Abstract: A method of making a multilayer filter and the multilayer filter made by the method. The method includes generally two steps. The first step is to coat a layer of nanofibers on a single side or both sides of a substrate medium to obtain a composite filter medium, and the second step is to fold the composite filter medium in a serpentine fashion to form a multilayer filter. The second step may alternatively be accomplished by stacking up a number of sheets of the composite filter medium to form a multilayer filter having a structure of two layers of nanofibers being sandwiched between two layers of said substrate medium. The resulting multilayer filter produced by either method contains at least one structural unit which has two layers of nanofibers being sandwiched between two layers of the substrate medium.

Abstract: The present invention relates to synthetic green tea derived polyphenolic compounds, their modes of syntheses, and their use in inhibiting proteasomal activity and in treating cancers. The present invention is also directed to pharmaceutical compositions useful in methods of inhibiting proteasomes and of treating cancers.

Abstract: A method for retarding or reversing progression of myopia of a viewer includes providing an object in front of the viewer; providing a transparent layer between the viewer and the object; and providing a primary image on the transparent layer, the transparent layer allows the viewer to see the object as a secondary image simultaneously with the primary image, wherein the secondary image is focused in front of the central region of the retina. A method for reducing hyperopia of a viewer includes providing an object in front of the viewer to provide a primary image; providing a transparent layer between the viewer and the object; providing a secondary image on the transparent layer, the transparent layer allows the viewer to see the primary image simultaneously with the secondary image, wherein the secondary image is focused behind the central region of the retina. Other systems are also described herein.

Abstract: The present invention provides a site-specific pegylated arginase conjugate and method for producing thereof. The site-specific pegylated arginase is homogeneous in molecular weight and shows therapeutic effect for treating cancers and viral infections. The method for producing the arginase conjugate comprises genetically modifying the gene encoding an arginase so that the PEG moiety can be attached to the enzyme at a predetermined, specific intended sites. This is achieved by removing the PEG-attaching amino acid residue(s) at undesirable site(s) while keeping or adding cysteine(s) at the desirable site(s) of the enzyme. Two exemplary embodiments of the pegylated arginase conjugate are directed to human arginase I (HAI) where a polyethylene glycol (PEG) moiety is site-specific covalently bonded to Cys45 of the enzyme and Bacillus caldovelox arginase (BCA) where a polyethylene glycol (PEG) moiety is site-specific covalently bonded to Cys161 of the enzyme.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for microfluidic mixing in a “lab-on-a-chip” environment. The methodology focuses on constant acceleration and deceleration about a mean angular speed with a rotating disk serving as the mixing platform. The methodology results in good mixing between different fluids.

Abstract: A method for using dual indices to support query expansion, relevance/non-relevance models, blind/relevance feedback and an intelligent search interface, comprising using a computing device to: access an inverted index to obtain an initial retrieval of results in response to a query, and to generate a rank list of the results, the results referring to information units (IUs) where the query occurs; and determine a number of “N” IUs in the results that are regarded by the computing device to be relevant by accessing a forward index; and use the forward index to perform any one from the group consisting of: computing query expansion weights for top “N” retrieved IUs, building the relevance models by the contexts of query terms in the top “N” retrieved IUs, and finding the longest contiguous sequences of query terms in a query found in an IU; wherein the forward index and inverted index have pointers to locations in the IUs where terms of the query occur, and the forward index retrieves a term frequency vector o

Abstract: The present invention relates to an apparatus for attachment to a conventional sheet metal forming press. The apparatus allows the sheet metal forming process to be preformed fully submerged in an oil. Methods for sheet metal forming in oil are also provided.

Abstract: A method of preparing a tip for lithography, includes forming a mold having at least one recess; disposing a first polymer in the recess to form an apex of the tip; curing the first polymer in the recess; and disposing a second polymer in the recess to form a base of the tip. The Young's Modulus of the second polymer is lower than the Young's Modulus of the first polymer. The tip structure for lithography includes a substrate, and a layered structure including a tip having an apex of a first polymer and a base of a second polymer. The first polymer is less resiliently deformable than the second polymer.

Abstract: A rehabilitation system for training hand movement of a user, the system comprising: a platform to be attached to the hand of the user; a plurality of finger assemblies operatively connected to the platform, each finger assembly having: a motor, a proximal follower assembly for a metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint having a proximal rail guide operatively connected to the motor, and an intermediate follower assembly for a proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint having an intermediate rail guide operatively connected to the proximal follower assembly; wherein a knuckle joint indicator of the proximal rail guide corresponds to a first virtual center and knuckle joint indicator of the intermediate rail guide corresponds to a second virtual center, the alignment of the knuckle joint indicators to the virtual centers enable motion of the finger to be controlled and maintain rotational axes of the finger about each virtual center when the proximal and intermediate follower assemblies are actuated by the motor.

Abstract: The present invention relates to synthetic green tea derived polyphenolic compounds, their modes of syntheses, and their use in inhibiting proteasomal activity and in treating cancers. The present invention is also directed to pharmaceutical compositions useful in methods of inhibiting proteasomes and of treating cancers.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for imparting false twist to a short staple yarn delivered from a nip of a pair of front drafting rollers before ring spinning. Downstream of the nip, the twisted yarn is drawn sequentially across first and second runs of travelling endless belts, such that the yarn wraps about a first convex surface of the first run, then passes between the first and second runs, before wrapping about a second convex surface of the second run. Friction between each of the first and second convex surfaces and the yarn imparts the false twist in a common direction. Maintaining a differential between first and second linear speeds of the first and second runs, respectively, has been found to reduce yarn defects, particularly the nep count.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for imparting false twist to a short staple yarn delivered from a nip of a pair of front drafting rollers before ring spinning. Downstream of the nip, the twisted yarn is drawn sequentially across first and second runs of travelling endless belts, such that the yarn wraps about a first convex surface of the first run, then passes between the first and second runs, before wrapping about a second convex surface of the second run. Friction between each of the first and second convex surfaces and the yarn imparts the false twist in a common direction. Maintaining a differential between first and second linear speeds of the first and second runs, respectively, has been found to reduce yarn defects, particularly the nep count.

Abstract: This invention discloses a therapeutic post-injury pressure glove and a method to produce the same. The pressure glove is configured to apply pressure onto a plurality of pressure-receiving regions of an injured hand such that each pressure-receiving region receives a pressure within an upper bound and a lower bound determined therefor. In one embodiment, the pressure glove comprises a plurality of custom pressure-applying fabric portions each of which is configured to direct a pressure onto one of the pressure-receiving regions. A suitable fabric specific for each fabric portion is selected so that adequate pressure is provided on a wounded area while maintaining a low pressure on an intact part of the hand. The pressure glove is fabricated with a size less than the hand's size by a reduction factor. The reduction factor and the set of selected fabrics are determined via obtaining a computed pressure distribution.

Abstract: A wearable power assistive device for hand rehabilitation includes a hand brace having an external platform and an internal platform connected to and spaced inwardly from the external platform. Five finger assemblies are adjustably mounted on and extending from the distal end of the external platform. Each finger assembly includes a proximal follower assembly for a metacarpophalangeal joint. Five motors are used to actuate the five finger assemblies respectively. Each motor is mounted in close proximity to the external platform and has one end connected to the external platform and another end coupled to its proximal follower assembly by a ball joint in order to facilitate transfer of force and minimize mechanical stress on the other parts of the device.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for reducing residual torque in singles ring yarns, achieved by imparting two separate false twisting points on the traveling strand of fibers (or yarn) after the strand exits from the spinning triangle with a proper ratio between the belt speed and the strand feeding speed. In addition to reducing the residual torque, this double false twist technique also reduces yarn hairiness to the same level as achieved by more expensive compact spinning devices, reduces yarn twist by more than 20% and significantly enhances yarn and fabric softness. Furthermore, by combining the double false twist technique with a compact spinning device, the numbers of neps, thick and thin places are significantly reduced to produce high-quality yarns and fine-count yarns.

Abstract: A fiber-inline MZI device for temperature sensing or refractive index (RI) sensing, the device comprising: a section of a Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF) having at least two air holes infiltrated with a liquid analyte to form a waveguide channel, the liquid analyte forming rods in the PCF; wherein the rods leave an interference fringe pattern in the transmission spectrum when light is injected into the PCF, and fringe dips are tracked over a wide wavelength range in order to sense the temperature or refractive index.

Abstract: A switched reluctance motor includes an inner stator having a plurality of stator poles with coil windings, the inner stator having a plurality of stator phases, an outer rotor configured to rotate around the inner stator, the outer rotor having a plurality of rotor poles, at least one position sensor configured to detect a position of the outer rotor, and a DC supply configured to sequentially supply current to excite the stator phases.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for synthesizing water-soluble particles, the method includes providing a solution including a lanthanide compound, a halide compound, and a first solvent; introducing a capping agent into the solution to form a mixture; heating the mixture under pressure to produce the particles; and recovering the particles from the mixture. The present invention also relates to a water-soluble particle having a surface functional group. The particles exhibit up-conversion luminescence utilizing NIR excitation, wherein the particles are synthesized in a one-pot process.

Abstract: The present invention relates a system and method to allow users to train different joints of a limb in different planes. The rotation of the system can be driven by a motor to assist or resist the motion for training purpose. By the present invention, the user can use the device to switch training between the vertical and horizontal planes, without changing the device and any module. The system is also adjustable to meet different users' body sizes.

Abstract: A tree data structure for storing strings of searchable data divided into substrings has at least one first type node that has a substring associated with it and at least one second type node that does not having a substring associated with it. A second type node is directly linked to a first type node by a fail transition. A first type node is directly linked to a second type node by a match transition. An IP address lookup system has memory for storing a tree data structure and a controller for storing and loading an incoming IP address. The system has a finite state machine having three stages including a first stage for loading the IP address and performing a length calculation, a second stage for searching the data structure to find a match, and a third stage for determine the next-hop address index.