Abstract: A business entity serves as an intermediary that facilitates transactions between early stage companies and product/service vendors. In accordance with a preferred method, the intermediary solicits information from a company based upon which the intermediary makes an impartial creditworthiness and viability analysis of the company. The intermediary then provides the analysis to the company as well as to product and service vendors that may be of interest to the company. The intermediary may also perform introductions between the company and potential vendors. The product and service vendors can use the analysis to make determinations as to whether to extend credit to the company in exchange for products and/or services. The product and service vendors may alternatively or additionally decide to take an equity interest in the company in exchange for products and services.

Abstract: A method for analyzing the concentration of selected constituent gases in the expiratory gas streams from a patient. The method includes the steps of: (a) measuring the flow rate of the expiratory gas stream to provide a flow rate signal; (b) generating a tidal volume signal in response to the flow rate signal; (c) generating a sample control signal in response to the tidal volume signal and the flow rate signal to mark an interval within the end tidal periods of several successive expiratory gas streams; (d) extracting a sample of each of the several successive expiratory gas streams during the marked interval in response to the sample control signal; (e) accumulating each extracted sample in a variable volume reservoir; (f) transferring the accumulated gas samples within the variable volume reservoir into a sample cell in response to the variable volume reaching a predetermined limit; and (g) measuring the concentration of the selected constituent gas in the volume of gas contained in the cell.