Abstract: Articulating protective systems for resisting mechanical loads and related methods are generally described. The protective structures described herein can incorporate one or more features that enhance the ability of the structure to resist an applied force while remaining sufficiently flexible to allow for movement of the object or person the structure is designed to protect.

Abstract: A micropayment system and method is presented for a payor U to establish payment to payee M for a transaction T, which typically has a very low value TV. The micropayment scheme minimizes the bank's processing costs, while at the same time eliminating the need for users and merchants to interact in order to determine whether a given micropayment should be selected for payment. In one embodiment, the micropayment scheme includes time constraints, which require that an electronic check C for the transaction T be presented to a bank B for payment within a predetermined time/date interval. In another embodiment, the micropayment scheme includes a selective deposit protocol, which guarantees that a user is never charged in excess of what he actually spends, even within a probabilistic framework. In another embodiment, the micropayment scheme includes a deferred selection protocol, which provides the bank with control and flexibility over the payment selection process.

Abstract: Provided in one embodiment is a method of making an aerogel, comprising: (A) subjecting a suspension or a solution comprising a concentration of at least one chemical reactant to at least one of a hydrothermal and a solvothermal process for at least a reaction time to form an in-situ hydrogel, wherein the hydrogel comprises particulates having an asymmetric geometry, and (B) removing a liquid from the hydrogel to form an aerogel.

Abstract: An active compression garment includes at least one passive member to at least partially surround a body part of interest and at least one active actuator member including a shape memory alloy (SMA) that is coupled to the at least one passive member. The at least one active actuator member may be configured to apply compression to, or remove compression from, the body part of interest based on the presence or absence of an applied stimulus.

Abstract: Systems and methods for the formation of carbon-based nanostructures are generally described. In some embodiments, the nanostructures may be formed on a nanopositor. The nanopositor can comprise, in some embodiments, at least one of metal atoms in a non-zero oxidation state and metalloid atoms in a non-zero oxidation state. For example, the nanopositor may comprise a metal oxide, a metalloid oxide, a metal chalcogenide, a metalloid chalcogenide, and the like. The carbon-based nanostructures may be grown by exposing the nanopositor, in the presence or absence of a growth substrate, to a set of conditions selected to cause formation of carbon-based nanostructures on the nanopositor. In some embodiments, metal or metalloid atoms in a non-zero oxidation state are not reduced to a zero oxidation state during the formation of the carbon-based nanostructures. In some cases, metal or metalloid atoms in a non-zero oxidation state do not form a carbide during the formation of the carbon-based nanostructures.

Abstract: A metallic-dielectric photonic crystal is formed with a periodic structure defining a plurality of resonant cavities to selectively absorb incident radiation. A metal layer is deposited on the inner surfaces of the resonant cavities and a dielectric material fills inside the resonant cavities. This photonic crystal can be used to selectively absorb broadband solar radiation and then reemit absorbed radiation in a wavelength band that matches the absorption band of a photovoltaic cell. The photonic crystal can be fabricated by patterning a sacrificial layer with a plurality of holes, into which is deposited a supporting material. Removing the rest of the sacrificial layer creates a supporting structure, on which a layer of metal is deposited to define resonant cavities. A dielectric material then fills the cavities to form the photonic crystal.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides, in various aspects, engineered alcohol tolerant yeast and methods of producing high concentrations of ethanol.

Abstract: An active compression garment includes at least one active textile member formed from a shape memory alloy (SMA) material to provide controllable compression to a body part of interest. The active compression garment may also include at least one contact for applying an electrical stimulus signal to the active textile member to cause the SMA material to return to a trained shape.

Abstract: In exemplary implementations, a target rod is actuated. The target rod is part of a set of threaded, elongated rods, the longitudinal axes of which are substantially parallel to each other. The set of rods has an interior region and a perimeter region. Actuators induce vibrations in a set of perimeter rods. These vibrations are substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axes. Furthermore, the vibrations are transmitted to interior rods, causing a target rod in the interior region to rotate about, and translate along, the longitudinal axis of the target rod. The target rod undergoes stick-slip motion relative to adjacent rods.

Abstract: The attenuation and other optical properties of a medium are exploited to measure a thickness of the medium between a sensor and a target surface. Disclosed herein are various mediums, arrangements of hardware, and processing techniques that can be used to capture these thickness measurements and obtain three-dimensional images of the target surface in a variety of imaging contexts. This includes general techniques for imaging interior/concave surfaces as well as exterior/convex surfaces, as well as specific adaptations of these techniques to imaging ear canals, human dentition, and so forth.

Abstract: The present invention provides compositions, devices and methods related to the alignment of materials including polymers. In some cases, the present invention comprises the assembly of molecules (e.g., polymers) via intermolecular interactions to produce extended networks, which may have enhanced properties relative to the individual molecules. Such networks may be advantageous for use in electronics, photovoltaics, sensor applications, and the like. In some embodiments, the present invention may enhance the performance of certain optical devices, such as liquid crystal displays (e.g., color liquid crystal displays) by providing enhanced contrast ratio, faster response times, and/or lower operating voltage.

Abstract: A cyclotron for ion acceleration is magnetically shielded during ion acceleration by passing electrical current in the same direction through both the first and second superconducting primary coils. A first magnetic-field-shielding coil is on the same side of the mid plane as the first superconducting primary coil, while a second magnetic-field-shielding coil is on the same side of the midplane as the second superconducting primary coil and beyond the outer radius of the second superconducting primary coil. Electrical current is also passed through the magnetic-field-shielding coils in a direction opposite to the direction in which electrical current is passed through the superconducting primary coils and generates a canceling magnetic field that reduces the magnetic field generated at radii from the central axis beyond the magnetic-field-shielding coils.

Abstract: A substantially dispersion-free optical filter cavity includes a first multilayer mirror and a second multilayer mirror, wherein each mirror includes layers of a less-refractive material and layers of a more-refractive material, the more-refractive material having a higher index of refraction than the less-refractive material. The mirrors are separated by a spacing, and the thickness of a plurality of the layers in the second multilayer mirror differ from corresponding layers in the first multilayer mirror to provide the cavity with complementary group-delay dispersion across the cavity with a phase difference within, e.g., ±0.015 rad across a range of wavelengths spanning at least, e.g., 50 nm.

Abstract: The present invention is drawn to the generation of micropatterns of biomolecules and cells on standard laboratory materials through selective ablation of a physisorbed biomolecule with oxygen plasma. In certain embodiments, oxygen plasma is able to ablate selectively physisorbed layers of biomolecules (e.g., type-I collagen, fibronectin, laminin, and Matrigel) along complex non-linear paths which are difficult or impossible to pattern using alternative methods. In addition, certain embodiments of the present invention relate to the micropatterning of multiple cell types on curved surfaces, multiwell plates, and flat bottom flasks. The invention also features kits for use with the subject methods.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides, among other things, prosthetic joint components having textured surface(s) for improving lubrication and increasing the useful life of the prosthetic joint components. The textured surface includes solid features configured to stably contain a biological fluid or a synthetic biological fluid therebetween or therewithin for a non-zero residence time.

Abstract: Various aspects and embodiments of the invention are directed to methods and compositions for reversing antibiotic resistance or virulence in and/or destroying pathogenic microbial cells such as, for example, pathogenic bacterial cells. The methods include exposing microbial cells to a delivery vehicle with at least one nucleic acid encoding an engineered autonomously distributed circuit that contains a programmable nuclease targeted to one or multiple genes of interest.

Abstract: Various aspects and embodiments of the invention are directed to high-throughput phage-engineering methods and recombinant bacteriophages with tunable host ranges for controlling phage specificity.

Abstract: A method for synthesizing long DNA constructs from oligonucleotide precursors directly within a microfluidic device uses several oligonucleotides at once. A precursor mix containing at least two oligonucleotide precursors with at least partial base complementarity is introduced into an input of a microfluidic chip and at least one cycle of at least one gene synthesis protocol is applied to fabricate a DNA construct containing the sequence of at least two oligonucleotide precursors. A method for the synthesis of a modified DNA construct includes electroporating at least one oligonucleotide encoding for at least one point mutation and having homology with at least one DNA region of a target cell into the target cell and incorporating the oligonucleotide into the target cell DNA through the action of recombination protein beta or a recombination protein beta functional homolog.

Abstract: According to some aspects, a method of designing an object based on a three-dimensional model representing a shape of the object is provided. The object may be fabricated from a plurality of materials having one or more known physical properties, wherein the object is designed to exhibit one or more target properties. The method may comprise determining a first composition of the object by providing the three-dimensional model as input to a reducer tree, determining one or more physical properties of the object with the first composition by simulating the object with the first composition, comparing the determined one or more physical properties with the one or more target properties, and determining a second composition of the object based on a result of comparing the determined one or more physical properties with the one or more target properties.

Abstract: Method and apparatus are provided for computing signals related to cardiac output from physiologic input signals related to circulatory pressures or flows. Method and apparatus are provided for constructing a transforming filter and applying said filter to the physiologic input signals in order to obtain a signal proportional to phasic cardiac output or time-averaged cardiac output. This invention provides a means for real-time monitoring of cardiac output and stroke volume which is of great clinical importance but not otherwise feasible by present techniques.