Abstract: A compound includes a polysaccharide moiety and one or more chelating agents. The one or more chelating agents are covalently bonded to the polysaccharide moiety. The polysaccharide moiety can include a glycosaminoglycan moiety, such as a hyaluronic acid polymer or a sulfated glycosaminoglycan moiety. The compound can be used to treat or prevent a disease or disorder in a patient with a metal implant. The compound reduces a concentration of metal particulates or metal ions in the subject.

Abstract: Described herein is an object recognition system in low illumination conditions. A 3D InIm system can be trained in the low illumination levels to classify 3D objects obtained under low illumination conditions. Regions of interest obtained from 3D reconstructed images are obtained by de-noising the 3D reconstructed image using total-variation regularization using an augmented Lagrange approach followed by face detection. The regions of interest are then inputted into a trained CNN. The CNN can be trained using 3D InIm reconstructed under low illumination after TV-denoising. The elemental images were obtained under various low illumination conditions having different SNRs. The CNN can effectively recognize the 3D reconstructed faces after TV-denoising.

Abstract: Hybrid organic/inorganic coating compositions of nanometer thickness are described, where the organic layer is a clay-containing layer comprising a clay and a hydrophilic polymer and the inorganic layer is a metal-containing layer comprising a metal with a refractive index greater than 1.5, where the coating compositions allow for the generation and tenability of iridescent color through control of the coat thickness.

Abstract: A core-shell microneedle system and a method of manufacturing the microneedle system provides a pulsatile drug delivery system which is programmed to release drugs/vaccines at predictable times using biodegradable polymers and with controllable dosages. This microneedle system can be fully embedded into the skin and then release drugs/vaccines as sharp bursts in a timely manner, similar to multiple bolus injections.

Abstract: Porous, electrically conductive ceramic foams incorporating continuous self-assembled graphene networks are described. The disclosed approach uses interfacial trapping to spontaneously exfoliate and assemble pristine graphite, not graphite oxide, in a ceramic sol-gel. The composite foams display electrical conductivity and joule heating, with anticipated applications as, for example, catalyst supports, thermoelectrics, and porous electrodes.

Abstract: Methods and systems for damage assessment and restoration. One system includes an electronic processor configured to receive weather data for an area of interest. The electronic processor is also configured to determine a first damage prediction for the area of interest using a damage prediction model developed with machine learning using training data, the training data including historical weather data for the area of interest and associated damage. The electronic processor is also configured to determine a restoration time estimate based on the first damage prediction for the area of interest based on different resource allocations. The electronic processor is also configured to transmit a damage assessment report for display on a user device, where the damage assessment report includes the restoration time estimate.

Abstract: The present disclosure includes systems and methods for capture a whole slide image of a sample. In exemplary embodiments, a camera is configured to capture a digital image of a sample. The system captures a bright field image of the sample, and captures a digital image of the sample illuminated from a first incident angle at a first wavelength and a second incident angle at a second wavelength. The system can determine whether the sample is defocused based on the transitional shift between a first wavelength channel and a second wavelength channel of the captured digital image. The system can determine the defocus distance based on the transitional shift and autofocus using the defocus distance such the bright field image is in focus.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides advantageous graphene/graphite stabilized composites (e.g., graphene/graphite stabilized emulsion-templated foam composites), and improved methods for fabricating such graphene/graphite stabilized composites. More particularly, the present disclosure provides improved methods for fabricating pristine, graphene/graphite/polymer composite foams derived from emulsions stabilized by graphene/graphite kinetic trapping. In exemplary embodiments, the present disclosure provides that, instead of viewing the insolubility of pristine graphene/graphite as an obstacle to be overcome, it is utilized as a means to create or fabricate water/oil emulsions, with graphene/graphite stabilizing the spheres formed. These emulsions are then the frameworks used to make foam composites that have shown bulk conductivities up to about 2 S/m, as well as compressive moduli up to about 100 MPa and breaking strengths of over 1200 psi, with densities as low as about 0.25 g/cm3.

Abstract: Systems/methods for continuous operation of fixed bed reactors using gaseous fuels for the purpose of power generation through integration with a combined cycle power plant are provided. The fixed bed reactors are assumed to operate in a semi-batch mode composed of reactor modules that are integrated into module trains that comprise the chemical-looping combustion island of the power plant. The scheduling of each reactor train is cast as an optimization problem that maximizes thermodynamic efficiency subject to constraints imposed to each reactor and the entire island. When the chemical-looping reactors are arranged cyclically, each feeding to or being fed from another reactor, in an operating scheme that mimics simulated moving bed reactors, the thermodynamic efficiency of the reactor island can be improved. Allowing the reversal of module order in the cyclically arranged reactor modules further improves the overall thermodynamic efficiency (to 84.

Abstract: Systems and methods of testing the health of vehicular power devices are disclosed herein. A method may include producing operating points as a function of cycling current (Ids) and voltage drain to source (Vds) when a subject device is conducting current. The method may further include determining a mean of moving distribution to adapt a center of the moving distribution contrasted with a plurality of known healthy devices. The method may also include indicating an imminent fault in the subject device based upon a discontinuity among operating points above a threshold.

Abstract: Portable common path shearing interferometry-based holographic microscopy systems. The system includes a light source, a sample holder, a microscope objective lens, a shear plate and an imaging device positioned in a common path shearing interferometry configuration. A housing is configured to receive and hold the shear plate and maintain a position of the shear plate relative to the microscope objective lens.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus related to autonomous vehicles (AVs) are provided. A mapping can be determined that tiles an environment having an AV using a plurality of cells; each cell having an environmental status. While the AV is in the environment: status data can be received relating to a location of the AV and obstacles at that location; environmental status for a cell can be updated based on the status data; a value for each cell can be determined based on the cell's environmental status; a waypoint of a coverage path that covers a region in the environment and is based on the AV's location can be determined; a determination whether the waypoint is reachable from the AV's location can be made; after determining that the waypoint is reachable, a command based on the mapping can be sent directing the AV toward the waypoint; and the waypoint can be updated.

Abstract: A thermal barrier coating for an internal combustion engine includes an insulating thermal spray coating, where a chosen material of the insulating thermal spray coating has a thermal conductivity lower than 2 W/mK in fully dense form and the chosen material includes a coefficient of thermal expansion within 5 ppm/K of a coefficient of thermal expansion of a material of a component of the internal combustion engine upon which the coating is placed.

Abstract: Described are devices, systems and techniques for implementing atomic memory objects in a multi-writer, multi-reader setting. In an embodiment, the devices, systems and techniques use maximum distance separable (MDS) codes, and may be specifically designed to optimize a total storage cost for a given fault-tolerance requirement. Also described is an embodiment to handle the case where some of the servers can return erroneous coded elements during a read operation.

Abstract: Improved sensor assemblies are provided. More particularly, the present disclosure provides improved and highly advantageous metal oxide based sensor assemblies configured to sense low concentration of specific gases, and related methods of use. The present disclosure provides improved physical forms of metal oxide films (e.g., WOx films, CeOx films). The exemplary metal oxide films can be fabricated by a Reactive Spray Deposition Technology (RSDT). The highly advantageous films/materials can be utilized in sensor assemblies to detect simple chemical components of the breath that correlate with human health conditions (e.g., the presence of acetone in diabetic patients). These films/materials demonstrate improved thermal stability under the sensor's operating conditions, as well as improved sensitivity to low concentration of the analyte, selectivity and quick responsiveness.

Abstract: To predict a failure condition in a power module of a vehicle, it is determined whether a discontinuity in statistical data characterizing physical measurements of the power module meets a threshold criterion. Responsive to the discontinuity meeting the threshold criterion, a data offset in the physical measurements is computed at the discontinuity. A shift correction is applied to the physical measurements in accordance with the computed data offset responsive to a determination that the discontinuity is attributable to a restart of the power module. Other statistical data characterizing the shift-corrected physical measurements are computed and the statistical data and the other statistical data are provided to a machine learning processor that predicts the failure condition in the power module.

Abstract: Systems and methods for detecting an anomaly in a power semiconductor device are disclosed. A system includes a server computing device and one or more local components communicatively coupled to the server computing device. Each local component includes sensors positioned adjacent to the power semiconductor device for sensing properties thereof. Each local component receives data corresponding to one or more sensed properties of the power semiconductor device from the sensors and transmits the data to the server computing device. The server computing device utilizes the data, via a machine learning algorithm, to generate a set of eigenvalues and associated eigenvectors and select a selected set of eigenvalues and associated eigenvectors. Each local component conducts a statistical analysis of the selected set of eigenvalues and associated eigenvectors to determine that the data is indicative of the anomaly.

Abstract: A system and method for outage prediction for electrical distribution utilities using high-resolution weather forecasts, geographic data (e.g., land use and vegetation around overhead-lines) and utility infrastructure data (e.g., transformer fuses, etc.) to predict distributed outage occurrences (e.g., number of outages over a 2-km gridded map) in advance of a storm.

Abstract: Systems and methods for detecting an anomaly in a power semiconductor device are disclosed. A system includes a server computing device and one or more local components communicatively coupled to the server computing device. Each local component includes sensors positioned adjacent to the power semiconductor device for sensing properties thereof. Each local component receives data corresponding to one or more sensed properties of the power semiconductor device from the sensors and transmits the data to the server computing device. The server computing device utilizes the data, via a machine learning algorithm, to generate a set of eigenvalues and associated eigenvectors and select a selected set of eigenvalues and associated eigenvectors. Each local component conducts a statistical analysis of the selected set of eigenvalues and associated eigenvectors to determine that the data is indicative of the anomaly.

Abstract: The invention provides amphiphilic liquid crystalline brush block copolymers that can readily self-assemble to nanoparticles in aqueous solutions and also allow for encapsulation of hydrophobic pharmaceutically active molecules.