Abstract: An acoustic technique designed to increase the gas-dissolution rate of a bubble in a liquid media is proposed. Increased gas-dissolution rate is achieved by increasing the bubble's surface-to-volume ratio via bubble fragmentation. This is achieved by attaching an electroacoustic transducer to the system or load in which bubbles travel and exciting the transducer at the frequency of resonance. The electric resonance of the transducer attached to the system corresponds in frequency to the mechanical resonance of the system or load which allows for achieving such state without the use of an internally placed hydrophone to certify the resonance state. The acoustic bubble fragmentation technique increased the dissolution rate 4 to 5 times of bubbles with initial diameters between 150 and 550 ?m in distilled water and in medical grade saline solution.

Abstract: An acoustic technique designed to increase the gas-dissolution rate of a bubble in a liquid media is proposed. Increased gas-dissolution rate is achieved by increasing the bubble's surface-to-volume ratio via bubble fragmentation. This is achieved by attaching an electroacoustic transducer to the system or load in which bubbles travel and exciting the transducer at the frequency of resonance. The electric resonance of the transducer attached to the system corresponds in frequency to the mechanical resonance of the system or load which allows for achieving such state without the use of an internally placed hydrophone to certify the resonance state. The acoustic bubble fragmentation technique increased the dissolution rate 4 to 5 times of bubbles with initial diameters between 150 and 550 ?m in distilled water and in medical grade saline solution.

Abstract: A mechanical adaptation to a vehicle power window controls is provided that require less hand/finger coordination and less force to actuate, therefore becoming useful for persons with limited control of their hands (e.g., arthritis, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, and spinal cord injury, among others). A power window control includes four levers, one on each control switch. Two of the levers are long and the other two are shorter. The long levers are provided on the two switches further away from the user (which control the front and rear left side windows). The short levers are attached to the two switches closer to the user (which control the front and rear right side windows).

Abstract: A simple and flexible drape arrangement is by provided including a cover and associated actuation mechanism to selectively cover and uncover a fenestration, the cover is coupled to a medical drape and the fenestration cover is under tension due to elastic filaments and operated via a tether that can be operated by mechanical or manual actuation, where neither of these methods, are dependent on the distance proximity of a medical practitioner's hands. The drape arrangement can also be attached to an existing fenestrated drape that can be easily carried in a sterile package in a field backpack. The drape arrangement conforms to a patient's body to permit the medical practitioner normal access to the body area.

Abstract: A mechanical adaptation to a vehicle power window controls is provided that require less hand/finger coordination and less force to actuate, therefore becoming useful for persons with limited control of their hands (e.g., arthritis, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, and spinal cord injury, among others). A power window control includes four levers, one on each control switch. Two of the levers are long and the other two are shorter. The long levers are provided on the two switches further away from the user (which control the front and rear left side windows). The short levers are attached to the two switches closer to the user (which control the front and rear right side windows).

Abstract: A gas sensor and a method of fabrication wherein the sensor includes a polymer fiber substrate and a metal oxide nanoshell. The nanoshell is deposited on the substrate using magnetron sputtering deposition. The sensor can be designed to detect specific gases, such as NO2 or NH3, by using different metal oxides such as tin oxide or zinc oxide. The polymer fiber substrate can be a cellulose acetate substrate prepared by electrospinning. The method for making the sensor involves electrospinning polymeric fibers, depositing a metal oxide on the fibers to produce a nanoshell, and heating the fibers and oxide in air to remove the fibers. The gas sensor uses the nanoshell for the transduction process.

Abstract: A mechanical adaptation to a vehicle power window controls is provided that require less hand/finger coordination and less force to actuate, therefore becoming useful for persons with limited control of their hands (e.g., arthritis, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, and spinal cord injury, among others). A power window control includes four levers, one on each control switch. Two of the levers are long and the other two are shorter. The long levers are provided on the two switches further away from the user (which control the front and rear left side windows). The short levers are attached to the two switches closer to the user (which control the front and rear right side windows).

Abstract: A device that uses a UV sensing element capable of converting photons from a high temperature thermal source, to an electrical current. Such current is then compared with the theoretical current to be obtained from a source with the dimensions of the actual source. The theoretical current is obtained by integrating.

Abstract: A series of pharmaceutical metal complexes (pMCs) were produced and characterized using the mast cell stabilizer, cromolyn, and bioactive metal ions (Zn+2, Mg+2, and Ca+2). Three novel pMCs, Cromolyn-Zn, Cromolyn-Mg, and Cromolyn-Ca were formed through reactions under controlled temperature and pH conditions. TGA demonstrated that these metal complexes showed an enhanced thermal stability due to the strong coordination with the ligand, cromolyn. PXRD data indicates a high degree of crystallinity as well as a unique packing arrangement for each pMCs. SEM analysis showed materials with well-defined morphologies while EDS presented elemental evidence for the unique composition of each pMCs. The crystal structure for these materials was elucidated through SCXRD, and a variety of binding modes and packing motifs were found within each respective metal complex. Only 2D structures were achieved under the conditions studied.

Abstract: The invention proposes the photosensitized generation of nitric oxide (NO) from alanosine (3-(hydroxynitrosoamino)-D,L-alanine) by aluminum phthalocyanine tetrasulfonate (AlPcS4). While NO is obtained in nitrogen-saturated solutions, the invention proposes that both NO and peroxynitrite are produced in air-saturated solutions. Enhancement of NO production occurs in the presence of ubiquinone-0. The invention evidence that NO is produced by the photosensitized oxidation of alanosine. Both NO and peroxynitrite are detected during photoirradiation of AlPcS4 in the presence of 2-methyl-2-nitrosopropane (MNP) and hypoxanthine, but not in the absence of hypoxanthine, in air-saturated solutions, where HX is acting as sacrificial electron donor, thus promoting superoxide formation.

Abstract: The invention provides extended bisphosphonate-based metal complexes using benzene1,4-bis(bisphosphonic acid) (BBPA), an analog of benzene 1,4-dicarboxylic acid (BDC). Hydrothermal synthesis of BBPA with the bioactive metals Ca2+, Zn2+, and Mg2+ leads to four crystals phases, namely, BBPA-Ca forms I and II, BBPA-Zn form I, and BBPA-Mg form I. Out of the three structures, BBPA-Ca form II presents large channels (8 ?×12 ?), potentiating the use of this framework to load drugs. Cytotoxicity effects of BBPA was elucidated in a human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 and a normal osteoblast hFOB 1.19 cell lines. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) for BBPA used to treat both cell lines were >200 ?M at 24, 48, and 72 h of treatment. The BBPA in the range of concentration employed (0-200 ?M) was not cytotoxic against these cell lines.

Abstract: A simple optical layout for a grazing angle probe mount that allows coupling to a mid-infrared (MIR), laser-based spectrometer is provided. The assembly enables doing reflectance measurements at high incident angles. In the case of optically thin films and deposits on MIR reflective substrates, a double pass effect, accompanied by absorption by the chemicals or biological samples deposited in an Infrared Reflection-Absorption Infrared Spectroscopy (IRRAS) modality is achieved. The optical system includes a probe that allows the passage of MIR light through the same sampling area twice. Initially, the infrared beam produces a spot on the surface, and then the light is returned in back reflection to the sample surface producing a new little slightly larger spot onto the selfsame position.

Abstract: An access control apparatus having a protective covering configure to cover at least one of a subject or an object inside said protective covering is provided, where an opening is configured to provide access to the at least one of a subject or an object and a covering element configured to selectively cover said opening. A receiving element is provided on the protective covering and an activating device with an activating element is provided external to the protective covering.

Abstract: Effective monitoring of the acid/base physiology of dental plaque is considered in caries risk assessment. The invention provides a methodology for caries risk assessment and a kit of biochemical tests for acid/alkali generation in dental plaque and in saliva as a screening instrument for identifying subjects with caries. The invention provides simple chair-side tests that measure the ability of dental plaque and/or saliva to metabolize sugars concomitantly with the ability to metabolize urea and other salivary nitrogenous substrates.

Abstract: The enzyme telomerase is present at about 85% of human cancers that makes it not only an excellent target for cancer treatment but also an excellent marker for cancer detection. Using a single stranded DNA probe specific for telomerase binding and reverse transcription tethered to an interdigital gold electrode array surface, the chromosome protection provided by the telomerase was replicated and followed by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy as an unlabeled biosensor. Using a custom system, which is simple and affordable, the impedance measurements were taken while incubating at 37° C. and promoting the probe elongation. This resulted in up to 14-fold increase in the charge transfer resistance when testing a telomerase-positive nuclear extract from Jurkat cells compared to the heat-inactivated telomerase-negative nuclear extract.

Abstract: Plakortinic acids A (2) and B (3), two polyketide endoperoxides having an unprecedented bicyclo[4.2.0]octene unit, were isolated as minor constituents from the sponge-sponge symbiotic association Plakortis halichondrioides-Xestospongia deweerdtae from Puerto Rico, along with the known epiplakinic acid F (1). The molecular structures of 2 and 3 were determined mainly on the basis of NMR spectroscopy. Due to the structural similarities, 2 and 3 are thought to be biosynthetically related to 1. Biological screening for cytotoxic activity against two human tumor cell lines revealed that these novel metabolites are very active at low to sub-micro molar concentration.

Abstract: The invention provides an equipment and a system that addresses the key concerns of eating/drinking in public while minimizing the chance of contamination of the eater and the public in general. The equipment can be a face mask, a face shield or a helmet that completely encloses at least the mouth and the nose of a person while providing intermittent access to the mouth without removal of the equipment. A mouth opening is provided on the equipment which is selectively blocked or unblocked by a covering element moved by a moving mechanism that moves the cover element to block or unblock the mouth opening. The mouth opening is selectively blocked or unblocked based on the distance between an activating element provided on a utensil or a wearable device and a receiving element provided on the equipment.

Abstract: Compounds are disclosed that inhibit RhoGTPases that are useful for inhibiting hyperprofilerative and neoplastic diseases. Specifically, the compounds inhibit the GTPases Rac and Cdc42 that are overactive or overexpressed in signaling pathways in cancer and metastasis. Methods for treatment of cancer and hyperproliferative diseases are disclosed.

Abstract: Compounds are disclosed that inhibit RhoGTPases that are useful for inhibiting hyperprofilerative and neoplastic diseases. Specifically, the compounds inhibit the GTPases Rac and Cdc42 that are overactive or overexpressed in signaling pathways in cancer and metastasis. Methods for treatment of cancer and hyperproliferative diseases are disclosed.

Abstract: The invention provides an efficient equipment that can be easily implemented to dry materials in a continuous manufacturing line of pharmaceutical products without the need of external air or HEPA exhaust filter cartridges. A continuous granulo-dryer for the manufacturing of pharmaceutical products via wet granulation includes a recirculation system that allows to continuously recirculate the air used to dry the materials back into the granulo-dryer. Control systems and sensors are provided to promote a high percentage (up to 98%) of product monitored, an efficient heat and mass transfer between the air and the product avoiding the segregation of the materials and preserving the homogeneity of the Active Principal Ingredient (API).