Abstract: Provided herein are methods and compositions for the targeted delivery to myometrial tissue of one or more agents capable of regulating contractility of myometrial tissue, wherein the one or more agents are contained or encapsulated within a polymeric delivery vehicle conjugated with one or more molecules that recognizes and/or is capable of binding, directly or indirectly, to the oxytocin receptor.

Abstract: The present invention provides for a method of engineering a plant having an increased content of a target compound in the plant's seed, the method comprising introducing into the plant a first nucleic acid construct that encodes a seed-specific promoter operatively linked to a transcription factor wherein expression of the transcription factor increases the production of the target compound. A genetically modified plant cell engineered by the method.

Abstract: Methods are provided of generating functional human oocytes following nuclear transfer of first polar body (PB1) genomes from metaphase II (MII) oocytes into enucleated donor MII cytoplasm (PBNT) and using mitochondrial replacement techniques to circumvent mother-to-child mtDNA disease transmission.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to pirfenidone (5-methyl-1-phenyl-2-(1H)-pyridone) and its derivatives and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, use of these compounds as a medicament, and for the manufacture of a medicament for treating or delaying the onset or development of pulmonary hypertension.

Abstract: The present invention relates to broadly neutralizing anti-HIV-1 antibodies and isolated antigens. Also disclosed are related methods and compositions.

Abstract: Systems and apparatuses for a secure mobile cloud framework (referred to as MobiCloud) for mobile computing and communication are disclosed. Embodiments of MobiCloud transfer each mobile node from a traditional strictly layer-structured communication node into a service node (SN). Each SN may be used as a service provider or a service broker according its capability. Each SN may be incorporated as a virtualized component of the MobiCloud. In some embodiments, MobiCloud mirrors an SN to one or multiple virtual images in the Cloud for addressing communication and computation deficiencies of mobile devices. Virtual images can create a visualized MANET routing and communication layer that can maximally assist the mobile nodes to enable pervasive computing services for each mobile device owner. A secure data processing framework is disclosed for the MobiCloud.

Abstract: The present invention relates to effervescent compositions which are resistant to water vapor in the atmosphere and to methods of preparing such compositions. In particular, the invention relates to an effervescent composition comprising a co-crystal. The co-crystal comprises an acidic component and a basic component is separate. The co-crystal comprising the acidic component is resistant to water uptake avoiding initiating the effervescence prematurely. Upon dissolution of the co-crystal and the basic component effervescence occurs.

Abstract: A method and a device for post-processing depth/disparity maps adopt a strategy of combining edge information and segmentation information when detecting irregular edge regions. The method includes dividing a color image into super pixels when performing image segmentation on a color image; partitioning a grayscale range into a preset number of intervals, and for each super pixel, statistically obtaining a histogram of all the pixel points that fall within the intervals; determining, in a current super pixel, whether a ratio of the number of pixels contained in the interval having a maximum interval distribution value, to the total number of pixels in the current super pixel is less than the first threshold; and if so, further dividing the current super pixel using a color-based segmentation method. The disclosed method and device improve accuracy of color image division while ensuring image processing speed, thus improving detection accuracy of the irregular edge regions.

Abstract: Passive components adapted for integration with at least one active semiconductor device, in an embodiment, comprise at least one metallic structure dimensioned and arranged to absorb and/or reflect a major fraction of incident electromagnetic radiation received at one or more wavelengths of a first group of wavelengths. This prevents radiation within the first group of wavelengths from being received and/or processed by the at least one active device. In an embodiment, one or more metallic structures are dimensioned and arranged to direct an amount of incident radiation, received at one or more wavelengths of a second group of wavelengths, sufficient to enable receiving or processing of incident radiation within the second group of wavelengths by the at least one active semiconductor device. In some embodiments, the passive component comprises a passive optical filter for use in spectroscopic applications, and the active semiconductor device is a detector or sensor.

Abstract: The invention relates to an engineered outer domain (eOD) of HIV gp120 and mutants thereof and methods of making and using the same. The mutant eODs may be advantageous for the elicitation of CD4-binding site (CD4bs)-directed broadly-neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) and/or improve binding to mature VRC01 and/or improve binding to germline VRC01 and the germlines of other VH1-2 derived broadly-neutralizing antibodies. The mutant eODs may also include glycan-masking mutations on eOD. The present invention also includes fusions of eOD to various protein multimers to enhance immunogenicity as well as the design of cocktails of different eODs that represent the full diversity of HIV sequences within the VRC01 epitope and surroundings.

Abstract: Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases (PI3Ks) are known to be important regulators of signaling pathways. To determine whether PI3Ks are genetically altered in cancers, we analyzed the sequences of the PI3K gene family and discovered that one family member, PIK3CA, is frequently mutated in cancers of the colon and other organs. The majority of mutations clustered near two positions within the PI3K helical or kinase domains. PIK3CA represents one of the most highly mutated oncogenes yet identified in human cancers and is useful as a diagnostic and therapeutic target.

Abstract: Provided are polynucleotide constructs useful in a nanopore analysis using enzyme activity. The polynucleotide constructs include a strand portion of interest to be analyzed in the nanopore analysis and having a 5? end and a 3? end, and a folded sequence located 3? or 5? of and adjacent to an end of the strand portion of interest, where the folded sequence can block the activity of a processive enzyme. In some embodiments, the polynucleotide constructs further include an enzyme binding sequence located 3? of and adjacent to an end of the folded sequence, and an enzyme displacement sequence located 5? of the strand portion of interest. Such polynucleotide constructs further include a threading sequence located 5? of the enzyme displacement sequence and at a 5? terminal end of the polynucleotide construct, where the processive enzyme has a processive activity in a direction from 3? to 5? on the polynucleotide construct.

Abstract: The present invention provides an urinary crystal detection method, which is used with a crystal collecting unit and a crystal detecting unit. The method comprises steps of using magnetic particles to attach urinary crystals from a sample. Then, providing a magnetic field to separate the urinary crystals. Further to analyz their constituent by the Raman signals of the urinary crystal to access an urinary calculus result for urinary stone patient.

Abstract: A video encoding and decoding method, and its inter-frame prediction method, device and system thereof are disclosed. The inter-frame prediction method includes obtaining a motion vector of the current image block and related spatial position of a current pixel, obtaining a motion vector of the current pixel according to the motion vector of the current image block and the related spatial position of the current pixel; and obtaining a predicted value of the current pixel according to the motion vector of the current pixel. The method considers both the motion vector of the current image block and the related spatial position information of the current pixel during inter-frame prediction. The method can accommodate lens distortion characteristics of different images and zoom-in/zoom-out produced when the object moves in pictures, thereby improving the calculation accuracy of pixels' motion vectors, and improving inter-frame prediction performance and compression efficiency in video encoding and decoding.

Abstract: An autophagic cell targeted peptide and its use are described. More particularly, a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence represented by the general formula (I) and specifically binding to an autophagic cell and a composition for detecting autophagic cells comprising the same as an active ingredient are described. Also described are a drug delivery composition containing the same peptide as an active ingredient and a composition for imaging comprising the same peptide as an active ingredient. The peptide specifically binds to the cell membrane of autophagic cells and can be applied to various kinds of tissues and cells. The detection and imaging effect of autophagy is remarkable in vitro and in vivo.

Abstract: The present invention relates generally to compositions and methods of killing fungi using a surface plasmon coupled to a photosensitizer. A nanostructure (10) may include a silver nanoparticle core (12), a mesoporous silica shell (14), and a photosensitizer (16). A method of killing fungi may include contacting fungi with a nanostructure (10) including a silver nanoparticle core (12), a mesoporous silica shell (14), and a photosensitizer (16) to form a blend and exposing the blend to light.

Abstract: A system and method for evaluating wound healing dressings, treatments, and other variables. The present invention includes in vitro systems and methods for testing wound dressing materials for bacterial control, moisture control, and surface contact properties. The present invention further includes in vivo systems and methods for testing wound dressings, treatments, and other variables utilizing arrays of wound wells on an experimental subject animal. Wound arrays allow for different wound healing variables to be tested with numerous experimental trials within the same subject animal, giving reliable results and reducing the number of subject animals required for testing.

Abstract: Described herein is the discovery of novel PSMA-specific peptides, which were identified through a novel combinatorial biopanning method. One of the novel PSMA-specific peptides discovered, GTIQPYPFSWGY (or GTI) (SEQ ID NO: 2), exhibits high binding affinity and selectivity to PSMA and PSMA-positive prostate cancer cells. It was found that GTI can mediate internalization of the apoptotic KLA peptide (SEQ ID NO: 10) to PSMA-positive LNCaP cells and induce cell death. Moreover, a FAM-labeled GTI peptide shows a high and specific tumor uptake in nude mice bearing human prostate cancer xenografts. It was demonstrated that the GTI peptide can be employed as a PSMA-specific ligand for prostate cancer diagnosis and/or for targeted drug delivery to prostate cancer cells.

Abstract: The present invention relates to compositions and methods for generating RNA Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) transfected T cells. The RNA-engineered T cells can be used in adoptive therapy to treat cancer.

Abstract: A dental instrument for shaping a dental restoration. The instrument includes an end with at least one undulating edge which eases the placement, manipulation, and sculpting of dental restoration.