Abstract: A system and method for installing an aggregate pier in a soil matrix includes a pipe configured to interface with a torque driver for rotating the pipe. A helix is disposed on the pipe and configured to advance/withdraw the pipe based on direction of rotation. A compacting device is disposed between the distal end of the pipe and the helix. It extends radially outward and upward. In some embodiments, the compacting device is configured as a frustum. A lift in an aggregate pier is formed by rotating the pipe in a second direction to withdraw a portion of the pipe from the soil matrix thereby creating a void; (b) filling the void with aggregate; (c) rotating the pipe in the first direction to advance the pipe. The compacting device contacts the aggregate disposed in the void and imparts an axial and radial force.

Abstract: The invention pertains to methods for monitoring the operational status of a home automation system through extrinsic visual and audible means. Initial training periods involve capturing image and audio data representative of nominal operation, which is then processed to identify operational indicators. Unsupervised machine learning models are trained with these indicators to construct a model of normalcy and identify expectation violations in the system's operational pattern. After meeting specific stopping criteria, real-time monitoring is initiated. When an expectation violation is detected, contrastive collages or sequences are generated comprising nominal and anomalous data. These are then transmitted to an end user, effectively conveying the context of the detected anomalies. Further features include providing deep links to smartphone applications for home automation configuration and the use of auditory scene analysis techniques.

Abstract: The present invention generally relates to the generation of tunable coloration and/or interference from, for example, surfaces, emulsion droplets and particles. Embodiments described herein may be useful for generation of tunable electromagnetic radiation such as coloration (e.g., iridescence, structural color) and/or interference patterns from, for example, surfaces (e.g., comprising a plurality of microdomes and/or microwells), emulsion droplets and/or particles. In some embodiments, the surfaces, interfaces, droplets, and/or particles produce visible color (e.g., structural color) without the need for dyes.

Abstract: A detergent composition and a method of washing/cleaning urushiol at least partially, more typically substantially or completely off a surface of human skin or clothing. The detergent composition is typically a non-buffered composition that contains one or more C12 surfactants, typically at least a sodium lauroyl sarcosinate and the detergent composition is typically free of one or more of (1) any nonylphenol ethoxylate; (2) any pharmaceutically active drug or prodrug; (3) any salt in an amount that affects the functional characteristics of either of the solely C12 surfactants; (4) any salt in granular form; and/or (5) any ethoxylate that is a stand-alone ingredient.

Abstract: Provided is a method of compressing an occupancy map of a three-dimensional (3D) point cloud, and more specifically, a method of compressing an occupancy map of a point cloud in which an occupancy map image of a point cloud existing in a 3D space is compressed based on a compression quality or a patch-by-patch inspection method of the occupancy map image so that compression distortion is minimized when reconstructing the compressed occupancy map image so as to remarkably improve the quality of a reconstructed occupancy map image.

Abstract: The present invention relates to methods and compositions for determination of and uses of specific methylation patterns indicative of adenoma and carcinoma. In particular, the invention relates to analysis of defined CpG loci that are coordinately methylated in DNAs from cancer and adenoma samples, methods for identifying coordinately methylated loci, and methods of using analysis of coordinately methylated loci in one or more marker regions in the design of assays for adenoma and cancer.

Abstract: The present disclosure describes systems, apparatuses, and methods for obfuscation-based intellectual property (IP) watermark labeling. One such method comprises identifying, by one or more computing processors, a specific net within an integrated circuit design that is likely to be used in a malicious attack; and adding additional nets to the integrated circuit design that add additional logic states to a finite state machine present in the integrated circuit design. The additional logic states comprise watermarking states for performing authentication of the integrated circuit design, in which a watermark digest can be captured upon application of secret key inputs to the additional nets. Other methods, systems, and apparatuses are also presented.

Abstract: A method of transducing electrical energy to sound is disclosed which includes providing a transducer, the transducer includes lead zirconate titanate (PZT) particles mixed with graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) in a flexible substrate aligned in a first direction, forming a transducer subsystem, a first conductive protective electrode having a width and a length configured to provide a first electrical connectivity to an external circuit, and a second conductive protective electrode having the width and the length and configured to provide a second electrical connectivity to the external circuit, wherein the transducer subsystem is sandwiched between the first and second conductive protective electrodes, and providing an external circuit configured to provide an electrical signal to the first and second conductive protective electrodes to thereby transduce the electrical signal to sound.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a contact lens comprising a lenticular in a superior portion of the contact lens wherein the contact lens attaches to an upper eyelid of a wearer by the lenticular interacting with an upper tarsal plate of the upper eyelid of a wearer, said interaction allows the contact lens to translate upwards in downgaze and maintain rotational stability. In one aspect, the lenticular has a top surface, said top surface having a shape selected from the group consisting of flat, flat with rounded corners, concave, convex or tapered having a thicker portion closer to an edge of the contact lens, or combinations thereof. In another aspect, the lenticular is comprised of a plurality of lenticular sections. In yet another aspect, the lenticular is anatomically-shaped.

Abstract: A safety vent assembly for a cylindrical battery may include a burst disk configured to open and at least partially define a vent in response to a thermal runaway of the battery. The safety vent assembly may further include a current collector and a positive terminal. A turbulence promoter may be defined on the current collector. Gas from inside the battery may pass through the turbulence promoter and the vent formed by the burst disk during thermal runaway.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to macrocyclic peptides and pharmaceutical compositions thereof. The disclosure further relates to pharmaceutical compositions for modulating opioid receptor activity. The macrocyclic tetrapeptides provided herein are useful in treating diseases or disorders relating to the activity of one or more opioid receptors, such as neurological disorders.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide a soft tissue device, such as a transverse carpal ligament cutting device having one or more balloons that are deflated when the device is in an inactive position and are inflated when the device is in an active position. Other embodiments provide a soft tissue cutting method, such as a method of cutting a transverse carpal ligament that uses a soft tissue cutting device.

Abstract: A method of characterizing a cancer, such as a combined hepatocellular cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC-CCA), as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-like or cholangiocarcinoma (CCA)-like are described herein, as well as electronic devices and non-transitory computer readable storage mediums for implementing such methods. Also described are methods of treating a cancer, such as cHCC-CCA, characterized as HCC-like or CCA-like. The cancer can be characterized as CCA-like or HCC-like using a cHCC-CCA machine-learning model trained using HCC data from a plurality of HCC samples and CCA data from a plurality of CCA samples. The HCC data, CCA data, and the data from the cancer test sample can include one or more features, such as features from a genomic profile. Exemplary features include tumor purity, a chromosomal aneuploidy status for one or more chromosomes or chromosome arms, and a cancer cell fraction (CCF) for one or more genes differentially represented in CCA and HCC, among others.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a composition for preventing, alleviating or treating sleep disorder, containing, as an active ingredient, Prevotella histicola, a culture product thereof, a crushed product thereof, an extract thereof or a fermented product thereof; or extracellular vesicles derived from Prevotella histicola. The Prevotella histicola or extracellular vesicles contained in the composition of the present disclosure can be used as a safe drug for preventing and treating sleep disorder by increasing total sleep time, non-REM (NREM) sleep time and REM sleep time and decreasing sleep latency and waking time.

Abstract: This document relates to methods and materials for identifying and/or treating mammals having cancer. For example, small extracellular vesicles (EVs), such as exosomes, obtained from a mammal suspected of having a cancer can be used to identify the mammal as having cancer and, optionally, the mammal can be treated.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides biomarkers associated with cancers, such as urothelial bladder cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and renal cell carcinoma, as well as methods, kits and reagents for detecting such biomarkers. The disclosure also provides methods for evaluating, identifying, assessing, and/or treating an individual having a cancer, such as a urothelial bladder cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and renal cell carcinoma.

Abstract: Internal phase shifting is achieved by adding a feedback divider to a feedback loop of a phase locked loop circuit configured to determine a transmission frequency of a wireless transmission terminal and adding a phase adjustment current to a loop current. Since the phase adjustment current is applied to an adder circuit, a phase difference is maintained even when the feedback loop is in a stable state, and accordingly, an output of the feedback divider maintains the phase difference with a reference frequency as intended by the phase adjustment current applied to the adder circuit.

Abstract: A processor-implemented method includes performing first parameter optimization of a battery model through a first predetermined optimization technique; switching, based on a count accumulated while performing the first parameter optimization indicating that a switching criterion has been met, from the first optimization technique to a second predetermined optimization technique; performing second parameter optimization of the battery model through the second predetermined optimization technique; and determining a final parameter combination as an optimized parameter of the battery model, in response to an occurrence of an optimization end event during the performance of the second parameter optimization.

Abstract: Disclosed are a spiking neural network training method based the conversion aware training and a system thereof. The spiking neural network training method includes an ANN generation operation of generating an analog artificial neural network (ANN) model and inputting variable data, a conversion aware training operation of simulating a spiking neural network (SNN) model by using one or more activation functions with respect to the analog ANN model, and an SNN generation operation of generating the SNN model by correcting parameters and weights of layers based on a result of the simulation.

Abstract: A perovskite-polymer composite comprising a perovskite and a polymer, wherein the polymer has a structural unit comprising a thiourea (—HN(C?S)NH—) fragment and a (—R1—O—R2—) fragment, wherein R1 and R2 are each independently a C1-C6 alkyl or a cycloalkyl linker; a mechanically robust and self-healable solar cell comprising same; and a method of making same.