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PCB007-Aug2020

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78 PCB007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2020 cause they interact with their team, nurture the strengths of each individual, and—based on abilities—adjust the team for the greater benefit of the whole. When a true leader is involved, you will usually see smoother-running operations, lower absenteeism, and a higher sense of mo- rale. Leaders strive to develop the skills of their teams, consider each individual's skill sets, and encourage those skills to grow. Ma- ny times, a leader will teach and train their team to levels matching their own. They are not worried about job mortality—rather they consider the overall goal of the team and their success. With strength and depth, the team survives regardless of the loss of an individual or two. The team can adjust and still succeed. A minor imbalance does not put the team in turmoil. That is a leader. If you work for a leader, you will notice other distinguishing qualities. For example, if some- thing goes wrong—and they do, at times— your leader will be the first line of defense from "upstairs." Unlike the generic "boss," your leader will represent you as part of the team. They will keep your issues private, seek to coach you through the problem and resolve to solve the issue together. If the problem was systemic in the department, the leader reviews the causes and seeks to correct it. Another ma- jor attribute in strong leadership is a lack of ego; rather, recognition is the reward from oth- ers for good leaders and those who embrace this discipline. Be safe, wear your mask, and be good hu- mans. PCB007 Todd Kolmodin is VP of quality for Gardien Services USA and an expert in electrical test and reliability issues. To read past columns or contact Kolmodin, click here. UCLA engineers have designed a thin adhesive film that could upgrade a consumer smartwatch into a pow- erful health-monitoring system. The system looks for chemical indicators found in sweat to give a real-time snapshot of what's happening inside the body. A study detailing the technology was published in the journal Science Advances. Smartwatches can already help keep track of how far you've walked, how much you've slept, and your heart rate. Newer models even promise to monitor blood pres- sure. Working with a tethered smartphone or other devic- es, someone can use a smartwatch to keep track of those health indicators over a long period of time. What these watches can't do, yet, is monitor your body chemistry. For that, they need to track biomarker molecules found in body fluids that are highly specific in- dicators of our health, such as glucose and lactate, which tell how well your body's metabolism is working. Researchers engineered a disposable, double-sid- ed film that attaches to the underside of a smartwatch. The film can detect metabolites and certain nutrients that are present in body sweat in very tiny amounts. They also built a custom smartwatch and an app to record data. "The inspiration for this work came from recognizing that we already have more than 100 million smartwatch- es and other wearable tech sold worldwide that have powerful data-collection, computation, and transmis- sion capabilities," said study leader Sam Emaminejad, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engi- neering at UCLA. (Source: UCLA) Adhesive Film Turns Smartwatch Into Biochemical Health Monitoring System

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