Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method of reducing or preventing the development of aversion to a CNS stimulant in a subject comprising, administering a therapeutic amount of the neurological stimulant and administering an antagonist of the kappa opioid receptor, to thereby reduce or prevent the development of aversion to the CNS stimulant in the subject. Also disclosed is a method of reducing or preventing the development of addiction to a CNS stimulant in a subject, comprising, administering the CNS stimulant and administering a mu opioid receptor antagonist to thereby reduce or prevent the development of addiction to the CNS stimulant in the subject. Also disclosed are pharmaceutical compositions comprising a central nervous system stimulant and an opioid receptor antagonist. Examples of central nervous system stimulants (such as methylphenidate) and opioid receptor antagonists (such as naltrexone) are provided.

Abstract: Provided herein are Mycobacterium smegmatis porin nanopores, systems that comprise these nanopores, and methods of using and making these nanopores. Such nanopores may be wild-type MspA porins, mutant MspA porins, wild-type MspA paralog porins, wild-type MspA homolog porins, mutant MspA paralog porins, mutant MspA homolog porins, or single-chain Msp porins. Also provided are bacterial strains capable of inducible Msp porin expression.

Abstract: According to the present disclosure, an optical signal emitted from a single molecule is received to measure a central location of the single molecule while changing a phase of a structured illumination having a periodic pattern to measure a phase of a pattern in which a fluorescence intensity is periodically changed in accordance with a distance between the pattern and the single molecule while displacing the periodic pattern by a specific interval to measure the central location of the single molecule, thereby improving an accuracy of the central location of the single molecule with low photons and as a result, the resolution of the image may be enhanced.

Abstract: Disclosed are compounds of formula (I) wherein R1, R2, R3, A, and B are as defined herein, and a method of preparing such compounds. Also disclosed are pharmaceutical compositions containing the compound of formula (I) and a method of blocking transmission of a Plasmodium parasite and a method of treating or preventing malaria by killing or arresting the growth of Plasmodium organisms in a mammal, wherein the Plasmodium organisms are in a liver stage, an asexual stage, or gametocytes, comprising administering to an animal an effective amount of a compound of formula (I).

Abstract: Provided is a superabsorbent structure based on a covalently crosslinked copolymer having a microstructure of a HIPE, and characterized by hydrophobic and hydrophilic segments of at least five residues; the unique chemical and structural properties of the copolymer afford a polymeric superabsorbent structure that is capable of swelling in polar as well as apolar media. Also provided are processes of manufacturing the superabsorbent structure, and uses thereof.

Abstract: The present invention provides an image encoding method and an image decoding method. The image decoding method, according to the present invention, comprises the steps of: determining a transformation performing region; segmenting the determined transformation performing region into at least one sub-transform block by using at least one of quadtree segmentation and binary tree segmentation; and performing inverse transformation on the at least one sub-transform block.

Abstract: Provided herein are recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) nucleic acid vectors that comprise one or more modifications within at least one inverted terminal repeat (ITR) region. Exemplary modifications include ITR sequences comprising a glucocorticoid responsive element and/or a transcription factor binding site. Also provided are plasmids, libraries, rAAV particles, compositions, kits, and methods related to such vectors.

Abstract: Devices and systems can be used to treating spinal conditions. For example, this document describes artificial facet joint systems that can be implanted to treat spinal conditions while facilitating normal stability and motions of the spine. Such systems and methods can be used to treat spinal conditions such as, but not limited to, spondylosis, vertebral fractures, and the like.

Abstract: An antenna array has wideband high gain characteristics and includes: a dielectric; a loop provided on a first surface of the dielectric and that has a first slot and a second slot; a first feed pin provided at a position corresponding to the first slot on a second surface of the dielectric; a second feed pin provided at a position corresponding to the second slot on the second surface of the dielectric; and a divider provided between the first feed pin and the second feed pin, and electrically connected to the loop.

Abstract: Shielding devices can be used during medical procedures. For example, this document describes drape-like devices that can be attached to an endoscope shaft, to a primary drape, or directly to the patient. The drape-like devices promote patient privacy during procedures that access the patient's body orifices. Garments are also described that promote patient privacy and patient protection during procedures, examinations, medical events like childbirth that involve access the patient's body orifices such as urogenital and anal orifices.

Abstract: The present invention relates to antibodies or antibody fragments that bind, neutralize, and/or inhibit Hendra or Nipah virus. The invention provides antibodies or antibody fragments that selectively bind to the F glycoprotein of Hendra or Nipah virus, and pharmaceutical compositions including such antibodies and/or fragments. The invention further provides polynucleotides encoding the antibodies and fragments of the invention and host cells transformed therewith. Additionally, the invention discloses prophylactic, therapeutic, and diagnostic methods employing the antibodies, fragments, polynucleotides, and/or compositions of the invention.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are fully synthetic polymer-based lung surfactant materials, for the first time, as next generation SRT. In vitro studies on these polymer lung surfactants show that the candidate materials effectively mimic the surface tension controlling properties of currently marketed natural lung surfactants. Further, the polymer lung surfactants have strong protein resistance, which makes this class of materials promising also for potential use in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) treatment.

Abstract: A method of expanding and maintaining human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in an undifferentiated state by culturing the ESCs in a suspension culture under culturing conditions devoid of substrate adherence is provided. Also provided are a method of deriving ESC lines in the suspension culture and methods of generating lineage-specific cells from ESCs which were expanded in the suspension culture of the present invention.

Abstract: A flow measurement apparatus comprising an elongated mounting stem having an inner stem cavity, the mounting stem configured to be mounted in an area of flow to be measured. A probe housing is mounted to an outer surface of the mounting stem and positioned on an upstream side of the mounting stem. The probe housing has a first hole near a center point of the housing and a second, third and fourth hole positioned near the perimeter of the housing. A fifth hole is located on a downstream side of the mounting stem. At least five pressure sensors and a plurality of pressure tapping tubes connecting the holes to the corresponding pressure sensors are included.

Abstract: A photo transistor and a display device employing the photo transistor are provided. The photo transistor includes a gate electrode disposed on a substrate, a gate insulating layer that electrically insulates the gate electrode, a first active layer overlapping the gate electrode and including metal oxide, wherein the gate insulating layer is disposed between the gate electrode and the active layer, a second active layer disposed on the first active layer and including selenium, and a source electrode and a drain electrode respectively electrically connected to the second active layer.

Abstract: A load balancing method is disclosed, the method includes establishing a processing network including a plurality of task-processing processors interconnected therewith, each processor of the plurality having a queue of tasks to be processed, establishing a k-regular graph including nodes and branches connecting the nodes, where k is the degree of the graph, assigning d walkers to the k-regular graph, where each walker is randomly assigned to a node, receiving a new task to be processed, walking from the assigned nodes to new nodes by randomly choosing a new node from one or more available nodes, without backtracking from each of the assigned nodes to a node from which each of the d walkers immediately walked, comparing the queues of the new nodes, determining which queue of the new nodes has the least number of tasks; and assigning the new task to the node with the least number of tasks.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for preparing physically modified starch by utilizing heating and freezing-thawing (FT) on starch or a starch-gum mixture obtained by adding gum to starch. According to the method for preparing physically modified starch of the present invention, the weakness of natural starch can be supplemented, and heat and shear stability, gel-forming ability, and storage stability thereof can be improved. Especially, modified starch with a significantly improved modification effect can be produced by the addition of gum and the heating and freezing-thawing treatment. The present invention can significantly improve quality and storage stability of various starchy foods through a simple modification procedure, and thus it is expected that the present invention can be variously utilized in industry field of food including starchy food.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a novel Toxoplasma gondii GRA8-derived recombinant peptide, and a pharmaceutical composition and functional food for preventing or treating cancer, which includes the same as an active ingredient. The Toxoplasma gondii GRA8-derived recombinant peptide according to the present invention is a novel recombinant peptide in which a specific mitochondrial targeting sequence and an ATP5A1/SIRT3 sequence of GRA8 are conjugated to an acidity-triggered rational membrane (ATRAM), and has considerably improved efficacy in which an inhibitory concentration 50 (IC50) is improved up to 200-fold (in vitro) or 500-fold (in vivo), compared with a conventional GRA8-derived peptide (rGRA8). In addition, since the peptide treatment shows a notably distinct therapeutic effect in mouse models with cancer, the peptide may be effectively used in a pharmaceutical composition or functional food for preventing or treating cancer.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides a new concept of fusion imaging device for simultaneously providing anatomical information and functional/biochemical information of human bodies, to accurately localize lesions in the pre-operative process and measure in real time, thereby ensuring the stability of patients with lower radiation doses than the existing fusion imaging devices such as positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/CT, and includes: a transducer to transmit and receive an ultrasound; a matching layer positioned on top of the transducer to reduce a difference in acoustic resistance between the transducer and an affected part, to support an ultrasound beam to be smoothly transmitted into tissues and a reflected beam to be received with high sensitivity; a backing member to absorb the ultrasound on an opposite side of the affected part with respect to the transducer; and a scintillator to detect gamma rays which are radiation, wherei

Abstract: Example implementations relate to halftone image creation. An example non-transitory machine-readable medium can include instructions executable to determine a highlight core shape and a shadow core shape of a microcell within a supercell. The instructions can be executable to determine growth sequences for a plurality of pixels within the highlight core and the shadow core and between the microcell and other microcells within the supercell, divide each of the plurality of pixels into a plurality of subpixels, and create a halftone image for an unequal resolution printing device using a constrained direct binary search model and based on the highlight core shape, shadow core shape, growth sequences, and the plurality of subpixels.