Abstract: Described are fibrous materials comprising a plurality of fibers having a longitudinal alignment gradient and/or a longitudinal composition gradient. Also described are methods of preparing the fibrous materials thereof and methods of treating organ or tissue damage with the fibrous materials.

Abstract: A curved origami-based metamaterial includes a panel of material having a plurality of curved creases each disposed within a plane of the panel. The panel is configured to be folded along one of the plurality of creases, and the panel is also configured to be bent about an axis disposed outside the plane of the panel. Stiffness manipulation is configured to be achieved in situ by activating a different one of the plurality of curved creases.

Abstract: Methods and devices for microfluidic detection of a biological maker in a biospecimen collected from a subject are disclosed. The microfluidic devices include nanoparticle-based nanosensors comprising supramolecular recognition sequences, protease consensus sequences, post-translationally modifiable sequences, or sterically hindered benzylether bonds for specific interaction with a biological marker. Also disclosed are particular nanosensors for detecting cytokines, and other proteins based upon supramolecular recognition without chemical modification or enzymatic cleavage.

Abstract: Systems, apparatuses, and methods for analyzing conditioned cue preference in an animal such as a fruit fly are described.

Abstract: A fault-tolerant computer system includes a plurality of processors configured to simultaneously execute identical sets of processor-executable instructions, each of the plurality of processors containing a processor core including one or more registers and a local memory, an arbiter configured to read each of the registers of the plurality of processors, detect incorrect register values, and overwrite the registers containing the incorrect register values with corrected register values, and a memory scrubber configured to read each address of the local memories of the plurality of processors, detect incorrect memory values, and overwrite addresses containing the incorrect memory values with corrected memory values. In various embodiments, the computer system may be implemented using one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

Abstract: Described is a light emitting diode (LED) that uses hybrid nanostructures to enhance light emission intensity and light extraction efficiency. In at least one embodiment, nanostructures comprise a combination of metal and metal oxide layers that simultaneously provide optical property for emission enhancement and support electrical property for charge transport to support electroluminescence. In at least one embodiment, LED comprises multiple layers including a hybrid metal-metal oxide layer, light-emissive layer, and a light outcoupling layer. In at least one embodiment, metal-metal oxide layer can be formed by evaporation or sputtering. In at least one embodiment, light-emissive layer can be formed by emissive layer spin coating. In at least one embodiment, light outcoupling layer is formed by imprinting or by particle lithography.

Abstract: Compositions and methods for reducing the level of nornicotine and N?-nitrosonornicotine (NNN) in tobacco plants and plant parts thereof are provided. The compositions comprise isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides for a root-specific nicotine demethylases, CYP82E10, and variants thereof, that are involved in the metabolic conversion of nicotine to nornicotine in these plants. Compositions of the invention also include tobacco plants, or plant parts thereof, comprising a mutation in a gene encoding a CYP82E10 nicotine demethylase, wherein the mutation results in reduced expression or function of the CYP82E10 nicotine demethylase. Seed of these tobacco plants, or progeny thereof, and tobacco products prepared from the tobacco plants of the invention, or from plant parts or progeny thereof, are also provided. Methods for reducing the level of nornicotine, or reducing the rate of conversion of nicotine to nornicotine, in a tobacco plant, or plant part thereof are also provided.

Abstract: A near infrared dye comprising a counterion and a structure of Formula I wherein the at least one of R1 and R2are 1-(thiophen-2-yl)piperidine, 1-(thieno[3,2-b]thiophen-2-yl)piperidine or 1-([2,2?-bithiophen]-5-yl)piperidine, and X, R, R3-R4, R19, R20 and R22-R29 are disclosed herein. Materials and compositions comprising the NIR dye can absorb light in the NIR I & II regions and then the energy can be released in the form of light (fluorescence) or heat (non-radiative). The dyes can also convert the absorbed light to heat and ultrasound waves via the photoacoustic effect. The photoacoustic effect can be used in photoacoustic tomography to image biological materials or processes. Methods for synthesizing the NIR dyes and materials comprising the same are also disclosed.

Abstract: The present invention provides a compound having the structure: and use of the compound for inhibiting the growth of or killing

Abstract: A computing system includes a processor having access to data associated with a plurality of devices of a network. The processor is configured to leverage the data to execute a loss model that estimates cyber risk loss distribution of the network associated with healthcare environment and infrastructure using bond percolation on a mixed random graphs approach.

Abstract: Compositions and methods are described herein for transdifferentiation of multipotent stromal cells into cells that can express insulin.

Abstract: Effective human-robot collaboration (HRC) requires extensive communication among the human and robot teammates, because their actions can potentially produce conflicts, synergies, or both. An augmented reality-driven, negotiation-based (ARN) framework is provided for HRC, where ARN supports planning-phase negotiations within human-robot teams. Experiments in an office environment, where multiple mobile robots work on delivery tasks, where the robots could not complete the tasks on their own, but sometimes need help from their human teammate, making human-robot collaboration necessary. In comparison to a non-AR baseline, ARN significantly improved the human users' work efficiency, and their cognitive load, while reducing the overall task completion time of the whole team.

Abstract: Implementations described and claimed herein provide systems and methods for manufacturing customized cardiovascular devices. In one implementation, patient cardiovascular data for a patient is received at a controller. The patient cardiovascular data is captured using a patient interface. A printing profile for a cardiovascular medical device is received at the controller. A patient specific three-dimensional model of the cardiovascular medical device customized for the patient using the patient cardiovascular data and the printing profile is generated. The patient specific three-dimensional model of the cardiovascular medical device is sliced into a plurality of outlines using the controller. Print instructions based on the plurality of outlines are generated using the controller. A polymeric material is manipulated according to the print instructions into a customized polymeric cardiovascular medical device for the patient.

Abstract: A resistive heater capable of delivering heat loads on the same order as those produced by in-pile nuclear fuel experiments. The heater rod provides the energy for high-temperature steady-state testing, as well as the power needed to simulate the transient pulse in the Transient Reactor Test Loop (TRTL) system. The resistive heater includes a removable housing, two or more thermal conductors in the housing; and one or more stabilizers coupled to the two or more thermal conductors to keep the two or more thermal conductors separated to avoid shorting, wherein the two or more thermal conductors are coupled to the housing via an inert gas (e.g., Helium). The two or more thermal conductors comprise a material with substantially zero infrared spectrum (e.g., sapphire, silica, or glass).

Abstract: A single molecule sensing or detecting device includes a first electrode and a second electrode separated from the first electrode by a gap. The first electrode and the second electrode have an opening formed therethrough. At least one of the first electrode and the second electrode is functionalized with a recognition molecule. The recognition molecule has an effective length LI and is configured to selectively bind to a target molecule having an effective length L2. The size of the gap is configured to be greater than L2, but less than or equal to the sum of LI and L2.

Abstract: Gait, the walking pattern of individuals, is one of the important biometrics modalities. Most of the existing gait recognition methods take silhouettes or articulated body models as gait features. These methods suffer from degraded recognition performance when handling confounding variables, such as clothing, carrying and viewing angle. To remedy this issue, this disclosure proposes to explicitly disentangle appearance, canonical and pose features from RGB imagery. A long short-term memory integrates pose features over time as a dynamic gait feature while canonical features are averaged as a static gait feature. Both of them are utilized as classification features.

Abstract: During the process of coagulation, prothrombin is activated to ?-thrombin by prothrombinase. Key residues in the structure of prothrombin allow for modulation of the activation of prothrombin. In certain embodiments, a recombinant prothrombin with at least one point mutation or deletion is provided.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an asphalt product. The asphalt product includes an asphalt binder and a bio-oil blend comprising a mixture of a non-hydrogenated bio-oil and a partially hydrogenated bio-oil, where the bio-oil blend is mixed with the asphalt binder to form an asphalt product having a shear stiffness of 0.20 kPa to 11,000 kPa at a temperature ranging from 25° C. to 85° C. and/or a viscosity of 0.15 Pa·s to 1.50 Pa·s at a temperature ranging from 120° C. to 165° C. The present invention further relates to methods of producing an asphalt product and methods of applying an asphalt product to a surface.

Abstract: A temperature sensor including a sapphire optical fiber and a nanoporous cladding layer covering at least a portion of the sapphire optical fiber.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a laser diode system. The system may have at least one laser diode emitter having a substrate, at least one laser diode supported on the substrate, and a facet which a laser beam generated by the laser diode is emitted. A cooling subsystem is included which is disposed in contact with the substrate of the laser diode emitter. The cooling subsystem includes a plurality of cooling fins forming a plurality of elongated channels for circulating a cooling fluid therethrough to cool the laser diode emitter. The cooling fluid also flows over the facet of the laser diode emitter.