Abstract: A method and system for using automatic bidding to promote lower reserve prices in active auctions are described. While an auction is ongoing, the system prompts the seller to reduce the reserve price without notice to prospective bidders and enters new bids generated by the seller or the system to promote the auction and attempt to bring it to a successful sale.

Abstract: A bidding process is initiated for a lot of multiple items. Upon the bidding process being complete, a highest bid is determined for the lot of multiple items. A highest bidder is prompted to select a number of items from the lot of multiple items for transaction based on the highest bid. A number of remaining items are determined after the selected number of items are removed from the lot. For a duration of time, one or more other auction participants are prompted to select any one or more of the remaining items for transaction based on the highest bid. After the duration, a second bidding process is initiated for a lot of multiple remaining items that were not selected for transaction by the one or more other participants.

Abstract: A package with a resealable opening is provided. In one embodiment, the resalable opening includes a lid that may be peeled from the packaging to expose an opening and an adhesive area. The lid may later be adhered back to the packaging by contacting a portion of the lid with the adhesive area.

Abstract: A system for enabling and conducting an alternative transaction process for communicating price offers while conducting an online transaction in a networked environment is described. A transaction involving an item being offered for sale at a list price on an online medium is identified. Offers below the list price are received from potential buyers, but while the offers are below a minimum designated price, the seller is prompted to reduce the minimum designated price and is provided an interface for placing offers under an alias that pretend to outbid the previous bidders. When an offer is received that meets the minimum designated price, the alternate transaction process and the original transaction on the online medium are designated as complete based on the highest offer for the item.

Abstract: An auction forum in which multiple auctions are selected to end at a common end time based on a determination that the selected auctions are likely to interest a common set of prospective bidders.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method and system for entering customer service requests, ratings and reviews in a quality control system, keyed to employee-specific or service location-specific identification numbers stored on physical media such as QR codes, bar codes, and RFID tags, and to notify employees of service requests for prompt resolution. Also disclosed is a system and method for using such employee-specific and service location-specific data to produce numerical measurements of quality, and to convert those measurements to points that may be exchanged for rewards, incentivizing good service and participation in the quality control system.

Abstract: Bidding activity is analyzed over a duration in which multiple bids are received in the auction. A bid increment is dynamically determined for the auction in response to auction activity. An online auction system can utilize the bid increment to determine or suggest the next bid that can be received in the auction for purpose of supplanting the current bid.

Abstract: An antenna includes an antenna layer, a ground layer and a dielectric layer between the antenna layer and the ground layer. The antenna layer and the ground layer form a figure in the shape of two identical mirror image triangles joined together at a longest side of each one of the triangles where each side of each triangle is a different length.

Abstract: An online auction system includes a set of memory resources that store auction data and one or more processors. The one or more processors implement multiple auction forums for transacting a corresponding set of assets. The one or more processors enable a registrant to participate in any of the multiple auction forums by providing the registrant with multiple interfaces to prompt the user for input or action. In some embodiments, the one or more processors provide an entity type interface to prompt the registrant to declare an entity type of the registrant. The one or more processors operate to determine a set of requirements for the registrant based at least in part on (i) a type designation provided by the user, and (ii) a geographic region of one or more assets that are being transacted by the multiple auction forums.

Abstract: A method, computer program product and electronic device are provided for providing hyper-local geo-targeting based on validated, user-supplied geographic information, wherein the user's anonymity may be maintained. In particular, user-supplied geographic information may be collected in association with a truncated IP address. Once collected, the user-supplied information may be validated using geographic data previously derived from one or more complete IP addresses corresponding to the received truncated IP address. The derived geographic data may have been derived using a system that maps the routing infrastructure of the Internet in order to determine where endpoints on the Internet are located. The validated, user-supplied geographic information, which may be more specific than the derived geographic data, may then be used to provide more granular and accurate geo-targeting, all the while maintaining the privacy of the individual users.

Abstract: Certain aspects of the present disclosure are directed to a method of applying infrared neural stimulation (INS) to the central nervous system (CNS) of a target. The methods includes applying a pulsed infrared laser at a stimulation site in the CNS; and evoking responses from a region of interest of the CNS that is at or adjacent to the stimulation site by the pulsed infrared laser. In the method, the pulsed infrared laser penetrates a predetermined penetration depth of the stimulation site. Certain aspects of the present disclosure are directed to an apparatus for applying INS to the CNS of a target. The apparatus includes a generator generating a pulsed infrared laser, which penetrates a predetermined penetration depth of a stimulation site to evoke a response from the CNS, and an optical medium adapted for delivering the pulsed infrared laser at the stimulation site of the CNS.

Abstract: A prosthetic heart valve having spaced apart anchoring flanges that change shape when the valve is implanted and contact the surrounding annulus to prevent migration of the valve. The heart valve may be non-expandable and the anchoring flanges may provide the primary anchoring structure of the valve. Alternatively, the valve may be expandable wherein the anchoring flanges supplement the inherent anchoring capacity of the valve structure. The anchoring flanges are at least partly made of a material that increases in size, i.e., swells, due to absorption of body fluids. For instance, the anchoring flanges may be formed of an inner material that swells upon contact with body fluids enclosed by a cover. The anchoring flanges may be provided on an anchoring sleeve that changes shape to provide the spaced apart annular flanges for securing the valve around a fibrous annulus.

Abstract: In a communication system comprising a link layer device connectable to one or more physical layer devices, the link layer device is configured using an efficient shared architecture for processing data associated with a plurality of links including at least one ingress link and at least one egress link. The link layer device comprises an ingress data clock processor configured to generate an ingress clock signal for processing data associated with said at least one ingress link, an egress data clock processor configured to generate an egress clock signal for processing data associated with said at least one egress link, and a control and configuration unit shared by the ingress data clock processor and the egress data clock processor. Another aspect of the invention relates to a buffer adaptive processor that in an illustrative embodiment limits clock variability in the presence of cell delay variation or cell loss.

Abstract: A shade device for protecting a user from harmful sunrays is provided. The shade device may be held in the erected position with nubs such that to erect the shade device, frame support members are pushed to the erected position. To collapse the shade device, the frame support members are pushed past nubs. Accordingly, the shade device incorporates a simple push release mechanism to erect and collapse the shade device such that no assembly or disassembly of the shade device is required for tear down or set up.

Abstract: An application and system for inspecting an email message to determine if the email message is being used in a phishing ploy. When an email recipient receives an email message, the email message is sent to an EScam server for inspection. During its inspection, the EScam server considers various criteria, such as an originating country for an IP address associated with a sender of the email message, and assigns a score to the email message. Based on the score of the email message and threshold levels set within the EScam server, an email client determines whether the email message is part of a phishing ploy or a legitimate email message.

Abstract: A shade device for protecting a user from harmful sunrays is provided. The shade device may be held in the erected position with nubs such that to erect the shade device, frame support members are pushed to the erected position. To collapse the shade device, the frame support members are pushed past nubs. Accordingly, the shade device incorporates a simple push release mechanism to erect and collapse the shade device such that no assembly or disassembly of the shade device is required for tear down or set up.

Abstract: A method, computer program product and electronic device are provided for providing hyper-local geo-targeting based on validated, user-supplied geographic information, wherein the user's anonymity may be maintained. In particular, user-supplied geographic information may be collected in association with a truncated IP address. Once collected, the user-supplied information may be validated using geographic data previously derived from one or more complete IP addresses corresponding to the received truncated IP address. The derived geographic data may have been derived using a system that maps the routing infrastructure of the Internet in order to determine where endpoints on the Internet are located. The validated, user-supplied geographic information, which may be more specific than the derived geographic data, may then be used to provide more granular and accurate geo-targeting, all the while maintaining the privacy of the individual users.

Abstract: A radio apparatus and method for non-invasive, thoracic radio interrogation of a subject for the collection of hemodynamic, respiratory and/or other cardiopulmonary related data from the subject includes a antenna positionable proximally to the subject, a radio transmitter transmitting an unmodulated radio interrogation signal of a predetermined fixed frequency at a safe level of about 1 milliwatt or less from the antenna into the subject and a radio receiver capturing through the antenna, reflections of the transmitted radio interrogation signal returned from the subject. A Doppler component of the reflections contains the data that can be extracted from the captured reflections.

Abstract: An antenna includes an antenna layer, a ground layer and a dielectric layer between the antenna layer and the ground layer. The antenna layer and the ground layer form a figure in the shape of two identical mirror image triangles joined together at a longest side of each one of the triangles where each side of each triangle is a different length.