Other

Vanderbilt University

The Hollis Group

John T Wilson

Robert E Wilson

John H Wilson

Daniel Shae

Gregpru D Hollis

Milan Nechanicky

Jeffrey D Hollis

Christian Palmer

Provided herein are a selective pattern recognition receptor (PRR) agonist and a method of selectively activating a PRR. The selective PRR agonist includes a nucleic acid agonist and a macromolecule conjugated to the nucleic acid agonist. The method includes administering the selective PRR agonist to a subject, and cleaving at least a portion of the macromolecule conjugated to the nucleic acid agonist, the cleaving of at least a portion of the macromolecule permitting the agonist to bind a PRR.

Pattern recognition receptor agonist prodrugs and methods of use thereof

A diblock copolymer, polymer vesicle, and method of forming a polymer vesicle are provided. The diblock polymer includes a hydrophilic first block and a second block including amine containing monomers and hydrophobic monomers. The polymer vesicle includes a diblock copolymer with a hydrophilic first block and a second block including amine containing monomers and hydrophobic monomers, and at least one active agent loaded in the polymer vesicle. The second block forms an inner hydrophobic domain of a vesicle membrane and the hydrophilic block forms a corona facing the exterior and aqueous interior of the vesicle membrane, the corona providing an outer shell that stabilizes the vesicle in aqueous media. The method of forming the polymer vesicle includes synthesizing the diblock copolymer through a polymerization technique selected from the group consisting of addition polymerization, condensation polymerization, and a combination thereof, providing at least one active agent, and assembling the polymer vesicle, the diblock copolymer including a hydrophilic first block and a second block with amine containing monomers and hydrophobic monomers.

Reversibly crosslinked endosomolytic polymer vesicles for cytosolic drug delivery

The present invention provides a surgical specimen retrieval device that allows one-handed use by incorporating a geared spool to amplify take up of a flexible line to close the mouth of the specimen bag after the surgical specimen is deposited in the bag. The retrieval device includes a spool with an attached gear that is rotated by movement of a deployment rod with serrated teeth. A flexible line has a proximal end attached to the spool and the distal end attached to the mouth of the bag. When the deployment reel is moved from an extended position to an inserted position, the spool rotates and pays out flexible line to allow the mouth of the deployed bag to open. Once a specimen is taken and deposited in the bag, the deployment rod is moved from the inserted position toward the extended position. This rod movement rotates the spool to take up the line and close the mouth of the bag. When the rod is moved to a fully retracted position, the teeth on the rod disengage from the gear, which allows the spool to rotate freely. The device is then removed from the trocar and the line is used to pull the bagged specimen from the body cavity.

Specimen retrieval device

A mold apparatus and method for creating designs on the interior of molds includes a resilient form with an exterior and an interior, with a design formed on the exterior. A rigid support member is removably attached to the interior of the resilient form. A mold pattern, conformed to removably receive the rigid support member and the resilient form in combination, completes the basic elements of the invention. In one aspect of the invention, a passageway in the rigid support member is provided for introducing a gas between the rigid support member and the resilient form. In another aspect of the invention, a vacuum application device is provided for applying a vacuum to the interior of the resilient form. The apparatus and method also provide for the simultaneous creation of designs on the interior and exterior of molds

Mold apparatus and method

A high temperature battery of one or more cells is disclosed in which each cell is made by holding an anode electrode and a cathode electrode, of different metallic substances, together through a fused flux wetted to an electrode, which fused flux is an electrolyte, to make an anode-to-cathode contact, and the anode-to-cathode contact is heated, by a heat source, to a high temperature range above a threshold temperature to generate voltaic voltage, in excess of any thermoelectric voltage; such batteries with electrodes of various mechanical configurations are disclosed. The flux, such as borax, may have powdered, vegetable-growth ashes or powdered chemical constituents of ashes, such as lithium carbonate, added to the flux or to the electrolyte to catalyze or improve the current-generating capability of the battery. The preferred anode substance is aluminum, and the preferred cathode substance is copper. With the preferred cathode and anode substances and a fused borax flux between the cathode and anode, the open circuit voltage generated per cell when heated increases from 0.05 volts at 304.degree. C. to 1.3 volts at 651.degree. C.; the threshold temperature in this case is 279.degree. C. Also disclosed is means to move the anode metal with respect to the cathode metal, when the electrolyte is fluid, for changing the battery characteristics.

High temperature battery

An adjustable armrest assembly for an ergonomic chair provides for adjustment of the armrests in the forward and rearward direction relative to the front of the chair without inhibiting adjustment of the armrests in other directions. A support frame having one or more rails or rods running perpendicular to the chair front is connected to the seat bottom. The support frame is slidably mounted on the seat bottom to permit sideways adjustment of the width between the chair arms. A support base, to which the chair arm is connected, is slidably supported on the rods. A controller attached to the support frame moves the support base along a line extending from the front to the back of the chair. In one embodiment, the controller includes a gear assembly and a screw drive attached to a manual crank. An expandable linkage is provided between the left and right support member so that both are simultaneously moved while still permitting width adjustment.

Armrest for ergonomic chair

An improved sport and utility rack bracket particularly for use with pickup trucks. The bracket is a cantilevered assembly mounted on a side rail defining a portion of the cargo area of a pickup truck. The bracket has a rack attached thereto. The free end of the bracket, i.e., the cantilevered portion of the bracket, is parallel to or at some angle to the horizontal plane of the truck bed, transverse to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.

Cantilevered sport and utility rack bracket

This invention is for incrementally controlling energizing and de-energizing of at least two electrical motors in which motor armatures are mechanically coupled to a single mechanical member and in which motor stators are mechanically referenced to a second mechanical member. By energizing and deenergizing two or more electric motors of different force and torque capability coupled in this manner it is possible to provide increments of force and torque as small as the incremental capability of the smallest motor and to provide a large number of force and torque increments which can approximate a smooth control of force and torque in forward and reverse directions. The type of motor used for this invention is a multiple-two-node-open-circuit-armature-winding motor as disclosed in the referenced patents. This type of motor offers various levels of energizing the motor to the full force and torque capability.

Multiple motors controllers

The invention discloses a controller for controlling an electric motor having a stator and an armature, the stator includes stator magnetic poles, the armature includes multiple two-node, open circuit armature windings. The armature windings are inductively linked the armature and insulated from the armature and from each other. The motor has at least one repeatable section, each repeatable section includes a group of poles and windings. The stator has two stator magnetic poles per repeatable section. The controller comprises magnetomotive force means for energizing the stator magnetic poles as a north pole and a south pole per repeatable section with adjacent poles being of opposite polarity, means to control electrical currents in from none to at least one two-node, open circuit armature winding thereby forming armature electromagnetic poles of various numbers to the strength levels available, with adjacent armature electromagnetic poles having opposite polarity, and with no more than two armature electromagnetic poles per repeatable section, to control the force and torque generated by the motor.

Multiple two-node windings electrical motors controllers

A circuit for recovering electromagnetic energy from multiple windings electrical motor open circuit armature windings when interrupted while contacted through coupled commutator segments by brushes of the two groups. This energy recovery circuit includes, for one group brush, a half bridge circuit composed of a plurality of diodes coupled between the group brush and positive and negative polarity terminals of a DC electrical energy coupling means, and two or more group brushes are so connected. The diodes are arranged to be back-biased until an open circuit armature winding is interrupted as above and thereby induces voltage which forward-biased until an open circuit armature winding is interrupted as above and thereby induces voltage which forward-biases certain diodes of the half bridge circuits coupled to commutator segments coupled to the ends of the interrupted open circuit armature winding, and thereby electromagnetic energy associated with the interrupted open circuit armature winding is recovered as electrical energy and delivered with respective polarity to the electrical terminals.

Multiple windings electrical motors controllers

A bow protector for protecting and cushioning the bow of watercraft such as sailboats, which includes a shaped, impact-receiving nose portion having a V-shaped inner angle for engaging the front edge of the bow and rearwardly extending arms designed to seat on opposite anterior surfaces of the bow. In a preferred embodiment the bow protector is provided with a longitudinal impact slot extending through the center of the nose portion and spaced ancillary impact slots also projecting through the nose portion and located adjacent to the central impact slot, in order to cushion impact forces received by the bow protector when the watercraft strikes a dock, another watercraft or any other relatively unyielding object. The bow protector is suspended on the bow of the watercraft by means of starboard and port elastic guy lines which extend through guy line openings provided in the bow protector and are anchored to cleats secured to the foredeck of the watercraft. The bow protector is particularly well designed to absorb and displace the shock of collision between angled bow sailboats and a dock or other object, by initially elastically deforming upon impact to perform a primary cushioning function and subsequently allowing the bow to ride upwardly with respect to the bow protector, in order to further dissipate the impact shock in a secondary shock-absorbing action.

Bow protector

A class of electrical machines for converting between electrical energy and mechanical energy and vice versa is disclosed. Each machine has an integral number of repeatable sections and is comprised of a magnetic stator, a magnetic armature, multiple open-circuit armature windings overlapping within each repeatable section, a commutator, multiple brushes bearing on the entire commutator, stator magnetic field of various configurations, and appropriate connections and couplings to electrical and mechanical energy sources and loads. Also disclosed are means for disposing of armature winding energy as a part of the armature windings commutation by dissipating the energy in various locations and dissipators or by recovering the energy for reuse.

Multiple windings electrical machines

An electronically indicating torque wrench utilizes a variable frequency stress transducer to detect the level of torque applied by the wrench. The stress transducer is operatively coupled to an arm of the wrench, said arm having a mechanical stress that is a function of an applied torquing force. The output of the stress transducer is compared to a reference whose calibration corresponds to desired torque settings. An indicator provides audible and visual indications when the applied torque equals the desired value.

Electronically indicating torque wrench

A load platform with multiple stress sensitive magnetic member supports is disclosed in which the frequency of an electrical output signal is proportional to the applied platform load. This device consists of multiple magnetic stress sensitive members in which mechanical stress is induced by the platform load and a magnetic multivibrator constructed so the stress sensitive magnetic characteristics of the stress members are the principal frequency determining elements of the magnetic multivibrator. Also disclosed are various stress member loading configurations, a laminated stress member, and methods for zero-load, linearity, and scale factor adjustments in the variable frequency transducers. Also disclosed is an adjustable frequency-sensitive switch which can be used as a load switch.

Variable frequency load platform and load limit switch

A magnetostrictive mechanical, variable frequency stress transducer is disclosed in which the frequency of the output signal is proportional to the applied stress. This device consists of a magnetic stress actuating member, to which the stress is applied, and a transistor-magnetic oscillator constructed so the stress sensitive magnetic characteristic of the stress actuating member is the principal frequency determining element of the oscillator.

Growing community of inventors

La Canada Flintridge, CA, United States of America

John T Wilson