Abstract: The invention features probiotic bacteria expressing Clostridium difficile SlpA, or fragment thereof, and its use for the treatment or prevention of Clostridium difficile infection and gut colonization.

Abstract: An adhesive composition for use in coupling together two substrates to form a structure, such as for use in coupling together two wooden substrates to form a wooden structure, includes a mixture of a modified guayule resin and soy protein. The modified guayule resin can be a base-solvent modified guayule resin or can be an HiCh-modified guayule resin each respectively formed from an unmodified guayule base resin. The unmodified guayule base resin is obtained in a rubber extraction process of guayule at solvent removal temperatures ranging from 104 to 166 degrees Celsius. The method for forming the adhesive composition includes forming a modified guayule resin and mixing the formed modified guayule resin with soy protein. The adhesive composition, when used in forming structures, provides enhanced wet shear strength as compared with adhesive compositions including soy protein alone.

Abstract: This invention is in the field of medicinal chemistry and relates to a new class of small-molecules having a pyrazolopyridine (or similar) structure (e.g., Formula I) which function as inhibitors of the viral protein 2C protein activity and/or expression, and which function as therapeutics for the treatment of viral infection characterized with viral protein 2C activity and/or expression (e.g., non-polio enterovirus infection) (e.g., enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) infection, enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) infection, and coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) infection.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods for treating or limiting development of cardiovascular disease-related neurological disorders by administering a compound of general formula (I), as defined herein.

Abstract: Methods and systems wherein laser induced refractive index changes by focused femtosecond laser pulses in optical polymeric materials or ocular tissues is performed to address various types of vision correction, and the laser induced changes to the refractive index avoid ablation and removal of the optical polymer materials while minimizing scattering losses.

Abstract: A particleboard includes a fiber component and an adhesive composition including a mixture of a modified guayule resin and soy protein. The modified guayule resin can be a base-solvent modified guayule resin or an H2O2-modified guayule resin. The fiber component can be a natural fiber such as a natural fiber selected from guayule bagasse, wood chips, wood particles, wood waste straw, wood fiber, and any combination thereof. The particleboard is formed by mixing the adhesive composition with the fiber component, introducing the mixture to a press, and pressing the mixture in the press.

Abstract: Methods and systems for measuring viability and function of islet cells or stem cell-derived beta cells in an implantable device featuring setting the temperature of the cells in the implantable device to a low temperature to reduce metabolic levels of the cells and reduce oxygen requirements of the cells, and measuring oxygen consumption rates. An oxygen sensor at the inlet of the implantable device and an oxygen sensor at the outlet of the implantable device are used to calculate oxygen consumption rates of the cells, which in turn are indicative of viability. The reduction in temperature can also be used for loading cells into the implantable devices to help reduce ischemic and/or physical injury. The present invention may be used with other cell types, e.g. hepatocytes, heart cells, muscle cells, etc.

Abstract: Many biologic processes taking place inside a living organism are unpredictable in time and space, and cannot be known exactly. These mechanisms and interactions among them are better modeled as physiological random processes, the statistics of which are fully described by joint characteristic functionals. The present invention provides methods for the estimation of joint characteristic functionals through imaging of multiple physiological random processes. This technology can be used to study complex diseases, such as tumors and viral infections, by imaging the biological processes involved with disease progression and response to treatment.

Abstract: The present invention provides compositions and methods for improving cardiac function. Specifically, the present invention provides compositions and methods for treating a subject having a disorder or condition associated with aberrant cardiac tissue function, comprising contacting a patient having a disorder or condition associated with aberrant cardiac tissue function with a construct, or a construct associated with therapeutic cells, or a construct associated with fibroblast cells and therapeutic cells.

Abstract: A bicycle safety enhancement device includes an elongated member having a distal portion mountable to a bicycle handlebar. A proximity sensor is coupled to a proximal portion of the elongated member and is arranged so that when the elongated member is mounted to a handlebar of a bicycle being ridden by a cyclist, the ultrasonic sensor detects objects adjacent to and/or behind the bicycle and which come within a prescribed distance of the bicycle. An illumination source is coupled to the proximal portion of the elongated member. The illumination source provides a visible warning signal directed toward the detected object when the elongated member is mounted to the handlebar of the bicycle. A camera is coupled to the proximal portion of the elongated member and is arranged to capture images of the detected object as the detected object passes in front of the bicycle being ridden by the cyclist.

Abstract: A scintillation-crystal based gamma-ray detector with photon sensors disposed on edge surface(s) of the crystal to take advantage of total internal reflection of scintillation photons within the thin-slab detector substrate to improve spatial resolution of determination of a scintillation event (including depth-of-interaction resolution) while preserving energy resolution and detection efficiency. The proposed structure benefits from the reduced—as compared with related art—total number of readout channels elimination of need in complicated and repetitive cutting and polishing operations to form pixelated crystal arrays used in conventional PET detector modules. Detectors systems utilizing stacks of such detectors, and methods of operation of same.

Abstract: Disclosed are systems, methods, and software for generating spatially-coupled low-density parity-check (SC-LDPC) codes. A method for generating SC-LDPC codes includes generating one or more quasi-cyclic low-density parity-check (QC-LDPC) codes, and also includes assigning at least one of the generated one or more QC-LDPC codes as one or more template codes. The method further includes copying at least a portion of the one or more template codes to introduce irregularity. The method also includes shifting one or more template codes on a sub-block basis to generate at least one SC-LDPC code. As compared to known LDPC code generation modalities, the disclosed invention provides a simplified technique for implementation in streamlined hardware which has more general applicability across both present, and anticipated, communication systems, including those adapted for use with optical communications, wireless communications, and 5G as well as future 6G.

Abstract: Cannula and device implantation systems are provided. In some embodiments, cannula members are provided that comprise membranes to prevent and reduce infection. Cannulas of the present disclosure are operable to be provided as indwelling catheters. In some embodiments, systems of the disclosure comprise encapsulation devices for housing cells and providing various therapeutic benefits to a patient or host.

Abstract: A display placed in an optical pathway extending from an entrance pupil of a person's eye to a real-world scene beyond the eye. The display includes at least one 2-D added-image source that is addressable to produce a light pattern corresponding to a virtual object. The source is situated to direct the light pattern toward the person's eye to superimpose the virtual object on an image of the real-world scene as perceived by the eye via the optical pathway. An active-optical element is situated between the eye and the added-image source at a location that is optically conjugate to the entrance pupil and at which the active-optical element forms an intermediate image of the light pattern from the added-image source. The active-optical element has variable optical power and is addressable to change its optical power to produce a corresponding change in perceived distance at which the intermediate image is formed, as an added image to the real-world scene, relative to the eye.

Abstract: Various examples are provided for magnetic tunnel junctions and applications thereof. In one example, a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) device includes a first ferromagnetic (FM) layer; a gadolinium oxide (GdOX) tunnel barrier disposed on the first ferromagnetic layer; and a second FM layer disposed on the GdOX tunnel barrier. In another example, a perpendicular MTJ (pMTJ) device includes a first layer including a magnetic material; a tunnel barrier disposed on the first layer to form the pMTJ; and a second layer including the magnetic material, the second layer disposed on the tunnel barrier.

Abstract: We disclose optical entanglement distribution in quantum networks based on a quasi-deterministic entangled photon pair source. Combining heralded photonic Bell pair generation with spectral mode conversion to interface with quantum memories eliminates switching losses due to multiplexing in the source. This zero-added-loss multiplexing (ZALM) Bell pair source is especially useful for the particularly challenging problem of long-baseline entanglement distribution via satellites and ground-based memories, where it unlocks additional advantages: (i) the substantially higher channel efficiency ? of downlinks versus uplinks with realistic adaptive optics, and (ii) photon loss occurring before interaction with the quantum memory—i.e., Alice and Bob receiving rather than transmitting—improve entanglement generation rate scaling by (?{square root over (?)}).

Abstract: Sulfur copolymers and methods of synthesizing said sulfur copolymers are described herein. Sulfur monomers copolymerize with epoxide or vinylic moieties the epoxy-functionalized styrenic comonomers to form a crosslinked network of the sulfur copolymer. Sulfur copolymers having high sulfur content are used as raw materials in 3D printing. Chalcogenide-based copolymers can utilize selenium to provide for the optical properties. Using an inverse vulcanization method, chalcogenic sulfur copolymers are used to prepare chemically stable polymer plastic materials with tunable optical and thermochemical properties. Optical substrates, such as films, waveguides, and molded (nano-, micro-) objects and lenses, are constructed from sulfur copolymers via 3D printing and are substantially transparent in the visible and infrared spectrum.

Abstract: Advanced magnetic tunneling junctions (MTJs) that dramatically reduce power consumption (switching energy, ESw) while maintaining a reasonably high tunneling magnetoresistance (on/off ratio, TMR) and strong thermal stability at room temperature are described herein. The MTJs include a magnetic insulator, such as an antiferromagnetic material, as the tunnel barrier. A more energy efficient switching in the MTJs is achieved by exchange bias switching (EB) due to the magnetoelectric effect (ME) or by magnon assisted switching.

Abstract: Methodology of unwrapping of phase from an optical image in the presence of both noise and unreliable phase fringes configured to tackle both problems simultaneously and, in the most efficient of multiple related implementations, including at least three prongs: i) SD-ROM based denoising procedure, ii) reliable estimation of the gradient of both the wrapped and unwrapped phase with the use of the forward and inverse Laplacian operators; and iii) fringe quality improvement with the use of Fuzzy Logic based Edge Detection. Transformation of optical images with the use of such methodology to provide an image representing visually-perceivable representation of the object's shape. Computer program product configured to implement the same.

Abstract: The invention relates to cylindrical tunable fluidic lenses. The cylindrical optical power of the lenses may be continuously tuned within at least ±10 diopters, without inducing any significant spherical aberration, or any other significant aberrations. The lenses feature a geometry that produces minimal or no spherical defocus. These cylindrical tunable fluidic lenses could be used to induce and/or correct cylindrical optical aberrations in adaptive optical systems, particularly in ophthalmologic applications related to objective and automatic assessment of the refractive error of the eye, without the need of receiving feedback from the subjects.