Abstract: A process for producing a copolyester through the production of an AB monomer of isoidide - Isodide 2-(4-carbomethoxyphenyl) ether. In certain aspects, the AB monomer is produced by performing the steps of: protecting the 2-position of isosorbide with a protecting group; functionalizing the 5-position of isosorbide with a suitable leaving group to form a reactive ester; nucleophilicly displacing the leaving group in a reaction with an alkali metal alkoxide or phenoxide to give an isoidide ether through a stereochemical inversion of the 5-position; and removing the protective moiety to create the AB monomer. In certain embodiments, the copolyester is produced by melting the AB monomer and a polyester, optionally with a catalyst.

Abstract: Novel TCDA/ZnO compositions in which the ZnO particles have an average particle size less than 100 nm are disclosed. Reversible thermochromatic sensors employing the TCDA nanocomposites and methods of printing TCDA/ZnO nanocomposite thin films forming the reversible thermochromatic sensors using inkjet printing techniques are also disclosed.

Abstract: A system and method for facilitating user-generated content relating to social networks are provided. The system provides an online environment which poses questions to users, and which allows the users to answer such questions by identifying appropriate contacts of the user. The system automatically identifies the user's contacts by consulting one or more electronic accounts of the user on one or more social networking sites/services, and/or one or more e-mail accounts. The user can respond to questions posed by clicking on appropriate contacts, dragging them, and dropping them in an answer area in the online environment. The user can manage his/her contacts by creating one or more groups and/or tags associated with each contact. The grouped/tagged contacts can be imported into a contact management system, and can be used by researchers to conduct social network visualizations or to achieve other research objectives.

Abstract: Technologies are generally described to allocation of virtual machines to physical machines through dominant resource assisted heuristics. According to some examples, multiple virtual machines (VMs) may be clustered to two or more unallocated VM clusters according to a dominant resource requirement associated with each of the VMs. The VMs may be sorted according to a size attribute associated with the dominant resource requirement. Multiple physical machines (PMs) may be sorted according to a power efficiency attribute associated with each of the PMs. One of the PMs may be selected from an ordered list of PMs based on the power efficiency attribute. One of the VMs may be selected from another ordered list of PMs based on the size attribute. The selected VM may then be allocated to the selected PM.

Abstract: Non-invasive THz spectroscopic apparatus and methods are provided for measuring the average diffusion coefficients for a structure such as cork. The methods may be used to image the localized presence of water in the structure to produce time-dependent images of liquid propagation in the structure.

Abstract: Technologies are generally described to determine a download throughput of a wireless connection in an environment hosting multiple wired and wireless connections. According to some examples, a compound probe may be transmitted from a source to a wireless destination. Another compound probe may also be transmitted from the source to the wireless destination. The compound probes may include multiple packets without any dispersion gap. Next, an average intra-packet gap (AIPG) and a minimum intra-packet gap (MIPG) may be determined from the first compound probe. Furthermore, another MIPG may be determined from the later compound probe. The download throughput from the source to the wireless destination may be computed from the AIPG and the MIPGs.

Abstract: The invention relates to novel luminescent compositions of matter containing a fluorophore, synthetic methods for making the compositions, macromolecular conjugates of the compositions, and the use of the compositions in various methods of detection. The invention also provides kits containing the compositions and their conjugates for use in the methods of detection.

Abstract: Novel TCDA/ZnO compositions in which the ZnO particles have an average particle size less than 100 nm are disclosed. Reversible thermochromatic sensors employing the TCDA nanocomposites and methods of printing TCDA/ZnO nanocomposite thin films forming the reversible thermochromatic sensors using inkjet printing techniques are also disclosed.

Abstract: Using porous hollow fiber membranes, systems/methods for continuously synthesizing polymer-coated particles by anti-solvent crystallization are provided. The disclosed systems/methods provide for synthesis of polymer-coated drug particles/crystals from solutions of the polymer and the drug particles in suspension by exposing the solution to an anti-solvent through a porous hollow fiber device. A feed solution of a coating polymer with suspended drug particles can be exposed to an anti-solvent through hollow fiber pores, thereby causing the polymer to precipitate on and coat the drug particles. In addition, a feed solution of a coating polymer with drug in solution can be exposed to an anti-solvent through hollow fiber pores, thereby causing the drug to crystallize from the solution and the polymer to precipitate/coat the drug. Results indicate that a uniformly coated, free-flowing product may be developed in this advantageous porous hollow fiber anti-solvent crystallization method.

Abstract: This invention relates to a technique that uses an externally applied electric field to self-assemble monolayers of mixtures of particles into molecular-like hierarchical arrangements on fluid-liquid interfaces. The arrangements consist of composite particles which are arranged in a pattern. The structure of a composite particle depends on factors such as the relative sizes of the particles and their polarizabilities, and the electric field intensity. If the particles sizes differ by a factor of two or more, the composite particle has a larger particle at its core and several smaller particles form a ring around it. The number of particles in the ring and the spacing between the composite particles depend on their polarizabilities and the electric field intensity. Approximately same sized particles form chains in which positively and negatively polarized particles alternate, and when their polarizabilities are comparable they form tightly packed crystals.

Abstract: Provided is an electroactive structure for growing isolated differentiable cells comprising a three dimensional matrix of fibers formed of a biocompatible synthetic piezoelectric polymeric material, wherein the matrix of fibers is seeded with the isolated differentiable cells and forms a supporting scaffold for growing the isolated differentiable cells, and wherein the matrix of fibers stimulates differentiation of the isolated differentiable cells into a mature cell phenotype on the structure.

Abstract: The present invention provides compounds useful as novel near-infrared labels, compositions containing these compounds, and methods of using the near-infrared labels to identify targets in vitro, in situ and in vivo. The invention also provides small or large molecule conjugates between targeting agents and NIR labels, as well as methods and kits thereof, that can be used in diagnostics and treatment of diseases related to microbes in mammalian animals.

Abstract: Signals transmitted on the backhaul links of a cloud radio access network may be compressed using joint compression encoding. Joint compression encoding may be performed using a successive estimation-compression architecture. Joint compression encoding may include designing preceding matrices that may be used with signal compression. Joint compression encoding may be applied to signals transmitted on the downlink of the cloud radio access network. One or more baseband signals to be delivered over the backhaul links may be jointly compressed using multivariate compression. Multivariate compression may be implemented using successive compression based on a sequence of minimum mean squared error (MMSE) estimations and per BS compression.

Abstract: Organic and organic/inorganic hybrid bulk heterojunction photovoltaic devices with improved efficiencies are disclosed. The organic photovoltaic device comprises a photoactive polymer:fullerene C60-carbon nanotube (polymer:C60-CNT) composite as a component of the active layer. Under light irradiation, photoinduced charge separation at the polymer:C60 interface is followed by electron transfer from C60 onto CNTs for efficient electron transport towards an electrode. The organic/inorganic hybrid photovoltaic device comprises quantum dots and carbon nanotubes. Power conversion efficiency enhancement methods of polymer-CNT based photovoltaics are also provided.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for hybrid multi-layer transmission includes receiving a multi-layer signal from a source device, wherein the multi-layer signal includes a plurality of sublayers. A quantity of the plurality of sublayers is decoded and partial information relating to the decoded sublayers is transmitted to a destination device.

Abstract: A disjoint partial-area taxonomy abstraction network and methods of producing same for a hierarchy, which partitions overlapping concepts into singly-rooted disjoint groups that are more manageable to work with and comprehend. This provides abstract models for summarizing overlapping concepts which permit enhanced, high-level display for users at a user interface.

Abstract: Technologies are generally described for reducing the from-power-grid energy consumption of a wireless network such as a cellular network over a period of time through cell size adaptations. According to some examples, cell sizes for the base stations may be optimized by decomposing the cell size optimization into two approaches: a multi-stage energy allocation approach and an energy consumption minimization approach. By implementing an energy allocation policy based on available energy type (e.g., from-power-grid or renewable) and an approximation technique for the energy consumption minimization, cell size optimization for each base station may be achieved resulting in network-wide enhancement of renewable energy usage vs. from-power-grid energy usage.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for providing suggested completions to search results are disclosed which employ locating nodes in a stored ontology, wherein nodes consist of classes or instances of information, that correspond to the at least one search term, retrieving neighbors of located nodes in the stored ontology, and generating suggested completions in a format which separates homonymic terms. Methods and apparatus are disclosed for building ontologies and dynamically expanding ontologies.

Abstract: Techniques for transferring data among nodes on a network are disclosed. Some example methods include a downloader-initiated random linear network coding algorithm. A downloading node may be aware of the chunks of original data held by neighboring nodes, and the downloading node can request linear combinations of chunks from the neighboring nodes that are linearly independent of any linear combinations of chunks already held by the downloading node.

Abstract: Technologies are generally described to provide a distributed scheme that enables a Green-energy Aware and the Latency Aware (GALA) user-base station (BS) associations in wireless networks, whose BSs are powered by both on-grid energy and green energy. According to some examples, the GALA approach may consider traffic delivery latency and green energy generation rate in BSs to determine the user-BS association. The GALA approach may converge to a particular solution, which may reduce the summation of the weighted latency ratios of BSs, while enabling a trade-off between the on-grid power consumption and the average traffic delivery latency.