8) with a clear time-trend. A high signal resonated at ∼30 ppm attributed to CH2-groups in the aliphatic chain of lipid-like structure besides carbohydrates intensities at 60-110 ppm distinguished the reactor fed with whey protein from the other, which was mostly biomass related. Indeed, this latter displayed a higher presence of peptidoglycan (δH/C: 1.6-2.0/20-25 ppm) derived from microbial biomass by 1H-13C heteronuclear single-quantum coherence (HSQC) nuclear magnetic resonance. Interestingly, the sample distribution obtained by non-metric multidimensional scaling of bacterial communities resembled the attained using 13C NMR properties, opening new research perspectives. Overall, this study discloses the microbial biomass contribution to digestates composition to improve the OM transformation mechanism knowledge.

Electrocatalytic CO2 reduction is often carried out in a solution electrolyte such as KHCO3(aq), which allows for ion conduction between electrodes. Therefore, liquid products that form are in a mixture with the dissolved salts, requiring energy-intensive downstream separation. Here, we report continuous electrocatalytic conversion of CO2 to pure liquid fuel solutions in cells that utilize solid electrolytes, where electrochemically generated cations (such as H+) and anions (such as HCOO−) are combined to form pure product solutions without mixing with other ions. Using a HCOOH-selective (Faradaic efficiencies > 90%) and easily scaled Bi catalyst at the cathode, we demonstrate production of pure HCOOH solutions with concentrations up to 12 M. We also show 100 h continuous and stable generation of 0.1 M HCOOH with negligible degradation in selectivity and activity. Production of other electrolyte-free C2+ liquid oxygenate solutions, including acetic acid, ethanol and n-propanol, are also demonstrated using a Cu catalyst. Finally, we show that our CO2 reduction cell with solid electrolytes can be modified to suit other, more complex practical applications. Liquid products from electrocatalytic CO2 reduction are often mixed with additional solutes in the electrolyte, meaning that downstream separation is required. Here, the authors design cells that use solid electrolytes to generate flows of CO2-derived liquid fuels with high concentrations that are free of extraneous ions.

To investigate the relationship between resting energy expenditure (REE) and body composition in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).An observational study.University Research Centre.Nine Duchenne children (age range 6-12 y), mean relative weight 128%, agreed to undergo the investigation and all of them completed the study;Assessment of body composition (total body fat and skeletal muscle mass) by magnetic resonance imaging and resting energy expenditure by indirect calorimetry.Fat mass (FM; kg and percentage weight), fat-free mass (FFM; kg and percentage weight), muscle mass (kg and percentage weight), resting energy expenditure (kJ/kg body weight and kJ/kg fat-free mass).: In Duchenne children fat mass averages 32% and total skeletal muscle mass 20% of body weight. Resting energy expenditure per kg of body weight falls within the normal range for children of the same age range, while when expressed per kg of FFM is significantly higher than reference values. No relationship was found between REE and total skeletal muscle mass.Our results do not demonstrate a low REE in DMD boys; on the contrary REE per kg of FFM is higher than normal, probably due to the altered FFM composition. We suggest that the development of obesity in DMD children is not primarily due to a low REE but to other causes such as a reduction in physical activity and or overfeeding.

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have emerged as a promising technology for wastewater treatment with concomitant energy production but the performance is usually limited by low microbial activities. This has spurred intensive research interest for microbial enhancement. This study demonstrated an interesting stimulation effect of a static magnetic field (MF) on sludge-inoculated MFCs and explored into the mechanisms. The implementation of a 100-mT MF accelerated the reactor startup and led to increased electricity generation. Under the MF exposure, the activation loss of the MFC was decreased, but there was no increased secretion of redox mediators. Thus, the MF effect was mainly due to enhanced bioelectrochemical activities of anodic microorganisms, which are likely attributed to the oxidative stress and magnetohydrodynamic effects under an MF exposure. This work implies that weak MF may be applied as a simple and effective approach to stimulate microbial activities for various bioelectrochemical energy production and decontamination applications.

Transcranial magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) surgery has recently gained favor as a novel, noninvasive alternative to conventional neurosurgery. In contrast to traditional ablative interventions, transcranial MRgFUS surgery is entirely imaging-guided and uses continuous temperature measurements at the target and surrounding tissue taken in real-time. Unlike Gamma Knife radiosurgery, MRgFUS surgery can make a lesion immediately and does not use ionizing radiation. Moreover, since no metallic device is implanted, MR imaging-based diagnosis is not restricted throughout life. An additional strength of transcranial MRgFUS surgery is its ability to focus acoustic energy through the intact skull onto deep-seated targets, while minimizing adjacent tissue damage. Even though the established indications of MRgFUS include bone metastases, uterine fibroids, and breast lesions, several promising preclinical and phase I clinical trials of neuropathic pain, essential tremor, Parkinson's disease (PD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder have demonstrated that the delivery of focused ultrasound energy promises to be a broadly applicable technique. For instance, this technique can be used to generate focal intracranial thermal ablative lesions of brain tumors, or to silence dysfunctional neural circuits and disrupt the blood-brain barrier for targeted drug delivery and the modulation of neural activity. Here we review the general principles of MRgFUS and its current applications, with a special focus on movement disorders such as essential tremor and PD, and discuss controversies and limitations of this technique.

Raf1 kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP) negatively regulates the Raf1/MEK/ERK pathway which is vital for cell growth and differentiation. It is also a biomarker in clinical cancer diagnosis. RKIP binds to the N-terminus of Raf1 kinase but little is known about the structural basis of RKIP binding with Raf1. Here, we demonstrate that the N-terminus of human Raf1 kinase (hRaf11-147aa) binds with human RKIP (hRKIP) at its ligand-binding pocket, loop "127-149", and the C-terminal helix by NMR experiments. D70, D72, E83, Y120, and Y181 were further verified as the key residues participating in the interaction of hRKIP and hRaf11-147aa. G143-R146 fragment was also critical for hRKIP binding with hRaf11-147aa, for its deletion decreased the binding affinity around 300 times, from 154 to 0.46 mM(-1). Our results provide important structural clues for designing the lead compound that disrupts RKIP-Raf1 interaction.