This week went by really really fast. I woke up and it was already Friday! Time sure does fly when you are having fun.
This week, I tried the different light filters to determine which filter would give a more accurate pulse rate. The pulse rate from the webcam GUI and the pulse oximeter were compared. For the fairer skin toned person (my office mate), the green light filter gave a more accurate pulse rate. However, for a darker skin toned person (myself), the yellow light filter gave more accurate pulse rate.
Also while doing research this week, I learned that there is an association between resting heart rate and diabetes. The researchers found that participants with faster heart rates had an increased risk of diabetes or were pre-diabetic. This was very interesting. If the research that I am doing this summer could help with the detection of diabetes that would be amazing.
I also spent part of my week working on my Research Symposium Poster. Mines a few adjustments, I think that I am done with it.
We have been studying so hard to get results, it was a sweet pain on all of us. We really wanted to accomplish this experience. It is a great success for everyone in the team. it is not finalized yet but numbers are indicating that we are on the correct path
Peeling the onion. Researched the tag we used in my experiments and came up with nothing. Walking to our meeting today I just realized I did not know what the tag was and wondered if my mentor made it. Just confirmed, she did. If it works it’s going to blow away current theory. Way cool stuff. Cheers
Well, I finished my experiments and it seems like I still have more work to due on the poster before turning today. Jen has been great to work with. I have started to get ideas for the lesson plan and hope to have a sound idea before I leave next week. Walking to the BRC today, I realized how much fun this has been and though I give up mist of my summer doing this, It’s been a great experience.
Last week, while being off from research, I still worked a lot. I had a breakthrough and was able to glide on in to finishing the actual project so I could start the poster this week. You can see a demo of remote PPG webcam pulse detector below.
You know how a project can never really be “done”? Well I’m freezing the current state of the code of this project and calling it “ready”. The median pulse from my algorithm vs the “ground truth” finger sensor was +/-2 BPM. https://t.co/X43ghsZavn@PathsUp@RiceU_STEM
It has been a busy time. On one hand; I have been preparing more pellets of my superconductor: two grams at a time. As I previously explained, it takes three to four days the synthesis. Meanwhile, I was able to test the magnetic field using the Magnetic Property Measurement System SQUID (Superconducting QUantum Interference Device) magnetometer, or Roger Taylor; as it was christened in the lab.
Magnetic Property Measurement System by Quantum Design.As the transitional temperature is reached, the magnetic field is zero as a function of temperature.
On the other hand, I made a prototype of a Möbius track for my demo. However, it didn’t work; the Neodymium magnets need to be N-52; and I only have N-42 (It means the puling force rating, and of course the price tag too). So, I modified my design for an oval track.
Möbius infinity loop track Pi radians.
Another learning experience this week was the protocol for making an oval steel track at Rice. I meet Eli at the Rice’s metal shop; it resembles a lot my father’s shop when I was a child. He was very helpful and happens to be Mexican too. Hopefully while the superconductor synthesis is complete by Monday; I will be assembling everything and giving the final touches to my demo.
We are trying a new method to get TiO2 to fluoresce. We are using Alizarin Red S to connect with TiO2 by suspending them together 24 hours. If the connections are “just right,” it will lower the “band gap” which means the gap in energy it takes for the electrons to jump from one level to another. The lower the band gap, the easier it will be for a low frequency light source like visible light to be able to cause fluorescence (electrons to jump a level and then fall back down). For preliminary data we are using a basic 1:1 molar ratio and 1:2 molar ratio of TiO2 to Alizarin Red S to just see if there is any difference in the amount of fluorescence (if any). The last time we tried to coat the TiO2 particles with DMSA (Dimercaptosuccinic Acid) to see if this chelator would help it fluoresce, the reflection at 90 degrees was almost the same wavelength as the original source (but usually fluorescence is a significantly lower wavelength), indicating it might be just diffraction and not really fluorescence. I believe we are checking the fluorescence results later today.
This last week was full of fun! Got my new chemicals and started using those to functionalize my hBN. Got to spend time with Melly at the Farmer’s Market!!! And…lots of vacuum filtration! This may not sound like fun, but there is something satisfying about separating out components! The challenge this week was to time my filtration process just right. There is one functioning filtration set-up in my lab and I am sharing it with a group of graduate students (actually they are the ones sharing with me 🙂 ). I had to step out of my comfort zone and communicate with others effectively to time use of the filtration device.
So excited to see how everything is coming together and may have so awesome updates this week about my experiment! Stay tuned everyone!
Last week was my lab heavy week, I was on campus almost everyday to split my cells as well as running flow cytometry . Three 12 well plates, each was incubating for a different amount of time, but so far the results are looking good! This week will be my data analysis week!
Wheres the time gone guys? We have our symposium next Friday!
Hope everyone has a great week and happy learning!
Finally, after abandoning the cellulose and sticking to just clay, I’ve been able to produce our filter prototype. I created a press to make the holes (with varying success), and I’m hoping they’ll yield some good results.
Not much else to update on for this short week. We’re coating the clay in the titanium dioxide and testing this week with methyl orange to see how fast it degrades in UV light.
K-12 Educators Disseminating Research from Rice University, Arizona State University, and University of Texas-El Paso
