Abstract: An improved apparatus for processing sea cucumbers having stages for orienting/aligning, cutting, splitting, flattening, eviscerating and cleaning the sea cucumber, and for collecting the eviscerated innards. A method for the automated splitting and evisceration of sea cucumbers using the apparatus of the present disclosure. A flattening plate and trough during the orienting/aligning step relax the sea cucumber and discourage its defence mechanisms. A wedge shaped flattening plate splits and flattens the sea cucumber immediately after the incision. Pronged discs maintain positioning of the sea cucumber during an aggressive wash and brush cleaning cycle, which may be repeated. Optionally, a vacuum may suction off a portion of the innards prior to cleaning.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to fatty acid derivatives of green tea catechins including epicatechin (EC), epicatechin gallate (ECG), epigallocatechin (EGC), epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and their epimers (e.g., catechin, catechin gallate, gallocatechin, gallocatechin gallate) or their mixtures and/or green tea extracts.

Abstract: The invention relates to a water mill, power generator, for use underwater, having a flexible support shaft which permits the water current to orient the turbine axis substantially parallel to the direction of flow so that the force of the water on the blades is optimized for a given turbine, without the need for slip ring style connections between the generator at the turbine and the 5 anchored base. Optionally, the design features fins or cowlings on the flexible support shaft to further improve reorientation of the turbine with the water current or flow acting as the source of power; and/or output power links or power conditioning systems at the anchored base. The generators may be selected to meet low rotation operating conditions, and the entire system may be designed for particular ocean bottom and/or current parameters applicable to the 10 deployment.

Abstract: A system and method implemented as a software tool for foreground segmentation of video sequences in real-time, which uses two Competing 1-class Support Vector Machines (C-1SVMs) operating to separately identify background and foreground. A globalized, weighted optimizer may resolve unknown or boundary conditions following convergence of the C-1SVMs. The objective of foreground segmentation is to extract the desired foreground object from live input videos, with fuzzy boundaries captured by freely moving cameras. The present disclosure proposes the method of training and maintaining two competing classifiers, based on Competing 1-class Support Vector Machines (C-1SVMs), at each pixel location, which model local color distributions for foreground and background, respectively. By introducing novel acceleration techniques and exploiting the parallel structure of the algorithm (including reweighing and max-pooling of data), real-time processing speed is achieved for VGA-sized videos.

Abstract: Methods and compositions relating to diagnosing and treating cardiomyopathy and particularly relating to methods and compositions for diagnosing and treating arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyophathy (ARVD/C) are described. Provided are methods for screening for, diagnosing or detecting a risk of developing arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C) comprising detecting the presence of a transmembrane protein 43 (TMEM43) disease associated variant in a sample of a subject, wherein the presence of a TMEM43 disease variant is indicative that the subject has ARVD/C or an increased risk of developing ARVD/C compared to an individual having wild type TMEM43.

Abstract: Methods and compositions relating to diagnosing and treating cardiomyopathy and particularly relating to methods and compositions for diagnosing and treating arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C) are described. Provided are methods for screening for, diagnosing or detecting a risk of developing arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C) comprising detecting the presence of a transmembrane protein 43 (TMEM43) disease associated variant in a sample of a subject, wherein the presence of a TMEM43 disease variant is indicative that the subject has ARVD/C or an increased risk of developing ARVD/C compared to an individual having wild type TMEM43.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to fatty acid derivatives of green tea catechins including epicatechin (EC), epicatechin gallate (ECG), epigallocatechin (EGC), epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and their epimers (e.g., catechin, catechin gallate, gallocatechin, gallocatechin gallate) or their mixtures and/or green tea extracts.

Abstract: A system and method implemented as a software tool for generating alpha matte sequences in real-time for the purposes of background or foreground substitution in digital images and video. The system and method is based on a set of modified Poisson equations that are derived for handling multichannel color vectors. Greater robustness is achieved by computing an initial alpha matte in color space. Real-time processing speed is achieved through optimizing the algorithm for parallel processing on the GPUs. For online video matting, a modified background cut algorithm is implemented to separate foreground and background, which guides the automatic trimap generation. Quantitative evaluation on still images shows that the alpha mattes extracted using the present invention has improved accuracy over existing state-of-the-art offline image matting techniques.

Abstract: The invention relates to a spar based vessel for accessing offshore installations and vessels, including wind farm turbines, in which the centre of gravity of the vessel is positioned below the centre of buoyancy, which is positioned below the operational waterline, the operational waterline occurs at low cross-sectional area vertical struts, and the vertical struts support a topside structure for passengers. Active ballast control system and location of the propulsive elements permits the vessel to travel in spar orientation by positioning the vector of propulsion to lie in the same horizontal plane as the transverse centre of drag of the vessel. A docking system permits safe connection of the vessel to offshore installations, including wind turbines of generic design.

Abstract: A system and method implemented as a software tool for generating alpha matte sequences in real-time for the purposes of background or foreground substitution in digital images and video. The system and method is based on a set of modified Poisson equations that are derived for handling multichannel color vectors. Greater robustness is achieved by computing an initial alpha matte in color space. Real-time processing speed is achieved through optimizing the algorithm for parallel processing on the GPUs. For online video matting, a modified background cut algorithm is implemented to separate foreground and background, which guides the automatic trimap generation. Quantitative evaluation on still images shows that the alpha mattes extracted using the present invention has improved accuracy over existing state-of-the-art offline image matting techniques.

Abstract: Expression of pygopus mRNA and Pygopus protein in established cancer cell lines and in patient tumors is described. Pygopus is shown to be a feasible diagnostic and prognostic indicator. Pygopus is also useful in cancer treatment therapy, for example in disrupting strategies that specifically target the activity of pygopus in cancer cells.

Abstract: Methods and compositions relating to diagnosing and treating cardiomyopathy and particularly relating to methods and compositions for diagnosing and treating arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C) are described. Provided are methods for screening for, diagnosing or detecting a risk of developing arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C) comprising detecting the presence of a transmembrane protein 43 (TMEM43) disease associated variant in a sample of a subject, wherein the presence of a TMEM43 disease variant is indicative that the subject has ARVD/C or an increased risk of developing ARVD/C compared to an individual having wild type TMEM43.

Abstract: A method for determining whether an individual is at an increased risk for myocardial infarction, comprising screening for the presence of Factor II and Factor XIII alleles associated with myocardial infarction. Also provided are kits and primers that specifically hybridize adjacent to the allele-specific regions of the Factor II and Factor XIII genes.

Abstract: A control system to control the descent of a seafaring vessel, such as a lifeboat, into water is disclosed herein. The control system, and an accompanying method, control the descent speed of the seafaring vessel to minimise the possibility of setback after splashdown, and thus increase the probability of a safe and orderly launch.

Abstract: A method for determining whether an individual is at an increased risk for myocardial infarction, comprising screening for the presence of Factor II and Factor XIII alleles associated with myocardial infarction. Also provided are kits and primers that specifically hybridize adjacent to the allele-specific regions of the Factor II and Factor XIII genes.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to the use of linkcells in retrieving site data pertaining to one or more sites from a site data repository. The linkcells facilitate the resolution of several types of queries, including queries to determine a specified number of closest sites to a user's location and queries to determine sites located with a specified distance of the user's location. In one aspect, the present invention relates to a linkcell having a cell perimeter that comprises one or more cell boundary sections, a cell identifier, and a link to a data table, where one or more sites are associated with the linkcell, and where site data pertaining to those sites is stored in the data table. The cell identifier may be a name derived from the coordinates of sites associated with the linkcell. Advantageously, it is not typically necessary to examine data on all sites in the site data repository to resolve queries if linkcells are used.

Abstract: The invention relates to a family of mammalian genes that are transcribed in the immediate early phase following exposure to Fibroblast Growth Factors (FGF) during mesoderm induction, termed Mesoderm Induction Immediate Early Response (MIER) genes. Defining features of the members of this family include that these genes are a) transcribed in response to fibroblast growth factors (FGF); b) are expressed within 40 minutes of FGF treatment; and c) do not require protein synthesis for transcription. There are at least eleven members within this family. The invention relates generally to compositions of and diagnostic methods relating to the M-MIER gene family, cDNA, nucleotide fragments, polypeptides coded thereby, recombinant host cells and vectors containing M-MIER encoding polynucleotide sequences, recombinant M-MIER polypeptides, and antibodies. By way of example, the invention discloses the cloning and functional expression of different M-MIER polypeptides.