Abstract: A composite siding panel mountable on an exterior wall of a building includes a foam backing member and a siding member attached to the backing member, such as through the use of an adhesive coating. The foam backing member is treated to be dimensionally stable. The resulting composite siding panel is less vulnerable to visual or other defects that may occur when the backing member is not dimensionally stable.

Abstract: The present disclosure describes composite siding panels with a structure that reduces dimpling. The siding panel comprises a backing member and a siding member that are joined by an adhesive layer. The adhesive layer may be made with fingers extending from its sides, or may be made with an adhesive that has an elongation factor of at least 1000%. These reduce dimpling.

Abstract: The present disclosure describes composite siding panels with a structure that reduces dimpling. The siding panel comprises a backing member and a siding member that are joined by an adhesive layer. The adhesive layer may be made with fingers extending from its sides, or may be made with an adhesive that has an elongation factor of at least 1000%. These reduce dimpling.

Abstract: The present disclosure describes composite siding panels with a structure that reduces dimpling. The siding panel comprises a backing member and a siding member that are joined by an adhesive layer. The adhesive layer may be made with fingers extending from its sides, or may be made with an adhesive that has an elongation factor of at least 1000%. These reduce dimpling.

Abstract: A composite siding panel mountable on an exterior wall of a building includes a backing member and a siding member attached to the backing member, wherein the first side edge of the siding member overhangs the first side edge of the backing member, and the second side edge of the siding member also overhangs the second front side edge of the backing member. An adhesive coating joins the front face of the backing member to the rear face of the siding member. The adhesive coating runs substantially from the first side edge of the backing member to the second side edge thereof. In the field, the overhang on one side can be trimmed or removed as desired to make a siding assembly with the overhangs organized as desired for aesthetic purposes. A siding assembly including a plurality of composite siding panels adjacently mountable on an exterior wall of a building is also disclosed.

Abstract: A composite siding panel mountable on an exterior wall of a building includes a backing member and a siding member attached to the backing member, wherein the first side edge of the siding member overhangs the first side edge of the backing member, and the second side edge of the siding member is aligned with or positioned contiguously with the second side edge of the backing member. An adhesive coating joins the front face of the backing member to the rear face of the siding member. The adhesive coating runs substantially from the first side edge of the backing member to the second side edge thereof. The backing member can be composed of closed-cell expanded foam or wire-fabricated foam, and the siding member can be formed from vinyl, polypropylene, aluminum, steel, fiberglass, engineered wood, or fiber cement. A siding assembly including a plurality of composite siding panels adjacently mountable on an exterior wall of a building is also disclosed.

Abstract: Disclosed are compositions and methods for single-step PCR of a sample containing a complex target gene pool that can simultaneously amplify a wide variety of variant target gene sequences common to the sample while maintaining the original ratios of gene variants. The compositions and methods described herein utilize (1) a gene-specific primer pool that contains multiple variants that occur in a sample containing a complex mixture of target sequences that are both required for amplification of variants in the mixture which may introduce amplification bias, with (2) a non-specific PCR primer that is designed to target multiple gene-specific primer variants and eliminate amplification bias.

Abstract: The present disclosure describes composite siding panels with a structure that reduces dimpling. The siding panel comprises a backing member and a siding member that are joined by an adhesive layer. The adhesive layer may be made with fingers extending from its sides, or may be made with an adhesive that has an elongation factor of at least 1000%. These reduce dimpling.

Abstract: A composite siding panel mountable on an exterior wall of a building includes a backing member and a siding member attached to the backing member, wherein the first side edge of the siding member overhangs the first side edge of the backing member, and the second side edge of the siding member is aligned with or positioned contiguously with the second side edge of the backing member. An adhesive coating joins the front face of the backing member to the rear face of the siding member. The adhesive coating runs substantially from the first side edge of the backing member to the second side edge thereof. The backing member can be composed of closed-cell expanded foam or wire-fabricated foam, and the siding member can be formed from vinyl, polypropylene, aluminum, steel, fiberglass, engineered wood, or fiber cement. A siding assembly including a plurality of composite siding panels adjacently mountable on an exterior wall of a building is also disclosed.

Abstract: Disclosed are methods and devices for lysing cells to release extract genomic DNA (gDNA). The methods use a mixture of microscopic glass beads and cells (for example, spores) that form a semi-dry cake that clings to a larger metal ball and the sides of the tube during bead beating lysis, greatly improving the efficiency of the bead beating process. The devices produce a chaotic motion which ensures that sufficient force is generated to open the cells, and that the metal ball impacts are distributed across the interior surface of the container so that all of the cell mixture is subjected to sufficient impacts to break the cells. As a result, spores and other difficult-to-lyse microbes, can be opened in seconds. The method reduces the number of steps and hands-on time by rapidly opening difficult to lyse cells, while preserving the integrity of the DNA.

Abstract: A composite siding panel mountable on an exterior wall of a building includes a backing member and a siding member attached to the backing member, wherein the first side edge of the siding member overhangs the first side edge of the backing member, and the second side edge of the siding member is aligned with or positioned contiguously with the second side edge of the backing member. An adhesive coating joins the front face of the backing member to the rear face of the siding member. The adhesive coating runs substantially from the first side edge of the backing member to the second side edge thereof. The backing member can be composed of closed-cell expanded foam or wire-fabricated foam, and the siding member can be formed from vinyl, polypropylene, aluminum, steel, fiberglass, engineered wood, or fiber cement. A siding assembly including a plurality of composite siding panels adjacently mountable on an exterior wall of a building is also disclosed.

Abstract: A composite siding panel mountable on an exterior wall of a building includes a backing member and a siding member attached to the backing member, wherein the first side edge of the siding member overhangs the first side edge of the backing member, and the second side edge of the siding member also overhangs the second front side edge of the backing member. An adhesive coating joins the front face of the backing member to the rear face of the siding member. The adhesive coating runs substantially from the first side edge of the backing member to the second side edge thereof. In the field, the overhang on one side can be trimmed or removed as desired to make a siding assembly with the overhangs organized as desired for aesthetic purposes. A siding assembly including a plurality of composite siding panels adjacently mountable on an exterior wall of a building is also disclosed.

Abstract: A hydraulically-actuated propellant stimulation of a downhole tool for use in hydrocarbon wells, which comprises a rupture disc that allows a predetermined pressure in the central bore of the tool to actuate a detonator assembly and, thereby, detonating a propellant volume.

Abstract: An insulating panel comprises a backing member and a siding member. The backing member has a front face, a rear face, a top face, a bottom face, a first side face, and a second side face. The siding member has a veneer, a top wall, and a nailing hem. The rear face of the veneer is attached to the front face of the backing member. The top edge of the veneer has a hook extending forward and the bottom edge of the veneer extends beyond the bottom face of the backing member and has a lip extending rearward. The top wall of the siding member extends rearward from the veneer, and the nailing hem extends upwards from the rear edge of the top wall, to lie in the same plane as the rear face of the backing member.