The concentration of nitrate (NO3-) in Narragansett Bay has been shown to undergo considerable temporal and spatial variation. However, the dynamics of this flux has never been monitored on a fine-scale ( less then 100 m, less then 1 d) or in real-time. Whole-cell bio-reporters are promising candidates for low cost environmental sensing of bioavailable nutrients. Yet difficulties remain in creating sensors for long term deployment in the marine environment. This paper describes the creation and validation of a low-cost sensor using a self-bioluminescent strain of the cyanobacteria Synechococcus elongatus pcc 7942 for the direct measurement of bioavailable nitrate. Nitrate bioavailability was measured by monitoring light emission from a luxAB based promotor fusion to glnA using a light to frequency sensor and single board microcontroller. Sensor designs are presented in this manuscript with specific focus on storage, cell viability, and compatibility with the marine environment. Sensors were able to consistently assess nitrate standards as low as 1 ppm (16.3 μM). Using a wavelet denoising approach to reduce white noise and hardware noise, nitrate detection of standards as low as 0.037 ppm (0.65 μM) was achieved. Good sensitivity and low cost make these sensors ideal candidates for continuous monitoring of biological nitrates in estuarine systems.Olfactory dysfunction, one of the earliest non-motor symptoms of Parkinson disease (PD), is accompanied by abnormal deposition of SNCA/α-synuclein in the olfactory bulb (OB). The macroautophagy/autophagy-lysosome pathway (ALP) plays an important role in degrading pathological SNCA and modulating this pathway may be a promising treatment strategy. P2RX4 (purinergic receptor P2X, ligand-gated ion channel 4), a member of the purinergic receptor X family, is a key molecule regulating ALP. Piperine (PIP) is a Chinese medicine with anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects. The present study investigated the neuroprotective effects of PIP on SNCA overexpression-induced PD cell and mouse models. We found that PIP oral administration (25, 50 and 100 mg/kg) for 6 weeks attenuated olfactory deficits and delayed motor deficits in Thy 1-SNCA transgenic mice overexpressing human SNCA. This was accompanied by a degradation of pathological SNCA in OB. In addition, PIP improved cell viability and promoted degradation of human SNCA in SK-N-SH cells. These protective effects were exerted via autophagy flux promotion by enhancing autophagosome-lysosome membrane fusion. Furthermore, tandem mass tag proteomics analyses showed that P2RX4 plays an important role in PIP treatment-induced activation of autophagy flux. These findings demonstrate that PIP exerts neuroprotective effects in PD models via promotion of autophagy flux and may be an effective agent for PD treatment.This study examined the reliability of instrumented trunk assessment methods across two experiments to develop and improve evidence-based classification in Para swimming. Trunk coordination, range of motion (ROM), and strength were assessed in 38 non-disabled participants. Each test battery was completed on two occasions to determine inter-session reliability. Intra-session reliability was also determined in Experiment Two. Absolute agreement of two-way mixed intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC 3,1) was calculated to assess reliability. Standard errors of measurement (SEMs) were also reported to facilitate comparisons between different outcomes. Trunk coordination measures had low-to-moderate reliability (inter-session ICCs = 0.00-0.60; intra-session ICCs = 0.14-0.65) and variable SEMs (5-60%). Trunk ROM demonstrated moderate-to-excellent reliability (inter-session ICCs = 0.61-0.93; intra-session ICCs = 0.87-0.95) and good SEMs ( less then 10%). Trunk strength measures demonstrated good-to-excellent reliability (ICCs = 0.87-0.98) and good SEMs ( less then 10%). The strength values obtained for the load cell and hand-held dynamometer (HHD) were significantly different from each other with the HHD underestimating strength. Modifications provided in Experiment Two improved the reliability of strength and ROM assessments but did not improve coordination measures. Further research involving para swimmers is required to establish the validity of the methods.The current protocol for classifying Para swimmers with hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis involves a physical assessment where the individual's ability to coordinate their limbs is scored by subjective clinical judgment. The lack of objective measurement renders the current test unsuitable for evidence-based classification. This study evaluated a revised version of the Para swimming assessment for motor coordination, incorporating practical, objective measures of movement smoothness, rhythm error and accuracy. Nineteen Para athletes with hypertonia and 19 non-disabled participants performed 30 s trials of bilateral alternating shoulder flexion-extension at 30 bpm and 120 bpm. Leupeptin Accelerometry was used to quantify movement smoothness; rhythm error and accuracy were obtained from video. Para athletes presented significantly less smooth movement and higher rhythm error than the non-disabled participants (p less then 0.05). Random forest algorithm successfully classified 89% of participants with hypertonia during out-of-bag predictions. The most important predictors in classifying participants were movement smoothness at both movement speeds, and rhythm error at 120 bpm. Our results suggest objective measures of movement smoothness and rhythm error included in the current motor coordination test protocols can be used to infer impairment in Para swimmers with hypertonia. Further research is merited to establish the relationship of these measures with swimming performance.The development of this research was based on the analysis of an anaerobic fluidised bed reactor from the assembly of its components to the sealing of the system and further fluidisation. A hydrometer and a Venturi were used to identify the best means of measuring the flow rate. Results produced by both devices were similar, however, the latter was less effective due to the low flow rates necessary to operate the system. The hydrometer was the most adequate device for flow rate measurements in the range between 0.1 and 1.0 m³/h, whereas the Venturi proved to be an adequate device for the flow in the range between 0.3 and 0.7 m³/h. Sand with grain sizes varying from 357 to 1000 µm was used as support material. It was not observed statistically significant differences between the minimum fluidisation velocities related to the amount of supported material of 20% and 40% (VSM/Vusable) added to the reactor. Forty percent of the usable volume occupied with sand is adequate to reach fluidisation, instead of only the expansion of the bed.