Abstract: A surgical device for pressing and retaining adjacent bones against one another comprising a compression brace and separate fasteners. The compression brace has at least two fastener retaining portions. Each fastener retaining portion has a fastener hole therethrough for receiving a fastener, such as a screw or pin. A pair of bridge members are positioned between the fastener retaining portions, and are spaced apart from one another to form a compression opening. The compression bracket can include a plurality of fastener retaining portions and a plurality of compression openings. In some embodiments, the fasteners are maintained in a substantially fixed relation with the fastener retaining portion. The brace is installed on adjacent bones such that a fastener engages each bone. The compression opening is spread apart to draw the fasteners toward one another, and thereby compress the adjacent bones together.

Abstract: A method of temporal, activity-based cost modeling for an organization is provided. The method includes the steps of (a) determining a plurality of data types contributing to costs related to one or more activities of the organization; (b) capturing data elements corresponding to the data types; (c) Creating an ontological enterprise model based on the data elements, by applying a Temporal Activity Based Costing Model to the organization; testing the applicability of the Temporal Activity Based Costing Model to the organization; and adjusting the Temporal Activity Based Costing Model to the organization, based on the testing; and (d) configuring a computer system to apply the ontological enterprise model to the data elements on an ongoing basis, such that the ontological enterprise model yields information about the costs of the activities for defined periods of time. The method enables derivation of cost knowledge from the cost information, by operation of a profit knowledge utility.

Abstract: A method of executing a sequence of multiple dependent operations, each operation including a memory read and a memory write involves overlapping memory accesses of the operations by grouping together memory reads and memory writes of multiple operations and preserving a desired sequence of the operations using a circuit external to a memory through which the memory accesses are performed. The operations may be updates to one or more linked lists. In one embodiment, the step of overlapping memory accesses may be performed by grouping together memory accesses according to ATM cell arrivals or departures. In this embodiment, the operations are associated with ATM cell arrivals or departures and may be gets or puts. Each get and put operation may be characterized by a number of atomic memory operations to update one or more linked lists.

Abstract: A plurality of cells are received from a digital network and stored in a logical queue. The cells contain data information and logical connection information and the logical queue corresponds to the logical connection identified by the logical connection information. The cells are combined into a frame by extracting the cells from the logical queue and storing the cells to a local memory so that the data information is preserved. Extraction may be accomplished by notifying a local processor that the frame's worth of data is ready and then transferring the data information of the cells to a local memory at the direction of the local processor. During the transfer, error detection operations may be performed. Information may be transmitted into the digital network by segmenting a frame of data into a plurality of cells and injecting each of the cells into a logical queue. The logical queue may be constructed with a series of linked list pointers associated with the memory locations.

Abstract: In a digital switch, incoming cells are placed into a queue in a cell memory. The switch maintains various cell queues, including VC queues that correspond to individual connections and QBin queues that correspond to various classes of service. Cells may arrive to a VC queue or a QBin queue but will depart from a QBin queue. Accordingly, cells may be moved from VC queues to QBin queues. Cells are serviced according to the use of QBin Groups. A QBin Group (QBG) includes a number of logical queues (QBins) of cells to be transported in the digital network. After a QBG is selected, one of its logical queues is selected for servicing. The QBG may be selected by examining all of the QBGs to find an eligible QBG which is most overdue for service. A QBin of the selected QBG may then be selected by examining each of the QBins comprising the selected QBG to find the most overdue for service. The QBGs may correspond to virtual interfaces.

Abstract: A lighted mask for underwater divers utilizing a monochromatic blue-green LED light source secured to the mask directing light to the front of the face plate of the mask and having a push button control mounted on the mask for actuating the light source.

Abstract: A plurality of cells are received from a digital network and stored in a logical queue. The cells contain data information and logical connection information and the logical queue corresponds to the logical connection identified by the logical connection information. The cells are combined into a frame by extracting the cells from the logical queue and storing the cells to a local memory so that the data information is preserved. Extraction may be accomplished by notifying a local processor that the frame's worth of data is ready and then transferring the data information of the cells to a local memory at the direction of the local processor. During the transfer, error detection operations may be performed. Information may be transmitted into the digital network by segmenting a frame of data into a plurality of cells and injecting each of the cells into a logical queue. The logical queue may be constructed with a series of linked list pointers associated with the memory locations.