Effect of Phosphoric Acid Anion Structure on the Corrosion Inhibition of Steel by Polyaniline

Conductive polymers such as polyaniline (PAni) have been examined as candidates for replacing the existing chromate systems. Protonation of emeraldine base creates polarons and bipolarons, single and paired radical cations, respectively, of higher bond energy levels within the molecular orbital band gap.\u27 For a conductive coating, considerable delocalization of corrosion charge and potential may be obtained along or between the polymer chains, because of high electron mobility. Current corrosion systems based on polyaniline typically rely on sulfuric or sulfonic acids as a dopant material, since synthetic techniques utilize persulfates as the oxidant of choice. In our experience, sulfonic/sulfuric acid systems do not produce adequate corrosion protection. However, few studies have been made of alternative dopant anions. Presumably additional studies are deemed of limited benefit because the persulfate synthesis is prevalent and time intensive purifications are required for replacing an existing sulfonic/sulfuric dopant anion. A. dopant study could yet be important to achieving a more effiCient inhibition system. Phosphonates are derivatives of phosphonic acids that contain direct phosphorous-to-carbon bonds (P-C). The P-C bonds are more resistant to hydrolysis than the P-O-C bonds of orgamc phosphates.3 Phosphonic acids are used as scale inhibitors in. Aqueous systems, the use of these acids as dopants in polyamhne could improve corrosion protection exhibited by polyaniline. Kinle.n el aL4 have reported that phosphonic acid doped polyamhne in polyvinylbutyrallatex coatings showed decreasing galvanic activity with time, providing pinhole passivation. We report testing of an Identical series of doped polyanilines as that of Kinlen, et aL applied in an epoxy polyamide coating system

Speed-based Filtration and DBSCAN of Event-based Camera Data with Neuromorphic Computing

Spiking neural networks are powerful computational elements that pair well with event-based cameras (EBCs). In this work, we present two spiking neural network architectures that process events from EBCs: one that isolates and filters out events based on their speeds, and another that clusters events based on the DBSCAN algorithm.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, Submitted to Neuro Inspired Computational Elements Conference 202

Affective Depression Mediates PTSD to Suicide in a Sample of Treatment-Seeking First Responders

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the associations of comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), affective or somatic depression, and suicide among first responders (FRs). Method: We used baseline data from FRs (N = 232) who sought services at a nonprofit mental health agency specializing in treating trauma exposed FRs. We conducted two PROCESS simple mediation models with PTSD as the predictor, affective depression and somatic depression as the mediators, and suicidality as the dependent variable. Results: Affective depression significantly mediated the relationship between PTSD and suicidality, whereas somatic depression did not. The direct effect of PTSD on suicidality was not significant. Limitations: These data are cross-sectional and should be followed up with longitudinal analyses across the course of treatment. Conclusions: To reduce suicide risk, it is recommended that clinicians target affective depression instead of PTSD symptoms

Activin-A and Bmp4 Levels Modulate Cell Type Specification during CHIR-Induced Cardiomyogenesis

The use of human pluripotent cell progeny for cardiac disease modeling, drug testing and therapeutics requires the ability to efficiently induce pluripotent cells into the cardiomyogenic lineage. Although direct activation of the Activin-A and/or Bmp pathways with growth factors yields context-dependent success, recent studies have shown that induction of Wnt signaling using low molecular weight molecules such as CHIR, which in turn induces the Activin-A and Bmp pathways, is widely effective. To further enhance the reproducibility of CHIR-induced cardiomyogenesis, and to ultimately promote myocyte maturation, we are using exogenous growth factors to optimize cardiomyogenic signaling downstream of CHIR induction. As indicated by RNA-seq, induction with CHIR during Day 1 (Days 0–1) was followed by immediate expression of Nodal ligands and receptors, followed later by Bmp ligands and receptors. Co-induction with CHIR and high levels of the Nodal mimetic Activin-A (50–100 ng/ml) during Day 0–1 efficiently induced definitive endoderm, whereas CHIR supplemented with Activin-A at low levels (10 ng/ml) consistently improved cardiomyogenic efficiency, even when CHIR alone was ineffective. Moreover, co-induction using CHIR and low levels of Activin-A apparently increased the rate of cardiomyogenesis, as indicated by the initial appearance of rhythmically beating cells by Day 6 instead of Day 8. By contrast, co-induction with CHIR plus low levels (3–10 ng/ml) of Bmp4 during Day 0–1 consistently and strongly inhibited cardiomyogenesis. These findings, which demonstrate that cardiomyogenic efficacy is improved by optimizing levels of CHIR-induced growth factors when applied in accord with their sequence of endogenous expression, are consistent with the idea that Nodal (Activin-A) levels toggle the entry of cells into the endodermal or mesodermal lineages, while Bmp levels regulate subsequent allocation into mesodermal cell types

Functional Specification of the RAVENS Neuroprocessor

RAVENS is a neuroprocessor that has been developed by the TENNLab research group at the University of Tennessee. Its main focus has been as a vehicle for chip design with memristive elements; however it has also been the vehicle for all-digital CMOS development, plus it has implementations on FPGA's, microcontrollers and software simulation. The software simulation is supported by the TENNLab neuromorphic software framework so that researchers may develop RAVENS solutions for a variety of neuromorphic computing applications. This document provides a functional specification of RAVENS that should apply to all implementations of the RAVENS neuroprocessor.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figure

Predictors of suicide and differences in attachment styles and resilience among treatment-seeking first responder subtypes

Objective: To identify the predictors of suicide for firefighters (FFs), emergency medical technicians (EMTs), and law enforcement officers (LEOs). Methods: We used baseline data from FFs/EMTs (n = 69) and LEOs (n = 81) to investigate the unique predictors for both first-responder subtypes. We conducted confirmatory factor analysis on validated assessments of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.Measures of attachment, resilience, PTSD, depression, generalized anxiety, trauma history, and substance use were the independent variables in two backward stepwise regressions predicting suicide. Results: Substance use and somatic depression were significant predictors for LEOs, whereas affective depression, anhedonia, externalizing behaviors, trauma history, and generalized anxiety were significant predictors for FFs/EMTs. Limitations: These data are cross-sectional and should be modeled longitudinally over the course of treatment. Conclusion: Separate constructs influence suicide for LEOs and FFs/EMTs

Disclosure of a Neuromorphic Starter Kit

This paper presents a Neuromorphic Starter Kit, which has been designed to help a variety of research groups perform research, exploration and real-world demonstrations of brain-based, neuromorphic processors and hardware environments. A prototype kit has been built and tested. We explain the motivation behind the kit, its design and composition, and a prototype physical demonstration.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Differences in Resilience and Mental Health Symptoms Among US First Responders With Secure and Insecure Attachment

Objective: This observational study aimed to determine whether attachment style predicted first responders\u27 mental health and resilience. Method: Data were from a treatment-seeking sample of first responders (N = 237). Each participant completed six assessments measuring attachment, resilience, generalized anxiety, depression, suicidality, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Results: On the attachment assessment, 25.3%were categorized as secure, 19.0%as dismissive, 25.3% as preoccupied, and 30.4% as fearfully attached. As predicted, securely attached participants had the lowest scores for generalized anxiety, depression, suicidality, and posttraumatic stress disorder and the highest scores on the resiliency measure, followed by dismissive, preoccupied, and fearfully attached participants. Limitations: These data are cross-sectional and causality cannot be inferred. Conclusions: Results highlight the importance of the study of attachment to psychotherapy and mental health treatment with first responders