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  1. Finding Nash equilibrial policies for two-player differential games requires solving Hamilton-Jacobi-Isaacs (HJI) PDEs. Self-supervised learning has been used to approximate solutions of such PDEs while circumventing the curse of dimensionality. However, this method fails to learn discontinuous PDE solutions due to its sampling nature, leading to poor safety performance of the resulting controllers in robotics applications when player rewards are discontinuous. This paper investigates two potential solutions to this problem: a hybrid method that leverages both supervised Nash equilibria and the HJI PDE, and a value-hardening method where a sequence of HJIs are solved with a gradually hardening reward. We compare these solutions using the resulting generalization and safety performance in two vehicle interaction simulation studies with 5D and 9D state spaces, respectively. Results show that with informative supervision (e.g., collision and near-collision demonstrations) and the low cost of self-supervised learning, the hybrid method achieves better safety performance than the supervised, self-supervised, and value hardening approaches on equal computational budget. Value hardening fails to generalize in the higher-dimensional case without informative supervision. Lastly, we show that the neural activation function needs to be continuously differentiable for learning PDEs and its choice can be case dependent. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available May 29, 2024
  2. Vapor phase infiltration (VPI) is a post-polymerization modification technique that infuses inorganics into polymers to create organic–inorganic hybrid materials with new properties. Much is yet to be understood about the chemical kinetics underlying the VPI process. The aim of this study is to create a greater understanding of the process kinetics that govern the infiltration of trimethyl aluminum (TMA) and TiCl 4 into PMMA to form inorganic-PMMA hybrid materials. To gain insight, this paper initially examines the predicted results for the spatiotemporal concentrations of inorganics computed from a recently posited reaction–diffusion model for VPI. This model provides insight on how the Damköhler number (reaction versus diffusion rates) and non-Fickian diffusional processes (hindering) that result from the material transforming from a polymer to a hybrid can affect the evolution of inorganic concentration depth profiles with time. Subsequently, experimental XPS depth profiles are collected for TMA and TiCl 4 infiltrated PMMA films at 90 °C and 135 °C. The functional behavior of these depth profiles at varying infiltration times are qualitatively compared to various computed predictions and conclusions are drawn about the mechanisms of each of these processes. TMA infiltration into PMMA appears to transition from a diffusion-limited process at low temperatures (90 °C) to a reaction-limited process at high temperatures (135 °C) for the film thicknesses investigated here (200 nm). While TMA appears to fully infiltrate these 200 nm PMMA films within a few hours, TiCl 4 infiltration into PMMA is considerably slower, with full saturation not occurring even after 2 days of precursor exposure. Infiltration at 90 °C is so slow that no clear conclusions about mechanism can be drawn; however, at 135 °C, the TiCl 4 infiltration into PMMA is clearly a reaction-limited process, with TiCl 4 permeating the entire thickness (at low concentrations) within only a few minutes, but inorganic loading continuously increasing in a uniform manner over a course of 2 days. Near-surface deviations from the uniform-loading expected for a reaction-limited process also suggest that diffusional hindering is high for TiCl 4 infiltration into PMMA. These results demonstrate a new, ex situ analysis approach for investigating the rate-limiting process mechanisms for vapor phase infiltration. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available May 24, 2024
  3. Macrophages can be characterized as a very multifunctional cell type with a spectrum of phenotypes and functions being observed spatially and temporally in various disease states. Ample studies have now demonstrated a possible causal link between macrophage activation and the development of autoimmune disorders. How these cells may be contributing to the adaptive immune response and potentially perpetuating the progression of neurodegenerative diseases and neural injuries is not fully understood. Within this review, we hope to illustrate the role that macrophages and microglia play as initiators of adaptive immune response in various CNS diseases by offering evidence of: (1) the types of immune responses and the processes of antigen presentation in each disease, (2) receptors involved in macrophage/microglial phagocytosis of disease-related cell debris or molecules, and, finally, (3) the implications of macrophages/microglia on the pathogenesis of the diseases. 
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  4. Abstract Extracellular matrix (ECM) in the human tissue contains vesicles, which are defined as matrix‐bound nanovesicles (MBVs). MBVs serve as one of the functional components in ECM, recapitulating part of the regulatory roles and in vivo microenvironment. In this study, extracellular vesicles from culture supernatants (SuEVs) and MBVs are isolated from the conditioned medium or ECM, respectively, of 3D human mesenchymal stem cells. Nanoparticle tracking analysis shows that MBVs are smaller than SuEVs (100–150 nm). Transmission electron microscopy captures the typical cup shape morphology for both SuEVs and MBVs. Western blot reveals that MBVs have low detection of some SuEV markers such as syntenin‐1. miRNA analysis of MBVs shows that 3D microenvironment enhances the expression of miRNAs such as miR‐19a and miR‐21. In vitro functional analysis shows that MBVs can facilitate human pluripotent stem cell‐derived forebrain organoid recovery after starvation and promote high passage fibroblast proliferation. In macrophage polarization, 2D MBVs tend to suppress the pro‐inflammatory cytokine IL‐12 β , while 3D MBVs tend to enhance the anti‐inflammatory cytokine IL‐10. This study has the significance in advancing the understanding of the bio‐interface of nanovesicles with human tissue and the design of cell‐free therapy for treating neurological disorders such as ischemic stroke. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available May 24, 2024
  5. Central nervous system (CNS) trauma activates a persistent repair response that leads to fibrotic scar formation within the lesion. This scarring is similar to other organ fibrosis in many ways; however, the unique features of the CNS differentiate it from other organs. In this review, we discuss fibrotic scar formation in CNS trauma, including the cellular origins of fibroblasts, the mechanism of fibrotic scar formation following an injury, as well as the implication of the fibrotic scar in CNS tissue remodeling and regeneration. While discussing the shared features of CNS fibrotic scar and fibrosis outside the CNS, we highlight their differences and discuss therapeutic targets that may enhance regeneration in the CNS. 
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  6. Abstract

    The wind-driven meridional overturning circulation between the tropical and subtropical oceans is important for regulating decadal-scale temperature fluctuations in the Pacific Ocean and globally. An acceleration of the overturning circulation can act to reduce global surface temperature as ocean stores more heat. The equatorward low-latitude western boundary current represents a key component of the meridional circulation cell in the Pacific and a major source of water mass for the Equatorial Undercurrent, yet long-term observations of its transport are scarce. Here we demonstrate that the15N/14N ratio recorded byPoritesspp. corals in the western tropical South Pacific is sensitive to the exchanges of water masses driven by the western boundary transport. Using a 94-year coral record from the Solomon Sea, we report that the15N/14N ratio declined as the global surface temperature rose. The record suggests that the South Pacific western boundary current has strengthened in the past century, and it may have contributed to the reported strengthening of the Equatorial Undercurrent. In addition, the15N/14N record shows strong decadal variability, indicative of weaker equatorial Pacific upwelling and stronger western boundary transport when the eastern equatorial Pacific is in the warm stage of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation.

     
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  7. Recent studies demonstrated the vulnerability of control policies learned through deep reinforcement learning against adversarial attacks, raising concerns about the application of such models to risk-sensitive tasks such as autonomous driving. Threat models for these demonstrations are limited to (1) targeted attacks through real-time manipulation of the agent's observation, and (2) untargeted attacks through manipulation of the physical environment. The former assumes full access to the agent's states/observations at all times, while the latter has no control over attack outcomes. This paper investigates the feasibility of targeted attacks through visually learned patterns placed on physical objects in the environment, a threat model that combines the practicality and effectiveness of the existing ones. Through analysis, we demonstrate that a pre-trained policy can be hijacked within a time window, e.g., performing an unintended self-parking, when an adversarial object is present. To enable the attack, we adopt an assumption that the dynamics of both the environment and the agent can be learned by the attacker. Lastly, we empirically show the effectiveness of the proposed attack on different driving scenarios, perform a location robustness test, and study the tradeoff between the attack strength and its effectiveness Code is available at https://github.com/ASU-APG/ Targeted-Physical-Adversarial-Attacks-on-AD 
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