Abstract: Apparatus and methods are provided for treating diseases that produce elevated intraocular pressures, such as glaucoma, wherein the device includes a housing shell defining a cavity between a first end and a second end of the housing shell, and an elastic membrane disposed within the cavity to divide the cavity into a fluidic channel that permits a flow of fluid from the first end to the second end and a sealed cavity. The elastic membrane deforms to change the volume of the sealed cavity responsive to pressure fluctuations between the first and second ends, thereby varying the fluidic resistance of the flow of fluid through the fluidic channel.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a photo-electrochemical device for production of a gas, liquid or solid using concentrated electromagnetic irradiation. The device comprises a photovoltaic component configured to generate charge carriers from the concentrated electromagnetic irradiation; and an electrochemical component configured to carry out electrolysis of a reactant. The photovoltaic component contacts the electrochemical component at a solid interface to form an integrated photo-electrochemical device; and further includes at least one reactant channel or a plurality of reactant channels extending between the photovoltaic component and the electrochemical component to transfer heat and the reactant from the photovoltaic component to the electrochemical component. The integrated photo-electrochemical device and auxiliary devices (such as concentrator, flow controllers) build a system which can flexibly react to changes in operating condition and guarantee best performance.

Abstract: Systems and methods for monitoring penile tumescence are provided that overcome the drawbacks of previously known systems by providing a wearable formed of a flexible and elastic tube having a plurality of sensors disposed on or embedded within it, the wearable configured to be applied to a penis of a subject, and a spaced-apart controller operatively coupled to retrieve data regarding circumferential and axial dimensional changes and penile rigidity from the plurality of sensors and transmit that data to an external computer or smartphone for analysis and display. The plurality of sensors may be coupled to the spaced-apart controller via a flexible lead or wirelessly using a passive RFID system.

Abstract: The present invention generally relates to a method, a system and a computer program for shape optimisation of a technical device adapted to be exposed to a fluid flowing around a contour of said device with respect to its fluid dynamic parameters. In order to provide an improved method for shape optimisation of a technical device with respect to its fluid dynamic parameters which is faster, a method is provided comprising discretizing the shape of the technical device into a plurality of points along the contour of the technical device or into a surface mesh, and inputting the plurality of points or the surface mesh into a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) for computing a prediction of the at least one fluid dynamic parameter.

Abstract: System (2) for CO2 capture from a combustion engine (1) comprising an exhaust gas flow circuit (6) having an inlet end fluidly connected to an exhaust of the combustion engine, a heat exchanger circuit (12), a primary exhaust gas heat exchanger (H1) for transferring heat from exhaust gas to fluid in the heat exchanger circuit, at least one compressor (10) for compressing fluid in a section of the heat exchanger circuit, the compressor driven by thermal expansion of heat exchanger circuit fluid from the primary exhaust gas heat exchanger (H1), and a CO2 temperature swing adsorption (TSA) reactor (4) fluidly connected to an outlet end of the exhaust gas flow circuit. The TSA reactor includes at least an adsorption reactor unit (D4) and a desorption reactor unit (D2), the heat exchanger circuit comprising a heating section (12b) for heating the desorption unit (D2) and a cooling section (12a) for cooling the adsorption unit (D4).

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for making nanopores in thin layers or monolayers of transition metal dichalcogenides that enables accurate and controllable formation of pore within those thin layer(s) with sub-nanometer precision.

Abstract: The present invention relates to functionalized hydrogel networks grafted with at least one moiety for use in numerous fields, from cosmetics to surgery and medicine.

Abstract: In a sky monitoring system, comprising an image sensor, a wide-angle lens, a microprocessor, and a memory unit, wherein the sky monitoring system is configured to take pictures of a sky scene, wherein the sky monitoring system is configured to subdivide each picture of the sky scene into a group of patches and to determine one luminance value for each patch, wherein the sky monitoring system is configured to calculate an output based on the luminance values of the patches, the image sensor, the wide-angle lens, the microprocessor and the memory unit are integrated into one single sky monitoring device thus making the sky monitoring system an embedded system.

Abstract: Data transformer apparatus comprising a dispatcher module, a reader module, a converter module and a writer module; the dispatcher module is configured to receive a data transformation request including a first and a second information items; the reader module is configured to retrieve data to be transformed, according to said first information item; obtain the type attribute of the data to be transformed, based on said first information item; send the data to be transformed and the type attribute to the converter module; the converter module is configured to select transformation instructions based on said type attribute; execute, on the data to be transformed, the selected transformation instructions, thereby obtaining transformed data; send the transformed data to the writer module; the writer module is configured to; write the transformed data in an output buffer according to said second information item.

Abstract: Device and method for measuring contact force exerted by an object on a probe comprising a lever and said probe for contacting the object is provided. The lever is pivotably coupled to a body by a coupling module. The device comprising a fixed frame coupled to the body. The body is designed to be moved with respect to the object to put the probe in contact with the object to create force pivoting said lever with respect to the body around a pivot axis. The device comprising a sensor for measuring displacement of the lever with respect to the body upon pivoting. The coupling module comprises control stiffness module, so that when the probe contacts the object, the displacement of the lever is proportional to the force exerted by the probe on the object. Such control stiffness module is tunable so that accuracy and sensitivity of measured force is controlled.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing vias in a silicon wafer, the silicon wafer having a <110> crystal orientation, and having a <111> plane that is perpendicular to a surface of the wafer, tilted by 35.26°, the method comprising the steps of providing a mask having a rhomboidal-shaped opening onto a surface of the silicon wafer, such that edges of the rhomboidal-shaped opening line up with a <111> plane of a crystalline structure of the silicon wafer, etching a hole in the silicon wafer at the rhomboidal-shaped opening, and polishing the hole after the etching by a anisotropic etching.

Abstract: A method of producing a cryogel-based multicompartment 3D scaffold is herein disclosed. The method comprises the steps of: a) providing a first frozen polymeric layer on a refrigerated support kept at subzero temperature; b) providing subsequent polymeric layers to obtain a stack of polymeric layers by possibly modulating the subzero temperature of the refrigerated support; c) optionally incubating the final polymeric structure at subzero temperature; and d) placing the produced cryogel at a temperature above 0° C., the method being characterized in that each subsequent layer i) is deposited on the previous one after freezing of this latter; ii) is deposited on the previous one before the complete polymerization of this latter; and iii) is deposited with a temperature higher than the freezing temperature of the previously deposited layer. Cryogel scaffolds obtained from the method of the invention are also disclosed.

Abstract: A planar actuator device, including a base plate including a first, second, and third pair of planar coils, each pair of planar coils having an inner coil and an outer coil, each pair of planar coils arranged along a first, second, and third linear motion axis, respectively, the first, second, and third linear motion axis arranged in a star configuration, and an actuation mechanism including a first, second, and third planar legs and a centerpiece, the first, second and third planar legs pivotably connected to the centerpiece, the planar legs including a first, second, and third sliding element and a first, second, and third middle section, respectively, a sliding element and middle section of a respective leg pivotably connected to each other, each sliding element including a permanent magnet.

Abstract: The present invention concerns an optical coupling device including at least one supporting layer comprising a first support wall and a second support wall. The at least one supporting layer comprises at least one bridging waveguide for coupling electromagnetic radiation to and from an optical resonator or optical device, the at least one bridging waveguide extending between the first support wall and the second support wall.

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 producing a carbonate-containing species-rich, nitrogen-containing species-free solution from a urea-rich solution is proposed.

Abstract: A computer-implemented inverse rendering method comprising: computing an adjoint image by differentiating an objective function that evaluates the quality of a rendered image, image elements of the adjoint image encoding the sensitivity of spatially corresponding image elements of the rendered image with respect to the objective function; sampling the adjoint image at a respective sample position to determine a respective adjoint radiance value associated with the respective sample position; emitting the respective adjoint radiance value into a scene model characterised by scene parameters; determining an interaction location of a respective incident adjoint radiance value with a surface and/or volume of the scene model; determining a respective incident radiance value or an approximation thereof at the interaction location; and updating a scene parameter gradient.

Abstract: The organic small molecule 4,4?,4?,4??-(5,5-dimethoxycyclopenta-1,3-diene-1,2,3,4-tetrayl)tetrakis(N,N-bis(4-methoxyhenyl)aniline (CPDA 1), shows electrochemical properties very close to spiro-OMeTAD indicating a high compatibility with PSC systems for its use as a hole transport material (HTM). The implementation of the cyclopentadiene dimethyl acetale core helps to red shift the absorption onset of the films as well as provide a flexible spatial configuration of the molecule, which is essential for optimum film forming properties. Transient and steady state emission analysis as well as hole mobility measurements indicate that the new HTM allows a better charge extraction, transport and separation than the spiro-OMeTAD reference compound. PSCs based on the new CPDA 1 show a PCE close to 23% with lower hysteresis than its analogue. Stability studies performed under ambient, heated and humid conditions all showed that CPDA 1 is over-performing spiro-OMeTAD.

Abstract: Glycotargeting therapeutics are useful in the treatment of transplant rejection, autoimmune disease, food allergy, and immune response against a therapeutic agent.

Abstract: An analysis method for analyzing pressure exerted by a body portion and/or of a human prosthesis includes: sampling data generated by the body portion and/or the prosthesis during a threshold calibration period at a sampling frequency in a condition of use thereby obtaining an array of sampled data of at least one sensing unit; providing at least one threshold value of the sampled data for the condition of use and storing the least one threshold value in a memory unit; comparing at the sampling frequency the sampled data with the at least one threshold value to obtain calibrated data, and storing the calibrated data in the memory unit and/or sending the calibrated data to a computing device if the calibrated data is greater than the at least one threshold value. A sensing device for sensing the pressure exerted by a body portion and/or the human prosthesis is also provided.