An IoT-based low-cost architecture for smart libraries using SDN

In the evolving landscape of smart libraries, this research pioneers an IoT-based low-cost architecture utilizing Software-Defined Networking (SDN). The increasing demand for more efficient and economical solutions in library management, particularly in the realm of RFID-based processes such as authentication, property circulation, and book loans, underscores the significance of this study. Leveraging the collaborative potential of IoT and SDN technologies, our proposed system introduces a fresh perspective to tackle these challenges and advance intelligent library management. In response to the evolving landscape of smart libraries, our research presents an Internet of Things (IoT)-based low-cost architecture utilizing SDN. The exploration of this architectural paradigm arises from a recognized gap in the existing literature, pointing towards the necessity for more efficient and cost-effective solutions in managing library processes. Our proposed algorithm integrates IoT and SDN technologies to intelligently oversee various library activities, specifically targeting RFID-based processes such as authentication, property circulation management, and book loan management. The system's architecture, encompasses components like the data center, SDN controllers, RFID tags, tag readers, and other network sensors. By leveraging the synergy between RFID and SDN, our innovative approach reduces the need for constant operator supervision in libraries. The scalability and software-oriented nature of the architecture cater to extensive library environments. Our study includes a two-phase investigation, combining practical implementation in a small-scale library with a simulation environment using MATLAB 2021. This research not only fills a crucial gap in current knowledge but also lays the foundation for future advancements in the integration of IoT and SDN technologies for intelligent library management.

Automating inventorying of blood stations: A system based on ultrahigh-frequency radio-frequency identification (UHF RFID) technology

Inventorying blood products is an essential process in blood station management. Traditional methods need to integrate barcodes with refrigerators, which suffer from low time efficiency, high error rate and high labour cost. Several methods have been proposed to automate this process in blood stations. However, none of them is ideal enough. In this paper, we analyse the difficulties of automation in blood inventory, and propose an automated blood inventory system based on UHF RFID technology. Comparisons over our method with manual inventory and handheld RFID inventory are conducted. The result shows that our method is nearly 10 times higher than manual inventory in time efficiency while increases the accuracy to 100%.

Use of radio-frequency identification technology to assess the frequency of cattle visits to mineral feeders

Three experiments were conducted to evaluate the frequency of visits to a mineral feeder equipped with radio-frequency identification (RFID). In Exp. 1, twelve heifers (Braford, Brahman, and White Angus; n = 4/breed) were fitted with RFID ear tags and placed into a pasture with access to a RFID-equipped mineral feeder. Number of visits were greater (P ≤ 0.05) during daytime than the night period. Brahman and Braford heifers favored (P ≤ 0.05) daytime than night period. White Angus heifers did not display a specific period preference (P = 0.32). In Exp. 2, Black Angus and Brahman cows (n = 15 and 19, respectively) were placed into a pasture with access to a RFID-equipped mineral feeder. Brahman cows made more (P < 0.01) visits to the mineral feeder than Black Angus cows. There were no breed differences on the number of visits during the morning (P = 0.25) and night (P ≤ 0.25) periods, but Brahman cows made more (P ≤ 0.05) visits to the mineral feeder in the afternoon period than Black Angus cows. In Exp. 3, the location of the mineral feeder was tested using 3 groups of Bos indicus-influenced heifers (n = 12/group). The mineral feeder was moved weekly within pasture. The number of visits to the mineral feeder differed for each location (P < 0.001) with visits being greatest when mineral feeder was placed near supplement and water, followed by center of the pasture, and lastly in the shade.

A single GnRH challenge promotes paternal care, changing nestling growth for one day

Decades of comparative and experimental work suggest that testosterone (T) promotes mating effort at the expense of parental effort in many vertebrates. There is abundant evidence that T-mediated trade-offs span both evolutionary and seasonal timescales, as T is often higher in species or breeding stages with greater mating competition and lower in association with parental effort. However, it is less clear whether transient elevations in T within a male's own reactive scope can affect parental effort in the same way, with effects that are visible to natural selection. Here, we injected free-living male tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), thus temporarily maximizing T production within an individual's own limit. Passive loggers at each nest showed that GnRH-injected males provisioned more frequently than saline males for the subsequent day, and their offspring gained more mass during that time. The degree of offspring growth was positively correlated with the father's degree of T elevation, but provisioning was not proportional to changes in T, and GnRH- and saline-injected males did not differ in corticosterone secretion. These results suggest that prior knowledge of T-mediated trade-offs garnered from seasonal, evolutionary, and experimental research cannot necessarily be generalized to the timescale of transient fluctuations in T secretion within an individual. Instead, we propose that GnRH-induced T fluctuations may not result in visible trade-offs if selection has already sculpted an individual male's reactive scope based on his ability to handle the competing demands of mating and parental care.

The development and validation of a prototype mobility tracker for assessing the life space mobility and activity participation of older adults

BACKGROUND

There is increasing interest in examining the life space mobility and activity participation of older adults in the community using sensor technology. Objective data from these technologies may overcome the limitations of self-reported surveys especially in older adults with age-associated cognitive impairment. This paper describes the development and validation of a prototype hybrid mobility tracker for assessing life space mobility and out-of-home activities amongst 33 community-ambulant older adults in Singapore.

METHODS

A hybrid mobility tracker was developed by combining a passive Global Positioning System logger, tri-axial accelerometer and radio-frequency identification. Objective measures of life space, derived from 1 week of tracking data using Geographic Information Systems, were the maximum Euclidean distance from home (Max Euclid) and the area of the minimum convex polygon surrounding all GPS waypoints (MCP area). Out-of-home activities were quantified by visually identifying the total number of activity nodes, or places where participants spent ≥5 min, from mobility tracks. Self-reported measure of life space in 4 weeks was obtained using the University of Alabama at Birmingham Study of Life Space Assessment (UAB-LSA) questionnaire. Self-reported out-of-home activities were recorded daily in a travel diary for 1 week. Bivariate correlations were used to examine convergent validity between objective and subjective measures of life space and out-of-home activities.

RESULTS

The mean age of participants was 69.2 ± 7.1 years. The mean UAB-LSA total score was 79.1 ± 17.4. The median (range) Max Euclid was 2.44 km (0.26-7.50) per day, and the median (range) MCP area was 3.31 km² (0.03-34.23) per day. The UAB-LSA total score had good correlation with Max Euclid (r = 0.51, p = 0.002), and moderate correlation with MCP area (r = 0.46, p = 0.007). The median (range) total number of activity nodes measured by tracker of 20 (8-47) per week had a good correlation with the total activity count recorded in the travel diaries of 15 (6-40) per week (r = 0.52, p = 0.002).

CONCLUSIONS

The tracking system developed to understand out-of-home travel was feasible and reliable. Comparisons with the UAB-LSA and travel diaries showed that it provided reliable and valid spatiotemporal data to assess the life space mobility and activity participation of older adults.

Tumor localization using radio-frequency identification clip marker: experimental results of an ex vivo porcine model

PURPOSE

With the widespread use of minimally invasive surgery, tumor detection is becoming more difficult. We present the experimental results of a radio-frequency identification (RFID) lesion detection system in an ex vivo porcine model.

METHODS

The efficacy and feasibility of a newly developed RFID lesion detection system were examined. It was applied to the stomach and colon of pigs weighing 40 kg. The RFID clip was attached to the upper and lower mucosal sides of the stomach. Colon specimens with thin and thick walls were used. The clipped sites were marked on the serosa by a pin. The longest distance from the pin the RFID tag could be detected was measured 25 times in each direction.

RESULTS

In the upper gastric wall, the RFID tag detection distance was 4.5 ± 0.9 mm, 5.6 ± 0.7 mm, 12.5 ± 0.7 mm, and 5.3 ± 0.5 mm in the four directions, respectively (right, left, upper, and lower). In the antrum, the RFID tag detection distance was 5.8 ± 0.7 mm, 6.9 ± 0.5 mm, 5.6 ± 0.5 mm, and 3.7 ± 0.5 mm in the four directions. In the thin colon, the RFID tag detection distance was 6.3 ± 0.5 mm, 5.0 ± 0.5 mm, 9.7 ± 0.7 mm, and 6.4 ± 0.4 mm in the four directions. In the thick colon, the RFID tag detection distance was 3.5 ± 0.8 mm, 6.6 ± 0.5 mm, 8.4 ± 0.6 mm, and 9.8 ± 0.5 mm in the four directions. The area of detection was smallest for the antrum (83.7 mm²) and similar for the other sites (150.6, 154.7 and 157.7 mm² for the upper body, thin colon, and thick colon, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

The distance at which the RFID tag was detected was usually within 10 mm. These results indicate the feasibility of the clinical application of the add-on clip and RFID tag as a marker for identifying the location of various gastrointestinal tumors.

Impact of on-range choice feeding with black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) on flock performance, egg quality, and range use of free-range laying hens

Semi-intensive free-range farm systems are common in Australia, and these systems frequently practise on-range feeding. The objective of this study was to investigate the benefit of on-range choice feeding on flock performance, egg quality, and range use of free-range laying hens using black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens, BSF). A total of 160 mature ISA brown laying hens, previously determined to range daily, were allocated to a control group (control) or a treatment group (BSF) with various replicates depending on the parameter investigated. All hens were fed ad libitum indoors with a wheat-soy based diet formulated according to breed requirements. Black soldier fly hens were offered dried BSF larvae ad libitum on the range. Body weight, feed intake, BSF intake, egg production, feed conversion ratio, internal and external egg quality parameters, and individual range use using radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology was evaluated. Black soldier fly hens consumed on average 15 ± 1.7 g BSF larvae/hen per day. There were no differences between BSF and control hens for any of the performance parameters obtained (P > 0.05). Egg weight, shell weight, and shell thickness of eggs from BSF hens were significantly lower (P = 0.003, P = 0.001, and P = 0.004, respectively) than those of eggs from control hens. Egg yolk colour was significantly paler in eggs from BSF hens (P < 0.001). No significant ranging differences between the BSF and control hens were observed (P > 0.05) except for BSF hens showing longer total maximum time for a single visit to the range (P = 0.011). In conclusion, the average intake of BSF larvae indicated a good level of acceptance. Feed formulation should be adjusted for the intake of the choice fed source. The impact of choice-feeding on range use was minor.

A wireless potentiostat for mobile chemical sensing and biosensing

Wireless chemical sensors are used as analytical devices in homeland defence, home-based healthcare, food logistics and more generally for the Sensor Internet of Things (SIoT). Presented here is a battery-powered and highly portable credit-card size potentiostat that is suitable for performing mobile and wearable amperometric electrochemical measurements with seamless wireless data transfer to mobile computing devices. The mobile electrochemical analytical system has been evaluated in the laboratory with a model redox system - the reduction of hexacyanoferrate(III) - and also with commercially available enzymatic blood-glucose test-strips. The potentiostat communicates wirelessly with mobile devices such as tablets or Smartphones by near-field communication (NFC) or with personal computers by radio-frequency identification (RFID), and thus provides a solution to the 'missing link' in connectivity that often exists between low-cost mobile and wearable chemical sensors and ubiquitous mobile computing products. The mobile potentiostat has been evaluated in the laboratory with a set of proof-of-concept experiments, and its analytical performance compared with a commercial laboratory potentiostat (R(2)=0.9999). These first experimental results demonstrate the functionality of the wireless potentiostat and suggest that the device could be suitable for wearable and point-of-sample analytical measurements. We conclude that the wireless potentiostat could contribute significantly to the advancement of mobile chemical sensor research and adoption, in particular for wearable sensors in healthcare and sport physiology, for wound monitoring and in mobile point-of-sample diagnostics as well as more generally as a part of the Sensor Internet of Things.

Radio-frequency identification of surgical sponges in the abdominal cavity of pigs

BACKGROUND

Counting the sponges is an important step in surgical procedures. A miscount may impact the patient's health, and it also has legal implications for the surgeon. This is an experimental study evaluating radio-frequency technology used in the perioperative period to identify surgical sponges left in the peritoneal cavity of swine.

METHODS

Radio-frequency labeled-disc identification tags were sewn into 40 surgical towels. Twenty labels had the ability to emit radio-frequency waves, and 20 labels were inert to radio-frequency identification. Twenty adult pigs that underwent laparotomy and randomly received two surgical sponges were scanned by a radio-frequency identification antenna.

RESULTS

This method presented a positive predictive value of 100% and 100% specificity and sensitivity, as all of the tagged surgical sponges were detected.

CONCLUSION

Radio-frequency identification has been proved to be a useful method for the identification of surgical sponges within the abdominal cavities of swine.