Seeking Venture Capital Investment

Venture capital (VC) firms exchange cash for equity or equity-like securities. Venture capital funding most often occurs in the early to middle stages of a company, be­fore an acquisition or an initial public offering. Typically, VC firms make a relatively large investment, ranging from 1 to 30 million dollars, though in more recent years, “micro-VCs” that write smaller checks have become more common. Often, a company will raise money from several venture capital firms, either simultaneously or in subsequent transac­tions. Investors expect a 3–10x+ return on investment for any given investment, depending on the stage of the company at the time of investment. Venture capital firms may protect themselves by retaining the right to invest in the future, by protecting their equity from dilution, and through special voting rights including block­ing rights on certain corporate actions and often through representation on the Board of Directors. Venture capital investment term sheets typically set a new valuation of the company

SBIR/STTR Grants: Application Guidance

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants provide a valuable opportunity to receive non-diluting capital. The process of applying for an SBIR/STTR grant has several steps and can take months to complete. SBIR/STTR proposals take the form of typical grant proposals, except the former are shorter and have a lower requirement for preliminary data. An academic entrepreneur should not expect to receive SBIR/STTR funding on their first attempt at a proposal. There are several common pitfalls during the application process, and careful consideration of these issues can substantially improve an application

SBIR/STTR Grants: Introduction and Overview

The purpose of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant mechanism is to stimulate technological innovation through facilitating private-sector commercialization of research advances. Small business entities do not need to relinquish equity in exchange for SBIR/STTR funding. A key difference between SBIR and STTR grants is that the STTR requires university par­ticipation, which is optional for the SBIR. SBIR/STTR applications can be submitted in conjunction with more traditional R01/R21 grant applications and are ideal for exploring the commercialization potential of research results

Does My Invention Already Exist? Conducting a Patent / Prior Art Search

Patent/prior art searches are an essential step in the process of establishing the novelty of a product or solution. Increasing the comprehensiveness of a prior art search enhances the likelihood of success for a new patent because the inventor becomes more aware of the state of the field, can create and perceive distinctions between their invention and existing inventions, and is able to preempt sources of conflict with prior patent literature. Publicly available resources are the best place to start a prior art search. Follow this mantra—brainstorm, search, retrieve and expand! Documentation of all search results is a necessity and may prove essential in later discussions with a patent professional or when filling patent paperwork to demonstrate that a reasonably extensive search was performed. Resources from the university can offer counsel. There are almost always people who are trained to be experts in prior art searches and will be more than willing to help out

Comparability of Functional MRI Response in Young and Old During Inhibition

When using fMRI to study age-related cognitive changes, it is important to establish the integrity of the hemodynamic response because, potentially, it can be affected by age and disease. However, there have been few attempts to document such integrity and no attempts using higher cognitive rather than perceptual or motor tasks. We used fMRI with 28 healthy young and older adults on an inhibitory control task. Although older and young adults differed in task performance and activation patterns, they had comparable hemodynamic responses. We conclude that activation during cognitive inhibition, which was predominantly increased in elders, was not due to vascular confounds or specific changes in hemodynamic coupling

CrowdAR: a live video annotation tool for rapid mapping

Digital Humanitarians are a powerful and effective resource to analyse the vast amounts of data that disasters generate. Aerial vehicles are increasingly being used for gathering high resolution imagery of affected areas, but require a lot of effort to effectively analyse, typically taking days to complete. We introduce CrowdAR, a real-time crowdsourcing platform that tags live footage from aerial vehicles flown during disasters. CrowdAR enables the analysis of footage within minutes, can rapidly plot snippets of the video onto a map, and can reduce the cognitive load of pilots by augmenting their live video feed with crowd annotations

Neural signatures of cognitive flexibility and reward sensitivity following nicotinic receptor stimulation in dependent smokers : a randomized trial

IMPORTANCE Withdrawal from nicotine is an important contributor to smoking relapse. Understanding how reward-based decision making is affected by abstinence and by pharmacotherapies such as nicotine replacement therapy and varenicline tartrate may aid cessation treatment. OBJECTIVE To independently assess the effects of nicotine dependence and stimulation of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor on the ability to interpret valence information (reward sensitivity) and subsequently alter behavior as reward contingencies change (cognitive flexibility) in a probabilistic reversal learning task. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Nicotine-dependent smokers and nonsmokers completed a probabilistic reversal learning task during acquisition of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a 2-drug, double-blind placebo-controlled crossover design conducted from January 21, 2009, to September 29, 2011. Smokers were abstinent from cigarette smoking for 12 hours for all sessions. In a fully Latin square fashion, participants in both groups underwent MRI twice while receiving varenicline and twice while receiving a placebo pill, wearing either a nicotine or a placebo patch. Imaging analysis was performed from June 15, 2015, to August 10, 2016. MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURES A well-established computational model captured effects of smoking status and administration of nicotine and varenicline on probabilistic reversal learning choice behavior. Neural effects of smoking status, nicotine, and varenicline were tested for on MRI contrasts that captured reward sensitivity and cognitive flexibility. RESULTS The study included 24 nicotine-dependent smokers (12 women and 12 men; mean [SD] age, 35.8 [9.9] years) and 20 nonsmokers (10 women and 10 men; mean [SD] age, 30.4 [7.2] years). Computational modeling indicated that abstinent smokers were biased toward response shifting and that their decisions were less sensitive to the available evidence, suggesting increased impulsivity during withdrawal. These behavioral impairments were mitigated with nicotine and varenicline. Similarly, decreased mesocorticolimbic activity associated with cognitive flexibility in abstinent smokers was restored to the level of nonsmokers following stimulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (familywise error-corrected P<.05). Conversely, neural signatures of decreased reward sensitivity in smokers (vs nonsmokers; familywise error-corrected P<.05) in the dorsal striatum and anterior cingulate cortex were not mitigated by nicotine or varenicline. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE There was a double dissociation between the effects of chronic nicotine dependence on neural representations of reward sensitivity and acute effects of stimulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors on behavioral and neural signatures of cognitive flexibility in smokers. These chronic and acute pharmacologic effects were observed in overlapping mesocorticolimbic regions, suggesting that available pharmacotherapies may alleviate deficits in the same circuitry for certain mental computations but not for others

STATUS OF THE THREE‐WATTLED BELLBIRD (PROCNIAS TRICARUNCULATUS) IN THE NICOYA MOUNTAINS, COSTA RICA

Abstract ∙ Wildlife conservation often relies on accurate data of species distributions, yet scientific knowledge is often limited in scope. Local knowledge and habitat mapping can provide additional information particularly useful in assessing the absence or presence of a species or population. In May 2015, we combined point counts, local interviews, citizen science databases, and habitat mapping to assess the presence of breeding Three‐wattled Bellbirds (Procnias tricarunculatus), a species listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, in the Nicoya Mountains of Costa Rica, where a disjunct population had previously been reported. Our point counts, local interviews, and citizen science databases provided strong evidence that bellbirds no longer breed in the Nicoya Mountains, and our habitat mapping demonstrated that a minimum of 23% of the bellbird habitat is now pasture. We conclude that a putative historic resident population of this species is now most likely non‐existent in the Nicoya Mountains.Resumen ∙ Estatus del Pájaro Campana (Procnias tricarunculatus) en las montañas de Nicoya, Costa Rica La conservación de la vida silvestre se basa comúnmente en el conocimiento exacto de la distribución de las especies, sin embargo, este conocimiento es limitado para muchas especies. El conocimiento local y mapeo del hábitat pueden proveer información adicional, particularmente útil en la evaluación de la presencia o ausencia de especies o poblaciones. En mayo de 2015, combinamos puntos de conteo, entrevistas locales, bases de datos de ciencia ciudadana, y mapeo de hábitat para determinar la presencia de poblaciones reproductivas de Pájaro Campana (Procnias tricarunculatus), especie enlistada como vulnerable por la IUCN, en las montañas de Nicoya, Costa Rica, donde una población ha sido reportada previamente.  Nuestros puntos de conteo, entrevistas a locales, y bases de datos de ciencia ciudadana indican que el Pájaro Campana no se reproduce en las montañas de Nicoya; nuestro mapeo de hábitat demuestra que un 23% del hábitat del Pájaro Campana ha sido transformado en pastizales. Concluimos que una supuesta población residente histórica de esta especie es ahora muy probablemente inexistente en las montañas de Nicoya.

Left ventricular hypertrophy and biomarkers of cardiac damage and stress in aortic stenosis

Background Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is associated with increased mortality risk and rehospitalization after transcatheter aortic valve replacement among those with severe aortic stenosis. Whether cardiac troponin (cTnT) and NT-proBNP (N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide) risk stratify patients with aortic stenosis and without LVH is unknown. Methods and Results In a multicenter prospective registry of 923 patients with severe aortic stenosis undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement, we included 674 with core-laboratory-measured LV mass index, cTnT, and NT-proBNP. LVH was defined by sex-specific guideline cut-offs and elevated biomarker levels were based on age and sex cut-offs. Adjusted Cox proportional hazards models evaluated associations between LVH and biomarkers and all-cause death out to 5 years. Elevated cTnT and NT-proBNP were present in 82% and 86% of patients with moderate/severe LVH, respectively, as compared with 66% and 69% of patients with no/mild LVH, respectively