Extracellular Vesicles in CNS Developmental Disorders

The central nervous system (CNS) is the most complex structure in the body, consisting of multiple cell types with distinct morphology and function. Development of the neuronal circuit and its function rely on a continuous crosstalk between neurons and non-neural cells. It has been widely accepted that extracellular vesicles (EVs), mainly exosomes, are effective entities responsible for intercellular CNS communication. They contain membrane and cytoplasmic proteins, lipids, non-coding RNAs, microRNAs and mRNAs. Their cargo modulates gene and protein expression in recipient cells. Several lines of evidence indicate that EVs play a role in modifying signal transduction with subsequent physiological changes in neurogenesis, gliogenesis, synaptogenesis and network circuit formation and activity, as well as synaptic pruning and myelination. Several studies demonstrate that neural and non-neural EVs play an important role in physiological and pathological neurodevelopment. The present review discusses the role of EVs in various neurodevelopmental disorders and the prospects of using EVs as disease biomarkers and therapeutics.     

Influence of nickel and molybdenum on the phase stability and mechanical properties of maraging steels

The effect of nickel and molybdenum concentrations on the phase transformation and mechanical properties of conventional 18Ni(350) maraging steel has been investigated. Both of these elements act as strong austenite stabilizers. When the concentration of molybdenum or nickel is greater than 7.5 or 24 wt %, respectively, the austenite phase remains stable up to room temperature. In both molybdenum- and nickel-alloyed steels, the austenite phase could be transformed to martensite by either dipping the material in liquid nitrogen or subjecting it to cold working. When 7.5 wt% Mo and 24 wt% Ni were added in combination, however, the austenite phase obtained at room temperature did not transform to martensite when liquid-nitrogen quenched or even when cold rolled to greater than 95% reduction. The aging response of these materials has also been investigated using optical, scanning electron, and scanning transmission electron microscopy.     

Nonlinear Interval Parameter Programming Combined with Cooperative Games: a Tool for Addressing Uncertainty in Water Allocation Using Water Diplomacy Framework

Water Resources Management - This paper shows the utility of a new interval cooperative game theory as an effective water diplomacy tool to resolve competing and conflicting needs of water users...     

An analytical model for manufacturing service supply contracts

The practice of service-based manufacturing, utilized in various industries, particularly in electronics, pharmaceuticals, and automotive, is on the rise as it improves enterprise effectiveness in dynamic markets. The mutual responsibilities between the supplier(s) and user(s) of such services are spelled out in defined-time-horizon contracts. While such contracts define mutual obligations of both parties on a tactical/operational level, the long-term strategic objectives of the parties may be in conflict. This paper is focused on studying the dynamics of manufacturing service contracts. It investigates the factors affecting the shape of the negotiation space for such contracts and also the way the space should be navigated in response to changing market conditions. The paper presents an analytical framework developed to facilitate behavior analysis of the actors involved in the contract.     

Toward the development of interactive virtual dissection with haptic feedback

Traditional, hands-on dissection of an animal is common practice in many classrooms to aid in the study of anatomy and biology. More specifically, virtual dissection environments have been developed making it possible to study the inner workings of animals without cutting them up. In this paper, we present a novel virtual reality dissection simulator, where a user can dissect an animal (i.e. frog) and its organs using a 3D force feedback haptic device. The simulator uses force feedback as part of a multimodal cue to provide guidance and performance feedback to the user. This paper highlights methodologies which are used for addressing some of the key challenges involved in designing and developing simulators, such as: modelling and mechanics of deformation, collision detection between multiple deformable bodies, and haptic feedback.     

Clarifying the interaction between ideas and architectural works in the Achaemenid era

The circle formed in the course of surveying the movement from idea to work—which makes the act of creation—and from work to idea—which is concerned with the sphere of thinking, cognition and perception—leads to the formation of culture and civilization. Formation of any civilization is a direct result of interaction between ideas and forms. If there is no idea, there will be no form, and if there is no form, promotion of idea will be meaningless. From the ancient time, the religious-mythical idea, as a whole idea, has been leading to other ideas including philosophical, mystical and political ideas. Architecture, as a historical form, has been the outcome of interactions between the triple ideas proposed under the religious idea. In this study, an attempt is made to explain the role of each idea in the creation of architectural works of Achaemenid civilization by defining them. It also aims to review the historical form of the Achaemenid era, which was based on a philosophical-political idea, in order to investigate the role of this period in relation to architectural form which is addressed with a kind of pluralism. In other words, the main objective was to clarify the interaction between the prevailing notion of time and architectural works.     

Mixed convective heat transfer enhancement in a ventilated cavity by flow modulation via rotating plate

The present study numerically explores the mixed convection phenomena in a differentially heated ventilated square cavity with active flow modulation via a rotating plate. Forced convection flow in the cavity is attained by maintaining external fluid flow through an opening at the bottom of the left cavity wall while leaving it through another opening at the right cavity wall. A counter-clockwise rotating plate at the center of the cavity acts as an active flow modulator. Moving mesh approach is used for the rotation of the plate and the numerical solution is achieved using arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian finite element formulation with a quadrilateral discretization scheme. Transient parametric simulations have been performed for various frequency of the rotating plate for a fixed Reynolds number (Re) of 100 based on maximum inlet flow velocity while the Richardson number (Ri) is maintained at unity. Heat transfer performance has been evaluated in terms of spatially averaged Nusselt number and time-averaged Nusselt number along the heated wall. Power spectrum analysis in the frequency domain obtained from the fast Fourier transform analysis indicates that thermal frequency and plate frequency start to deviate from each other at higher values of velocity ratio (>4).     

Fuzzy Based Hybrid Focus Value Estimation for Multi Focus Image Fusion

Due to limited depth-of-field of digital single-lens reflex cameras, the scene content within a limited distance from the imaging plane remains in focus while other objects closer to or further away from the point of focus appear as blurred (out-of-focus) in the image. Multi-Focus Image Fusion can be used to reconstruct a fully focused image from two or more partially focused images of the same scene. In this paper, a new Fuzzy Based Hybrid Focus Measure (FBHFM) for multi-focus image fusion has been proposed. Optimal block size is very critical step for multi-focus image fusion. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm has been used to find optimal size of the block of the images for extraction of focus measure features. After finding optimal blocks, three focus measures Sum of Modified Laplacian, Gray Level Variance and Contrast Visibility has been extracted and combined these focus measures by using intelligent fuzzy technique. Fuzzy based hybrid intelligent focus values were estimated using contrast visibility measure to generate focused image. Different sets of multi-focus images have been used in detailed experimentation and compared the results with state-of-the-art existing techniques such as Genetic Algorithm (GA), Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Laplacian Pyramid discrete wavelet transform (DWT), and aDWT for image fusion. It has been found that proposed method performs well as compare to existing methods.