Abstract: An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) includes a body constructed to enable the UAV to fly and three or more legs connected to the body and configured to land and perch the UAV on a curved ferromagnetic surface. Each leg includes a first portion connected to the body, a second portion including a magnet and configured to magnetically attach and maintain the magnetic attachment of the leg to the ferromagnetic surface during the landing and perching, and a passive articulation joint connecting the first and second portions and configured to passively articulate the second portion with respect to the first portion in response to the second portion approaching the ferromagnetic surface. The UAV further includes a releasable crawler including magnetic wheels which detach the crawler from the body during the perching and maneuver the crawler on the ferromagnetic surface while magnetically attaching the crawler to the ferromagnetic surface after detachment.

Abstract: A multi-stage flash reversal unit includes a housing; plural stages located inside the housing; an evaporation port that receives a water feed having a first temperature; a condensation port that outputs a concentrated water feed having a second temperature, which is lower than the first temperature; and a cooling unit that cools down the concentrated water feed.

Abstract: A method for bonding two elements, the method including receiving first and second elements, the first element being a composite material; applying a laser-based treatment to a surface of the first element to obtain a treated surface; patterning the treated surface to have plural trenches; applying an adhesive to one of the first and second elements; and joining the first element to the second element so that the adhesive is between the first and second elements.

Abstract: A nitride-based electronic device includes an oxide cladding layer, a nitride cladding layer, and a nitride active region layer arranged between the oxide cladding layer and the nitride cladding layer. First and second metal contacts are electrically coupled to the nitride active region layer. The nitride-based electronic device can be formed in a system in which a non-reactive chamber is arranged between an oxide reaction chamber and a nitride reaction chamber so that oxide and nitride layers can be grown without exposing the device to the environment between growth of the oxide and nitride layers.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure provide devices and systems including a halide perovskite and/or phosphor to produce and/or communicate using visible light, and the like.

Abstract: There is a method for forming a three dimensional or porous graphene electrode pattern on a substrate, the method including providing a substrate; coating the substrate with a lignin-polymer composite film; exposing a first part of the coated lignin-polymer composite film to a laser beam for transforming the first part into the graphene pattern; and removing a second part of the coated lignin-polymer composite film, which was not exposed to the laser beam, by placing the second part in water. The lignin-polymer composite film includes (1) a water-soluble alkaline lignin, (2) a polymer having bonding properties, and (3) a solvent, and an amount of the water-soluble alkaline lignin in the lignin-polymer composite film is between 5 and 60% by weight.

Abstract: A reaction unit for catalytic conversion of a hydrocarbon or hydrocarbon containing feedstock to a petrochemical mixture, includes a housing; a fluid bed distributor plate located at a bottom of the housing; a regeneration zone and a stripping zone located above the fluid bed distributor plate, in which catalytic particles are housed; a reaction zone located above the stripping zone; and a condensation zone located above the reaction zone, in which a petrochemical product fluid is condensed.

Abstract: A method for partial differential equation inversion, the method including receiving measured data do; selecting an objective function having first and second measures N1 and N2, wherein the objective function depends on three independent variables V, u, and f, V being a perturbation of a wave equation operator L from a background operator L0, u being a wavefield that satisfies the wave equation operator L, and f being a source function that describes the source of the waves; optimizing with a processor the objective function by finding a minimum or a maximum using the inversion; calculating with the processor solutions V*, u*, and f* of the three independent variables V, u, and f; and generating with the processor an image of an object based on the solutions V*, u*, and f*.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure provide for metal-organic materials (MOMs), systems that exhibit permanent porosity and using hydrophobic MOMs to separate components in a gas, methods of separating CO2 from a gas, and the like.

Abstract: A humidity nonsensitive material based on reduced-graphene oxide (r-GO) and methods of making the same are provided. In an embodiment, the material has a resistance/humidity variation of about ?15% to 15% based on different sintering time or temperature. In an aspect, the resistance variation to humidity can be close to zero or ?0.5% to 0.5%, showing a humidity non sensitivity property. In an embodiment, a humidity nonsensitive material based on the r-GO and carbon nanotube (CNT) composites is provided, wherein the ratio of CNT to r-GO is adjusted. The ratio can be adjusted based on the combined contribution of carbon nanotube (positive resistance variation) and reduced-graphene oxide (negative resistance variation) behaviors.

Abstract: A high-speed, wavelength-converting receiver that includes a housing; a high-speed, wavelength-converting layer attached to the housing and configured to absorb a first light having a first wavelength range and emit a second light having a second wavelength range, which is different from the first wavelength range; and a high-speed photodetector attached to the housing and having an active face configured to absorb the second light having the second wavelength range and generate an electrical signal. The active face of the photodetector is fully placed within the housing.

Abstract: An optical meter reader apparatus for reading data from a meter includes a housing; a housing extension connected to the housing, the housing extension having a flat face; a first slot formed on the flat face; a second slot formed on the flat face; and an optical communication module located within the housing and the housing extension and configured to exchange information with the meter using infrared waves.

Abstract: A method and catalyst for forming higher carbon number products from carbon dioxide is provided. An exemplary catalyst includes red mud including iron and aluminum, and impregnated potassium.

Abstract: A low complexity, low powered, non-invasive, and wearable system for detecting pulmonary edema and emphysema by estimating an average dielectric constant includes a radio frequency (RF) sensor array, which is fabricated along a flexible substrate, a data collection unit, a body area network (BAN), and a post-processing unit. The flexibility of the flexible substrate allows the RF sensor array to worn around the chest region. A plurality of ports of the RF sensor array is used to measure a set of transmission coefficients. The data collection unit accumulates and transfers the set of transmission coefficients to the post-processing unit, wherein the BAN is used during the transfer process. At the post-processing unit, the average dielectric constant is estimated. Since the average dielectric constant can be used as a measure of fluids and air within the lungs, pulmonary edema and emphysema may be detected using the average dielectric constant.

Abstract: A stuck-at fault mitigation method for resistive random access memory (ReRAM)-based deep learning accelerators, includes: confirming a distorted output value (Y0) due to a stuck-at fault (SAF) by using a correction data set in a pre-trained deep learning network, by means of ReRAM-based deep learning accelerator hardware; updating an average (?) and a standard deviation (?) of a batch normalization (BN) layer by using the distorted output value (Y0), by means of the ReRAM-based deep learning accelerator hardware; folding the batch normalization (BN) layer in which the average (?) and the standard deviation (?) are updated into a convolution layer or a fully-connected layer, by means of the ReRAM-based deep learning accelerator hardware; and deriving a normal output value (Y1) by using the deep learning network in which the batch normalization (BN) layer is folded, by means of the ReRAM-based deep learning accelerator hardware.

Abstract: A multi-zoned fluidized bed reactor system may include a multi-zoned fluidized bed reactor and at least one catalyst regeneration loop. The multi-zoned fluidized bed reactor comprising a housing, a fluid bed distributor plate positioned at the bottom of the housing, a fluidized catalyst bed disposed vertically above the fluid bed distributor plate and a condensation zone disposed vertically above the fluidized catalyst bed. The at least one catalyst regeneration loop may be fluidly coupled to the stripping zone and a reaction zone. The at least one catalyst regeneration loop may be operable to withdraw a portion of spent catalyst from the stripping zone, regenerate the portion of spent catalyst to produce regenerated catalyst, and return the regenerated catalyst to the reaction zone. A method of regenerating catalyst in a multi-zoned fluidized bed reactor may include passing a portion of spent catalyst from a stripping zone to a catalyst regeneration loop.

Abstract: A method for structure simulation for super-resolution fluorescence microscopy, the method including receiving a first image having a first resolution, which is indicative of a distribution of fluorophores; applying a Markov model to the fluorophores to indicate an emission state of the fluorophores; generating a plurality of second images, having the first resolution, based on the first image and the Markov model; adding DC background to the plurality of second images to generate a plurality of third images, having the first resolution; downsampling the plurality of third images to obtain a plurality of fourth images, which have a second resolution, lower than the first resolution; and generating a time-series, low-resolution images by adding noise to the plurality of fourth images. The time-series, low-resolution images have the second resolution.

Abstract: The present invention uses compound 3-OH-?-apo-13-carotenone (zaxinone) as a negative regulator of the plant hormone strigolactones (SLs). The compound 3-OH-?-apo-13-carotenone is a positive growth regulator which triggers the formation of crown roots and promotes growth in size and number of roots and shoots. Disclosed herein is a method of using 3-OH-?-apo-13-carotenone as a growth-promoting compound for cereal, grain and vegetable crops. The 3-OH-?-apo-13-carotenone compounds is also a negative regulator of strigolactone biosynthesis and release. Disclosed herein is a method of combating root parasitic weeds affecting cereal, grain and vegetable crops. Application of 3-OH-?-apo-13-carotenone to plant growth media down-regulates strigolactone production in cereal, grain and vegetable crops preventing root parasitic weed infestation of the crops by inhibiting germination of parasitic weed seeds.

Abstract: A two-dimensional (2D) hybrid perovskite based opto-electric device includes first and second 2D perovskite layers extending along a given plane; an organic layer sandwiched between the first and second 2D perovskite layers, and extending along the given plane; an external organic layer formed on the first 2D perovskite layer and configured to directly face an ambient of the opto-electric device and to extend along the given plane; and electrical pads directly formed over the external organic layer. A roughness of the external organic layer is smaller than 10 nm.

Abstract: A method for optical communication between first and second transceivers over a channel in a free-space medium involves receiving a binary string of uniformly distributed bits and converting them into probabilistically-shaped unipolar M-pulse amplitude modulated (M-PAM) symbols using distribution matching. The probabilistically-shaped unipolar M-PAM symbols are mapped into a binary bit stream, which are used to generate, at a forward error correction rate, parity bits. The parity bits are mapped to uniformly-distributed unipolar M-PAM parity symbols. The probabilistically-shaped unipolar M-PAM symbols and the uniformly-distributed unipolar M-PAM parity symbols are multiplexed to form a codeword that is used to modulate the intensity of a laser so as to transmit the codeword.