Abstract: A cascaded interferometric system for Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) in which the output of one sub-system interferometer is directed through a second sub-system interferometer for performing the Fourier transform in hardware.

Abstract: The invention may provide a puncture robot that can precisely move a needle in the puncture direction by setting needle position in a CT gantry. Provided is a puncture robot comprising a puncture unit, puncture robot being configured such that: the puncture unit comprises a puncture needle, an arm unit, a frame unit, and a base unit; the frame unit comprises a first frame and a second frame that are each provided with an advancing and retracting shaft, and a connecting rod; the arm unit comprises an upper arm and a lower arm, with the puncture needle being mounted to be parallel to the advancing and retracting shaft and the upper arm and the lower arm are advanced and retracted along the advancing and retracting shaft.

Abstract: The disclosed invention provides a device and method to detect leaks in pipelines and heal them instantly using twin ball technology. The device comprises two twin balls of novel construction inserted into the pipeline. The sensor ball receives acoustical data through internal sensors. Once the threshold of the sound level is surpassed, the smart ball will send a signal to the second flowing ball. The second ball will flow towards the leaking outlet and eject a healing fluid to close the leak and prevent further damage. The sensor ball will also alert the user to the size and location of the leak via Wi-Fi monitoring and text messaging. This twin balls technology could be used in pipelines of varying sizes and flow rates.

Abstract: A passive heave compensator, including an elastic cable, an electromagnetic damping device, a cylindrical sector, and a disc damping plate. The electromagnetic damping device includes a first cylinder including a helical coil, a permanent magnet mechanism disposed in the first cylinder, a first cover plate, a second cover plate, a first sliding shaft, a second sliding shaft, a first spring, a second spring, a first end cover, and a second end cover. The cylindrical sector includes a roof plate, a middle plate, a base plate, a first side plate, a second side plate, and a curved plate. The disc damping plate is disposed around the middle plate of cylindrical sector. The elastic cable is directly connected to the electromagnetic damping device. The electromagnetic damping device is disposed in the central part of the cylindrical sector. The middle plate is disposed between the roof plate and the base plate.

Abstract: Primary skin fibroblasts obtained from individuals diagnosed with late-onset sporadic Parkinson's disease (PD), were compared to healthy age-matched controls. Fibroblasts from PD subjects had higher growth rates, and appeared distinctly different in terms of morphology and spatial organization in culture, compared to control cells. The PD fibroblasts also exhibited significantly compromised mitochondrial structure and function when assessed via morphological and oxidative phosphorylation assays. Additionally, an increase in baseline macroautophagy levels was seen in cells from PD subjects. Exposure of the skin fibroblasts to physiologically relevant stress, specifically ultraviolet irradiation (UVA), further exaggerated the autophagic dysfunction in the PD cells. Moreover, the PD fibroblasts accumulated higher levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) coupled with lower cell viability upon UVA treatment.

Abstract: A method of modulating transdifferentiation of chondrocytes to osteoblast includes administering to the chondrocytes an agent that modulates GP130 receptor signaling and expression of at least one of Sox2, Oct4, or Nanog of the chondrocytes.

Abstract: Degradable hyperbranched epoxy resin and a preparation method thereof, wherein the preparation method comprises carrying out a reaction between a cyclotriazine compound and a carboxyl-sourced compound to prepare a carboxyl-terminated or hydroxy-terminated hyperbranched polymer; then reacting with epoxy chloropropane to obtain a degradable hyperbranched epoxy resin of which the molecular weight is about 1,900-22,000 g/mol. After the degradable hyperbranched epoxy resin is cured, a cyclotriazine structure can be completely degraded within 2 h in a phosphoric acid solution at the temperature of 80° C., thus realizing the recycle of the epoxy resin. The invention has simple process, and the product is degradable and has self-strengthening and self-toughening functions, and is expected to be used in the fields of strengthening and toughening of epoxy resins, solvent-free coatings etc.

Abstract: A protein kinase that includes a donor molecule and an acceptor molecule, methods of making the protein kinase, and methods of using the protein kinase are described. Measurement of the conformation of the kinase can be obtained using intramolecular FRET. The protein kinase can be used to, for example, identify conformational changes involved in kinase regulation, that is, as an allostery sensor; to identify kinase-binding molecules including, for example, kinase inhibitors; to identify cancer therapeutics; or for high-throughput screening.

Abstract: A method of detecting the presence of alpha-synuclein aggregation in a biological sample is provided whereby a biological sample is mixed with a reaction sample comprising a population of beads, a fluorophore adapted to bind to protein aggregates and to increase fluorescence when bound to protein aggregates, and alpha-synuclein or a fragment or variant thereof to form a reaction mixture, the reaction mixture is illuminated and at the same time incubated with intermittent agitation cycles, wherein a significant increase in the fluorescence of the reaction mixture during incubation is indicative of the presence of aggregates of alpha-synuclein in the biological sample. Method of diagnosing alpha-synucleinopathies such as Parkinson's disease or Dementia with Lewy Bodies.

Abstract: An example electrolyte includes a solvent, a lithium salt, and an additive selected from the group consisting of a mercaptosilane, a mercaptosiloxane, and combinations thereof. The electrolyte may be used in a method for making a solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer on a surface of an electrode. A negative electrode structure may be formed from the method.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a pickering emulsion composition using polyimide particles and a method for preparing the same. The pickering emulsion stabilized by the polyimide particles according to the present invention has a very stable dispersed phase and does not cause flocculation, creaming, coalescence and phase separation even after a long time, and has an advantage of being capable of forming both an oil-in-water type emulsion and a water-in-oil type emulsion. Further, the polyimide particles used in the present invention can be synthesized in a simple manner and have partial wettability without the surface treatment and pH control so that they can be easily used for the emulsion stabilization.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are compositions and methods for sequencing, analyzing, and utilizing samples such as single samples. Also disclosed herein are compositions and methods for matching together two or more sequences from a sample. Also disclosed herein are compositions and methods for expressing and screening molecules of interest.

Abstract: Next Generation DNA sequencing promises to revolutionize clinical medicine and basic research. However, while this technology has the capacity to generate hundreds of billions of nucleotides of DNA sequence in a single experiment, the error rate of approximately 1% results in hundreds of millions of sequencing mistakes. These scattered errors can be tolerated in some applications but become extremely problematic when “deep sequencing” genetically heterogeneous mixtures, such as tumors or mixed microbial populations. To overcome limitations in sequencing accuracy, a method Duplex Consensus Sequencing (DCS) is provided. This approach greatly reduces errors by independently tagging and sequencing each of the two strands of a DNA duplex. As the two strands are complementary, true mutations are found at the same position in both strands. In contrast, PCR or sequencing errors will result in errors in only one strand.

Abstract: A structure of aligned (e.g., radially and/or polygonally aligned) fibers, and systems and methods for producing and using the same. One or more structures provided may be created using an apparatus that includes one or more first electrodes that define an area and/or partially circumscribe an area. For example, a single first electrode may enclose the area, or a plurality of first electrode(s) may be positioned on at least a portion of the perimeter of the area. A second electrode is positioned within the area. Electrodes with rounded (e.g., convex) surfaces may be arranged in an array, and a fibrous structure created using such electrodes may include an array of wells at positions corresponding to the positions of the electrodes.

Abstract: Constructing and/or recovering paths of mobile devices is enabled. For instance, a method comprises: receiving, by wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) sensors, respective probes from mobile devices, grouping probes having a same media access control (MAC) address into segments, identifying fingerprints of information elements the mobile devices, grouping segments according to an identified fingerprint, determining an increment of a sequence number corresponding to consecutive segments of a segment group, determining a time gap between the sequence number corresponding to a first probe and an incremented sequence number corresponding to a second probe having a timestamp that is later in time than the first probe, and comparing a growth rate of the sequence number corresponding to the consecutive segments to determine a forward segment of the consecutive segments, resulting in a constructed path of the mobile devices, and storing the constructed path in a database.

Abstract: In one embodiment, reinforced soil is assessed using a non-contact method including positioning a reference electrode in close proximity to a surface of the soil without contacting the electrode to the soil surface, vibrating the electrode with a vibration generator, and measuring an electrical potential difference between the electrode and the soil surface, the potential difference being indicative of the condition of a portion of a reinforcement member positioned below the soil surface at the location of the electrode.

Abstract: The present invention relates, inter alia, to a method comprising administering to a subject having high output shock and undergoing treatment with a catecholamine at a dose equivalent to at least about 0.2 mcg/kg/min of norepinephrine a dose of angiotensin II which is effective to raise the blood pressure of the subject to a mean arterial pressure (MAP) of about 6.5 mm Hg or above, and which is effective to reduce the dose of the catecholamine required to maintain a MAP of about 65 mm Hg to the equivalent of about 0.05-0.2 mcg/kg/min norepinephrine or less, or to the equivalent of about 0.05 mcg/kg/min norepinephrine or less.

Abstract: An organic electroluminescent device having a structure of at least an anode 2, a light-emitting layer 3, an electron transporting layer 5 and a cathode 6 layered in that order, and having a charge trap concentration reducing layer 4 in the interface between the light-emitting layer 3 and the electron transporting layer 5 can suppress performance deterioration with time in driving to prolong the lifetime thereof.

Abstract: The present invention provides a virulent Pseudomonas fluorescens (P. fluorescens) phage ?Pf1901, and a phage ?Pf1901 preparation and an application thereof, and relates to the technical field of phage. The virulent P. fluorescens phage ?Pf1901 has an accession number of CCTCC M2019447. The virulent phage ?Pf1901 has a titer of (1.4-3)×1010 PFU/mL. The virulent phage ?Pf1901 has an optimal multiplicity of infection (MOI) value of 0.0001. The virulent P. fluorescens phage ?Pf1901 provided by the present invention exhibits very high specificity and lytic ability to P. fluorescens, which can be used to control P. fluorescens, with strong lytic and scavenging effects on a host.

Abstract: According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a TCAM architecture in which a content-based search is conductible in such a manner that a search key to be searched for is used as an address of a memory element that makes up a TCAM cell and that an output from the memory element reflects whether a match or a mismatch is found as a result of the search. The memory element may be a look-up table.