Abstract: An instrument for analyzing and dispensing objects larger than about 70 &mgr;m in diameter is based on a flow cytometer with a novel fluidic switch arrangement for diverting a portion of a sample stream in response to detector signals in a flow cell. The instrument is particularly adapted for dispensing multicellular test organisms like nematodes or large microspheres for use in screening large libraries of potential pharmaceutical agents. Hydrodynamic focussing is used to center and align the objects in the flow cell. The objects pass through a sensing zone where optical or other characteristics of the objects are detected. The detector signals are processed and used to operate a fluidic switch that is located downstream from the sensing zone. The fluid stream containing the detected objects emerges from the flow cell into air where a fluid stream controlled by the fluidic switch diverts portions of the stream containing no sample objects or sample objects not meeting predetermined characteristics.

Abstract: A general methodology for worst-case analysis of systems with discrete observable signals is disclosed. According to one embodiment, a signature &sgr; is chosen and a &sgr;-abstraction F is created, based on the system and the particular property to be analyzed. This procedure requires a user to facilitate the creation of an appropriate signature and &sgr;-abstraction. Next, for a given length of time T, a signature s is determined. From the signature s the worst-case boundary conditions are determined. The methodology may also be applied to timing analysis of embedded systems implemented on a single processor. The procedure calculates a time T which is an upper bound on the time a processor can be busy (i.e. busy period). Thus, for the busy-period analysis, the time T is no longer fixed. As in the first embodiment, a signature &sgr; is selected and a &sgr;-abstraction F is created. A workload function R is chosen, and a signature s and time T are calculated.

Abstract: A method of recording data, including audio data and control data, to a SCSI drive having both a write mode and a write-verify mode, comprises the steps of initializing the drive to a write mode, receiving recording data and organizing the recording data into SCSI request blocks (SRBs), and checking each SRB to see if it contains a write block. If the SRB includes either no write block or is audio data, then the SRB is recorded by the drive. However, if the SRB includes a write block and no audio data, then the SRB is converted from a write block to a write-verify block and recorded by the drive.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a device for delivering dual point pressure sensations to a subject to provide not only tactile sensory forces, but also precise gradations of these forces in a single hand-held unit. The operator can, by varying the distance between extensions, know exactly when a subject feels a dual point sensation in order to evaluate peripheral nerve sensory function.

Abstract: A signal generation method capable of generating a cross track signal having a predetermined phase difference from a tracking error signal even in a land and groove recording method in which a land width and a groove width are made equal, wherein a main spot is detected at a split photodetector, a first side spot is detected at a split photodetector, and a second side spot is detected at a split photodetector; a first error is calculated as an error of the optical disk in a radial direction from four detection signals detected at the photodetector, a second error is calculated as the error of two detection signals of the photodetector, a third error is calculated as the error of two detection signals of the third photodetector, and the sum of the second and third errors is subtracted from the first error to calculate a tracking error signal; and a difference between the second error and the third error is found to calculate a cross track signal having a phase shifted by 90° from the tracking error signal

Abstract: A nozzle assembly branching each stream of at least two fluidized food materials of different colors into multiple streams, and guiding the multiple streams to predetermined locations in a mold, the nozzle assembly including: an upper nozzle plate, at least one lower nozzle plate positioned below and in contact with the upper nozzle plate, each of the upper and lower nozzle plates having at least two discrete passages, each of the passages in the upper nozzle plate guiding one of the food materials in a substantially horizontal direction, and having at least one communication port each in communication with corresponding one of the passages in the lower nozzle plate, each of the passages in the lower nozzle plate having at least one discharge port for discharging one of the food materials into one of the one or more unit cavities, at least one of the passages in the lower nozzle plate being a horizontal guide passage for guiding one of the food materials in a substantially horizontal direction.

Abstract: A method used inside a static timing analyzer, or any timing-driven tool, to reduce the memory required to store the timing values. A static timing analyzer stores the arrival times and the required times at every pin of a digital circuit design. As circuit density increases, the number of pins increases proportionately. In order to be able to handle such large designs it is desirable to keep the memory requirement to a minimum, without compromising the performance. The technique presented herein produces significant memory requirement reduction for design with multiple clocks, or multi-cycle paths, with very little performance penalty. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the method is carried out by the steps of: 1) Setting and propagating source triggering edges forward; 2) Determining target triggering; 3) Propagating the target triggering edges backward; 4) Determining the propagation bins; and 5) Finding a timing values translation function.

Abstract: In a system and method for simulating a ball movement game, the system includes an input ball adapted to enable movement of a simulated ball in a graphical representation of the simulated game, responsive to movement of the input ball imparted by the player. The system further includes an air bearing for supporting the input ball so as to enable the player to directly impart movement to the input ball. The system also includes an optical encoder for generating the parameters of movement of the simulated ball responsive to detecting the parameters of movement of the input ball imparted by the player. The system still further includes a processor and software adapted to simulate a ball and movement of the simulated ball, responsive to the parameters of movement of the input ball detected by the optical encoder, and to simulate a game environment for movement of the simulated ball therein.

Abstract: An omnidirectional camera device is able to restrict a range in which images of objects are picked up. This omnidirectional camera device comprises a rotationally-symmetric convex mirror (24) fixedly attached to one end of a transparent tube assembly (20), an image pickup means (32) disposed on the other end of the tube assembly in an opposing relation to this convex mirror and a cover assembly (60) disposed on the tube assembly for restricting the range in which light becomes incident on the convex mirror. The cover assembly is mounted on one end side of the tube assembly. The cover assembly is a shielding cover assembly and includes a cover member (60B). The cover assembly is attached to the tube assembly so as to become freely rotatable. The direction and the range in which images of objects should be picked up may be adjusted by the attachment position of the cover assembly and a shielding angle &agr; of the cover assembly.

Abstract: A microbicidal organic polymer material for use in manufacturing of contact lenses, catheters, condoms, surgical sutures and gloves, medical examination devices and similar uses is provided by polymers to which is tightly adsorbed a disinfectant organic dye. Many polymers such as polyvinyl chloride and acrylic polymers show exceptional avidity for a number of microbicides, of acidic, basic, aromatic and/or hydrophobic character such as methylene blue and gentian violet. Consequently, devices constructed of these polymeric materials release no free dye to an aqueous solution. The material is generally a natural or synthetic polymer that releases no particles or fines into wounds or body orifices. Presence of adsorbed disinfectant organic dye allows the polymer to inhibit microbial growth in a number of different situations. Several common microbes are killed by being incubated in the present of an embodiment of the invention that contains a combination of methylene blue and gentian violet.

Abstract: A decorative food formed of a plurality of kinds of fluid food materials and manufactured by using a mold is provided. The decorative food has an outside shape thereof conforming to an interior surface of the mold inclusive of an opening of said mold. The decorative food has a colored pattern divided into multiple divisions extending up to a central portion of the decorative food, in a direction to extrude the food materials into the mold, the colored pattern being formed such that the multiple divisions are arranged with substantially the same ratio at any of a cross sectional area intersecting the direction to extrude the food materials, and wherein the decorative food contains therein a foodstuff. Also disclosed are an apparatus and method for manufacturing the decorative food.

Abstract: Methods and systems are disclosed for eliminating a phase transient of a controlled frequency oscillator, caused by replacing a first reference signal by a second reference signal when the first reference signal becomes corrupted or otherwise unavailable, and for running a controlled frequency oscillator in a frequency-controlled holdover mode. The contradictory requirements of using a relatively low-cost controlled frequency oscillator tunable over a relatively wide frequency range and achieving high stability of its frequency in holdover mode are satisfied.

Abstract: A method of creating multi-gate transistors with integrated circuit polygon compactors is disclosed. Specifically, in order to provide a more efficient layout when the size of a transistor is increased during design migration, a small multi-gate transistor is formed by inserting at least one parallel transistor over the diffusion layer of the target transistor, between a gate and contact. The compactor then enforces the new design rules, and adjusts the relative sizes of the parallel transistors as required. The resulting multi-gate transistor structure is much more compact than a single large transistor, providing a more efficient design layout.

Abstract: An integrated DSS/WebTV receiver is communicatively connected to an Internet service provider, a DSS service provider, and (optionally) a local broadcast station to provide a display of DSS programs, Internet web sites, and local broadcast channels in a seamless fashion. The DSS/WebTV receiver generates a graphical user interface (GUI), displayed on a television screen, for facilitating a user's navigation through the DSS, Internet, and local broadcast data. The GUI includes a user-selectable icon for causing the DSS processing circuitry to present on the television a decimated video region for simultaneously displaying, in reduced form, programs that are currently being broadcast as well as a program guides logo in which there is displayed a miniature video of the current tuned channel.

Abstract: A method and system for generating reduced models of systems having a time-varying elements, a non-linear elements or both is provided. The system and method can be utilized with any systems that are capable of being described with non-linear or time-varying differential equations. The method and system are especially useful for automated extraction of reduced models for nonlinear RF blocks, such as mixers and filters, that have a near linear signal path but may contain strongly nonlinear time-varying components. The models have the accuracy of a transistor level nonlinear simulation but are very compact and so can be used in system level simulation and design.

Abstract: An integrated DSS/WebTV receiver is communicatively connected to an Internet service provider, a DSS service provider, and (optionally) a local broadcast station to provide a display of DSS programs, Internet web sites, and local broadcast channels in a seamless fashion. The DSS/WebTV receiver generates a graphical user interface (GUI), displayed on a television screen, for facilitating a user's navigation through the DSS, Internet, and local broadcast data. The GUI includes user-selectable icons for filtering and/or selecting the received data, a scrolling ticker region for displaying information about upcoming DSS events and providing access to related Internet web sites, and a decimated video region for displaying, in reduced form, DSS programs that are currently being broadcast.

Abstract: The sensitivity of enzyme-based polarographic electrodes to oxygen concentration can be significantly reduced or eliminated by providing an oxygen-reservoir in intimate contact with the oxidative enzyme. This is achieved by making a stabilized emulsion between the enzyme and a compound in which oxygen is extremely soluble. An aqueous glucose oxidase solution is emulsified with a perfluorocarbon liquid, and the resulting emulsion is stabilized by chemically crosslinking the mixture to form a gel. Thin layers of the emulsion are fabricated by spreading a layer of the liquid emulsion before gelation occurs. Additional carrier proteins such as albumin may be added to the enzyne prior to crosslinking to protect enzymatic activity and enhance gel strength. Additional electron transport compounds may be added to further reduce sensitivity to oxygen concentration.

Abstract: To provide an information reproduction apparatus which can consecutively reproduce a plurality of clips of an information material without the need for preparing resources of two channels and without using a special, dedicated encoder a write finish flag generator is provided which sets a write finish flag WF at a time point when writing of a cluster of a certain clip from a recording medium to an information material storage unit is finished in a case where at least part of the last cluster of the preceding clip is invalid data in reproducing the clip, preceding the clip, of an information material supplied from the information material storage unit.