Abstract: Disclosed are lighting techniques, including systems, apparatus, and methods, that employ optical transmission of two-dimensional control signals to manipulate lighting elements. The lighting apparatus can include a projector with an IR LED array to wirelessly transmit pixel information onto a target space. The pixel information controls lighting elements within the target space. The two-dimensional control signals can includes subareas corresponding to lighting elements in a control array. The lighting elements can be lights of desired wavelengths including infrared and/or visible wavelengths. LEDs can be used as light sources in exemplary embodiments.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for the intelligent lighting of large areas and structures such as parking garages. Ultrasonic distance measuring sensors can be used to obtain occupancy data for the area or structure, such as a parking garage, and to control the intensities of the individual lights in the system for energy conservation. Persons in the area, e.g. parking their cars, can be shown the path to the exit by specific preset intensity level and/or color of light. In parking garage embodiments, persons in the process of parking their cars are shown the empty spots by lights of a specific intensity and/or color. The addition of passive infrared motion detectors enables the system to illuminate the area around a moving person, and alarm if a person is behaving unexpectedly. A controller can communicate with sensors and/or lighting elements by wireless or wire (cable) communication.

Abstract: Disclosed are lighting techniques, including systems, apparatus, and methods, that employ optical transmission of two-dimensional control signals to manipulate lighting elements. The lighting apparatus can include a projector with an IR LED array to wirelessly transmit pixel information onto a target space. The pixel information controls lighting elements within the target space. The two-dimensional control signals can includes subareas corresponding to lighting elements in a control array. The lighting elements can be lights of desired wavelengths including infrared and/or visible wavelengths. LEDs can be used as light sources in exemplary embodiments.

Abstract: The emittance value is a measure of an amount of energy expelled from a given surface area relative to a black-body reference. Depending on the specific coating a change in the emittance value is actively or passively effected. There are known active variable emittance thermal control coatings. However, such coatings are actually panels housing a mixture of both high and low emissivity materials that are electrically manipulated to control the emittance value of the panel. These “coatings” are classified as either electrochromic or electrophorectic. Both electrochromic and electrophorectic coatings require an applied voltage to cause a change in the emittance value of the coating. By contrast, aspects of the present invention do not include active variable emittance thermal control coatings. Aspects of the present invention do include passive variable emittance thermal control coatings and materials.

Abstract: Fixed Frequency, Fixed Duration power controls methods and systems are described for application of power to electrical loads. FFFD techniques according to the present disclosure utilize power train pulses with fixed-frequency fixed-duration pulses to control power applied to a load. The load can be any type of DC load. FFFD techniques allows for controlled variation of the fixed length of the ON pulse, the Fixed length of the OFF or recovery period, the total time period for one cycle, and/or the number of pulses in that time period. Applications to electric motors, electric lighting, and electric heating are described. Related circuits are also described.

Abstract: Modular light source are described with polarized states and a video screen including a matrix of the modular light sources. Each modular light source may constitute a pixel of the screen. Each pixel may be controlled to emit light in a polarized state. As a result, the screen may generate images with different polarities at any pixel, at any time, in addition to generating non-polarized pixels or images if desired. Using a viewing device, such as glasses, having a lenses with different polarization characteristics, a viewer may perceive an image generated by the screen as having three dimensions. Related methods and computer program products are also described.

Abstract: Screens for three-dimensional (3D) viewing are described that can include a plurality of light sources used as a video screen in conjunction with a switching polarization filter or panel. The polarization panel can be used to synchronize the left and right views interleaved on the screen. Separate left and right video signals can be interleaved into a single continuous digital video signal, for example a DVI signal, which can be displayed by the video screen. By switching the polarization panels in front of the video screen in synchronization with the interleaved data, the images can be directed to the left and right eye of a viewer. A processor can be used to accomplish the interleaving of the signals while providing the necessary synchronization signal for the polarizing screen. Related methods are also described. The light sources can include LEDs, plasma screen, LCD screen, and spatially discrete sub groups of such.

Abstract: The invention encompasses methods and compositions for increasing or decreasing collagen 1A1 expression and/or ?-smooth muscle actin expression in lung fibroblasts using SERPINE2 and antagonists of SERPINE2. The invention also encompasses methods and compositions for increasing or decreasing the formation of myofibroblasts. The invention further provides methods and compositions for treatment of lung diseases, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Abstract: The emittance value is a measure of an amount of energy expelled from a given surface area relative to a black-body reference. Depending on the specific coating a change in the emittance value is actively or passively effected. There are known active variable emittance thermal control coatings. However, such coatings are actually panels housing a mixture of both high and low emissivity materials that are electrically manipulated to control the emittance value of the panel. These “coatings” are classified as either electrochromic or electrophorectic. Both electrochromic and electrophorectic coatings require an applied voltage to cause a change in the emittance value of the coating. By contrast, aspects of the present invention do not include active variable emittance thermal control coatings. Aspects of the present invention do include passive variable emittance thermal control coatings and materials.

Abstract: The invention provides methods and compositions for identifying modulators, particularly peptide modulators, of cell surface receptor activity. Specifically, the invention provides a cell containing a recombinant nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide modified for intracellular presentation, which cell may further comprise one or both of a recombinant nucleic acid encoding a binding partner for that polypeptide and recombinant nucleic acid encoding a test polypeptide. The subject cell may be a member of a library of cells, and the library may be used in screening methods for identifying test polypeptides (e.g., conformationally restrained polypeptides) having cell surface receptor modulatory activity. The invention finds use in a variety of drug-discovery applications.

Abstract: The present invention relates to regulation of inflammation. More particularly, the present invention is directed to nucleic acids encoding components of the ubiquitin ligation pathway, e.g., ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like molecules, E1, E2, and E3 proteins and their substrates, which are involved in modulation of the inflammatory process. The invention further relates to methods for identifying and using agents, including small molecule chemical compositions, antibodies, peptides, cyclic peptides, nucleic acids, RNAi, antisense nucleic acids, and ribozymes, that modulate the inflammatory process via modulation of the ubiquitin ligation pathway; as well as to the use of expression profiles and compositions in diagnosis and therapy related to regulation of inflammation and modulation of cytokine signaling involved in inflammation, e.g., for treatment of infection, autoimmune disease and other diseases related to the inflammatory process.

Abstract: The present invention relates to regulation of the cell cycle. More particularly, the present invention is directed to nucleic acids encoding components of the ubiquitin ligation pathway, e.g., ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like molecules, E1, E2, and E3 proteins and their substrates, which are involved in modulation of cell cycle arrest. The invention further relates to methods for identifying and using agents, including small molecule chemical compositions, antibodies, peptides, cyclic peptides, nucleic acids, RNAi, antisense nucleic acids, and ribozymes, that modulate cell cycle arrest via modulation of the ubiquitin ligation pathway; as well as to the use of expression profiles and compositions in diagnosis and therapy related to cell cycle regulation and modulation of cellular proliferation, e.g., for treatment of cancer and other diseases of cellular proliferation.

Abstract: A switched preconditioner circuit is provided at the power input end of a light source to effectively drop the voltage of the light source to zero volts whenever the light source is required to be in an OFF state thereby eliminating the problem of unwanted current through the light source. The preconditioner circuit may include a terminal connected to a first power potential, a terminal connected to a power node at the power input end of the light source, and an input to receive a preconditioner control signal to place the preconditioner circuit in one of an ON state and an OFF state. The preconditioner circuit supplies the voltage to the power node in its ON state and effectively eliminates the voltage to the power node in its OFF state.

Abstract: A switched preconditioner circuit is provided at the power input end of a light source to effectively drop the voltage of the light source to zero volts whenever the light source is required to be in an OFF state thereby eliminating the problem of unwanted current through the light source. The preconditioner circuit may include a terminal connected to a first power potential, a terminal connected to a power node at the power input end of the light source, and an input to receive a preconditioner control signal to place the preconditioner circuit in one of an ON state and an OFF state. The preconditioner circuit supplies the voltage to the power node in its ON state and effectively eliminates the voltage to the power node in its OFF state.

Abstract: A method of modulating immune response in an animal is disclosed. Such a method interacting the immature dendritic cells from the animal with an antigen ex vivo so that the immature dendritic cells present the antigen on their surfaces, inducing maturation of the immature dendritic cells ex vivo, and contacting the mature dendritic cells ex vivo with a modulator comprising TRANCE, conservative variants thereof, fragments thereof, analogs or derivatives thereof, or a fusion protein comprising the amino acid sequence of TRANCE, conservative variants thereof, or fragments thereof. After contacting the modulator ex vivo, the mature dendritic cells are introduced into the animal. As a result, immune response in the animal towards the antigen is modulated relative to the immune response against the antigen in an animal in which dendritic cells did not interact with the antigen ex vivo, and did not contact a modulator ex vivo.

Abstract: A method and circuit to control the intensity of lights, illumination fixtures, and displays using pulses of a fixed duration and a fixed frequency (FD/FF) is provided. In particular, the method may be used to control one more light sources. By varying the number of pulses in a control burst, the total current flowing through the light source may be precisely controlled providing greater accuracy than other methods, such as, for example, PWM or variable pulse frequency. The FD/FF technique may be used in conjunction with any number of light sources, and finds particular application in LED displays and for any type of LED illumination fixture.

Abstract: The emittance value is a measure of an amount of energy expelled from a given surface area relative to a black-body reference. Depending on the specific coating a change in the emittance value is actively or passively effected. There are known active variable emittance thermal control coatings. However, such coatings are actually panels housing a mixture of both high and low emissivity materials that are electrically manipulated to control the emittance value of the panel. These “coatings” are classified as either electrochromic or electrophorectic. Both electrochromic and electrophorectic coatings require an applied voltage to cause a change in the emittance value of the coating. By contrast, aspects of the present invention do not include active variable emittance thermal control coatings. Aspects of the present invention do include passive variable emittance thermal control coatings and materials.

Abstract: A method and circuit to control the intensity of lights, illumination fixtures, and displays using pulses of a fixed duration and a fixed frequency (FD/FF) is provided. In particular, the method may be used to control one more light sources. By varying the number of pulses in a control burst, the total current flowing through the light source may be precisely controlled providing greater accuracy than other methods, such as, for example, PWM or variable pulse frequency. The FD/FF technique may be used in conjunction with any number of light sources, and finds particular application in LED displays and for any type of LED illumination fixture.

Abstract: A MIMO receiver is provided with a preprocessor for performing QR decomposition of a channel matrix H wherein the factored reduced matrix R is used in place of H and Q*y is used in place of the received vector y in a maximum likelihood detector (“MLD”). The maximum likelihood detector might be a hard-decision MLD or a soft-decision MLD. A savings of computational complexity can be used to provide comparable results more quickly, using less circuitry, and/or requiring less consumed energy, or performance can be improved for a fixed amount of time, circuitry and/or energy. Where the MLD uses approximations, such as finite resolution calculations (fixed point or the like) or L1 Norm approximations, the reduced number of operations resulting from using the reduced matrix results in improved approximations as a result of the finite resolution operations. Other methods of reducing the channel matrix might be used for suitable and/or cumulative advantages.

Abstract: Systems and methodologies are described that provide low-complexity soft-output detection for MIMO communication systems. Looping can be performed over a set of constellation points per spatial stream to obtain distance metrics for each of a series of transmitted streams, for which values for the other transmitted streams can be estimated using a MIMO channel matrix and a sub-optimal MIMO algorithm. Examples of MIMO algorithms that can be utilized include Per-Stream List Detection (PSLD), Lattice-Reduced Detection (LRD), and a Guided-M Algorithm. Performance can be further improved by pre-processing the MIMO channel matrix and/or by utilizing techniques for Enhanced Metric Usage (EMU).