Abstract: This disclosure relates to a rail pad including a pad matrix having a first material and at least one damping element at least partially encapsulated or embedded in the pad matrix. The damping element includes a second material. The second material includes at least one damping element having a damping factor tan delta greater than or equal to 0.5 in the audible frequency of 1000 Hz. Methods for producing the rail pad are also disclosed.

Abstract: A method for controlling an electric microgrid comprising an electrical energy consuming element, an electrical energy production element and an electrical energy storage element, the method comprising the steps of extracting parameter values from a source model, the extraction phase being implemented by computer, initializing parameters of a target model with parameter values extracted from the source model, so as to obtain an initialized target model, the initialization phase being implemented by computer, and optimizing, according to a target domain and a target set of tasks, of the parameters of the initialized target model, so as to obtain a target model trained for the control of a target microgrid, the optimization phase being implemented by computer.

Abstract: A method of classifying a media includes receiving a media file and extracting therefrom first and second data streams including first and second media content, respectively, the media content being associated with the media item. First and second feature vectors describing the first and second media content, respectively, are generated. At least a first single feature vector representing the first sequence of first feature vectors and the second sequence of second feature vectors is generated, or at least a first single feature vector representing at least the first sequence of first feature vectors is generated. A second feature vector representing at least the second sequence of second feature vectors is generated. A probability vector from the first single feature vector, or from the first and second single feature vectors is generated. A user profile suitability class is assigned to the media item based on the probability vector.

Abstract: A system for measuring synchrony between two or more regions, or within a single region, of a subject's brain. The system can include a signal conditioning module in communication with a phase extraction module. The signal conditioning module can receive an oscillating signal, bandpass filter the signal, and convert the signal to its real and imaginary components. The phase extraction module can receive the real and imaginary components, determine the quadrant of the oscillating signal on the complex plane based on the real and imaginary components, and determine the phase of the oscillating signal using a linear arctangent approximation based on the determined quadrant. The system can calculate synchrony metrics based on the determined phase.

Abstract: A method for determining wavefront shapes of a multi-spectral signal light beam from a single signal image acquisition of said multi-spectral signal beam, with a device including an optical assembly made at least of an optical mask and an imaging sensor, notably a matrix imaging sensor, for generating and recording intensity patterns of incident beams, by having these beams reflect on, or propagate through, the optical mask. The optical mask having the optical properties: i) to cause the intensity pattern to depend on the wavefront shape, so that a tilt applied to the wavefront shape results in a displacement amount of the intensity pattern, and ii) to produce uncorrelated intensity patterns over at least one surface area A of the imaging sensor, for a plurality of respective incident monochrome beams of different wavelengths having a same wavefront shape.

Abstract: A micromachined mechanism for a sensing tool includes a support, a probe pivotally mounted with respect to the support, and a beam connected to the support and the probe. The probe is configured to apply a load (Ftool) on a body and to be subjected to a counter-reaction contact force exerted by the body in reaction to the load. The beam is configured to shift from an undeformed position to a deformed position when the contact force of the body is greater than a predetermined threshold force (Fcrit) for which the beam buckles.

Abstract: Collimation device for an X-ray detection system, the collimation device comprising: a collimator comprising a substantially planar support made of a material with partial or zero radiotransparency, the support being rotatably movable about an axis of rotation (?) which passes through the support and which is perpendicular to a first face of the support which acts as an X-ray plane of incidence referred to as the main plane of the support (P), the support (D) being provided on the first face with a slit which is completely transparent to X-rays and which is configured to generate an X-ray flow when the collimator is exposed to an X-ray source, the slit extending longitudinally in the main plane of the support along an axis located at a non-zero distance (d) from the axis of rotation (?), the slit extending through the entire thickness of the support.

Abstract: A method for controlling connectivity between two or more brain regions of a subject includes receiving signals corresponding to a connectivity between two or more regions of a subject's brain, measuring a connectivity level from the signals, and delivering at least one stimulation pulse to at least one target region of the subject's brain if the measured connectivity level is outside of a predetermined range.

Abstract: An ocular drainage system is provided for treating diseases that produce elevated intraocular pressures, such as glaucoma, wherein the system includes an implantable device and an external control unit, the implantable device includes a non-invasively adjustable valve featuring at least one deformable tube and a disk rotatably mounted within a housing, such that rotation of the disk using the external control unit causes the disk to apply a selected amount of compression to the deformable tube, thereby adjusting the fluidic resistance of the deformable tube and regulating the intraocular pressure.

Abstract: A method for imaging a tissue of an eye, the method including the steps of providing oblique illumination to the eye by a plurality of light emitting areas of a light delivery device, the plurality of light emitting areas being independently controllable and arranged to direct light towards at least one of a retina and an iris of the eye, causing an output beam from light backscattered from the at least one of the retina and the iris by the oblique illumination, capturing the output beam with an imaging system to provide a sequence of images of a fundus of the eye, and retrieving a phase and absorption contrast image from the sequence of images of the fundus, wherein the sequence of images of the fundus of the step of capturing is obtained by sequentially turning on one or more of the plurality of light emitting areas at a time in the step of providing the oblique illumination.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides devices, systems, and methods for spinal cord stimulation. In some exemplary embodiments, a lead is provided. In one exemplary embodiment, the lead includes a paddle and an electrode array distributed in the paddle. The electrode array includes a first column of electrodes and a second column of electrodes. The first column of electrodes and the second column of electrodes are symmetric about the midline of the paddle. The first column of electrodes includes a first electrode, a second electrode, and a third electrode. The second column of electrodes includes a fourth electrode corresponding to the first electrode, a fifth electrode corresponding to the second electrode, and a sixth electrode corresponding to the third electrode. A vertical inter-electrode distance between the first electrode and the second electrode is larger than that between the second electrode and the third electrode.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for organizing trained and untrained neural networks. In one aspect, a neural network device includes a collection of node assemblies interconnected by between-assembly links, each node assembly itself comprising a network of nodes interconnected by a plurality of within-assembly links, wherein each of the between-assembly links and the within-assembly links have an associated weight, each weight embodying a strength of connection between the nodes joined by the associated link, the nodes within each assembly being more likely to be connected to other nodes within that assembly than to be connected to nodes within others of the node assemblies.

Abstract: Peptides that specifically bind erythrocytes are described. These are provided as peptidic ligands having sequences that specifically bind, or as antibodies or fragments thereof that provide specific binding, to erythrocytes. The peptides may be prepared as molecular fusions with therapeutic agents, tolerizing antigens, or targeting peptides. Immunotolerance may be created by use of the fusions and choice of an antigen on a substance for which tolerance is desired. Fusions with targeting peptides direct the fusions to the target, for instance a tumor, where the erythrocyte-binding ligands reduce or entirely eliminate blood flow to the tumor by recruiting erythrocytes to the target.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for producing core-shell nanocrystals consisting of a metal-containing nanocrystal core and a shell layer comprising at least one metal oxide material having variable shell thicknesses, and use of the core-shell nanocrystals for different applications.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for inducing ground consolidation. The method comprises providing a first chamber in a first hole in the ground, and a second chamber in a second hole in the ground, the first and second chambers being liquid-impermeable and electrically conductive; providing a first electrolytic fluid in the first chamber and a second electrolytic fluid in the second chamber; placing at least a first electrode in the first chamber, and at least a second electrode in the second chamber, the first and second electrodes being operatively connected to a power supply; feeding consolidation fluids into the ground for feeding reactants of a consolidation process, and catalysers for the reactants into the ground; and applying to the first and second electrodes an electric current.

Abstract: A real-time diagnosis aid method including: (a) providing a decision-support system for autonomous medical diagnosis to a user of a medical system, the system comprising a display module and software modules embodied on a computer readable medium; (b) generating on the display module an ordered list of diagnostic clues to look at by the user according to the diagnostic clues already filled in as absent or present, the ordered list being based on the relevance of looking at respective diagnostic clues to quickly lead to a diagnosis by the user; (c) receiving from the user, information on presence or absence of one or more diagnosis clues listed in the ordered list; and (d) processing the received information to update the ordered list and provide on the display module an indication of the probability of each possible diagnosis.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a bicistronic expression vector for silencing a gene specifically in astrocytes and neurons, comprising two expression cassettes comprising a first and a second silencer sequence, respectively, wherein the expression of said first silencer sequence within astrocytes is regulated by an astrocyte-specific promoter and the expression of said second silencer sequence within neurons is regulated by a neuron-specific promoter. In a preferred embodiment, said first and second silencer sequences are SOD1 silencer sequences. Pharmaceutical composition comprising said bicistronic vector and the use of the same in the treatment of motoneuron diseases are further described.

Abstract: The present invention concerns a microfluidic device or chip including at least one inlet for introducing at least one object into the device; an oil inlet for introducing an oil that supports droplet formation into the device or a droplet forming substance inlet for introducing a droplet forming substance into the device; a co-encapsulation area or structure where the at least one object is encapsulated by the droplet; a microfluidic tubing or channel for transporting the at least one object to an entrance of the co-encapsulation area or structure; an oil supporting droplet formation microchannel or droplet forming substance microchannel connected to the microfluidic tubing or channel to place a liquid of the microfluidic tubing or channel in direct contact with the oil that supports droplet formation or the droplet forming substance; and a droplet microchannel or tubing for transporting the droplet.

Abstract: Photoresponsive materials for use with a volumetric additive manufacturing system are described herein. Some embodiments of photoresponsive materials described herein include at least one constituent selected from the group consisting of (i) a thiol-containing siloxane prepolymer, (ii) a vinyl-containing siloxane prepolymer, (iii) a reinforcing filler, (iv) a photoinitiator (v) a polymerization inhibitor. Various methods of using the same photoresponsive materials in additive manufacturing processes, such as volumetric additive manufacturing, are also described.

Abstract: An optical article includes a substrate with front and rear main faces, one main face coated with a columnar micro- or nano-structured coating. The substrate and optical article are transparent in at least a part of the visible region ranging from 380 to 780 nm, along at least one incidence angle. The columnar micro- or nano-structured coating includes an array of columns including each a core and an upper layer covering the core, the core and the upper layer being structurally and/or chemically different and have light absorbing properties with an extinction coefficient “k” ?10-2 in the spectrum 250-2500 nm and are able to cause a change in transmission or in reflection of incident light through the optical article as a function of the angle of incidence of light. Also disclosed is a method for manufacturing an optical article including a columnar micro- or nano-structured coating.