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At least 1,135 records · Page 63

Intrinsically stretchable electrode array enabled in vivo electrophysiological mapping of atrial fibrillation at cellular resolution

Electrophysiological mapping of chronic atrial fibrillation (AF) at high throughput and high resolution is critical for understanding its underlying mechanism and guiding definitive treatment such as cardiac ablation, but current electrophysiological tools are limited by either low spatial resolution or electromechanical uncoupling of the beating heart. To overcome this limitation, here we introduce a scalable method for fabricating a tissue-like, high-density, fully elastic electrode (elastrode) array capable of achieving real-time, stable, cellular level-resolution electrophysiological mapping in vivo. Testing with acute rabbit and porcine models, the device is proven to have robust and intimate tissue coupling while maintaining its chemical, mechanical, and electrical properties during the cardiac cycle. The elastrode array records epicardial atrial signals with comparable efficacy to currently available endocardial-mapping techniques but with 2 times higher atrial-to-ventricular signal ratio and >100 times higher spatial resolution and can reliably identify electrical local heterogeneity within an area of simultaneously identified rotor-like electrical patterns in a porcine model of chronic AF.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

FIRST SYNOPTIC MAPS OF PHOTOSPHERIC VECTOR MAGNETIC FIELD FROM SOLIS/VSM: NON-RADIAL MAGNETIC FIELDS AND HEMISPHERIC PATTERN OF HELICITY

We use daily full-disk vector magnetograms from Vector Spectromagnetograph on Synoptic Optical Long-term Investigations of the Sun system to synthesize the first Carrington maps of the photospheric vector magnetic field. We describe these maps and make a comparison of the observed radial field with the radial field estimate from line-of-sight magnetograms. Furthermore, we employ these maps to study the hemispheric pattern of current helicity density, H{sub c} , during the rising phase of solar cycle 24. The longitudinal average over the 23 consecutive solar rotations shows a clear signature of the hemispheric helicity rule, i.e., H{sub c} is predominantly negative in the north and positive in the south. Although our data include the early phase of cycle 24, there appears to be no evidence for a possible (systematic) reversal of the hemispheric helicity rule at the beginning of the cycle as predicted by some dynamo models. Furthermore, we compute the hemispheric pattern in active region latitudes (-30 Degree-Sign {<=} {theta} {<=} 30 Degree-Sign ) separately for weak (100 G < |B{sub r} | < 500 G) and strong (|B{sub r} | > 1000 G) radial magnetic fields. We find that while the current helicity of strong fields follows the well-known hemispheric rule (i.e., {theta} {center_dot} H{sub c} < 0), H{sub c} of weak fields exhibits an inverse hemispheric behavior (i.e., {theta} {center_dot} H{sub c} > 0), albeit with large statistical scatter. We discuss two plausible scenarios to explain the opposite hemispheric trend of helicity in weak and strong field regions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

How much can we learn from a merging cold front cluster? Insights from X-ray temperature and radio maps of A3667

The galaxy cluster A3667 is an ideal laboratory to study the plasma processes in the intracluster medium. High-resolution Chandra X-ray observations show a cold front in A3667. At radio wavelengths, A3667 reveals a double radio-relic feature in the outskirts of the cluster. These suggest multiple merger events in this cluster. In this paper, we analyze the substantial archival X-ray observations of A3667 from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and compare these with existing radio observations as well as state-of-the-art adaptive mesh refinement MHD cosmological simulations using Enzo. We have used two temperature map making techniques, weighted Voronoi tessellation and adaptive circular binning, to produce the high-resolution and largest field-of-view temperature maps of A3667. These high-fidelity temperature maps allow us to study the X-ray shocks in the cluster using a new two-dimensional shock-finding algorithm. We have also estimated the Mach numbers from the shocks inferred from previous ATCA radio observations. The combined shock statistics from the X-ray and radio data are in agreement with the shock statistics in a simulated MHD cluster. We have also studied the profiles of the thermodynamic properties across the cold front using ∼447 ks from the combined Chandra observations on A3667. Our results show that the stability of the cold front in A3667 can be attributed to the suppression of the thermal conduction across the cold front by a factor of ∼100-700 compared to the classical Spitzer value.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

SWIFT/UVOT GRISM MONITORING OF NGC 5548 IN 2013: AN ATTEMPT AT Mg ii REVERBERATION MAPPING

Reverberation-mapping-based scaling relations are often used to estimate the masses of black holes from single-epoch spectra of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). While the radius–luminosity relation that is the basis of these scaling relations is determined using reverberation mapping of the Hβ line in nearby AGNs, the scaling relations are often extended to use other broad emission lines, such as Mg ii, in order to get black hole masses at higher redshifts when Hβ is redshifted out of the optical waveband. However, there is no radius–luminosity relation determined directly from Mg ii. Here, we present an attempt to perform reverberation mapping using Mg ii in the well-studied nearby Seyfert 1 NGC 5548. We used Swift to obtain UV grism spectra of NGC 5548 once every two days from 2013 April to September. Concurrent photometric UV monitoring with Swift provides a well determined continuum light curve that shows strong variability. The Mg ii emission line, however, is not strongly correlated with the continuum variability, and there is no significant lag between the two. We discuss these results in the context of using Mg ii scaling relations to estimate high-redshift black hole masses.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

SPECTROSCOPIC INFRARED EXTINCTION MAPPING AS A PROBE OF GRAIN GROWTH IN IRDCs

We present spectroscopic tests of MIR to FIR extinction laws in IRDC G028.36+00.07, a potential site of massive star and star cluster formation. Lim and Tan developed methods of FIR extinction mapping of this source using Spitzer-MIPS 24 μm and Herschel-PACS 70 μm images, and by comparing to MIR Spitzer-IRAC 3–8 μm extinction maps, found tentative evidence for grain growth in the highest mass surface density regions. Here we present results of spectroscopic infrared extinction mapping using Spitzer-IRS (14–38 μm) data of the same Infrared dark cloud (IRDC). These methods allow us to first measure the SED of the diffuse Galactic interstellar medium that is in the foreground of the IRDC. We then carry out our primary investigation of measuring the MIR to FIR opacity law and searching for potential variations as a function of mass surface density within the IRDC. We find relatively flat, featureless MIR–FIR opacity laws that lack the ∼12 and ∼35 μm features associated with the thick water ice mantle models of Ossenkopf and Henning. Their thin ice mantle models and the coagulating aggregate dust models of Ormel et al. are a generally better match to the observed opacity laws. We also find evidence for generally flatter MIR to FIR extinction laws as mass surface density increases, strengthening the evidence for grain and ice mantle growth in higher density regions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A fast map-making preconditioner for regular scanning patterns

High-resolution Maximum Likelihood map-making of the Cosmic Microwave Background is usually performed using Conjugate Gradients with a preconditioner that ignores noise correlations. We here present a new preconditioner that approximates the map noise covariance as circulant, and show that this results in a speedup of up to 400% for a realistic scanning pattern from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope. The improvement is especially large for polarized maps.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

North-South non-Gaussian asymmetry in Planck CMB maps

We report the results of a statistical analysis performed with the four foreground-cleaned Planck maps by means of a suitably defined local-variance estimator. Our analysis shows a clear dipolar structure in Planck's variance map pointing in the direction (l,b) ≅ (220°,-32°), thus consistent with the North-South asymmetry phenomenon. Surprisingly, and contrary to previous findings, removing the CMB quadrupole and octopole makes the asymmetry stronger. Our results show a maximal statistical significance, of 98.1% CL, in the scales ranging from ℓ=4 to ℓ=500. Additionally, through exhaustive analyses of the four foreground-cleaned and individual frequency Planck maps, we find unlikely that residual foregrounds could be causing this dipole variance asymmetry. Moreover, we find that the dipole gets lower amplitudes for larger masks, evidencing that most of the contribution to the variance dipole comes from a region near the galactic plane. Finally, our results are robust against different foreground cleaning procedures, different Planck masks, pixelization parameters, and the addition of inhomogeneous real noise.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

FAR-INFRARED EXTINCTION MAPPING OF INFRARED DARK CLOUDS

Progress in understanding star formation requires detailed observational constraints on the initial conditions, i.e., dense clumps and cores in giant molecular clouds that are on the verge of gravitational instability. Such structures have been studied by their extinction of near-infrared and, more recently, mid-infrared (MIR) background light. It has been somewhat more of a surprise to find that there are regions that appear as dark shadows at far-infrared (FIR) wavelengths as long as ∼100 μm! Here we develop analysis methods of FIR images from Spitzer-MIPS and Herschel-PACS that allow quantitative measurements of cloud mass surface density, Σ. The method builds on that developed for MIR extinction mapping by Butler and Tan, in particular involving a search for independently saturated, i.e., very opaque, regions that allow measurement of the foreground intensity. We focus on three massive starless core/clumps in the Infrared Dark Cloud (IRDC) G028.37+00.07, deriving mass surface density maps from 3.5 to 70 μm. A by-product of this analysis is the measurement of the spectral energy distribution of the diffuse foreground emission. The lower opacity at 70 μm allows us to probe to higher Σ values, up to ∼1 g cm{sup –2} in the densest parts of the core/clumps. Comparison of the Σ maps at different wavelengths constrains the shape of the MIR-FIR dust opacity law in IRDCs. We find that it is most consistent with the thick ice mantle models of Ossenkopf and Henning. There is tentative evidence for grain ice mantle growth as one goes from lower to higher Σ regions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Integration of high-density genetic mapping with transcriptome analysis uncovers numerous agronomic QTL and reveals candidate genes for the control of tillering in sorghum

Phenotypes such as branching, photoperiod sensitivity, and height were modified during plant domestication and crop improvement. Here, we perform quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping of these and other agronomic traits in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from an interspecific cross between Sorghum propinquum and Sorghum bicolor inbred Tx7000. Using low-coverage Illumina sequencing and a bin-mapping approach, we generated ~1920 bin markers spanning ~875 cM. Phenotyping data were collected and analyzed from two field locations and one greenhouse experiment for six agronomic traits, thereby identifying a total of 30 QTL. Many of these QTL were penetrant across environments and co-mapped with major QTL identified in other studies. Other QTL uncovered new genomic regions associated with these traits, and some of these were environment-specific in their action. To further dissect the genetic underpinnings of tillering, we complemented QTL analysis with transcriptomics, identifying 6189 genes that were differentially expressed during tiller bud elongation. We identified genes such as Dormancy Associated Protein 1 (DRM1) in addition to various transcription factors that are differentially expressed in comparisons of dormant to elongating tiller buds and lie within tillering QTL, suggesting that these genes are key regulators of tiller elongation in sorghum. Our study demonstrates the usefulness of this RIL population in detecting domestication and improvement-associated genes in sorghum, thus providing a valuable resource for genetic investigation and improvement to the sorghum community.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Physics-informed machine learning analysis for nanoscale grain mapping by synchrotron Laue microdiffraction

Understanding the grain morphology, orientation distribution and crystal structure of nanocrystals is essential for optimizing the mechanical and physical properties of functional materials. Synchrotron X-ray Laue microdiffraction is a powerful technique for characterizing crystal structures and orientation mapping using focused X-rays. However, when the grain sizes are smaller than the beam size, mixed peaks in the Laue pattern from neighboring grains limit the resolution of grain morphology mapping. We propose a physics-informed machine learning (PIML) approach that combines a convolutional neural network feature extractor with a physics-informed filtering algorithm to overcome the spatial resolution limits of X-rays, achieving nanoscale resolution for grain mapping. Our PIML method successfully resolves the grain size, orientation distribution and morphology of Au nanocrystals through synchrotron microdiffraction scans, showing good agreement with electron backscatter diffraction results. This PIML-assisted synchrotron microdiffraction analysis can be generalized to other diffraction-based probes, enabling the characterization of nanosized structures with micrometre-sized probes.

X-ray crystallography↗

Scanning structural mapping at the Life Science X-ray Scattering Beamline

This work describes the instrumentation and software for microbeam scattering and structural mapping at the Life Science X-ray Scattering (LiX) beamline at NSLS-II. Using a two-stage focusing scheme, an adjustable beam size between a few micrometres and a fraction of a millimetre is produced at the sample position. Scattering data at small and wide angles are collected simultaneously on multiple Pilatus detectors. A recent addition of an in-vacuum Pilatus 900k detector, with the detector modules arranged in a C-shaped configuration, has improved the azimuthal angle coverage in the wide-angle data. As an option, fluorescence data can be collected simultaneously. Fly scans have been implemented to minimize the time interval between scattering patterns and to avoid unnecessary radiation damage to the sample. For weakly scattering samples, an in-vacuum sample environment has been developed here to minimize background scattering. Data processing for these measurements is highly sample-specific. To establish a generalized data process workflow, first the data are reduced to reciprocal coordinates at the time of data collection. The users can then quantify features of their choosing from these intermediate data and construct structural maps. As examples, results from in-vacuum mapping of onion epidermal cell walls and 2D tomographic sectioning of an intact poplar stem are presented.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Protein identification from electron cryomicroscopy maps by automated model building and side-chain matching

Using single-particle electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM), it is possible to obtain multiple reconstructions showing the 3D structures of proteins imaged as a mixture. Here, it is shown that automatic map interpretation based on such reconstructions can be used to create atomic models of proteins as well as to match the proteins to the correct sequences and thereby to identify them. This procedure was tested using two proteins previously identified from a mixture at resolutions of 3.2 Å, as well as using 91 deposited maps with resolutions between 2 and 4.5 Å. The approach is found to be highly effective for maps obtained at resolutions of 3.5 Å and better, and to have some utility at resolutions as low as 4 Å.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Mapping Photovoltaic Soiling Using Spatial Interpolation Techniques

In this paper, we present a new soiling map developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, showing data from 83 sites in the United States. Soiling has been measured through soiling stations or extracted by photovoltaic system performance data using referenced techniques. The data on the map have been used to conduct the first regional analysis of soiling distribution in the United States. We found that most of the soiling occurs in the southwestern United States, with Southern California counties experiencing the greatest losses because of the high particulate matter concentrations and the long dry periods. Moreover, we employed five spatial-interpolation techniques to investigate the possibility of estimating soiling at a site using data from nearby sites. We found that coefficients of determination of up to 78% between estimated and measured soiling ratios, meaning that, by using selective sampling, soiling losses can be predicted using the data on the map with a root-mean-square error of as low as 1.1%.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Software Architecture and Hardware Organization in Mu2e Solenoid Field Mapping System

Herein, the Mu2e field mapping system is designed to produce high accuracy field maps of the detector solenoid used in the experiment. The data acquisition system is mobile and uses a self-propelled mapper with rotating arms equipped with 3D Hall probes. The measurements require not only accurate magnetic field readouts, but also accurate locations of all Hall probes while measuring data. The latter is accomplished by using the laser tracker to measure positions of several retroreflectors on the field mapper during data acquisition. The measurement process requires scanning the whole space inside the large solenoid and takes many hours to complete, which necessitates its full automation. The automation software includes control of the mapper, readout of Hall and NMR probes and control of a laser tracker, including prediction of retroreflector positions and execution of quality control checks. The software architecture and data acquisition hardware of the field mapping system are described, with special attention given to control of the laser tracker and its integration with the rest of the system.

3d hall probes↗

Nanoscale elemental mapping reveals the effect of light and temperature on Gephyrocapsa huxleyi coccoliths

Coccolithophores produce vast quantities of stable calcium carbonate coccoliths, occupying the distinctive position as one of the most productive calcifying organisms on Earth. Gephyrocapsa huxleyi, the most abundant species of coccolithophores across modern oceans, plays an important role in the biological carbon pump and may serve as inspiration for nature-based carbon capture and sequestration technologies. Despite intensive study into G. huxleyi, the biological mechanisms of coccolith synthesis remain unclear. Here, we employ synchrotron X-ray fluorescence to quantitatively map elemental incorporation (calcium, Ca; strontium, Sr; sulfur, S; iron, Fe; and silicon, Si) into G. huxleyi coccoliths at 40-nanometer resolution. Trace elements play a role in determining the thermodynamic stability of coccolith carbonate sequestration and may provide insight into unknown mechanisms of coccolithogenesis. Although the coccolith Sr/Ca ratio has been widely applied as a paleoceanographic proxy, understanding of the Sr/Ca phenomena is limited. Our results confirm that Sr/Ca is temperature dependent but challenge the hypothesis that growth rate is a primary determinant. We find that increased light irradiance led to an ~30% decrease in calcium incorporated into the coccoliths. Surprisingly, X-ray fluorescence spectra and mapping revealed evidence of sulfur, at approximately three times the concentration of Sr, embedded in and around the calcite matrix, suggesting that G. huxleyi coccoliths may play an expanded role in the global sulfur cycle. Here, based on our elemental maps, we postulate that sulfur is active in the intracellular coccolith vesicle and plays a direct role in formation of G. huxleyi coccoliths.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

SU-F-BRF-08: Conformal Mapping-Based 3D Surface Matching and Registration

Purpose: Recently, non-rigid 3D surface matching and registration has been used extensively in engineering and medicine. However, matching 3D surfaces undergoing non-rigid deformation accurately is still a challenging mathematical problem. In this study, we present a novel algorithm to address this issue by introducing intrinsic symmetry to the registration Methods: Our computational algorithm for symmetric conformal mapping is divided into three major steps: 1) Finding the symmetric plane; 2) Finding feature points; and 3) Performing cross registration. The key strategy is to preserve the symmetry during the conformal mapping, such that the image on the parameter domain is symmetric and the area distortion factor on the parameter image is also symmetric. Several novel algorithms were developed using different conformal geometric tools. One was based on solving Riemann-Cauchy equation and the other one employed curvature flow Results: Our algorithm was implemented using generic C++ on Windows XP and used conjugate gradient search optimization for acceleration. The human face 3D surface images were acquired using a high speed 3D scanner based on the phase-shifting method. The scanning speed was 30 frames/sec. The image resolution for each frame was 640 × 480. For 3D human face surfaces with different expressions, postures, and boundaries, our algorithms were able to produce consistent result on the texture pattern on the overlapping region Conclusion: We proposed a novel algorithm to improve the robustness of conformal geometric methods by incorporating the symmetric information into the mapping process. To objectively evaluate its performance, we compared it with most existing techniques. Experimental results indicated that our method outperformed all the others in terms of robustness. The technique has a great potential in real-time patient monitoring and tracking in image-guided radiation therapy.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Texture analysis on the fluence map to evaluate the degree of modulation for volumetric modulated arc therapy

Purpose: Texture analysis on fluence maps was performed to evaluate the degree of modulation for volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans. Methods: A total of six textural features including angular second moment, inverse difference moment, contrast, variance, correlation, and entropy were calculated for fluence maps generated from 20 prostate and 20 head and neck VMAT plans. For each of the textural features, particular displacement distances (d) of 1, 5, and 10 were adopted. To investigate the deliverability of each VMAT plan, gamma passing rates of pretreatment quality assurance, and differences in modulating parameters such as multileaf collimator (MLC) positions, gantry angles, and monitor units at each control point between VMAT plans and dynamic log files registered by the Linac control system during delivery were acquired. Furthermore, differences between the original VMAT plan and the plan reconstructed from the dynamic log files were also investigated. To test the performance of the textural features as indicators for the modulation degree of VMAT plans, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients (r{sub s}) with the plan deliverability were calculated. For comparison purposes, conventional modulation indices for VMAT including the modulation complexity score for VMAT, leaf travel modulation complexity score, and modulation index supporting station parameter optimized radiation therapy (MI{sub SPORT}) were calculated, and their correlations were analyzed in the same way. Results: There was no particular textural feature which always showed superior correlations with every type of plan deliverability. Considering the results comprehensively, contrast (d = 1) and variance (d = 1) generally showed considerable correlations with every type of plan deliverability. These textural features always showed higher correlations to the plan deliverability than did the conventional modulation indices, except in the case of modulating parameter differences. The r{sub s} values of contrast to the global gamma passing rates with criteria of 2%/2 mm, 2%/1 mm, and 1%/2 mm were 0.536, 0.473, and 0.718, respectively. The respective values for variance were 0.551, 0.481, and 0.688. In the case of local gamma passing rates, the r{sub s} values of contrast were 0.547, 0.578, and 0.620, respectively, and those of variance were 0.519, 0.527, and 0.569. All of the r{sub s} values in those cases were statistically significant (p < 0.003). In the cases of global and local gamma passing rates, MI{sub SPORT} showed the highest correlations among the conventional modulation indices. For global passing rates, r{sub s} values of MI{sub SPORT} were −0.420, −0.330, and −0.632, respectively, and those for local passing rates were −0.455, −0.490 and −0.502. The values of r{sub s} of contrast, variance, and MI{sub SPORT} with the MLC errors were −0.863, −0.828, and 0.795, respectively, all with statistical significances (p < 0.001). The correlations with statistical significances between variance and dose-volumetric differences were observed more frequently than the others. Conclusions: The contrast (d = 1) and variance (d = 1) calculated from fluence maps of VMAT plans showed considerable correlations with the plan deliverability, indicating their potential use as indicators for assessing the degree of modulation of VMAT plans. Both contrast and variance consistently showed better performance than the conventional modulation indices for VMAT.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Density-Equalizing Maps for Simply Connected Open Surfaces

Here in this paper, we are concerned with the problem of creating flattening maps of simply connected open surfaces in $\mathbb{R}^3$. Using a natural principle of density diffusion in physics, we propose an effective algorithm for computing density-equalizing maps with any prescribed density distribution. By varying the initial density distribution, a large variety of flattening maps with different properties can be achieved. For instance, area-preserving parameterizations of simply connected open surfaces can be easily computed. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method. Applications to data visualization and surface remeshing are explored.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗