Abstract: The present invention provides antimicrobial solutions that comprise at least one alcohol, at least one antimicrobial agent and at least one chelator and/or anticoagulant. Also provided are methods for rapidly reducing a microbe or a virus from surfaces including surfaces of indwelling medical devices and organic surfaces such as skin and sutures, and inorganic surfaces such as hospital equipment, pipelines etc.

Abstract: Pyridine compounds effective in modulation STAT3 and/or STAT5 activation are provided that are useful in the prevention and treatment of proliferative disease and conditions including cancer, inflammation and proliferative skin disorders.

Abstract: A new pharmaceutical composition is disclosed comprising a purified phospholipid-selective and/for nonselective non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug associated complex and methods for making and using same. A screening method for identifying compounds that form phospholipid associated complexes is also disclosed.

Abstract: The invention provides a method for the creation of peptide antigens comprising epitopes with at least a first modification comprising a shortened or lengthened amino acid side chain. By extension or shortening of the side chain with CH3/CH2 groups, for example, made by computer assisted modeling of the tumor antigen (peptide) bound in the MHC-I-groove, immunogenicity can be improved with minimal modification of adjacent tertiary structure, thereby avoiding cross-reactivity. Provided by the invention are methods of creating such antigens, as well as methods for therapeutic or prophylactic treatment of various conditions comprising administration of the antigens.

Abstract: An apparatus and method is presented for implementing and controlling a voltage converter with one input voltage and multiple output voltages. In the case of boost and buck-boost converters, a converter circuit with one inductor and a switched group of parallel connection capacitors is realized, one parallel connection for each output voltage. A duty ratio is monitored for the inductor and the switched group of capacitors to provide a set of duty ratios. The duty ratios form a control vector which describes the control inputs. The output voltages are the control outputs describing a MIMO system. A generalized Cuk-Middlebrook modeling approach is applied to the voltage converter, along with linearization and MIMO control methods to regulate all output voltages to desired levels.

Abstract: A method of ordering slices for interleaved MRI is provided that includes selecting a number of interleaved slice locations (NS) each having a plurality of excitations (NE,S), where S is the slice number between 1 and NS and NE,S may differ for different slice numbers, selecting an excitation duration (TS) of each the excitation in each the slice, selecting a repetition time (TR) between successive excitations of the same slice, TR has a duration of Ni×TS, Ni is the number of interleaved slices per TR period, and arranging the order for the slices such that the total scan time (T) is minimized such that TR is the product of Ni and Ts, where Ni can be arbitrarily chosen between 1 and NT/NE,max where NT is the total number of excitations for all the slices and where NE,max is the maximum number of the excitations for one slice.

Abstract: Provided herein are methods for treating pain and for reducing the excitability of nociceptors, comprising administering a TGF-? antagonist. In some embodiments, a TGF-? antagonist is a monoclonal TGF-? neutralizing antibody or a fusion product comprising a monoclonal TGF-? neutralizing antibody, a soluble receptor, an antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs), a ribozymes, a small inhibitory RNA (siRNA), Smad 6, Smad7, or a small molecule that blocks TGF-? signaling.

Abstract: An autophagy-inducing compound comprises an autophagy-inducing peptide comprising Beclin 1 residues 269-279 immediately N- and C-terminally flanked by moieties R1 and R2, respectively, wherein up to six of said residues may be substituted, R1 and R2 do not naturally flank the Belclin 1 residues, and F270 and F274 are optionally substituted and optionally linked. The compounds may be used to induce autophagy.

Abstract: Methods and compositions are disclosed to quantitatively measure in vivo blood vessel diameter, blood velocity, and other flow dynamics. Such methods and compositions can optimize therapeutic interventions designed to prevent or reduce the risk of cardiovascular and blood disorders. In one aspect, the methods and apparatus involve calculating blood vessel characteristics from a two dimensional image of a blood vessel in the conjunctiva of a subject's eye. In another aspect, a series of temporal images of a blood vessel are obtained to determine blood flow properties. The apparatus can include, for example, a biomicroscope, an illuminating light source and a high speed camera to acquire the series of temporal images with the data then analyzed by a programmed processor.

Abstract: A dialysis system includes a filtration system capable of filtering a water stream, a water purification system capable of purifying said water stream in a non-batch process, a mixing system capable of producing a stream of dialysate from mixing one or more dialysate components with the water stream in a non-batch process, and a dialyzer system. The dialyzer may be a microfluidic dialyzer capable of being fluidly coupled to the stream of dialysate and a blood stream.

Abstract: The present invention provides a solid-state energy storage device having at least one quantum confinement species (QCS), where the QCS can include a quantum dot (QD), quantum well, or nanowire. The invention further includes at least one layer of a dielectric material with at least one QCS incorporated there to, and a first conductive electrode disposed on a top surface of the at least one layer of the dielectric material, and a second conductive electrode is disposed on a bottom surface of the at least one layer of dielectric material, where the first electrode and the second electrode are disposed to transfer a charge to the at least one QCS, where when an electrical circuit is disposed to provide an electric potential across the first electrode and the second electrode, the electric potential discharges the transferred charge from the at least one QCS to the electrical circuit.

Abstract: Polymeric compounds containing polymer backbones functionalized with ion-specific recognition elements and methods for the use of these compounds are described herein. The polymeric compounds may contain multiple types of ion-specific recognition elements depending on a specific application. The polymeric compounds can be used to remove ionic species from a solution, for example, in separations applications in which a single or multiple types of ionic species are desired to be removed from the solution.

Abstract: Power balancing techniques are provided for improving power efficiency of pipelined processors. A design-level implementation can be incorporated during synthesis of pipeline clocks in which a register transfer level (RTL) code, operating frequency, and available voltage domains are used to perform cycle time stealing with, and optimize for, power efficiency. A test-level implementation can be incorporated during testing of a chip in which delay and power measurements are used to perform calculations based on cycle time stealing and optimization of power efficiency. The calculations are then used to perform voltage scaling and/or adjust tunable delay buffers. Process variations may also be corrected during test time. A run-time approach can be incorporated for dynamic power balancing in which the operating system keeps track of one or more performance indicators such as a count of floating point instructions and uses a look-up table to provide the appropriate delays.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods and compositions for reducing pigmentation.

Abstract: Mid-IR supercontinuum laser source in the 3-12 micron region generating at least tens of watts of optical power and based on non-silica optical fiber pumped by a ZBLAN fiber laser generating light at about 2.7 microns. The zero-dispersion wavelength of the non-silica fiber substantially coincides with the lasing wavelength. The proportion of the SC output above 3 microns exceeds 40 percent of the overall power output.

Abstract: A method of forming a self-organized nanostructured solar cell is provided. The method includes depositing a semiconductor film on a substrate, where the semiconductor film includes a mixture of at least two constituents, then activating the semiconductor film during or after the deposition. Here, the activated semiconductor film self-assembles into an organized nanostructure geometry on the substrate, where the organized nanostructure includes a first structure of the at least one constituent having a first polarity and a second structure of the at least one constituent having a second polarity opposite to the first polarity. Further, the invention includes depositing a contact on a top surface of the organized nanostructure geometry.

Abstract: Disclosed are ionic liquids and methods of preparing ionic liquid compositions of active pharmaceutical, biological, nutritional, and energetic ingredients. Also disclosed are methods of using the compositions described herein to overcome polymorphism, overcome solubility and delivery problems, to control release rates, add functionality, enhance efficacy (synergy), and improve ease of use and manufacture.

Abstract: Embodiments of a continuous-flow injection reactor and a method for continuous material synthesis are disclosed. The reactor includes a mixing zone unit and a residence time unit removably coupled to the mixing zone unit. The mixing zone unit includes at least one top inlet, a side inlet, and a bottom outlet. An injection tube, or plurality of injection tubes, is inserted through the top inlet and extends past the side inlet while terminating above the bottom outlet. A first reactant solution flows in through the side inlet, and a second reactant solution flows in through the injection tube(s). With reference to nanoparticle synthesis, the reactant solutions combine in a mixing zone and form nucleated nanoparticles. The nucleated nanoparticles flow through the residence time unit. The residence time unit may be a single conduit, or it may include an outer housing and a plurality of inner tubes within the outer housing.

Abstract: Semiconductor structures are provided comprising a substrate and a epitaxial layer formed over the substrate, wherein the epitaxial layer comprises B; and one or more element selected from the group consisting of Zr, Hf and Al and has a thickness greater than 50 nm. Further, methods for integrating Group III nitrides onto a substrate comprising, forming an epitaxial buffer layer of a diboride of Zr, Hf, Al, or mixtures thereof, over a substrate; and forming a Group III nitride layer over the buffer layer, are provided which serve to thermally decouple the buffer layer from the underlying substrate, thereby greatly reducing the strain induced in the semiconductor structures upon fabrication and/or operation.

Abstract: Systems and methods for osmotically assisted desalination include using a pressurized concentrate from a pressure desalination process to pressurize a feed to the desalination process. The depressurized concentrate thereby produced is used as a draw solution for a pressure-retarded osmosis process. The pressure-retarded osmosis unit produces a pressurized draw solution stream that is used to pressurize another feed to the desalination process. In one example, the feed to the pressure-retarded osmosis process is impaired water.