Abstract: In one embodiment, a peristaltic micropump comprising a substrate having a first side and a second side, a microtube that extends across the first side of the substrate, and multiple pump actuators formed on the first side of the substrate and positioned adjacent to the microtube at discrete, spaced positions along the length of the microtube, wherein the micropump is configured to sequentially actuate the pump actuators so as to create peristaltic action that drives fluid contained in the microtube along the length of the tube.

Abstract: A system and method for enhancing communication between multiple parties includes a first user accessing a communication device; initiating a communication connection to a receiving communication device of a second user; and wherein at least one of the communication devices includes a list of enabled universal communication attributes of the user, utilizing one or more of the enabled communication attributes to complete the communication connection between the initiating and receiving communication devices. A user can select a desired communication attribute or multiple attributes which can be stored in the user's profile. The enabled attributes can be utilized by a network accessing the user's profile to complete the communication connection.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to methods and systems incorporating physical modeling to identify the ultrafast laser/material interaction mechanisms and the impact of laser parameters, to optimize implementation of ultrafast laser-based processing for a given material. The process determines a laser fluence near the ablation threshold for a given material and given pulse duration. The repetition rate, scanning speed and scanning strategy are subsequently optimized to minimize heat accumulation, having an operable line scan overlap between 50% to 85% for achieving smooth ultrafast-laser polishing, while maintaining an optic-quality surface.

Abstract: A process for the preparation of a radionuclide imaging agent includes providing an imaging agent including a chelated place-holder metal; loading the imaging agent onto an acid stable stationary phase; replacing the chelated place-holder metal of the imaging agent loaded on the stationary phase with a replacement radioactive metal under mild reaction conditions; and eluting the imaging agent including the chelated replacement radioactive metal from the stationary phase to provide a radionuclide imaging agent suitable for positron emission tomography (PET) or single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). The imaging agent can include a targeting agent that is directly conjugated to the imaging agent or by means of a linker. The process may also apply to other metals that are non-radioactive but used as diluent metals or other metals that are strongly bound to DOTA.

Abstract: A method for capturing a high-quality cardiac plethysmography signal automatically and seamlessly using the video cameras embedded in personal electronic devices, includes a program running in the background that periodically takes a picture of the person using the device, runs face detection and/or recognition algorithm, and upon detection of a face, records a video, and then processes the video using algorithms to assess video quality by extracting video quality parameters. When video quality parameters are above predefined thresholds, the recorded video is processed further to generate a plethysmography signal indicative of cardiac activity. The plethysmography signal may then be processed to deduce cardiac activity. The method maintains a pleasurable user experience with the personal electronic devices.

Abstract: A method for growing nanotubes via flow-regulated microfluidic electrochemical anodization, includes providing a microfluidic device having a fluid inlet; a fluid outlet; and a fluidic microchannel connecting the fluid inlet and outlet, wherein the microchannel includes a Pt cathode and a Ti anode separated by an electrical insulator; providing an electrolyte fluid flow through the microchannel; and providing an electrical current across the anode and cathode sufficient to cause electrochemical anodization growth of TiO2 nanotubes in the microchannel on a surface of the anode.

Abstract: A system and method for training a parametric machine learning system, include compressing a first data; storing the compressed first data; reconstructing a first selected amount of the stored compressed first data; providing a machine learning system; and training the machine learning system with the reconstructed first data and optionally raw data.

Abstract: A computerized method and system for predicting the probability of a cyberattack to a target entity, includes: collecting a plurality of predictive signals to a target entity for a specific cyberattack type; optionally, imputing a value for missing values of the collected signals; selecting a set of relevant non-redundant signals from the collected signals to create lagged signals; identifying from the lagged signals relevant data chunks to form a custom training set of signals; providing selected ground truth data related to the specific attack type for the target entity; training a forecasting model using the custom training set of signals together with the selected ground truth data related to the specific attack type for the target entity to generate a trained forecasting model; providing a second set of signals of the same type of signals as the custom training set of signals; and generating the probability of the specific attack type of interest against the target entity by inputting the second set of s

Abstract: A system and method for enhanced pool boiling includes a substrate having a heat source, at least one volcano-shaped structure adjacent the surface of the substrate and liquid covering the at least one volcano-shaped structure and substrate.

Abstract: A foaming process for converting fibrous material into a cellular foam structure includes mixing fibrous material and a solvent-based binding agent to form a mixture; saturating the mixture with a pressurized gas to form a gas-saturated mixture; expanding the gas-saturated mixture by reducing the pressure of the pressurized gas to form an expanded mixture with voids in the fibrous material; and curing the expanded mixture to set the fibrous material and drive off the solvent to provide a stable network of fibrous material having cushioning properties.

Abstract: A customized patient-specific combined template and implant for spinal fixation and method for use.

Abstract: An enhanced boiling apparatus includes a substrate having at least one heated region, at least one outer surface, and one or more asymmetric shaped cavities extending into the substrate along the at least one outer surface. Each of the one or more asymmetric shaped cavities has a sidewall which intersects at a corner with a bubble pathway surface with a different slope from the sidewall. Each of the asymmetric shaped cavities is configured to non-gravitationally direct fluid that is moving along the sidewall out along the bubble pathway surface.

Abstract: A method and system for monitoring the motion of one or both eyes, includes capturing a sequence of overlapping images of a subject's face including an eye and the corresponding non-eye region; identifying a plurality of keypoints in each image; mapping corresponding keypoints in two or more images of the sequence; assigning the keypoints to the eye and to the corresponding non-eye region; calculating individual velocities of the corresponding keypoints in the eye and the corresponding non-eye region to obtain a distribution of velocities; extracting at least one velocity measured for the eye and at least one velocity measured for the corresponding non-eye region; calculating the eye-in-head velocity for the eye based upon the measured velocity for the eye and the measured velocity for the corresponding non-eye region; and calculating the eye-in-head position based upon the eye-in-head velocity.

Abstract: A photonic chip including a trench at the periphery of the photonic chip forming a recessed rim, wherein the recessed rim includes at least one geometric feature separating a plurality of waveguide locations, the at least one geometric feature suitable to prevent adhesive flow between the plurality of waveguide locations and method for preventing adhesive flow from interfering with bonding of optical fibers to the photonic chip is disclosed. A photonic chip including at least one optical fiber groove which includes an entrance portion and a non-entrance portion, wherein the entrance portion includes a flared opening having a greater clearance than the non-entrance portion and method for attaching an optical fiber to the photonic chip minimizing damage to at least one of the optical fiber and the photonic chip is disclosed.

Abstract: A method for determining hearing thresholds in the absence of pure-tone testing includes an adaptive speech recognition test which includes a calibrated item pool, each item having a difficulty value (di) and associated standard error (se). Test items are administered to a group of individuals having mild to moderately severe hearing loss to obtain responses. The responses are subjected to multiple regression statistical methods to develop an equation for converting an individual's test score to hearing threshold values at several frequencies. The adaptive speech recognition test can be administered to an individual and their score can be converted into hearing thresholds at each of the several frequencies by use of the equation.

Abstract: A system and method for enhancing communication between multiple parties includes a first user accessing a communication device; initiating a communication connection to a receiving communication device of a second user; and wherein at least one of the communication devices includes a list of enabled universal communication attributes of the user, utilizing one or more of the enabled communication attributes to complete the communication connection between the initiating and receiving communication devices. A user can select a desired communication attribute or multiple attributes which can be stored in the user's profile. The enabled attributes can be utilized by a network accessing the user's profile to complete the communication connection.

Abstract: An enhanced boiling apparatus includes a substrate having at least one heated region, at least one outer surface, and one or more asymmetric shaped cavities extending into the substrate along the at least one outer surface. Each of the one or more asymmetric shaped cavities has a sidewall which intersects at a corner with a bubble pathway surface with a different slope from the sidewall. Each of the asymmetric shaped cavities is configured to non-gravitationally direct fluid that is moving along the sidewall out along the bubble pathway surface.

Abstract: Targeted molecular imaging agents (TMIAs) are derived from coupling together pre-formed amino acids with imaging agents attached to their side chains. These peptide-based imaging agents may synthesized from a single or multiple preformed amino acids containing multi-modal, multi-chelated metal, multi-dye imaging agents, or combinations of these, on the side chains of resultant peptides. These imaging amino acids or peptides may be conjugated directly, or activated, or attached to linkers to which targeting groups, such as peptides, proteins, antibodies, aptamers, or small molecule inhibitors, may be conjugated in the final steps of the synthesis to form a wide variety of TMIAs.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method and system for passively aligning optical fibers (4), a first waveguide array (62), and a second waveguide array (42) using chip-to-chip vertical evanescent optical waveguides (44) and (64), that can be used with fully automated die bonding equipment. The assembled system (2, 30, 60) can achieve high optical coupling and high process throughput for needs of high volume manufacturing of photonics, silicon photonics, and other applications that would benefit from aligning optical fibers to lasers efficiently.

Abstract: A sensor antenna including a thin film material constructed in the shape of an antenna having a response, the material including a sheet resistance capable of being modified by an external stimulus where the antenna response varies over a range of sheet resistance values; method of making a sensor antenna; system including a sensor antenna; and method for operating a thin film sensor antenna including providing a thin film sensor antenna; exposing the sensor antenna to an external stimulus, simultaneously sensing the external stimulus while varying the sensor antenna response, measuring the change in the sensor antenna response, and correlating the measured response to a known change in the stimulus are disclosed.