摘要:
Certain disclosed embodiments concern systems and methods of preparing dialysate for use in a home dialysis system that is compact and light-weight relative to existing systems and consumes relatively low amounts of energy. The method includes coupling a household water stream to a dialysis system; filtering the water stream; heating the water stream to at least about 138 degrees Celsius in a non-batch process to produce a heated water stream; maintaining the heated water stream at or above at least about 138 degrees Celsius for at least about two seconds; cooling the heated water stream to produce a cooled water stream; ultrafiltering the cooled water stream; and mixing dialysate components into the cooled water stream in a non-batch process.
摘要:
A method to generate siRNAs in vivo is described, as are constructs and compositions useful in the method. The method does not depend on the use of DNA or synthetic constructs that contain inverted duplications or dual promoters so as to form perfect or largely double-stranded RNA. Rather, the method depends on constructs that yield single-stranded RNA transcripts, and exploits endogenous or in vivo-produced miRNAs or siRNAs to initiate production of siRNAs. The miRNAs or siRNAs guide cleavage of the transcript and set the register for production of siRNAs (usually 21 nucleotides in length) encoded adjacent to the initiation cleavage site within the construct. The method results in specific formation of siRNAs of predictable size and register (phase) relative to the initiation cleavage site. The method can be used to produce specific siRNAs in vivo for inactivation or suppression of one or more target genes or other entities, such as pathogens.
摘要:
Heat-activated heat-pump systems and related methods are disclosed that include a power cycle coupled to a vapor-compression refrigeration cycle both utilizing the same working fluid. The power cycle comprises a boiler, an expander receiving superheated vapor and producing work from the superheated vapor, a condenser, and a pump. A regenerator conducts a first stream of working fluid from the pump to the boiler and a second stream of the working fluid from the expander to the condenser while transferring heat from the second stream to the first stream. The refrigeration cycle comprises a compressor that compresses the working fluid from the evaporator and delivers the compressed working fluid to a condenser. The expander and compressor are coupled together such that at least a portion of the work produced by the expander is utilized for running the compressor.
摘要:
The present disclosure describes devices useful for microscale fluid purification, separation, and synthesis devices. Generally, such devices comprise a fluid membrane that separates two or more fluids flowing through plural microchannels operatively associated with the membrane. Often, the membrane is a semipermeable membrane, such as might be used with a filtration device, such as a dialyzer. Devices of the present invention can be combined with other microscale devices to make systems. For example, the devices may be coupled with one or more microchemical microfactories, one or more micromixers, one or more microheaters; etc. Particular materials had to be developed for use with certain embodiments of the device disclosed herein. For example, a new composite material was made comprising nanocrystalline cellulose filler and a polysulfone polymeric material. A dialyzer comprising the composite membrane also is disclosed.
摘要:
A first variant of an adhesive composition for making a lignocellulosic composite includes soy protein and/or lignin; at least one substantially formaldehyde-free curing agent that includes at least one amine, amide, imine, imide, or nitrogen-containing heterocyclic functional group that can react with at least one functional group of the soy protein; and at least one compound selected from a boron compound, a group IA oxide or hydroxide, or a group IIA oxide or hydroxide. A second variant of an adhesive composition includes a first component selected from soy protein and/or lignin; and at least one substantially formaldehyde-free curing agent selected from a reaction product of epichlorohydrin with ethylenediamine, a reaction product of epichlorohydrin with bis-hexamethylenetriamine, or a reaction product of epichlorohydrin with hexamethylenediamine.
摘要:
Compounds, compositions, and methods for controlling an arthropod pest population that employ an eremophilane sesquiterpene parent structure are presented. The compounds have minimal adverse or toxic effects on humans, non-human animals, and the natural environment. The compounds may be isolated from natural sources, semi-synthesized from naturally occurring compounds, or completely synthesized. The compounds may be applied directly to a pest, or the locus of a pest, and function as topical or ingestible toxins. Eremophilane sesquiterpenes 13-hydroxy-valencene, valencene-11,12-epoxide, valencene-13-aldehyde, and nootkatone-1,10-11,12-diepoxide are exemplary compounds.
摘要:
An adhesive composition made by reacting a soy protein with at least one compound under conditions sufficient for introducing additional phenolic hydroxyl functional groups, amine functional groups, and/or thiol functional groups into the soy protein structure.
摘要:
Methods and apparatus for modular arithmetic operations with respect to a modulus p include representing operands as a series of s w-bit numbers, wherein s = ⌈ k w ⌉ . Operations are executed word by word and a carry, borrow, or other bit or word is obtained from operations on most significant words of the operands. Depending on the value of this bit or word, an operation-specific correction factor is applied. Cryptographic systems include computer executable instructions for such methods. Bit-level operations are generally avoided and the methods and apparatus are applicable to systems based on, for example, public-key cryptographic algorithms defined over the finite field GF(p).
摘要:
An inexpensive, robust concrete solar cell (10) comprises a photovoltaic material embedded in and extending beyond the major surfaces (16 and 18) of a matrix layer (14). The matrix layer typically comprises a high strength, cementitious material, such as a macrodefect free cement. The photovoltaic material comprises particles (12) of high-resistivity single crystal silicon, typically ball milled from ingot sections unsuitable for slicing into silicon wafers. The ingot sections include unprecipitated dissolved oxygen that is electrically activated by a low temperature annealing process to produce n-type silicon, even in silicon crystals that include a p-type dopant. An aluminum sheet (28), positioned on the backside of the matrix layer, is briefly melted together with the silicon particles to produce a p-type aluminum-doped silicon region (22) that forms a pn junction with the n-type region (24) of the particle. The aluminum sheet also provides the electrical contact to the p-type regions. The front surface of the matrix layer, from which the n-portion of the silicon particle protrudes, is covered with a translucent indium tin oxide conductive layer (30) that provides electrical contacts to the n-portion of the pn junction and digitated electrode (32) for conducting current off the cell. A voltage is generated between the two conductive layers when light incident on the photovoltaic particle through the indium tin oxide conductive layer creates charge carriers.
摘要:
The process of the present invention is directed to the remediation of wood that has been treated with a preservative, such as pentachlorophenol or other non-ionic organic biocides, using supercritical fluids, with or without the addition of modifiers.