Abstract: The present invention provides compositions and methods for making and using a transcriptome-wide gene-expression profiling platform that measures the expression levels of only a select subset of the total number of transcripts. Because gene expression is believed to be highly correlated, direct measurement of a small number (for example, 1,000) of appropriately-selected transcripts allows the expression levels of the remainder to be inferred. The present invention, therefore, has the potential to reduce the cost and increase the throughput of full-transcriptome gene-expression profiling relative to the well-known conventional approaches that require all transcripts to be measured.

Abstract: Purified water can be obtained via a continuous or semi-continuous process by mixing a liquid composition (e.g., sea water or produced frac water) including water with a directional solvent to selectively dissolve water from the liquid composition into the directional solvent. The concentrated remainder of the liquid composition (e.g., brine) is removed, and the water is precipitated from the directional solvent and removed in a purified form. The solvent is then reused as the process is repeated in a continuous or semi-continuous operation.

Abstract: Aerosol and hydrosol particle detection systems without knowledge of a location and velocity of a particle passing through a volume of space, are less efficient than if knowledge of the particle location is known. An embodiment of a particle position detection system capable of determining an exact location of a particle in a fluid stream is discussed. The detection system may employ a patterned illuminating beam, such that once a particle passes through the patterned illuminating beam, a light scattering is produced. The light scattering defines a temporal profile that contains measurement information indicative of an exact particle location. However, knowledge of the exact particle location has several advantages. These advantages include correction of systematic particle measurement errors due to variability of the particle position within the sample volume, targeting of particles based on position, capture of particles based on position, reduced system energy consumption and reduced system complexity.

Abstract: A method and computer program product for providing a random linear coding approach to distributed data storage is presented. A file is broken into a plurality of pieces. For every peer (peer means storage-location with limited storage space), the number of coded-pieces the peer can store is determined. Each of the coded-piece is determined by taking random linear combination of all the pieces of the entire file. The associate code-vector is stored for every coded-piece. The file is retrieved by collecting code-vectors and the coded-pieces from the peers and viewing the collected code-vectors as a matrix. When a dimension of the matrix is equal to the number of pieces of the file, the file is recovered using the collection of code vectors in the matrix.

Abstract: Described are methods and compositions for the detection of target genes. The inventors have developed a synthetic nucleic acid sensor-effector gene circuit. In cells without a target gene, the circuit suppresses e.g., effector production, but in the presence of the target gene the suppression is subject to competition, such that the synthetic sensor is de-repressed and permits expression of the effector gene. The methods and compositions described further permit the selective expression of an effector gene in those cells expressing the target gene. In this manner, cells expressing a target gene can be selectively targeted for treatment or elimination. In certain aspects, the methods and compositions described permit the selective expression of an agent such as a therapeutic gene product, in a specifically targeted population of cells in an organism.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for predicting patient outcome from a physiological segmentable signal of a patient. In one embodiment, the method comprises the steps of obtaining the physiological segmentable signal of the patient; segmenting the physiological segmentable signal into a plurality of separate segmentable components; calculating a time series of the morphological distance between adjacent separate segmentable components of the plurality of separate segmentable components; and predicting patient outcome in response to the time series of the morphological distance.

Abstract: Fuel management system for efficient operation of a spark ignition gasoline engine. Injectors inject an anti-knock agent such as ethanol directly into a cylinder of the engine. A fuel management microprocessor system controls injection of the anti-knock agent so as to control knock and minimize that amount of the anti-knock agent that is used in a drive cycle. It is preferred that the anti-knock agent is ethanol. The use of ethanol can be further minimized by injection in a non-uniform manner within a cylinder. The ethanol injection suppresses knock so that higher compression ratio and/or engine downsizing from increased tubocharging or supercharging can be used to increase the efficiency of the engine.

Abstract: The productivity of a combined heat and mass transfer device is improved by directing a flow of a carrier-gas mixture through a fluid flow path in a combined heat and mass transfer device operating at a pressure below atmospheric pressure. Heat and mass are transferred from or to the carrier-gas mixture by a direct or indirect interaction with a liquid composition that includes a vaporizable component (e.g., water) in a liquid state to substantially change the content of the vaporizable component in the carrier-gas mixture via evaporation of the vaporizable component from the liquid composition or via condensation of the vaporizable component from the carrier-gas mixture, producing a flow of carrier-gas mixture having a concentration of the vaporizable component that differs from the concentration of the vaporizable component in the carrier-gas mixture before the heat and mass transfer process.