Abstract: The present invention provides systems and methods for stabilizing or adjusting the position of at least one spinal motion segment.

Abstract: A hemostatic composition is provided. The hemostatic composition includes a hemostatically effective amount of a hemostatic agent that includes a nanoparticle and a polyphosphate polymer attached to the nanoparticle. Also provided are medical devices and methods of use to promote blood clotting.

Abstract: A system and method for monitoring biological parameters in freely moving animals that, in the illustrative embodiment, comprises a two-color optical measurement/recording system that is combined with a fluorescent protein reporter of cellular membrane potentials and a fluorescent protein that is insensitive to such cellular membrane potentials. The two wavelengths are used to un-mix physiological artifacts in recordings that occur in freely moving animals.

Abstract: A control system to control a multi-passenger ride vehicle includes a controller. The controller receives a first user feedback from a first user input device and a second user feedback from a second user input device. The controller selects the first user feedback, the second user feedback, or a combination thereof for a determination of a vehicle path of the multi-passenger ride vehicle. The controller determines the vehicle path using the first user feedback, the second user feedback, or the combination thereof based on the selection. The controller controls movement of the multi-passenger ride vehicle based on the vehicle path.

Abstract: The synthetic recycled plastic aggregate for use in concrete is a composite material containing between 30% and 50% by weight shredded recycled plastic, the balance being a filler embedded in a matrix of the recycled plastic. The recycled plastic includes polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The filler can include dune sand, fly ash and quarry fines. The synthetic recycled plastic aggregate is best used to make concrete with a water-to-cement ratio of at least 0.5.

Abstract: The invention generally relates to materials and methods for creating and/or utilizing upconverting luminescence. More particularly, the invention relates to novel compositions (e.g., nanoparticles) and related methods of preparation and use that enable upconverting luminescence with an efficient excitation optimized at about 800 nm. A unique class of cascade sensitized tri-doped UCNPs with a biocompatible 800 nm excitable property are disclosed herein, for example, tri-doped ?-NaYF4:Nd,Yb,Er(Tm)/NaYF4 UCNPs, which employ Nd3+ as 800 nm photon sensitizer and Yb3+ as bridging ions, having strong green or blue upconversion emissions without photobleaching.

Abstract: Systems, devices, and methods for treating a glaucomatous eye are provided. An amount of pulsed laser energy is delivered to the pars plana of the eye by a hand-holdable device which comprises a hand-holdable elongate member and a contact member disposed on an end of the elongate member. A contact surface of the contact member is placed in direct contact with the eye so that a reference edge of the contact member aligns with the limbus and a treatment axis defined by the elongate member is angularly offset from the optical axis of the eye. The amount of pulsed laser energy delivered is insufficient to effect therapeutic photocoagulation but is sufficient to increase uveoscleral outflow so as to maintain a reduction from pre-laser treatment intraocular pressure. Amounts of pulsed laser energy will be transmitted to a circumferential series of tissue regions of the eye.

Abstract: A method of reducing the swell potential of an expansive clayey soil comprising expansive clay mineral(s) at a proportion of the total weight of the expansive clayey soil (PECM). The method includes (a) calculating a first amount of a swelling reduction agent to be incorporated into the expansive clayey soil to form a first swelling reduction agent incorporated expansive clayey soil with a reduced swell potential no greater than a pre-set level T with a nano-level constitutive modeling based on the water content and the CEC of the expansive clayey soil and PECM. The swelling reduction agent is at least one selected from calcite, gypsum, potassium chloride, a composition comprising exchangeable K+, a composition comprising exchangeable Ca2+, and/or a composition comprising exchangeable Mg2+, and (b) incorporating the first amount of the swelling reduction agent into the expansive clayey soil to form the first swelling reduction agent incorporated expansive clayey soil.

Abstract: An active optical detection system includes an optical transmitter configured to transmit light in a signal pattern and an optical receiver configured to receive light and determine a correlation between the received light and the signal pattern. The correlation of the received light and the signal pattern is indicative of range to an object.

Abstract: A MEMS-based calorimeter includes a reference channel, a sample channel, and a thermopile configured to measure a temperature differential between the reference channel and a sample channel. The reference channel and the sample channel each include a passive mixer such as a splitting-and-recombination micromixer. The passive mixer can be formed by a first set of channels in a first layer and a second set of channels in a second layer. Methods for fabricating the MEMS-based calorimeter and methods of using the calorimeter to measure thermodynamic properties of chemical reactions are also provided.

Abstract: An operating configuration for a power system during a particular time period may be derived from a net load forecast for the power system during the particular time period. The operating configuration may be based on characteristics of power generation units (PGUs) available within the power system (e.g., power generators). The characteristics of a PGU may include a generation trajectory for the PGU that defines, inter alia, power generated by the PGU as the PGU ramps up power production within the power system. The generation trajectory of PGUs may be evaluated in view of the net load forecast to ensure that adequate power resources are available within the power system and avoid ramping scarcity conditions.

Abstract: A touch and hover sensing device includes a hover sensing module is located on a first surface of a substrate, the hover sensing module includes a plurality of first electrostatic sensing elements and a plurality of second electrostatic sensing elements electrically insulated from each other. Each of the plurality of first electrostatic sensing elements and each of the plurality of second electrostatic sensing elements include a single walled carbon nanotube or few-walled carbon nanotube. A touch sensing module is located on a second surface of the substrate. The hover sensing module and the touch sensing module are connected to a control chip, the control chip controls the hover sensing module and the touch sensing module simultaneously working or working separately, to sense a position coordinate of the sensed object.

Abstract: Gold(I) complex with mixed ligands as an anticancer agent. The gold(I) ion is coordinated to a dithiocarbamate ligand and a phosphorus-containing ligand (e.g. phosphines). Also described are a pharmaceutical composition incorporating the gold(I) complex, a methods of synthesizing the gold(I) complex, and a method for treating cancer.

Abstract: The image data analytics for computation configuration method and computer system with computation accessibility is provided. The computation accessibility and configuration on image data processing are implemented by a plurality of computers having a plurality of processors and a plurality of data storages, the image data analytics for computation accessibility and configuration includes the following steps: inputting an original image by an input device and initializing the original image; defining a plurality of tiles equally dividing the original image into a same size of a regular shape; transferring the plurality of image regions to form a graph having vertices and edges; cutting the graph into a plurality of sub-graphs; arranging the plurality of sub-graphs to the plurality of processors or cores to conduct parallel processing simultaneously for analyzing the image data; and storing a plurality of processing results respectively in the plurality of data storages.

Abstract: A lidar system and method to enable simultaneous accurate and high spatial and temporal resolution measurements of atmospheric temperature, wind, and water vapor. The technology employs a laser (101), a telescope (110), an acousto-optic modulator (105) or an electro-optic modulator (205), a Thulium-doped fiber amplifier (206), and an optical circulator (108) which projects a laser signal into the atmosphere toward a phenomenon to be studied. The laser is reflected or backscattered by the atmospheric phenomena and retrieved by the telescope (110), where the laser is processed by a signal sampler and processor (114) for analysis.

Abstract: A method for fabricating a Zinc Oxide (ZnO) conductive film on a semiconductor material, including depositing a doped ZnO seed layer on a diode, wherein the ZnO seed layer forms an electrical contact to the diode; and depositing a ZnO layer on the ZnO seed layer, wherein the ZnO seed layer and the ZnO layer each have a thickness, a crystal quality, and a doping level such that (1) the diode comprising III-nitride material is turned on with a turn on voltage of 2.75 volts or less applied across the ZnO layers and the diode, and (2) a contact resistance, of a structure comprising the ZnO layers and the diode, is lower as compared to a contact resistance of a structure comprising the ZnO layer directly on the diode without the ZnO seed layer.

Abstract: The compositions described herein include an epitope of a peptide that may elicit an immune response in a subject following administration. The compositions may comprise nucleic acids. The compositions may comprise peptides. The methods described herein include administering a composition comprising an epitope of a peptide to a subject in need thereof.

Abstract: Solid, or highly viscous, organic electrolytes consisting of alkylimidazolium cation with alkyl, PEGylated and fluorinated side chains of different molecular weights were synthesized and characterized (cf. chemical structures in Schemes 1 and 2). The PEGylated/fluorinated imidazolium iodide is a solid organic electrolyte that has a conductivity of about 2×10?5 S/cm at 30° C. The ionic conductivity could be significantly increased (1.11×10?4 S/cm at 30° C. and S/cm at 2.88×10?3 at 90° C.) by blending the PEGylated/fluorinated imidazolium iodide with another solid electrolyte, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium iodide (EtMImI). The PEGylated imidazolium iodides synthesized in the present work have conductivities in the range 1.6×10?4 S/cm to 2×10?4 S/cm at 30° C. and viscosities in the range 620 cP to 720 cP at 30° C. The iodide counter ion in the present electrolytes supplies the anion for the I?/I3? redox mediators for DSSCs.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a nucleic acid aptamer molecule that includes a domain that binds to an estrogen receptor, molecular complexes that include the nucleic acid aptamer molecule and an estrogen receptor, and constructed DMA molecules and expression systems, as well as host cells, that the contain an RNA aptamer molecule of the invention. Use of these aptamers and encoding constructs to inhibiting estrogen receptor activity in a cell and to treat estrogen receptor-positive cancers is also described.

Abstract: Method and system for determining glucose flux profiles in plasma during meals using continuous glucose sensors and insulin delivery. A database of plausible glucose flux profiles is encoded in dictionaries using sparse dictionary learning. A constrained Lasso minimization problem is formed that integrates a transport model for a patient with the dictionaries for estimating the glucose fluxes. Meal carbohydrates consumed by a patient is incorporated in the minimization problem through convex constraints. The estimated glucose fluxes resulting from solving the constrained Lasso minimization problem are glucose rate of appearance from the intestine, endogenous glucose production from the liver and insulin dependent glucose utilization. A method for determining patient carbohydrate to insulin ratio at the time of the meal by calculating the area under the curve of the estimated insulin dependent glucose utilization.