Abstract: Intelligence guided system and method for fruits and vegetables processing includes a conveyor for carrying produces, various image acquiring and processing hardware and software, water and air jets for cutting and controlling the position and orientation of the produces, and a networking hardware and software, operating in synchronism in an efficient manner to attain speed and accuracy of the produce cutting and high yield and low waste produces processing. The 2nd generation strawberry decalyxing system (AVID2) uniquely utilizes a convolutional neural network (AVIDnet) supporting a discrimination network decision, specifically, on whether a strawberry is to be cut or rejected, and computing a multi-point cutline curvature to be cut along by rapid robotic cutting tool.

Abstract: An audio control system includes at least one microphone, at least one speaker, and one or more processors. The at least one microphone is at a first position adjacent to an ear of a user and configured to detect a sound field at the first position and output a sound signal indicative of the detected sound field. The at least one speaker is at a second position spaced from the first position and configured to output sound responsive to receiving an audio signal. The one or more processors are configured to generate the audio signal based on the sound signal and a target parameter of the sound field at (i) the first position and (ii) a third position spaced from the first position; and provide the audio signal to the at least one speaker to cause the at least one speaker to output the sound responsive to receiving the audio signal.

Abstract: The present invention provides an improved percutaneous dilation tracheostomy device. The device is configured to include all of the required components to perform a percutaneous tracheotomy. The device includes a retractable needle and an extendable j-wire rather than having separate components as in typical percutaneous tracheostomy devices. The device includes a dilator section to expand the diameter of a patient's stoma. The device is further configured to allow an operator to perform a bubble test to alert the user that the tube is in the trachea. In addition, the device is generally more compact than typical emergency tracheostomy devices.

Abstract: Systems, methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for contact-free heart rate monitoring and/or measurement are provided. One method may include receiving video(s) that include visual frame(s) of individual s) performing exercises, detecting some exposed skin from the video(s), and performing motion compensation to generate color signals for the exposed skin to precisely align frames of the exposed skin. The method may also include generating the color signals by estimating a skin color for each frame by taking a spatial average over pixels of a cheek of the face(s) for R, G, and B channels, respectively, applying an operation to remove remaining motion traces from the frames such that the heart rate traces dominate, and extracting and/or outputting the heart rate of the individuals using a frequency estimator of the skin color signals.

Abstract: In a metal fiber composite (MFC) additive manufacturing (AM) method, a layer of polymer structures is deposited using a fused filament fabrication (FFF) printer assembly comprising at least one nozzle. Subsequently, an MFC printer assembly is used to embed a continuous metal fiber into one or more of the polymer structures of the layer. The embedding is achieved by heating the metal fiber and applying pressure to the metal fiber using an embedding surface of the MFC printer assembly. The heated metal fiber melts polymer adjacent thereto, thereby allowing the pressure to embed the metal fiber into the polymer structure. Using the MFC-AM method, various composite structures can be formed, such as novel heat exchangers that may otherwise be difficult or impossible to fabricate via other manufacturing techniques.

Abstract: Compact light-weight on-board three-port power electronic system built in various configurations of triple-active-bridge-derived topologies, including modular implementations, with control strategies capable of bi-directional power transfer among the three ports of the power electronic system, including simultaneous charging of a high voltage (HV) battery and a low voltage (LV) battery from a single phase power grid or a three-phase power grid with minimized reactive power and active circulating current, with ensured soft-switching for MOSFET devices, and with enhanced synchronous rectification and reduced power losses.

Abstract: HCMV US11 based therapeutics that can be used to target and reduce the activity of the FcRn protein are provided. Methods of treating auto-immune mediated and albumin-mediated diseases in a subject are provided that comprise administration of HCMV US11 protein, polypeptide fragments, or variants thereof, as well as methods for preventing, or treating, infections of HCMV through administration of a US11 inhibitor. US11 protein containing vaccine compositions are also provided for stimulation of an anti-US11 immune response for protection against HCMV infection.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to devices and systems for separating motile pathogenic bacterial cells from samples. The disclosure also provides for methods of determining whether a sample is contaminated by pathogenic bacteria. The devices and systems disclosed herein are useful for screening water sources, environmental testing sites, food sources, and bodily fluids for the presence, absence, or quantity of bacterial cells in a sample representative of the screened sources.

Abstract: Provided are polyphosphazenes and methods of making and using the polyphosphazenes. The polyphosphazenes can be essentially chloride free. The polyphosphazenes can be phosphazene polyacids. The polyphosphazenes can be used as surface coatings, or as adjuvants when combined with antigens.

Abstract: The disclosure describes various aspects of a cryogenic trapped-ion system. In an aspect, a method is described that includes bringing a chain of ions in a trap at a cryogenic temperature, the trap being a micro-fabricated trap, and performing quantum computations, simulations, or both using the chain of ions in the trap at the cryogenic temperature. In another aspect, a method is described that includes establishing a zig-zag ion chain in the cryogenic trapped-ion system, detecting a change in a configuration of the zig-zag ion chain, and determining a measurement of the pressure based on the detection in the change in configuration. In another aspect, a method is described that includes measuring a low frequency vibration, generating a control signal based on the measurement to adjust one or more optical components, and controlling the one or more optical components using the control signal.

Abstract: A method for synthesizing a water purification membrane is presented. The method includes stacking a plurality of graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets to create the water purification membrane, the stacking involving layer-by-layer assembly of the plurality of GO nanosheets and forming a plurality of nanochannels between the plurality of GO nanosheets for allowing the flow of a fluid and for rejecting the flow of contaminants. The method further includes cross-linking the plurality of GO nanosheets by 1,3,5-benzenetricarbonyl trichloride on a polydopamine coated polysulfone support.

Abstract: Solid-state lithium ion electrolytes of lithium aluminum chloride derivative compounds having a crystal morphology in the Pnma space group are provided as materials for conducting lithium ions. An activation energy of the lithium aluminum chloride derivative compounds is from 0.2 to 0.45 eV and conductivities are from 0.01 to 10 mS/cm at 300K. Compounds of specific formulae are provided and methods to alter the materials with inclusion of aliovalent ions shown. Lithium batteries containing the composite lithium ion electrolytes and electrodes containing the lithium aluminum chloride derivative compounds are also provided.

Abstract: The present invention provides for a one-pot enzymatic approach which does not require removal of the enzyme and purification of the intermediate after deglycosylation step, and the Endo-S treatment is able to do both deglycosylation and transglycosylation. The one-pot strategy of the present invention enables chemoenzymatic synthesis of an azido-tagged N-glycoform of monocloncal antibodies which could be further modified through orthogonal chemical ligation for various applications.

Abstract: A flexible structure is formed by subjecting cellulose-based natural wood material to a chemical treatment that partially removes hemicellulose and lignin therefrom. The treated wood has a unique 3-D porous structure with numerous channels, excellent biodegradability and biocompatibility, and improved flexibility as compared to the natural wood. By further modifying the treated wood, the structure can be adapted to particular applications. For example, nanoparticles, nanowires, carbon nanotubes, or any other coating or material can be added to the treated wood to form a hybrid structure. In some embodiments, open lumina within the structure can be at least partially filled with a non-wood substance, such as a flexible polymer, or with entangled cellulose nanofibers.

Abstract: An apparatus for estimating blood pressure includes: a ballistocardiogram (BCG) sensor configured to measure a limb BCG signal from a user; and a processor configured to obtain blood pressure-related features from the measured limb BCG signal, according to sensing characteristics of the BCG sensor, and estimate a blood pressure of the user based on the obtained blood pressure-related features.

Abstract: Provided are methods for preparing iron nanoparticles and to iron nanoparticles produced by those methods. The invention also provides methods for coating the iron nanoparticles with oxides and functionalizing the iron nanoparticles with organic and polymeric ligands. Additionally, the invention provides methods of using such iron nanoparticles.

Abstract: The present invention is related to a mesoscale colloidal particle including a hydrophobe-rich core surrounded by hydrogen bonded outer shell. The outer shell includes water and at least one hydrotrope wherein the hydrotrope molecules form hydrogen bonds with water molecules. The invention is also related to an aqueous solution including at least one mesoscale colloidal particle as well as methods of making and using such mesoscale colloidal particles and their solutions.

Abstract: A Brillouin modality can be supplemented by an auxiliary modality, such as an optical imaging modality or a spectroscopy modality. In some embodiments, the auxiliary modality can be used to guide the Brillouin measurement to a desired region of interest, so that acquisition times for the Brillouin measurement can be reduced as compared to interrogating the entire sample. The auxiliary modality may have an acquisition speed faster than that of the Brillouin modality. In some embodiment, the auxiliary modality determines a composition of materials within a voxel in the sample interrogated by the Brillouin modality. Using the information provided by the auxiliary modality, the Brillouin signatures corresponding to the materials within the voxel can be unmixed, thereby providing a more accurate measurement of the sample.

Abstract: In some embodiments, systems, methods, and media for automatically identifying entrepreneurial individuals in a population using individual and population level data are provided. In some embodiments, a system is provided, comprising: a database storing: grades and identifying information for classes; a hardware processor configured to: calculate, for each class, a difficulty value based on the grade for each individual; modify grades associated with the individual based on the difficulties; determine a variance using the modified grades; determine an average variance; determine that the variance for a first individual is larger average; determine that the first individual is more likely than average to be entrepreneurial; in response to determining that the first individual is more likely than average to be entrepreneurial, add identifying information of the first student to a second database of potential entrepreneurs.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for concentrating a biological sample containing nucleic acids by using magnetic chitosan microparticles and subsequently performing a PCR reaction on the nucleic acids captured on the microparticles. The chitosan microparticles added to the biological sample at a PCR compatible pH are mechanically agitated to provide for cell lysis and simultaneous DNA capture, and then serve as a solid support for the nucleic acid template during the PCR reaction. As the chitosan microparticles are utilized for lysis and the nucleic acids do not need to be removed from the microparticles before PCR, the ease of the sample preparation procedure is dramatically improved.