This week, the PyMCon 2020 is happening: All around PyMC3, one of the leading libraries for MCMC/Bayesian statistics/probabilistic programming, this online conference is split into an asynchronous and a synchronous part.
AR/VR visualization of 3D and 4D microscopy data (multicolor 3D video, as well as 3D point clouds over time) for biological research.
Look for "lattice light sheet microscopy" or "superresolution microscopy" such as (3D)-STORM or STED.
These techniques are adopted at a high pace. Groups spent $ 500,000 and often more on the hardware. They can produce terabytes of data within days, but we hardly have any tools to view and interact with it. (And the people are overwhelmed with the analysis.)
Imagine a holographic video of living cell (potentially in near real time) where you can zoom by grabbing the hologram.
I'm intrigued! How do you interact with these images right now? Do you display it on screen and rotate it with the mouse? Can you elaborate a bit more about how would a VR/AR solution add value here other than being a fancier solution?
Manipulation with the mouse if you're lucky. Often this would involve Matlab, or some specialized software. But in many cases we don't even have this and people use Fiji to scroll through the z-dimension with a slider.
For presentations people often render a movie with Matlab, investing hours to get it right. With AR, you could take a movie by filming with a virtual camera in your hand.
Augmented Reality would add the most value. Some examples:
+ intuitive exploration of the data (imagine learning about a plant by scrolling through cross-sections)
+ intuitive manipulation of the perspective (the mouse 3D rotation thing is really tricky)
+ collaborative viewing
+ annotation of objects (eg. tracing a filament through 3D by following it with the finger)
+ avoid occlusion by just zooming and moving in
+ be able to point at things in a 3D image
It would bring much more natural ways to interact with the data. Essentially scaling up your molecular structure 10^6 to 10^7-fold so you can explore it as you'd explore a sculpture.
A friend just did his diploma thesis on this. He built a system where you use a tablet device in your hand to push through 3D space visualizing the layers. I couldn't possibly describe it well enough, but I'll forward him a link to this thread and see if he answers.
Do you know where I could source some sample data? I'm developing a VR data visualization system but not in this particular context, could certainly look into it.
From the same site you can download "pollen.h5". Then follow the steps to load the dataset in "hyperstack (multichannel)" mode. This will open a window where each frame in the movie is a z-slice of the 3D image.
Then go to Plugins/Volume Viewer (scroll down) and switch the mode (top left) to "Volume". (this is what you should get: http://i.imgur.com/0QoGa1t.png)
The same people also published lots of 3D data of the zebrafish embry. Have a look at:
For Light Sheet 3D video of developing fly embryo take a look here: http://www.digital-embryo.org/ They have movies and also downloads of the raw data and Matlab pipline for analysis.
Notice that this was published in 2012. Fresh data doesn't get published before the analysis is done and the paper written..
These are images taken by confocal microscopy, where you focus a laser scanning microscope on a plane and only see that. Then you move the focus plane up by a bit and take the next picture.
Super-resolution microscopy such as STORM, STED or PALM on the other hand will give you coordinates.
How would the calculations play out for near-earth MACHOs and radio frequencies instead of visible light? I can imagine that the construction of a suitable antenna is more feasible than for a visible-light telescope?
Biotechnologist here....As I see it there are three options:
1. Uptake of the thermic energy by an endothermic chemical reaction (like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_cold_pack)
2. Passive removal of the heat with a heat conducting material (you have to get rid of the heat somewhere else)
3. Active removal of the heat (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooling_vest)
Yes, in doing my research the cooling vest was one of the first items I looked at. The biggest problem for my target customer (triathletes and runners) is the weight (>4 lbs), the lack of mass security (vests tend to move around a bit), and the heat blocking nature of the vest when cooling is depleted.
I have been experimenting with saline based solutions to test my theory of perception of heat reduction. They have worked for the most part, the challenge has been that they last about :30. I need longer. I have not experimented with any of the break+mix solutions from the wikipedia article, though am aware of them.
My preference for an endothermic reaction with a PCM is that in theory the mechanism is reusable, or easily replaceable, the weight penalty is low, and the complication of the solution (no pun intended) is also low).
There are some of these "cool materials" on the market right now, and they are somewhat interesting, though they are not operating as a heat dissipation level of the endorthermic reactions.
My vision for this product (at this point in time) is a sleeve that houses chambers with the endothermic reaction solution, and those chambers are either in an arm sleveve, or inside of a hat (think of the head band of a runner's hat).
Whether that solution is a one time use, and thus replaceable in the chamber, or multi use, and thus more permanent, is not really my challenge right now. A marathoner going to secure their Boston spot would pay $50-$100 for a hat that is guaranteed to keep them cool on a 90 degree day when their alternative is to keep throwing ice on themselves at aid stations, or stuffing cold sponges down their shirts. This is how it is handled today. Same for the age grouper triathlete who is getting ready for a sprint or Ironman. These folks are pretty obsessive about gear and kit, and aren't very price discriminating.
The trouble with most endothermic reactions is they involve far less energy absorbed per kg than exothermic reactions tend to emit (and their reaction rates much slower than you'd like). As a runner I'd not be too enthused about lugging around a 500g brick of goo that has the best possible endothermic heat absorption. You'd lose far more in heat dissipation potential than that brick could ever absorb, at least if it started at ambient. (Imagine how less popular ice would be if it never melted but stopped cooling).
A peltier cooler would be right out; they only work when they have an active cooling mechanism (heat sink and fan usually).
If you wanted to ditch the cooler and put together a hat or other appliance with a 3V case fan and ultrathin solar cells (CIGS probably), you'd get an excellent improvement in heat dissipation, and it would work indefinitely as long as it was daytime (probably a safe bet).
Correct me if I'm wrong, but from a thermodynamic point of view the major problem is the entropy. You can't just convert heat into any other form of energy (light) without also caring of the entropy. In the case of solving some salt in water, the entropy is going into the chaos of the solved ions (versus the low-entropy crystal).
With all the other methods you need to get rid of the heat. With peltier coolers I could imaging "watercooling" the hot side.
On the other hand sweat (evaporation) is already a pretty good cooler and covering the skin with something else stops that effect. Additionally you enrich sweat inbetween which does not feel well. Completely absorbing the sweat also kills the cooling effect..
So maybe, as mchannon suggested, all you have to do is design a nice, flexible and good-looking sweatband with an integrated fan ;)
The third party (reseller) who bought the seed from Monsanto in the first place most probably breached the contract by producing and selling new seeds! This third party is probably the one who is to be sued, but patent law allows the farmer to be sued as well..
The talks of the asynchronous part are publicly accessible on the forum: https://discourse.pymc.io/c/pymcon/2020talks/15
Tickets for the synchronous part with Keynote sessions and live Q&A are still available: https://pymc-devs.github.io/pymcon/