Abstract: The present invention involves a system and method of providing decision support for assisting medical treatment decision-making. A patient agent software module processes information about a particular patient. A doctor agent software module processes information about a health status of a particular patient, beliefs relating to patient treatments, and the actual effects of treatment decisions. By filtering information over time from the patient agent into the doctor agent, a plurality of decision-outcome nodes are created and formed into a patient-specific outcome tree with the plurality of decision-outcome nodes. An optimal treatment is determined by evaluating the plurality of decision-outcome nodes with a cost per unit change function to output the optimal treatment.

Abstract: A bearingless and sealless rotary blood pump is disclosed which provides multidirectional flow intended to provide low-pressure, high-volume right-sided partial assist circulatory support in a univentricular Fontan circulation on a permanent basis. The pump includes a housing and an impeller suspended in the center of the housing. The housing incorporates flow optimization features between inlet and outlet ends, as well as with the impeller surface. Large fluid gaps maintained between impeller and housing eliminate any potential for blood flow obstruction. The impeller contains some motor components. It includes a central stator and surrounding rotor. The motor includes a brushless DC outrunner electrical motor design. An electromagnetic stator core is surrounded by a circumferential passive magnetic ring. The rotor is further levitated about the stator spindle by a plurality of axially and radially located passive magnetic and hydrodynamic journal bearings on both ends of the spindle.

Abstract: Synthetic cremastranone and cremastranone analogs are disclosed. Additionally, methods for synthesizing cremastranone and cremastranone analogs are disclosed. Methods of treating ocular neovascularization disorders and treating angiogenesis-mediated disease are also disclosed.

Abstract: Provided herein are peptides and variant peptides that exhibit enhanced activity at the GLP-1 receptor, as compared to native glucagon.

Abstract: A system, device and apparatus for measuring electrolytes, where an electrical charge is applied to a measurement portion to draw ions from a liquid to a gel-solution via at least one electric field. The gel-solution containing the extracted ions is excited with light of a predetermined wavelength from an emitter. A receiver detects the illumination of the ions as a result of the excited gel-solution, and a processor converts the detected intensities of the illumination to a biologically useful value representing ionic concentration.

Abstract: A method of controlling an operation of a robot (102) is provided using a cluster of nodes (104) in a network (106). The method includes receiving, using a gateway cloud driver (108), robot state information from the robot (102) via the network (106), and converting, using the gateway cloud driver (108), the robot state information into at least one message. The method further includes transmitting, using a message broker (110), the at least one message to the cluster of nodes (104) via the network (106). The method further includes processing, using the cluster of nodes (104) in the network (106), the at least one message by parallel computing, and generating, using the cluster of nodes (104) in the network (106), a robot command to control the operation of the robot (102).

Abstract: A system and method for diagnosing a sleep disorder in a subject are provided. In some aspects, the method includes sensing electrical signals corresponding to a skin nerve activity in the subject using a plurality of skin electrodes, and generating, using signal detector, signal data using the electrical signals. The method also includes assembling a time-series of data indicating the skin nerve activity using the signal data, and identifying a sleep disorder using the time-series of data. The method further includes generating a report indicative of the sleep disorder.

Abstract: Described herein are biomimetic Janus particles useful as artificial antigen presenting cells capable of activating T cells in vitro. “Bull's eye” ligand patterns mimicking either the native or reverse organization of the T cell immunological synapse are provided on the surface of nano- or micro-sized particles. Methods for activating T cells in vitro using biomimetic Janus particles described herein are also provided. T cells activated by the biomimetic Janus particles can be used in adoptive immunotherapies for treating cancer, tolerance induction in autoimmune disease, autologous immune enhancement therapy, and viral infection immunotherapy. Also described herein are methods for producing a biomimetic Janus particle.

Abstract: Studies in mouse models of Fragile X and preliminary studies in human youth demonstrate that ERK1/2 is biomarker useful to monitoring the treatment of people diagnosed with ASD. Results reported herein demonstrate that acamprosate has the ability to reduce levels of ERK1/2 activation associated with many of the symptoms of ASD. Accordingly, in addition to its utility as a diagnostic marker for ASD ERK1/2 activation levels can be used to monitor patients treated with acamprosate and to screen potentially therapeutic compounds.

Abstract: The process and system led to the identification of prenyltransferase genes from elicitor-treated peanut hairy roots. One of the prenyltransferases, AhR4DT-1 catalyzes a key reaction involved in the biosynthesis of prenylated stilbenoids, in which resveratrol is prenylated at its C-4 position to form arachidin-2, while another, AhR3?DT-1, was able to add the prenyl group to C-3? of resveratrol. Each of these prenyltransferases has a high specificity for stilbenoid substrates, and their subcellular location in the plastid was confirmed by fluorescence microscopy. Structure analysis of the prenylated stilbenoids suggest that these two prenyltransferase activities represent the first committed steps in the biosynthesis of a large number of prenylated stilbenoids and their derivatives in peanut.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are insulin agonist peptides conjugated to a glucagon analog wherein the insulin/glucagon conjugate is targeted to liver tissues upon administration to a patient.

Abstract: The invention provides methods of inhibiting the growth or metastasis of a cancer in a mammal by inhibiting a Ral GTPase in the mammal. The invention also provides small molecule inhibitors of Ral GTPases useful in the methods of the invention and pharmaceutical compositions containing the therapeutically effective compounds of the invention, and methods of using the same.

Abstract: A system and a method for disrupting an occlusion within a blood vessel is provided The system includes an elongated catheter body having a proximal portion, a distal portion, and a first lumen. The system further includes an ultrasound transmitter extending longitudinally through the first lumen of the catheter body and having a proximal end and a distal end. The system further includes a positioning mechanism located at a distal end of the catheter body. The positioning mechanism has a first retracted position and a second deployed position, and the positioning mechanism is radially expandable from the first retracted position to the second deployed position to position the catheter in the blood vessel.

Abstract: A method provides for injecting a probe (302) into a computer-readable computer program having a plurality of computer-executable instructions (134). In one example, the method includes receiving the plurality of computer-executable instructions (134) from memory (130); identifying at least one original instruction (308) from the received plurality of computer-executable instructions (134) for facilitating insertion of the probe (302); creating a temporary copy of the at least one original instruction (308); and allocating a jump target of the probe (302) to a memory address in the memory (130) by assigning a predetermined value to tail bytes (312) of the probe (302).

Abstract: Modified glucagon peptides are disclosed having improved solubility and/or stability while retaining glucagon agonist activity. The glucagon peptides have been modified by the substitution of pyridyl-alanine for a native amino acid at one or more of positions 6, 10 or 13 and/or substitution with an amino acid in the D-conformation at position 20 or 21 compared to native glucagon.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides a security enhanced channel control system useable on a wireless device comprising a policy module including at least one processor and memory, the policy module configured to store, in the memory, one or more security policies and apply a compliance check to a first system layer and a second system layer; and a first policy base stored in the memory of the policy module, the first policy base being associated with a mandatory access control (“MAC”) base and defining one more security polices for access to a plurality of channels associated with the first and second system layers. The policy module cooperates with the first policy base to establish one or more access control rules that are applied to at least one of the plurality of channels to preclude an unauthorized application from accessing at least one of the channels.

Abstract: Ion mobility spectrometers and drift tubes including an inlet configured to receive ions, and an outlet, and an internal portion having a pressure at about atmospheric pressure, wherein the drift tube is configured to separate ions using a convective velocity from a carrier gas that transports the ions from the inlet to the outlet, a second controllable velocity that alters a migration of the ions from the inlet to the outlet, and neither radio frequency (RF) nor an alternating current (AC) center the ions are disclosed. Methods of separating charged particles are also disclosed.

Abstract: A scar subcision devices comprising a first elongated element comprising a pivotal connection to a second elongated element, the first elongated element having a blunt distal end, the second elongated element having a proximal-facing cutting edge at a distal end thereof, the device having a first state wherein the cutting edge is retracted to a location within an outer perimeter of the first elongated element, and a second state wherein the cutting edge is exposed outside of the outer perimeter of the first elongated element and the device transitioning between the first state and the second state by the first elongated element and the second elongated element rotating relative to each other about the pivotal connection are disclosed. Methods are also disclosed.

Abstract: The invention provides double knockout transgenic pigs (GT/CMAH-KO pigs) lacking expression of any functional ?GAL and CMAH. Double knockout GT/CMAH-KO transgenic organs, tissues and cells are also provided. Methods of making and using the GT/CMAH-KO pigs and tissue are also provided.

Abstract: Methods for processing an image comprising assigning values to a plurality of pixels of an image, placing the values of the plurality of pixels in an array, determining a method to reference the array values with indices, determining a method to rank or sort the values, sorting the array of values and storing the indices that would sort the array, sorting the array of indices and storing the indices that would sort the array in an array of values, recursively applying these methods, changing methods configurations and/or reusing them during processing, and altering an array based on a sorted array's values and/or indices are disclosed.