Abstract: An all-metal microdevice or nanodevice such as an atomic force microscope probe is manufactured from a copper-hafnium alloy thin film having an x-ray amorphous microstructure.

Abstract: The invention is directed to a method for alleviating respiratory depression in a subject as a result of disease of pharmacological agents such as opiates, opioids or barbiturates. The invention also discloses pharmaceutical compositions for use with the method, the composition containing in combination, an analgesic, anaesthetic, or a sedative and a positive allosteric AMPA receptor modulator in an amount sufficient to reduce or inhibit respiratory depression caused by the analgesic, anaesthetic, or sedative.

Abstract: A method of preparing activated carbon, is disclosed, comprising: exposing carbonaceous material to microwave radiation in the presence of water to produce activated carbon.

Abstract: Ultrasound stimulation devices and related techniques are disclosed. An ultrasound transducer for generating ultrasound energy is carried by a transducer housing that seals the transducer and may also include a positioning element for positioning the transducer proximate an application area to which generated ultrasound energy is to be applied. The transducer housing may also carry such components as a battery, a wireless receiver, and a controller. The same housing or a separate sensor housing may include an ultrasound sensor that provides feedback to the ultrasound transducer or its controller, illustratively through a wireless transmitter.

Abstract: An atomic scale electroconductivity device with electrostatic regulation is provided that includes a perturbing species having a localized electronic charge ol a dangling bond. A sensing species having an electronic conductivity is placed in proximity to the perturbing species at a distance sufficient to induce a change in the electronic conductivity associated with the localized electronic charge. Electronics are provided to measure the conductivity via the sensing species. The dangling bond functions as a single atom gate electrode.

Abstract: Decoder for low-density parity check convolutional codes. In at least some embodiments, a decoder (200) for arbitrary length blocks of low-density, parity-check codes includes a plurality of interconnected processors (202), which further include a plurality of interconnected nodes. A memory can be interconnected with the nodes to store intermediate log likelihood ratio (LLR) values based on channel LLR values. Thus, LLR values having successively improved accuracy relative to the channel LLR values can be output from each processor, and eventually used to decision information bits. In some embodiments, the memory is a random access memory (RAM) device that is adapted to store the intermediate LLR values in a circular buffer. Additionally, a storage device such as a read-only memory (ROM) device can be used to generate a predetermined plurality of addresses for reading and writing LLR values.

Abstract: Described herein are methods for producing fuels and solvents from fatty acid resources. In general, the pyrolysis products of fatty acids are extracted in order to remove residual fatty acids and produce very pure hydrocarbon compositions composed of alkanes and alkenes. The fatty acids removed from the extraction step can be further pyrolyzed to produce additional hydrocarbons or, in the alternative, the fatty acids can be isolated and used in other applications. Also disclosed herein are fuels and solvents produced by the methods described herein.

Abstract: There is an electromagnetic interference shield and methods of constructing an electromagnetic interference shield. An electromagnetic interference shield has a network of conductive nanowires dispersed in a matrix material. The conductive nanowires form a segregated network. The segregated network may be a honeycomb network In a method for constructing an electromagnetic interference shield, a composite of conductive nanowires and matrix material is produced. Pockets of matrix material are formed within the composite of nanowires and matrix material. The pockets of matrix material may be formed by precipitation of the matrix material from a solvent or through dry-mixing of the composite with a second matrix material.

Abstract: A novel microfluidic device has been developed to measure stability of thin liquid films of water in oil emulsions using electrochemical perturbation of interfaces. This new device can be utilized in rapid classification of de-emulsifiers used in petroleum industries. Although water/crude oil emulsions have been the primary focus of this research, this measurement platform can be used in other industries such as food, cosmetics and bio-engineering (bilayer lipid membranes) as well as environmental remediation of oil spills. The compact design of the device and replacement of the mechanical measurements such as pressure with electrical signal measurements contributes in substantial size reduction of the experimental platform so that it can be employed for onsite measurements in remote areas.

Abstract: Provided is an apparatus for assessing interface integrity between a medium and an implant. A first signal is translated from a motion of an impact body during impact with an abutment connected to the implant. In some embodiments, the first signal is filtered using a zero phase shift filter and then used for assessing the interface integrity. Since no phase shift is introduced, the interface integrity is accurately assessed. In another embodiment, the apparatus maintains a system model for impacting the impact body against the abutment. The apparatus analytically determines an interface property by applying a system property that has been determined to the system model. An accurate system model allows for an accurate assessment. According to another broad aspect, there is provided a method of conducting the impact test. According to the method, a person ensures that the impact body impacts against a consistent portion of the abutment.

Abstract: The invention is directed to a method for alleviating respiratory depression in a subject as a result of disease of pharmacological agents such as opiates, opioids or barbiturates. The invention also discloses pharmaceutical compositions for use with the method, the composition containing in combination, an analgesic, anaesthetic, or a sedative and a positive allosteric AMPA receptor modulator in an amount sufficient to reduce or inhibit respiratory depression caused by the analgesic, anaesthetic, or sedative.

Abstract: The present invention provides a fuel cell in which electricity is generated and a paraffin is converted to an olefin. Between the anode and cathode compartment of the fuel cell is a ceramic membrane of the formula BaCe0.85-eLfY0.05-0.25O(3-?) wherein L is a lanthanide and f is from 0 to 0.25 and ? is the oxygen deficiency in the ceramic.

Abstract: An on-chip packed reactor bed design is disclosed that allows for an effective exchange of packing materials such as beads at a miniaturized level. Also disclosed is a method of treating a sample within a microfluidic analysis system, comprising; providing a main channel having a trapping zone; providing a slurry of a reagent treated packing material; inducing a flow of said packing material into said trapping zone through a flow channel connected to said trapping zone to load said trapping zone and form a packed bed of said packing material; and flowing a sample containing analytes through said packed bed, said reagent treating the sample. The present invention extends the function of microfluidic analysis systems to new applications including on-chip solid phase extraction (SPE) and on-chip capillary electrochromatography (CEC). The design can be further extended to include integrated packed bed immuno- or enzyme reactors.

Abstract: Described herein are methods and systems for O-glycosylating proteins in vivo or in vitro in any prokaryotic organism. In these methods and systems, DNA comprising a gene that produces a PglL-like oligosaccharyltransferase and DNA comprising a gene that produces a protein to be O-glycosylated are used. The PglL-like oligosaccharyltransferase facilitates the covalent attachment of the glycan to the protein to produce the O-glycosylated protein. The methods and systems described herein provide an approach for the design and production of new vaccines and therapeutic agents for the treatment of various diseases.

Abstract: An as prepared Na-ETS-10 zeolite was modified by ion exchange with a mono-, di-, or tri-valent cation and mixtures thereof. Several of the modified ETS-10 zeolites showed improved pressure swing capacity during the selective adsorption of ethylene from an ethylene/ethane mixture, relative to Na-ETS-10, although the selectivity of adsorption decreased. Modification with Ba2+ and Ba2+/H+ provided modified ETS-10 zeolite adsorbents having a good balance of selectivity and pressure swing capacity for the separation of ethylene/ethane mixtures, making them useful adsorbents for PSA processes.

Abstract: The invention is directed to recombinant antibodies which bind to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum antigens and comprise a single chain variable fragment (scFv). The antigen may be selected from SSPG1d or a portion thereof, aspartyl protease or a portion thereof, or whole Sclerotinia sclerotiorum mycelium. The invention also provides an antibody linked to an anti-fungal polypeptide. The invention extends to nucleic acid sequences encoding the antibodies, and expression vectors comprising the nucleic acid sequences. The invention is also directed to transgenic plants, seeds, tissues or cells transformed with the expression vectors. Methods for producing a transgenic plant that is resistant to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, and for detecting Sclerotinia sclerotiorum in a biological sample utilizing an antibody which binds to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum antigen, and immunoassay kit for same are also provided.

Abstract: Anode catalysts for conversion of hydrocarbon feeds in solid oxide fuel cell membrane reactors. An anode catalyst may be a mixture of a metal with a metal oxide, for example a mixture of copper or copper-nickel alloy or copper-cobalt alloy with Cr2O3. Mixed oxides can be prepared by dissolving into water soluble salts of the different metals, chelating the metal ions with a chelating agent, neutralizing the solution, removing water by evaporation to form a gel which then is dried, and finally heating the dried gel to form a mixed oxide of the different metals. The chelating agent can be citrate ions, and ammonia can be added to the solution until the pH of the solution is about 8. The mixed oxide so formed then is reduced, for example by hydrogen, to form a composite comprising the metal (Cu, Cu—Co, Cu—Ni) and metal oxide, here Cr2O3.

Abstract: A method for forming a block copolymer pattern on a substrate, wherein the areal density of nanostructures in the pattern is increased by increasing the thickness of the block copolymer film that is applied to the substrate.

Abstract: The physiological regulation of intake, growth and energy partitioning in animals is under the control of multiple genes, which may be important candidates for unraveling the genetic variation in economically relevant traits in beef production. The present invention relates to the identification of a single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the bovine genes encoding growth hormone receptor (GHR), ghrelin, leptin, neuropeptide Y (NPY), and Uncoupling Protein 2 (UCP2) and their association with economically relevant traits in beef production. The invention further encompasses methods and systems, including network-based processes, to manage the SNP data and other data relating to specific animals and herds of animals, veterinarian care, diagnostic and quality control data and management of livestock which, based on genotyping, have predictable meat quality traits, husbandry conditions, animal welfare, food safety information, audit of existing processes and data from field locations.

Abstract: An integral ceramic membrane for a fuel cell is provided, with a non-porous layer and porous layers both formed of proton conducting material. The proton-conducting material may be a compound or mixture of compounds of the formula X1-X2-O3-? where X1=Ba, Sr or mixtures thereof and X2=Ce, Zr, Y, Nd, Yb, Sm, La, Hf, Pr or mixtures thereof. The combined atomic ratio of Y, Nd, Yb, Sm and La to Ba and Sr may in an embodiment be between 0.1 and 0.3 inclusive.