Abstract: Described herein are personal care compositions comprising—inter alia—a gum system comprising a plurality of natural gums; a surfactant system comprising a plurality of alkyl polyglucoside surfactants; and a cosmetically acceptable carrier. Methods of making and using these compositions are also described herein.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides compositions and methods of inactivating a lipid enveloped virus in a product feedstream in a manufacturing process of a therapeutic protein using environmentally compatible detergents. The present disclosure provides a detergent mixture comprising two environmentally sustainable detergents: n-Octyl-?-D-Glucopyranoside (OG) and n-Dodecyl-?-D-Maltopyranoside (DDM). The performance of this OG:DDM detergent combination is superior to that of Lauryldimethylamine Oxide (LDAO), ECOSURF™ EH9, or Triton X-100 in the purification of therapeutic proteins such as abatacept and belatacept. OG:DDM combinations are highly effective for viral inactivation, while having essentially no impact on protein stability, protein charge distribution (e.g., sialic acid levels), impurity clearance, protein deamination, or protein oxidation. Accordingly, combinations of OG and DDM can be used as substitutes of Triton X-100 for viral inactivation steps in the production of biologics.

Abstract: A rules optimizer for optimizing one or more operations at a facility, the rules optimizer configured to: receive an event update associated with an upcoming operation scheduled at the facility; generate a set of potential scheduling decisions associated with the upcoming operation, wherein generating the set of potential scheduling decisions is based at least in part on historical data stored at the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and wherein generating the set of potential scheduling decisions is based at least in part on the received event update; select a scheduling decision from the set of potential scheduling decisions; and update a schedule associated with the facility in view of the selected scheduling decision; and transmit a notification to a vehicle providing information associated with the updated schedule, the vehicle adjusting an action in response to the updated schedule.

Abstract: A proton beam imaging system includes: a proton beam generator to generate a proton beam; a proton beam modulator through which the proton beam passes positioned between the proton beam generator and an image target; and a proton beam detector positioned to detect the proton beam existing the image target; wherein the proton beam modulator comprises: a rotating wheel having an axis of rotation positioned so that the proton beam passes through the axis of rotation and the axis of rotation is perpendicular to the proton beam; a first modulating portion comprising a first material portion and a second material portion through which a proton beam passes; and a second modulating portion comprising a third material portion and a fourth material portion through with the proton beam passes; wherein the first and second wedges are positioned opposite each other on the rotating wheel.

Abstract: A proton beam imaging system includes: a proton beam generator to generate a proton beam; a proton beam modulator through which the proton beam passes positioned between the proton beam generator and an image target; and a proton beam detector positioned to detect the proton beam existing the image target; wherein the proton beam modulator comprises: a rotating wheel having an axis of rotation positioned so that the proton beam passes through the axis of rotation and the axis of rotation is perpendicular to the proton beam; a first modulating portion comprising a first material portion and a second material portion through which a proton beam passes; and a second modulating portion comprising a third material portion and a fourth material portion through with the proton beam passes; wherein the first and second wedges are positioned opposite each other on the rotating wheel.

Abstract: Described herein in several embodiments are a system, method and apparatus for measuring platelet thrombus volume of a blood sample. In some embodiments, the present invention comprises a microfluidic apparatus having a blood input that receives the blood sample and a plurality of flow channels. In some embodiments of the present invention, each flow channel has a non-stenotic region that receives a portion of the blood sample from the blood input and a stenotic region for creating a discrete initial shear rate in the flow channel. The initial shear rate in the flow channel can be from approximately 500 s?1 to approximately 13000 s?1. The stenotic region, or a narrowing or stricture of the flow channel passageway, is used to simulate a partial blockage of a blood vessel that can result in thrombosis within the blood vessel.

Abstract: A reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer is disclosed including an optical splitter receiving an input optical signal and splitting the input optical signal into a dropped optical signal and an express optical signal; a wavelength blocker optically coupled to the optical splitter, the wavelength blocker blocking particular wavelengths in the express optical signal; a cassette having a plurality of slots capable of accepting a plurality of pluggable optical filters; at least one pluggable optical filter optically coupled to the optical splitter, the pluggable optical filter filtering wavelengths so as to output a particular wavelength channel from the dropped optical signal; and an optical combiner optically coupled to the wavelength blocker and to an optical add path on which an optical add signal may be carried, the optical combiner combining the express optical signal having particular wavelengths expressed by the wavelength blocker and the optical add signal.