Abstract: A computer based system and method for calculating the value of a license for an intellectual property asset between a licensor and a licensee based on the licensor and licensee investment in the license, as well as the predicted increase in product value due to the change in competitive advantage afforded by the intellectual property asset that is the subject of the license. The value of the license may be discounted to adjust for various risks or adjusted based on whether the license is exclusive, limited exclusive, or non-exclusive. The system and method calculates an equal return payment which represents the value of either a one-time, lump-sum payment or the present value of a royalty stream distributed over the lifetime of the intellectual property asset, the system and method of the present invention can place a discrete monetary value on an intellectual property asset.

Abstract: The present invention relates generally to combined power and cooling generation systems, and, more particularly, to a combined power and refrigeration cascade system (“PARCS”) that includes an electric power system (PS) that produces both electric power and medium-to-high-grade waste heat that can be used for providing the cooling and power supply needs of data centers and the like.

Abstract: Selective and efficient multifunctional nanoporous catalysts containing spatially distributed organoamine and silanol groups, and methods of preparation thereof. The catalysts have been observed to be very highly efficient in catalysis of the Henry reaction.

Abstract: An embodiment of the invention is a composition of diesel, biodiesel or blended fuel (DF) with exhaust gas (EG) mixtures or with liquid CO2. The composition is in a liquid state near the supercritical region or a supercritical fluid mixture such that it quasi-instantaneously diffuses into the compressed and hot air as a single and homogeneous supercritical phase upon injection in a combustion chamber. Suitable temperatures and pressures are greater than about 300° C. and 100 bar, and the mole fraction of EG or CO2 (XEG or XCO2) in DF is in the range of 0.0-0.9. In a combustion process embodiment, composition embodiments are injected into a combustion chamber under supercritical conditions. The content of EG or CO2 in DF can be controlled as a function of engine operating parameters such as rpm and load. The thermodynamic and transport properties of supercritical DF-EG or DF-CO2 compositions can be more easily tuned and controlled than subcritical two-phase compositions.

Abstract: An ultra thin film with very low electrical resistance is produced by forming a substrate of a substrate material which forms a metastable bond and depositing a conducting film on the substrate in a vacuum environment in which a base pressure is reduced to a value below 10?5 Torr. The film is a metal, metallic alloy, or multilayered film which includes at least one metallic layer. A 0.1 nm thick manganese film deposited in this way on a germanium substrate has a resistivity which at room temperature is lower than the resistivity of metal films of aluminum and copper with the same thickness prepared the same way.

Abstract: The present invention relates to nanostructures such as carbon nanotubes, nanorods, and nanospheres and, more specifically, to a system and method for forming such nanostructures through the use of metal boride catalysts.

Abstract: The present invention relates generally to a building automation system, and, more particularly, to an Internet-centric, open, extensible software and hardware framework supporting all aspects of control and monitoring of a smart building ecosphere. The present invention further relates to an “intelligent,” real-time control system capable of both autonomous process control and interaction with system users and system administrators, which is configured to accommodate functional extensions and a broad array of sensors and control devices. The system allows individuals to communicate, monitor and adjust their personal environmental preferences (temperature, light, humidity, white noise, etc.) much like they would in an automobile, via the Internet. The system is equipped with an occupancy sensor that recognizes the presence and identity of the individual.

Abstract: A serving tray for stably holding wine glasses and food items simultaneously while suspended by a use or set on a horizontal surface. The tray includes a slot for supporting the stem of a wine glass and a corresponding channel on the underside of the tray for accepting the base of the wine glass in the event that the tray is set down. The underside of the tray may also include a number of supports that assist in spacing the tray apart from a horizontal surface and encouraging the base of the wince glass to remain in the channel formed in the underside of the tray. As a result, when the tray is set down, the wine glasses will not become unstable and the tray will remain balanced.

Abstract: Compositions containing a therapeutic peptide covalently linked to Vitamin B12 at the 5?-hydroxyl group of the ribose moiety of ?-ligand are described. The length of the linkage is optimized so that the biological activity of both the Vitamin B12 and the therapeutic peptide is maintained. Therapeutic peptide includes insulin, PYY, NPY and GLP-1. Attachment to Vitamin B12 provides uptake of the therapeutic peptide from the digestive tract and longer residence time.

Abstract: A method for correcting sound for the hearing impaired includes analyzing an incoming sound into frequency channels and computing a group delay of each of the frequency channels that is expected in a healthy ear. A correction is defined as a percentage less than 100% of the group delay (GD) that a given impaired ear has compared to the group delay of the healthy ear. The amount of delay for the correction as a function of time is computed for each frequency channel, which delay is imposed on each frequency channel. The signal levels are scaled to adjust for audibility, after which the delayed and scaled signals from all frequency channels are combined into an outgoing sound.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a power generation system, which includes a source of a seed oil, a source of alcohol, and a reactor in communication with the source of seed oil and the source of alcohol. The reactor produces a biofuel product. The system has a power source that operates on a biofuel energy source to produce heated exhaust. The power source is in communication with the reactor to utilize a portion of the biofuel product as its biofuel energy source. The system has a heat transfer mechanism that transfers heat from the exhaust manifold to the reactor. The power source also converts mechanical power into electrical power. Also disclosed is a system that involves extraction of oil from an oilseed product. A method of extracting oil from an oilseed product, a method of making a transesterified seed oil, and a method of making a biofuel are also disclosed, as are products obtained thereby.

Abstract: ABSTRACT A system and method for using gradient nanotopography to increase mammalian cell attachment and cell confinement on surfaces. A surface platform consisting of a thin film of gold possessing a gradient of topography on the surface and self-assembled monolayers of alkanethiols presenting desired functional groups is formed. A gradient in the chemical properties is induced in the terminal groups of the monolayer because of the continuous increase in the surface area and the anisotropy of gold film structure. The gradient nanotopraphy provides simultaneous control of two key properties, the presentation of the terminal functional groups and a continuous increase in the surface density of functional groups on the surface. This control provides for drug screening assays using adherent cell-based experiments.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a system which enables cooperative rich media content management, sharing, and publishing across a distributed set of Web sites, Web servers, and media servers based on control information in an online database. Media files are housed on any number of heterogeneous media repositories. The system of the present invention is used for managing, sharing, and publishing rich media content including video, images, animations, audio, etc. Authorized viewers access media files through dynamically generated content and media links embedded on Web sites. Content administrators publish media entries to any number of such distributed Web sites, and can set viewer permissions for individual video entries when published on specific Web sites. Content administrators can also dynamically establish media sharing and access relationships.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an organo-ceramic composite material useful for the extraction of metal ions from solution. The organo-ceramic composite material is formed according to a sol gel synthesis scheme by reacting a functional precursor silane and its homopolymers with either (i) a mixture of a cross-linking silane and its homopolymers or (ii) the cross-linking silane, under conditions effective to yield the composite material of the present invention. Further aspects of the present invention relate to methods of removing a metal ion from a water stream and recovering a metal ion from a water stream, both of which include contacting a water stream containing a metal ion with an organo-ceramic composite material of the present invention under conditions effective to remove the metal ion from the water stream.

Abstract: A metabolically engineered E. coli strain which produces sialic acid and a method of making said strain. In the engineered E. coli cells, the nanT (sialic acid transporter) and nanA (sialic acid adolase) genes are inactivated, and the neuC and neuB genes of sialic acid biosynthesis in Neisseria meningitidis group B are introduced and overexpressed in the nanT? nanA? E. coli cell. In addition, the glucosamine synthase gene, glmS, of E. coli is co-overexpressed with neuB and neuC.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an organo-ceramic composite material useful for the extraction of metal ions from solution. The organo-ceramic composite material is formed according to a sol gel synthesis scheme by reacting a functional precursor silane and its homopolymers with either (i) a mixture of a cross-linking silane and its homopolymers or (ii) the cross-linking silane, under conditions effective to yield the composite material of the present invention. Further aspects of the present invention relate to methods of removing a metal ion from a water stream and recovering a metal ion from a water stream, both of which include contacting a water stream containing a metal ion with an organo-ceramic composite material of the present invention under conditions effective to remove the metal ion from the water stream.

Abstract: A method for blindly determining a channel impulse response (CIR) for a channel in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communications system includes constructing a matrix from two received signals. A singular value decomposition is performed on the matrix, which produces left and right singular matrixes. The right singular vector corresponding to the smallest singular value of the matrix is found, which yields the channel impulse response multiplied by an unknown scalar constant. The unknown scalar constant is then removed used known techniques. The method is data efficient, independent of the input symbol constellation, computationally efficient, and superior in performance compared with prior art blind algorithms.

Abstract: A bacteriorhodopsin based chemical sensing architecture based upon the collective response of bacteriorhodopsin and a number of its mutants; the wild type protein and a selection of genetically-engineered variants was able to respond differentially to a selection of amines. The observable response to the presence of a target chemical was manifested through a modulation of bacteriorhodopsin's photokinetic properties, which are monitored through pump-probe techniques using a custom prototype flash photolysis system. Differential responsivity exists at two levels; (1) bacteriorhodopsin proteins (wild-type and genetically-engineered variants) respond differentially upon exposure of a target chemical, and (2) the response pattern exhibited by the proteins differs from chemical to chemical. This dichotomy forms the basis for a BR-mediated chemical sensing technology that is highly sensitive and selective and may therefore discriminate between different chemicals.

Abstract: A binary optical compound formed from a preparation of proteorhodopsin, is provided. The preparation is prepared by dissolving proteorhodopsin in distilled water, where the pH is adjusted to be above 11 either by using sodium hydroxide or an appropriate buffer. The preparation is then illuminated with either white light sources, lasers, or irradiation provided from light-emitting diodes. The necessary duration is intensity dependent, varying from a few seconds to a few minutes, depending upon the source and actinic wavelength. The resulting compound has a long lifespan and may be efficiently transitioned between states.

Abstract: The present invention relates to bone cements and, more particularly, to multi-solution bone cements and methods for making the same. An embodiment of the present invention provides multi-solution bone cements which include cross-linked PMMA beads, thereby providing for a significant increase in the polymer-to-monomer (P:M) ratio. Another embodiment of the present invention provides cross-linked PMMA beads which are surface modified with unsaturated carbon double bonds. A further embodiment of the present invention provides multi-solution bone cements made with PMMA-PMMA spherical brush polymers.