A reverse predictive model towards design automation of microfluidic droplet generators

This work has been presented in the 10th IWBDA workshop.Droplet-based microfluidic devices in comparison to test tubes can reduce reaction volumes 10^9 times and more due to the encapsulation of reactions in micro-scale droplets [4]. This volume reduction, alongside higher accuracy, higher sensitivity and faster reaction time made droplet microfluidics a superior platform particularly in biology, biomedical, and chemical engineering. However, a high barrier of entry prevents most of life science laboratories to exploit the advantages of microfluidics. There are two main obstacles to the widespread adoption of microfluidics, high fabrication costs, and lack of design automation tools. Recently, low-cost fabrication methods have reduced the cost of fabrication significantly [7]. Still, even with a low-cost fabrication method, due to lack of automation tools, life science research groups are still reliant on a microfluidic expert to develop any new microfluidic device [3, 5]. In this work, we report a framework to develop reverse predictive models that can accurately automate the design process of microfluidic droplet generators. This model takes prescribed performance metrics of droplet generators as the input and provides the geometry of the microfluidic device and the fluid and flow settings that result in the desired performance. We hope this automation tool makes droplet-based microfluidics more accessible, by reducing the time, cost, and knowledge needed for developing a microfluidic droplet generator that meets certain performance requirement

Super-Resolution for Overhead Imagery Using DenseNets and Adversarial Learning

Recent advances in Generative Adversarial Learning allow for new modalities of image super-resolution by learning low to high resolution mappings. In this paper we present our work using Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) with applications to overhead and satellite imagery. We have experimented with several state-of-the-art architectures. We propose a GAN-based architecture using densely connected convolutional neural networks (DenseNets) to be able to super-resolve overhead imagery with a factor of up to 8x. We have also investigated resolution limits of these networks. We report results on several publicly available datasets, including SpaceNet data and IARPA Multi-View Stereo Challenge, and compare performance with other state-of-the-art architectures.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, WACV 2018 submissio

Social Cohesion and Economic Justice: A Justification for Public-Sector Planning

The current political context within the United States is imbued with fragmented and privatized conceptions of social good. Everyday Americans disagree about what is best for urban and rural communities, and they disagree about how government should interact with the environments in which people live, work, and play. These particularly postmodernist conditions challenge the relevance and need for public-sector urban planning. A justification for public-sector planning relies on a socially cohesive attitude toward social good, and economic justice may serve as a normative guide. Such a justification demands that planners assert themselves as specialized agents who are best equipped to achieve economic justice in the built environment, for they structurally and technically possess a unique ability to pair substantive expertise with community engagement — technical rationale with empathy — to inform policy and broad planning actions.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143830/1/A_12 Social Cohesion and Economic Justice.pd

Chloride Channels that Mediate a Transient Nitric Oxide-dependent Synaptic Polarity Switch in Retinal Amacrine Cells.

Cytosolic chloride (Cl-) concentration determines whether GABAergic and glycinergic synapses are inhibitory or excitatory. Ionotropic GABA and glycine receptors passively conduct Cl­- leading to membrane depolarization or hyperpolarization depending on the Cl- equilibrium potential. Accordingly, the distribution of Cl- across the plasma membrane has the potential to determine the properties of networks of retinal amacrine cells (ACs) and their postsynaptic partners. Ion channels are responsible for establishing Cl- reversal potential. Nitric oxide (NO) is a signaling molecule that can be generated in the inner retina where ACs form synapses. We have shown that NO initiates a release of Cl- from internal stores into the cytosol in retinal ACs, leading to elevated cytosolic Cl-. Our research implicates a novel role for the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) in the NO-dependent release of Cl- from acidic organelles. This internal function of CFTR is particularly relevant to neuronal physiology because postsynaptic cytosolic Cl- levels determine the outcome of GABA and glycinergic synaptic signaling. Chapter 2 shows CFTR is necessary for the transient effects of NO on cytosolic Cl- levels but the full mechanism remains to be elucidated. Chapter 3 further informs the mechanism with involvement of TMEM16A, a Ca2+ activated Cl- channel demonstrated to be functionally coupled with CFTR in some epithelial cell types. TMEM16A is expressed in the chicken retina as determined by western blot analysis, immunocytochemistry, and single cell RT-PCR. Pharmacological inhibition of TMEM16A with T16inh-AO1 reduced the NO-dependent Cl- release (NOdClr) measured as a reduction in the shift in the reversal potential of GABAA receptor-mediated currents. To confirm the involvement of TMEM16A in the NodClr, we used CRISPR/Cas9 via two different modalities targeting TMEM16A. We delivered either an all-in-one plasmid or functional ribonucleoprotein resulting in different effects on protein levels. The plasmid vector was unsuccessful in reducing the membrane expression of TMEM16A protein within the timeframe of culture viability. However, delivery of TMEM16A-specific crRNA/tracrRNA/Cas9 ribonucleoprotein was effective in reducing both TMEM16A protein levels and the NO-dependent shift in reversal potential of GABA-gated currents. These results demonstrate that ACs express CFTR and TMEM16A with both playing a role in the NodClr. Ultimately, the flexibility of retinal processing may be increased by co-expression of CFTR with different TMEM16 paralogues, thus allowing subsets of amacrine cells to perform specific and unique functions

Increasing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Cultural Competence Among Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Students: An Educational Simulation Intervention (ESI)

Abstract There is a lack of knowledge surrounding the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community among Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students. Evidence has proven simulation to be an effective method to increase knowledge and awareness among healthcare providers. This DNP project aimed to assess BSN students’ LGBTQ cultural competence using an educational simulation intervention. Utilizing an educational simulation intervention was an effective way of providing education to nursing students to increase their LGBTQ cultural competence. This project aimed to improve the cultural competency among BSN students related to LGBTQ individuals using simulation as an intervention. Madeleine Leininger’s Cultural Care of Diversity and Universality theory was used to guide the implementation of the research. Students completed a baseline cultural competence scale prior to the educational simulation intervention. A modified National League of Nursing (NLN) standardized patient simulation was facilitated as the students encountered an LGBTQ patient. Upon completing the educational simulation intervention, students completed the same cultural competency scale so scores could be evaluated for cultural competency. The clinical questions revealed that the educational simulation intervention improved cultural competence scores when comparing baseline scores to post-intervention scores. The higher cultural competency scores were associated with decreased therapeutic communication scores. Overall, the project demonstrated that utilizing an educational simulation intervention is an effective method of educating students on the LGBTQ population. Keywords: LGBTQ, BSN, QYCC, educational simulation intervention, therapeutic communicatio

Distinct Circuit States Enable State-dependent Flexibility in a Rhythm Generating Network

My thesis aimed to elucidate general organizing principles underlying the modulation of neural circuits. These circuits are flexible constructs that, when modulated, can occupy many distinct states and produce different output patterns. Distinct circuit states can also produce the same output pattern in some cases. However, understanding the mechanisms and consequences of this latter phenomenon is impossible to achieve without the capability to observe and manipulate the cellular and synaptic properties of all circuit neurons. This work takes advantage of our detailed, cellular-level access to the central pattern generator (CPG) circuits found in the decapod crustacean stomatogastric nervous system, a specialized extension of the CNS dedicated to internal feeding-related behaviors. As CPGs are rhythmically active networks, much of this work focuses on the ability of such circuits to produce rhythmic output patterns (i.e. rhythm generation). Using this system, I found that distinct circuit states (configured by MCN1 projection neuron stimulation and CabPK peptide application) can enable comparable rhythm generation by recruiting distinct ionic conductances with overlapping functional roles (i.e. IMI and ITrans-LTS), each being regulated by synaptic inhibition to produce phasic excitatory drive to a pivotal circuit neuron (LG). In one case (MCN1 stimulation), the conductance is activated by a modulatory peptide transmitter whose release is regulated by presynaptic feedback inhibition. In the other case (CabPK application), the conductance has a slow inactivation property that is removed by hyperpolarization caused by synaptic inhibition. I also describe the consequences of having different circuit states that produce identical outputs by assaying their responses to the same, well-defined modulatory inputs - peptide (CCAP) hormone modulation and sensory feedback (GPR neuron). I found that hormonal modulation produced opposite effects on these two circuits states even though the cellular-level hormonal action is likely the same in both states. In contrast, I found these circuits were similarly sensitive to sensory feedback, despite this feedback acting via different synapses under each condition. My work thereby provides the first mechanistic understanding of input-pathway specific rhythm generators that produce convergent output patterns and the flexibility enabled by these circuit states when responding to additional modulatory inputs