Abstract: A circuit that includes an amplifier circuit with an input impedance due to an input resistance and an input capacitance of the amplifier circuit. The input impedance of the amplifier circuit may vary with frequency. The amplifier circuit may include an amplifier and a feedback circuit configured to provide feedback to the amplifier and to maintain the input impedance at a specified value at a selected frequency by increasing the input resistance of the amplifier circuit at the selected frequency.

Abstract: A computer system receives a request to instantiate a virtual machine (VM) in a first target cloud and a second target cloud. The target clouds operate with different configuration parameters. The system modifies a generic VM disk image that is not formatted for the first or second target cloud to create a cloud-formatted VM disk image for the first target cloud and a cloud-formatted VM disk image for the second target cloud. The first target cloud cloud-formatted VM disk image is based on the first target cloud configuration parameters, and the second target cloud cloud-formatted VM disk image is based on the second target cloud configuration parameters. The system instantiates a VM in the first target cloud using the first target cloud cloud-formatted VM disk image and a VM in the second target cloud using the second target cloud cloud-formatted VM disk image.

Abstract: A server computer system determines that configuring a first virtual machine in a cloud depends on a configuration result of configuring a second virtual machine. The server computer system configures the second virtual machine in the cloud and configures the first virtual machine in the cloud using the configuration result of the second virtual machine.

Abstract: A server computing system receives a request to instantiate a virtual machine in a cloud. The request is associated with a template that specifies the operating system and software packages to be installed on the virtual machine. The system splits the installation of the virtual machine into creating a minimal operating system installation, customizing the minimal installation, and generating a disk image of the customized minimal installation. The system creates a minimal installation of the specified operating system, executes the minimal operating system in a virtual machine guest, and customizes the minimal installation of the operating system as specified in the template. The system generates a virtual machine disk image of the customized minimal installation that is a cloud generic virtual machine disk image an is configurable to instantiate the virtual machine in clouds provided by different cloud providers.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a transmitter can bias a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) coupled to an optical medium. The biasing of the VCSEL determines at least in part an optical power output by the VCSEL to the optical medium. The transmitter can also modulate the VCSEL with data to transmit the data optically through the optical medium to a receiver; receive from the receiver through a feedback channel an error vector representing a degradation in performance of the VCSEL sensed by the receiver or an instruction vector comprising one or more coefficients for use in biasing the VCSEL; and adjust the biasing of the VCSEL based on the error vector or the instruction vector to regulate the optical power output by the VCSEL to the optical medium.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a receiver may receive a signal from a transmitter. The receiver may include a first sampler that may sample the signal when the value of the signal is zero. The receiver may further include a second sampler that may sample the signal halfway between a time when the first sampler samples the signal and the next time when the first sampler samples the signal to produce a set of sampled values. The receiver may be further operable to determine that a sampled value in the set of sampled values is a logic 1 if the sampled value is greater than the value of a reference voltage and that the sampled value is a logic 0 if the sampled value is less than the value of the reference voltage.

Abstract: A user interface for a virtual world includes a circular area forming a display for an item in the virtual world, and controls surrounding only a portion of the display for controlling that item.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a transmitter can bias a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) coupled to an optical medium. The biasing of the VCSEL determines at least in part an optical power output by the VCSEL to the optical medium. The transmitter can also modulate the VCSEL with data to transmit the data optically through the optical medium to a receiver; receive from the receiver through a feedback channel an error vector representing a degradation in performance of the VCSEL sensed by the receiver or an instruction vector comprising one or more coefficients for use in biasing the VCSEL; and adjust the biasing of the VCSEL based on the error vector or the instruction vector to regulate the optical power output by the VCSEL to the optical medium.

Abstract: An irrigation power system is provided for use with a conventional irrigation conduit having water flow therethrough as a source of hydro energy. In order to convert the hydro energy of the water flow to electrical energy, a power generation module is provided along the irrigation conduit. The electrical energy provided by the power generation module is then provided to a power conditioner to alter the electrical energy to produce a predetermined current. The predetermined current is then sent to a storage device for later use. An irrigation system component then communicates with the storage device to receive electrical power for selective operation of the component.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an assay for detecting virus, in particular an assay for detecting viral replication in a tissue sample. The invention also relates to methods of determining the susceptibility of an animal to a virus, and methods of breeding animals with decreased susceptibility to a virus.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes generating two or more clock signals, sequentially selecting each one of the clock signals, and adjusting the respective clock duty cycle of the selected one of the clock signals until it substantially matches a predetermined clock duty cycle. The adjustment of the respective clock duty cycle includes generating a control signal based on the respective clock duty cycle, generating a duty-cycle-distortion (DCD) correction signal based on the control signal, adjusting the respective clock duty cycle of the selected one of the clock signals based on the DCD correction signal, and adjusting the control and DCD correction signals and re-adjusting the respective clock duty cycle of the selected one of the clock signals until the respective clock duty cycle of the selected one of the clock signals substantially matches the predetermined clock duty cycle.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes generating two or more clock signals, sequentially selecting each one of the clock signals, and adjusting the respective clock duty cycle of the selected one of the clock signals until it substantially matches a predetermined clock duty cycle. The adjustment of the respective clock duty cycle includes generating a control signal based on the respective clock duty cycle, generating a duty-cycle-distortion (DCD) correction signal based on the control signal, adjusting the respective clock duty cycle of the selected one of the clock signals based on the DCD correction signal, and adjusting the control and DCD correction signals and re-adjusting the respective clock duty cycle of the selected one of the clock signals until the respective clock duty cycle of the selected one of the clock signals substantially matches the predetermined clock duty cycle.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes, in response to assertion of a write-enable signal at a memory array that comprises a plurality of words, sequentially and at a first clock frequency writing data to the memory array starting at a beginning of the memory array until the memory array is full. The method includes, independent of the writing of data to the memory array, asynchronously and at a second clock frequency that is slower than the first clock frequency reading data from the memory array based on read addresses received at the memory array.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, at a filter comprising a Miller amplifier, a differential data signal output by a limiting amplifier (LA), the data signal comprising an output direct current (DC) offset resulting at least in part from a threshold-adjustment signal applied to the LA or an intrinsic DC offset caused by physical characteristics of the LA. In one embodiment, the method additionally includes generating a compensation signal based on the threshold-adjustment signal, a polarity of the compensation signal being opposite a polarity of the threshold-adjustment signal or the DC offset, a magnitude of the compensation signal being a function of the magnitude of the threshold-adjustment signal. In one embodiment, the method further includes introducing the compensation signal to an internal node of the Miller amplifier to compensate for the DC offset to keep one or more amplifier stages of the Miller amplifier in their linear operating regions.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, at a filter comprising a Miller amplifier, a differential data signal output by a limiting amplifier (LA), the data signal comprising an output direct current (DC) offset resulting at least in part from a threshold-adjustment signal applied to the LA or an intrinsic DC offset caused by physical characteristics of the LA. In one embodiment, the method additionally includes generating a compensation signal based on the threshold-adjustment signal, a polarity of the compensation signal being opposite a polarity of the threshold-adjustment signal or the DC offset, a magnitude of the compensation signal being a function of the magnitude of the threshold-adjustment signal. In one embodiment, the method further includes introducing the compensation signal to an internal node of the Miller amplifier to compensate for the DC offset to keep one or more amplifier stages of the Miller amplifier in their linear operating regions.

Abstract: A user interface for a virtual world includes a circular area forming a display for an item in the virtual world, and controls surrounding only a portion of the display for controlling that item.

Abstract: A user interface for a virtual world includes a circular area forming a display for an item in the virtual world, and controls surrounding only a portion of the display for controlling that item.

Abstract: A user interface for a virtual world controls and allows registering new characters and also registering achievement when the user has carried out a number of different items.

Abstract: A proactive surveillance enhancement system and method that gives an operator an overview of a surveillance area while simultaneously allowing the operator to focus on specific details in the surveillance area. The operator is used to make decisions about what activity, object, and persons in the surveillance area warrant further investigation. Embodiments of the system and method include one or more overview cameras, which provide an overview of the surveillance area, and a pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera, which provides detailed video as directed by the operator. Embodiments of the system and method display to the operator an overview video feed (as captured by the overview camera) and the inspection video feed (as captured by the PTZ camera) in a graphical user interface. The operator is able to control the PTZ camera from both the overview video feed and the inspection video feed.

Abstract: An irrigation power system is provided for use with a conventional irrigation conduit having water flow therethrough as a source of hydro energy. In order to convert the hydro energy of the water flow to electrical energy, a power generation module is provided along the irrigation conduit. The electrical energy provided by the power generation module is then provided to a power conditioner to alter the electrical energy to produce a predetermined current. The predetermined current is then sent to a storage device for later use. An irrigation system component then communicates with the storage device to receive electrical power for selective operation of the component.