Decentralizing Venture Capital: An Analysis of the Current and Future State of Investment Decentralized Autonomous Organizations

106 pagesFor over half a century, venture capital (VC) has been a staple of the startup ecosystem as a source of funding. Venture capital firms have historically backed some of the most well-known companies today, including Meta, Google, Uber, and countless others. More recently, VC firms have started setting their sights on a new category of startups that are hoping to lead the way to a more decentralized world by leveraging blockchain technology. Among the many applications within this space includes an emerging and alternative model for traditional VC that is facilitated through Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs). Historically, investing in venture capital funds has been limited to large institutions and high net worth individuals. However, the emergence of DAOs modeled as VC funds could potentially increase accessibility for a larger pool of investors to gain exposure to cryptocurrency and blockchain-focused startups and earn the astronomical returns that were a privilege previously limited to a select group. This thesis serves to examine the advantages and challenges of DAOs as venture capital investment vehicles and analyze the potential role that DAOs may eventually play the venture capital landscape

MEMS 411: Torsion Tester Design Report

The goal of this project is to provide the customer, Dr. James Jackson Potter, with a lightweight, inexpensive, and accurate alternative to modern, professional torsion-testing machines. The torsion tester developed by this team will be used in a classroom setting for design competitions on 3-D printed ABS plastic torsion bars; therefore the design also accommodate a range of functions which might be useful to the customer during testing competitions, potentially including automatic stopping at failure, a reset function, and the ability to create custom functions which can integrate into the existing function library

SunSat Design Competition 2015-2016 Second Place Winner – Team Pathway to Power : Wireless Power Transfer

Solar Power Satellites (SPS) using Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) to beam renewable energy to consumers on earth face three grand challenges: moving parts, heat dissipation, and radio interference. Solutions to each of these “show stoppers” are presented here. Further, a progressively more-complex pathway is described which starts where we are now and leads step-wise to implementation of large-scale Space Solar Power (SSP). The first two grand challenges are addressed by a novel SPS design based on a thin-walled cylinder configuration of solar panels. The remaining challenge is tackled through a newly-discovered antenna configuration which allows dramatic reduction in radio/telecom interference from so-called “sidelobes.” The cost of this SPS (called the “tin can” for its resemblance to a soup tin with the “lid” antenna canted up at an angle) is made affordable through the use of raw materials already present in space. The techniques known as In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU, or “living off the land”) provide for the refinement of minerals (powdered rock or “regolith”) from the moon or from asteroids into the pure metals and semiconductors needed to build the tin can SPS. All these factors are brought together as the ultimate goal of a progression of value-added solutions leading to commercial feasibility of SSP. Click here to see this team video: Pathway to Power Faculty Advisor: Peter Schubert, Director, Richard G. Lugar Center for Renewable Energy; Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, Indian

Accessibility Rating Form for Websites and Other Online Platforms

Background. This file provides a coding form developed to judge how accessible websites and other online platforms are to users. Accessibility may be defined as the ease to which a person can perceive content and navigate material (Ross & Ross, 2021). Users are encouraged to adapt this form for their use. Purpose. The rating form can be used to judge the pages of online media, using 14 criteria under two areas: Accessible Media and Accessible Design. One of three grades could be assigned to each criterion: Not Accessible (0 point), Somewhat Accessible (1 point), Accessible (2 points), adapted from published research by Wallace et al. (2010). Initially, this form was developed to rate the website created using the Learning Management System platform, Canvas (Instructure, n.d.), which was adapted as a research survey website. Form validity and reliability. This form was based on guidelines for accessible websites, provided from the World Wide Web Consortium (Zahra, 2019). This form was found to have excellent rater agreement within a preliminary study, which was presented at the 2022 Southwest Chapter Conference Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine (October 28-29, Costa Mesa, California). The intraclass coefficient statistic was used (four raters, M = .91, LL = .82, UL = .94; Landers, 2015). Results were interpreted using Cicchetti’s (1994) interpretive cut-points. Further detail is reported in the published abstract to the study’s presentation (Wu et al., in press)

Radiation Effects in CdZnTe Gamma-Ray Detectors Produced by 199 MeV Protons

Many future space missions will use cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe) gamma-ray detectors because their operation at room temperature makes compact, lightweight detector systems possible. Even though instruments for space using CdZnTe detectors have already been built, the effect of the high- energy particle space environment on these detectors has not been measured. To determine the effect of energetic charged particles on these detectors, we have bombarded several CdZnTe detectors with 199 MeV protons at the Indiana University Cyclotron Facility. Planar detectors of area 1 cm^2 and thickness 2-3 mm from both eV products and Digirad were irradiated, along with a 2 multiplied by 2 array of proprietary design from Digirad. Using standard gamma-ray sources, the response of the detectors was measured before and after bombardment in steps up to fluences of 5 multiplied by 10^9 p cm^(-2). Significant effects from the proton irradiation were observed in the gamma-ray spectra. In particular, the peak positions of the lines in the spectrum were shifted downward proportional to the fluence. The explanation is almost certainly the production of electron traps by the high energy proton interactions, resulting in a decrease of the mobility-lifetime (µτ) ) product of the electrons. Calculations were made to model the effect of a decrease in electron trapping length on the spectrum

Hearing, Cognitive Decline, and the Value of Hearing Interventions

The term “dementia” includes a wide array of diseases. Millions of Americans are affected by these diseases, especially with aging. Its prevalence makes dementia a candidate for exploratory research in understanding its various etiologies and cause-effect relationships in hopes of developing treatment. Numerous studies have been conducted in an attempt to discern whether a causal relationship exists between hearing loss and dementia, as hearing loss frequently precedes dementia. Some publications have reported a correlation between hearing loss treatment and a decreased dementia incidence rate. This review seeks to investigate the associations between hearing loss and dementia, the efficacy of hearing interventions as a preventative measure, and the potential for using these measures as treatment for dementia

Understanding Beta-Lactam-Induced Lysis at the Single-Cell Level

Mechanical rupture, or lysis, of the cytoplasmic membrane is a common cell death pathway in bacteria occurring in response to β-lactam antibiotics. A better understanding of the cellular design principles governing the susceptibility and response of individual cells to lysis could indicate methods of potentiating β-lactam antibiotics and clarify relevant aspects of cellular physiology. Here, we take a single-cell approach to bacterial cell lysis to examine three cellular features-turgor pressure, mechanosensitive channels, and cell shape changes-that are expected to modulate lysis. We develop a mechanical model of bacterial cell lysis and experimentally analyze the dynamics of lysis in hundreds of single Escherichia coli cells. We find that turgor pressure is the only factor, of these three cellular features, which robustly modulates lysis. We show that mechanosensitive channels do not modulate lysis due to insufficiently fast solute outflow, and that cell shape changes result in more severe cellular lesions but do not influence the dynamics of lysis. These results inform a single-cell view of bacterial cell lysis and underscore approaches of combatting antibiotic tolerance to β-lactams aimed at targeting cellular turgor

Understanding beta-lactam-induced lysis at the single-cell level

Mechanical rupture, or lysis, of the cytoplasmic membrane is a common cell death pathway in bacteria occurring in response to β-lactam antibiotics. A better understanding of the cellular design principles governing the susceptibility and response of individual cells to lysis could indicate methods of potentiating β-lactam antibiotics and clarify relevant aspects of cellular physiology. Here, we take a single-cell approach to bacterial cell lysis to examine three cellular features—turgor pressure, mechanosensitive channels, and cell shape changes—that are expected to modulate lysis. We develop a mechanical model of bacterial cell lysis and experimentally analyze the dynamics of lysis in hundreds of single Escherichia coli cells. We find that turgor pressure is the only factor, of these three cellular features, which robustly modulates lysis. We show that mechanosensitive channels do not modulate lysis due to insufficiently fast solute outflow, and that cell shape changes result in more severe cellular lesions but do not influence the dynamics of lysis. These results inform a single-cell view of bacterial cell lysis and underscore approaches of combatting antibiotic tolerance to β-lactams aimed at targeting cellular turgor.</jats:p

Using pre-clinical studies to explore the potential clinical uses of exosomes secreted from induced pluripotent stem cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells

Recent studies of exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have indicated high potential clinical applications in many diseases. However, the limited source of MSCs impedes their clinical research and application. Most recently, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have become a promising source of MSCs. Exosome therapy based on iPSC-derived MSCs (iMSCs) is a novel technique with much of its therapeutic potential untapped. Compared to MSCs, iMSCs have proved superior in cell proliferation, immunomodulation, generation of exosomes capable of controlling the microenvironment, and bioactive paracrine factor secretion, while also theoretically eliminating the dependence on immunosuppression drugs. The therapeutic effects of iMSC-derived exosomes are explored in many diseases and are best studied in wound healing, cardiovascular disease, and musculoskeletal pathology. It is pertinent clinicians have a strong understanding of stem cell therapy and the latest advances that will eventually translate into clinical practice. In this review, we discuss the various applications of exosomes derived from iMSCs in clinical medicine

A novel fusion protein scaffold 18/12/TxM activates the IL-12, IL-15, and IL-18 receptors to induce human memory-like natural killer cells

Natural killer (NK) cells are cytotoxic innate lymphoid cells that are emerging as a cellular immunotherapy for various malignancies. NK cells are particularly dependent on interleukin (IL)-15 for their survival, proliferation, and cytotoxic function. NK cells differentiate into memory-like cells with enhanced effector function after a brief activation with IL-12, IL-15, and IL-18. N-803 is an IL-15 superagonist composed of an IL-15 mutant (IL-15N72D) bound to the sushi domain of IL-15Rα fused to the Fc region of IgG1, which results in physiological trans-presentation of IL-15. Here, we describe the creation of a novel triple-cytokine fusion molecule, 18/12/TxM, using the N-803 scaffold fused to IL-18 via the IL-15N72D domain and linked to a heteromeric single-chain IL-12 p70 by the sushi domain of the IL-15Rα. This molecule displays trispecific cytokine activity through its binding and signaling through the individual cytokine receptors. Compared with activation with the individual cytokines, 18/12/TxM induces similar short-term activation and memory-like differentiation of NK cells on both the transcriptional and protein level and identica