Automatic alignment of surgical videos using kinematic data

Over the past one hundred years, the classic teaching methodology of "see one, do one, teach one" has governed the surgical education systems worldwide. With the advent of Operation Room 2.0, recording video, kinematic and many other types of data during the surgery became an easy task, thus allowing artificial intelligence systems to be deployed and used in surgical and medical practice. Recently, surgical videos has been shown to provide a structure for peer coaching enabling novice trainees to learn from experienced surgeons by replaying those videos. However, the high inter-operator variability in surgical gesture duration and execution renders learning from comparing novice to expert surgical videos a very difficult task. In this paper, we propose a novel technique to align multiple videos based on the alignment of their corresponding kinematic multivariate time series data. By leveraging the Dynamic Time Warping measure, our algorithm synchronizes a set of videos in order to show the same gesture being performed at different speed. We believe that the proposed approach is a valuable addition to the existing learning tools for surgery.Comment: Accepted at AIME 201

Progress Towards III-V Photovoltaics on Flexible Substrates

Presented here is the recent progress of the NASA Glenn Research Center OMVPE group's efforts in the development of high efficiency thin-film polycrystalline III-V photovoltaics on optimum substrates. By using bulk polycrystalline germanium (Ge) films, devices of high efficiency and low mass will be developed and incorporated onto low-cost flexible substrates. Our progress towards the integration of high efficiency polycrystalline III-V devices and recrystallized Ge films on thin metal foils is discussed

Recent Progress in CuInS2 Thin-Film Solar Cell Research at NASA Glenn

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is interested in developing low-cost highly efficient solar cells on light-weight flexible substrates, which will ultimately lower the mass-specific power (W/kg) of the cell allowing extra payload for missions in space as well as cost reduction. In addition, thin film cells are anticipated to have greater resistance to radiation damage in space, prolonging their lifetime. The flexibility of the substrate has the added benefit of enabling roll-to-roll processing. The first major thin film solar cell was the "CdS solar cell" - a heterojunction between p-type CuxS and n-type CdS. The research on CdS cells started in the late 1950s and the efficiency in the laboratory was up to about 10 % in the 1980s. Today, three different thin film materials are leading the field. They include amorphous Si, CdTe, and Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS). The best thin film solar cell efficiency of 19.2 % was recently set by CIGS on glass. Typical module efficiencies, however, remain below 15 %

Enhanced TiO2 Photocatalytic Processing of Organic Wastes for Green Space Exploration

The effect of transition metal co-catalysts on the photocatalytic properties of TiO2 was investigated. Ruthenium (Ru), palladium, platinum, copper, silver, and gold, were loaded onto TiO2 powders (anatase and mixed-phase P25) and screened for the decomposition of rhodamine B (RhB) under broad-band irradiation. The morphology and estimated chemical composition of photocatalysts were determined by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy, respectively. Brunhauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) analysis measured mass-specific surface area(s). X-ray diffraction analysis was performed to confirm the identity of titania phase(s) present. The BET surface area of anatase TiO2/Ru 1% (9.2 sq m/gm) was one of the highest measured of all photocatalysts prepared in our laboratory. Photolyses conducted under air-saturated and nitrogen-saturated conditions revealed photodegradation efficiencies of 85 and 2 percent, respectively, after 60 min compared to 58 percent with no catalyst. The cause of low photocatalytic activity under an inert atmosphere is discussed. TiO2/Ru 1% showed a superior photocatalytic activity relative to P25-TiO2 under broad-band irradiation. A potential deployment of photocatalytic technologies on a mission could be a reactor with modest enhancement in solar intensity brought about by a trough-style reactor, with reactants and catalyst flowing along the axis of the trough and therefore being illuminated for a controlled duration based on the flow rate

Radiation tolerance of GaAs1-xSbx solar cells

High radiation tolerance of GaAs1-xSbx based solar cells is demonstrated for the low-intensity-low-temperature (LILT) conditions of the target planets Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars. The GaAs1-xSbx-based cells are irradiated with high energy electrons to assess the effect of harsh radiation environment on the solar cell and the response of the cell is then investigated in terms of its photovoltaic operation. This system shows significant radiation resistance to the high energy electron environment for the conditions of the planets of interest. An unusual increase of the short circuit current after irradiation is observed at low temperature, which is supported by a simultaneous increase in the external quantum efficiency of the cell under the same conditions. The open circuit voltage and fill factor of the cell are especially tolerant to irradiation, which is also reflected in unchanged dark current-voltage characteristics of the solar cell upon irradiation particularly at LILT

GaAs Photovoltaics on Polycrystalline Ge Substrates

High efficiency III-V multijunction solar cells deposited on metal foil or even polymer substrates can provide tremendous advantages in mass and stowage, particularly for planetary missions. As a first step towards that goal, poly-crystalline p/i/n GaAs solar cells are under development on polycrystalline Ge substrates. Organo Metallic Vapor Phase Epitaxy (OMVPE) parameters for pre-growth bake, nucleation and deposition have been examined. Single junction p/i/n GaAs photovoltaic devices, incorporating InGaP front and back window layers, have been grown and processed. Device performance has shown a dependence upon the thickness of a GaAs buffer layer deposited between the Ge substrate and the active device structure. A thick (2 m) GaAs buffer provides for both increased average device performance as well as reduced sensitivity to variations in grain size and orientation. Illumination under IR light (lambda > 1 micron), the cells showed a Voc, demonstrating the presence of an unintended photoactive junction at the GaAs/Ge interface. The presence of this junction limited the efficiency to approx.13% (estimated with an anti-refection coating) due to the current mismatch and lack of tunnel junction interconnect

Radiation tolerance of GaAs1-xSbx solar cells: A candidate III-V system for space applications

The high radiation tolerance of GaAs0.86Sb0.14 based solar cells with a band gap suitable for PV is demonstrated at the low intensity low temperature (LILT) conditions. This system shows remarkable radiation hardness at AM0, and more prominently, at the conditions of several outer planetary targets. This is attributed to an irradiation induced change in the absorber band gap due to local heating and strain relaxation, and the generation of less prohibitive shallow Sb-based defects in the GaAs 1-x Sb x absorber

Evolutionary Toggling of Vpx/Vpr Specificity Results in Divergent Recognition of the Restriction Factor SAMHD1

SAMHD1 is a host restriction factor that blocks the ability of lentiviruses such as HIV-1 to undergo reverse transcription in myeloid cells and resting T-cells. This restriction is alleviated by expression of the lentiviral accessory proteins Vpx and Vpr (Vpx/Vpr), which target SAMHD1 for proteasome-mediated degradation. However, the precise determinants within SAMHD1 for recognition by Vpx/Vpr remain unclear. Here we show that evolution of Vpx/Vpr in primate lentiviruses has caused the interface between SAMHD1 and Vpx/Vpr to alter during primate lentiviral evolution. Using multiple HIV-2 and SIV Vpx proteins, we show that Vpx from the HIV-2 and SIVmac lineage, but not Vpx from the SIVmnd2 and SIVrcm lineage, require the C-terminus of SAMHD1 for interaction, ubiquitylation, and degradation. On the other hand, the N-terminus of SAMHD1 governs interactions with Vpx from SIVmnd2 and SIVrcm, but has little effect on Vpx from HIV-2 and SIVmac. Furthermore, we show here that this difference in SAMHD1 recognition is evolutionarily dynamic, with the importance of the N- and C-terminus for interaction of SAMHD1 with Vpx and Vpr toggling during lentiviral evolution. We present a model to explain how the head-to-tail conformation of SAMHD1 proteins favors toggling of the interaction sites by Vpx/Vpr during this virus-host arms race. Such drastic functional divergence within a lentiviral protein highlights a novel plasticity in the evolutionary dynamics of viral antagonists for restriction factors during lentiviral adaptation to its hosts. © 2013 Fregoso et al

The RING-CH ligase K5 antagonizes restriction of KSHV and HIV-1 particle release by mediating ubiquitin-dependent endosomal degradation of tetherin

Tetherin (CD317/BST2) is an interferon-induced membrane protein that inhibits the release of diverse enveloped viral particles. Several mammalian viruses have evolved countermeasures that inactivate tetherin, with the prototype being the HIV-1 Vpu protein. Here we show that the human herpesvirus Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is sensitive to tetherin restriction and its activity is counteracted by the KSHV encoded RING-CH E3 ubiquitin ligase K5. Tetherin expression in KSHV-infected cells inhibits viral particle release, as does depletion of K5 protein using RNA interference. K5 induces a species-specific downregulation of human tetherin from the cell surface followed by its endosomal degradation. We show that K5 targets a single lysine (K18) in the cytoplasmic tail of tetherin for ubiquitination, leading to relocalization of tetherin to CD63-positive endosomal compartments. Tetherin degradation is dependent on ESCRT-mediated endosomal sorting, but does not require a tyrosine-based sorting signal in the tetherin cytoplasmic tail. Importantly, we also show that the ability of K5 to substitute for Vpu in HIV-1 release is entirely dependent on K18 and the RING-CH domain of K5. By contrast, while Vpu induces ubiquitination of tetherin cytoplasmic tail lysine residues, mutation of these positions has no effect on its antagonism of tetherin function, and residual tetherin is associated with the trans-Golgi network (TGN) in Vpu-expressing cells. Taken together our results demonstrate that K5 is a mechanistically distinct viral countermeasure to tetherin-mediated restriction, and that herpesvirus particle release is sensitive to this mode of antiviral inhibition

Assisted evolution enables HIV-1 to overcome a high trim5α-imposed genetic barrier to rhesus macaque tropism

Diversification of antiretroviral factors during host evolution has erected formidable barriers to cross-species retrovirus transmission. This phenomenon likely protects humans from infection by many modern retroviruses, but it has also impaired the development of primate models of HIV-1 infection. Indeed, rhesus macaques are resistant to HIV-1, in part due to restriction imposed by the TRIM5α protein (rhTRIM5α). Initially, we attempted to derive rhTRIM5α-resistant HIV-1 strains using two strategies. First, HIV-1 was passaged in engineered human cells expressing rhTRIM5α. Second, a library of randomly mutagenized capsid protein (CA) sequences was screened for mutations that reduced rhTRIM5α sensitivity. Both approaches identified several individual mutations in CA that reduced rhTRIM5α sensitivity. However, neither approach yielded mutants that were fully resistant, perhaps because the locations of the mutations suggested that TRIM5α recognizes multiple determinants on the capsid surface. Moreover, even though additive effects of various CA mutations on HIV-1 resistance to rhTRIM5α were observed, combinations that gave full resistance were highly detrimental to fitness. Therefore, we employed an 'assisted evolution' approach in which individual CA mutations that reduced rhTRIM5α sensitivity without fitness penalties were randomly assorted in a library of viral clones containing synthetic CA sequences. Subsequent passage of the viral library in rhTRIM5α-expressing cells resulted in the selection of individual viral species that were fully fit and resistant to rhTRIM5α. These viruses encoded combinations of five mutations in CA that conferred complete or near complete resistance to the disruptive effects of rhTRIM5α on incoming viral cores, by abolishing recognition of the viral capsid. Importantly, HIV-1 variants encoding these CA substitutions and SIVmac239 Vif replicated efficiently in primary rhesus macaque lymphocytes. These findings demonstrate that rhTRIM5α is difficult to but not impossible to evade, and doing so should facilitate the development of primate models of HIV-1 infection