Oxygen-Free Compound Casting of Aluminum and Copper in a Silane-Doped Inert Gas Atmosphere: A New Approach to Increase Thermal Conductivity

Novel aluminum-copper compound castings devoid of oxide layers at the interface between the joining partners were developed in order to increase the thermal conductivity of the hybrid component. Due to the natural oxide layers of both aluminum and copper, metallurgical bonds between such bi-metal castings cannot be easily achieved in conventional processes. However, in an atmosphere comparable to extreme high vacuum created by using silane-doped inert gas, metallurgical bonds between the active surfaces of both aluminum and copper can be realized without additional coatings or fluxes. An intermetallic was created between aluminum and copper. Thus, very high thermal conductivities could be obtained for these hybrid castings, exceeding those of conventionally joined samples considerably. The intermetallic phase seams emerging between the joining partners were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The reduction of casting temperatures resulted in narrower intermetallic phase seams and these in turn in a much lower contact resistance between the two joining partners. This effect can be utilized for increasing the heat transfer capabilities of compound casting components employed for cooling heat sources such as high-power light-emitting diodes

VR Video Storytelling for Intangible Cultural Heritage Preservation.

Interactive digital storytelling has become a popular method for virtual cultural heritage presentations. Combinations of stories and 3D virtual reconstructions are attractive for the audience and have high edutainment values. In this paper we investigate if 360◦ VR videos further contribute to user immersion in the preservation of intangible cultural heritage. It describes a case study of the Mostar bridge diving project, aimed to present and preserve the bridge diving tradition from the Old Bridge in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a virtual reality application which enables the user to virtually jump off the bridge after watching 360◦ video stories about its history and the bridge diving tradition and upon successfully completing the quiz evaluation of the knowledge gained from the stories. The user experience evaluation study shows that our method was successful in preserving a form of intangible heritage and posits suggestions that can be used in developing an intangible heritage preservation framework

Backwards compatible JPEG stereoscopic high dynamic range imaging

In this paper we introduce Stereoscopic High Dynamic Range (SHDR) Imagery which is a novel tecnique that combines high dynamic range imaging and stereoscopy. Stereoscopic imaging captures two images representing the views of both eyes and allows for better depth perception. High dynamic range (HDR) imaging is an emerging technology which allows the capture, storage and display of real world lighting as opposed to traditional imagery which only captures a restricted range of light due to limitation in hardware capture and displays. HDR provides better contrast and more natural looking scenes. One of the main challenges that needs to be overcome for SHDR to be successful is an efficient storage format that compresses the very large sizes obtained by SHDR if left uncompressed; stereoscopic imaging requires the storage of two images and uncompressed HDR requires the storage of a floating point value per colour channel per pixel. In this paper we present a number of SHDR compression methods that are backward compatible with traditional JPEG, stereo JPEG and JPEG-HDR. The proposed methods can encode SHDR content to little more than that of a traditional LDR image and the backward compatibility property encourages early adopters to adopt the format since their content will still be viewable by any of the legacy viewers

Can the "female protective effect" liability threshold model explain sex differences in autism spectrum disorder?

Male sex is a strong risk factor for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The leading theory for a "female protective effect" (FPE) envisions males and females have "differing thresholds" under a "liability threshold model" (DT-LTM). Specifically, this model posits that females require either a greater number or larger magnitude of risk factors (i.e., greater liability) to manifest ASD, which is supported by the finding that a greater proportion of females with ASD have highly penetrant genetic mutations. Herein, we derive testable hypotheses from the DT-LTM for ASD, investigating heritability, familial recurrence, correlation between ASD penetrance and sex ratio, population traits, clinical features, the stability of the sex ratio across diagnostic changes, and highlight other key prerequisites. Our findings reveal that several key predictions of the DT-LTM are not supported by current data, requiring us to establish a different conceptual framework for evaluating alternate models that explain sex differences in ASD

Multimodal Assessment of Bottlenose Dolphin Auditory Nuclei Using 7-Tesla MRI, Immunohistochemistry and Stereology

: The importance of assessing neurochemical processes in the cetacean brain as a tool for monitoring their cognitive health and to indirectly model human neurodegenerative conditions is increasingly evident, although available data are largely semiquantitative. High-resolution MRI for post-mortem brains and stereology allow for quantitative assessments of the cetacean brain. In this study, we scanned two brains of bottlenose dolphins in a 7-Tesla (7T) MR scanner and assessed the connectivity of the inferior colliculi and ventral cochlear nuclei using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Serial thick sections were investigated stereologically in one of the dolphins to generate rigorous quantitative estimates of identifiable cell types according to their morphology and expression of molecular markers, yielding reliable cell counts with most coefficients of error <10%. Fibronectin immunoreactivity in the dolphin resembled the pattern in a human chronic traumatic encephalopathy brain, suggesting that neurochemical compensation for insults such as hypoxia may constitute a noxious response in humans, while being physiological in dolphins. These data contribute to a growing body of knowledge on the morphological and neurochemical properties of the dolphin brain and highlight a stereological and neuroimaging workflow that may enable quantitative and translational assessment of pathological processes in the dolphin brain in the future

Convergent neural correlates of prenatal exposure to air pollution and behavioral phenotypes of risk for internalizing and externalizing problems: potential biological and cognitive pathways

© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Humans are ubiquitously exposed to neurotoxicants in air pollution, causing increased risk for psychiatric outcomes. Effects of prenatal exposure to air pollution on early emerging behavioral phenotypes that increase risk of psychopathology remain understudied. We review animal models that represent analogues of human behavioral phenotypes that are risk markers for internalizing and externalizing problems (behavioral inhibition, behavioral exuberance, irritability), and identify commonalities among the neural mechanisms underlying these behavioral phenotypes and the neural targets of three types of air pollutants (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, traffic-related air pollutants, fine particulate matter < 2.5 µm). We conclude that prenatal exposure to air pollutants increases risk for behavioral inhibition and irritability through distinct mechanisms, including altered dopaminergic signaling and hippocampal morphology, neuroinflammation, and decreased brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression. Future studies should investigate these effects in human longitudinal studies incorporating complex exposure measurement methods, neuroimaging, and behavioral characterization of temperament phenotypes and neurocognitive processing to facilitate efforts aimed at improving long-lasting developmental benefits for children, particularly those living in areas with high levels of exposure.This work was supported by the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences R01ES030950, R01ES032296 and K23026239 to A.E.M. and Whole Communities Whole Health, a University of Texas at Austin Grand Challenge Initiative (OVPR) to F.A.C.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

DNASE1L3 deficiency, new phenotypes and evidence for a transient type I interferon signaling

Introduction: Deoxyribonuclease 1 like 3 (DNASE1L3) is a secreted enzyme that has been shown to digest the extracellular chromatin derived from apoptotic bodies, and DNASE1L3 pathogenic variants have been associated to a lupus phenotype. It is unclear whether interferon signaling is sustained in DNASE1L3 deficiency in humans. Objectives: Here, we report on four patients with pathogenic variations in DNASE1L3, including 2 previously undescribed causal variants, and expand the phenotype from SLE to vasculitis with gut involvement. To explore whether or not the interferon cascade was strongly and sustainably induced, Interferon stimulated genes (ISGs) expression was assessed for each patient. We also review previous reports highlighting the spectrum of DNASE1L3 deficiency. Methods: Identification of disease-causing variants was based on NGS sequencing in 3 out of 4 patients, and for one patient, coding regions of the DNASE1L3 gene were directly sequenced by Sanger sequencing. Type I interferon signature was determined using either quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction or nanostring technology, and serum IN-α2 concentrations was measured using simoa assay. Results: Disease in one patient was characterized by lupus nephritis and skin lesions, while two others exhibited hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis syndrome. The fourth patient presented with early-onset inflammatory bowel disease. Contrary to canonical type-I interferonopathies, we noticed a transient increase of ISGs in blood, which reverted to normal with disease remission. Conclusion: Reviewing previous reports, DNASE1L3-related disease appears to carry a significant risk of lupus nephritis and a poor outcome together with the presence of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA). DNASE1L3 deficiency may share the pathogenesis with C1q deficiency by affecting efferocytosis, and this report suggests that interferon production is not directly driven by DNASE1L3 pathogenic variants

DNASE1L3 deficiency, new phenotypes, and evidence for a transient type I IFN signaling

Background: Deoxyribonuclease 1 like 3 (DNASE1L3) is a secreted enzyme that has been shown to digest the extracellular chromatin derived from apoptotic bodies, and DNASE1L3 pathogenic variants have been associated with a lupus phenotype. It is unclear whether interferon signaling is sustained in DNASE1L3 deficiency in humans. Objectives: To explore interferon signaling in DNASE1L3 deficient patients. To depict the characteristic features of DNASE1L3 deficiencies in human. Methods: We identified, characterized, and analyzed five new patients carrying biallelic DNASE1L3 variations. Whole or targeted exome and/or Sanger sequencing was performed to detect pathogenic variations in five juvenile systemic erythematosus lupus (jSLE) patients. We measured interferon-stimulated gene (ISG) expression in all patients. We performed a systematic review of all published cases available from its first description in 2011 to March 24th 2022. Results: We identified five new patients carrying biallelic DNASE1L3 pathogenic variations, including three previously unreported mutations. Contrary to canonical type I interferonopathies, we noticed a transient increase of ISGs in blood, which returned to normal with disease remission. Disease in one patient was characterized by lupus nephritis and skin lesions, while four others exhibited hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis syndrome. The fourth patient presented also with early-onset inflammatory bowel disease. Reviewing previous reports, we identified 35 additional patients with DNASE1L3 deficiency which was associated with a significant risk of lupus nephritis and a poor outcome together with the presence of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA). Lung lesions were reported in 6/35 patients. Conclusions: DNASE1L3 deficiencies are associated with a broad phenotype including frequently lupus nephritis and hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis with positive ANCA and rarely, alveolar hemorrhages and inflammatory bowel disease. This report shows that interferon production is transient contrary to anomalies of intracellular DNA sensing and signaling observed in Aicardi-Goutières syndrome or STING-associated vasculitis in infancy (SAVI)

Improving Accessibility to Intangible Cultural Heritage Preservation using Virtual Reality.

Presentations of virtual Cultural Heritage artifacts are often communicated via the medium of interactive digital storytelling. The synergy of a storied narrative embedded within a 3D virtual reconstruction context have high consumer appeal and edutainment value. We investigate if 360◦ videos presented through virtual reality further contribute to user immersion for the application of preserving Intangible Cultural Heritage. A case study then analyses whether conventional desktop media is significantly different than virtual reality as a medium for immersion in intangible heritage contexts. The case study describes bridge diving at Stari Most, the old bridge in Mostar Bosnia. This application aims to present and preserve the bridge diving tradition at this site. The project describes the site and history along with cultural connections, a series of quiz questions are presented after viewing all of the materials. Successful completion of the quiz allows a user to participate in a virtual bridge dive. The subjective evaluation provided evidence to suggest that our method is successful in preserving intangible heritage and communicating ideas in key areas of concern for this heritage that can be used to develop a preservation framework in the future. It was also possible to conclude that experience within the VR framework did not affect Effort Expectancy for the web application, but the same experience made a significant influence for the Performance Expectancy construct