Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to coated glass articles which reduce glass particle formation caused by glass to glass contact in pharmaceutical glass filling lines.

Abstract: A fault-tolerant magnetoresistive solid-state storage device (MRAM) in use performs error correction coding and decoding of stored information, to tolerate physical defects. At manufacture, the MRAN device is tested to confirm that each set of storage cells is suitable for storing ECC encoded data, using either a parametric evaluation (step 602), or a logical evaluation (step 603) or preferably a combination of both. Failed cells are identified and a count is formed, suitably in terms of ECC symbols 206 that would be affected by such failed cells (step 604). The count can be compared to a threshold (step 605) to determine suitability of the accessed storage cells and a decision made (step 606) on whether to continue with use of those cells, or whether to take remedial action.

Abstract: A magnetoresistive solid-state storage device (MRAM device) uses storage cells 16 arranged in many arrays 10 to form a macro-array 2. For fast access times and to reduce exposure to physical failures, each unit of data (e.g. a sector) is stored with a few sub-units (e.g. bytes) in each of a large plurality of the arrays 10. Advantageously, the plurality of arrays 10 are accessible in parallel substantially simultaneously, and a failure in any one array affects only a small portion of the data unit. Optionally, error correction coding (ECC) is employed to form encoded data with symbols which are stored according to preferred embodiments which further minimise exposure to physical failures.

Abstract: An apparatus for an a method of closing a fixed gap in an activity surface such as a turfed race-track is described. The apparatus comprises a movable turf tray having an upper surface with the same characteristics as the activity surface and means for guiding the tray into the gap so as to wedge the tray releasably in the gap and thereby to provide a substantially continuous activity surface. The apparatus can be used to provide a reconfigurable racetrack crossing with the permanent road gap in the racetrack being closeable by means of the movable turf tray. Overlapping edges of the turf tray provide a weight wedging action which provides reliable pressure joins. This also has application for creating reconfigurable turfed activity surfaces such as are used in sports stadia and the like.

Abstract: Systems and methods for controlling communication with nonvolatile memory devices via a memory bus are provided. Briefly described, one of many possible embodiments is a system comprising a memory controller in communication with a memory bus, the memory controller configured to control communication with at least one nonvolatile memory device by configuring the at least one nonvolatile memory device, via the memory bus, with a unique device identifier.

Abstract: In a digital data storage system providing two or more levels of interleaved Reed-Solomon error correction coding together with a track checksum, the track checksum is calculated according to an algorithm which has no correlation with the Reed-Solomon codeword generation rules. This allows miscorrections at the C2 correction level to be determined reliably thereby enhancing the correction rate. Also disclosed is a system which uses the enhanced ability to identify C2 miscorrections, to mark C2 miscorrections to the third level of error correction thereby allowing double error correct at the third level.

Abstract: Systems and methods for controlling communication with nonvolatile memory devices via a memory bus are provided. Briefly described, one of many possible embodiments is a system comprising a memory controller in communication with a memory bus, the memory controller configured to control communication with at least one nonvolatile memory device by configuring the at least one nonvolatile memory device, via the memory bus, with a unique device identifier.

Abstract: A data storage device comprises at least one array of memory elements arranged in a plurality of rows and columns; coding means for coding an input data into a form having a balanced proportion of ‘1’s and ‘0’s, said coding means comprising means for applying an output of a pseudo random bit sequence generator to said incoming data, wherein the coded data is stored in the array of memory elements such that the ‘1’s and ‘0’s are spatially distributed relatively evenly across the plurality of memory elements; and decoding means for decoding the coded data read from the plurality of memory elements, into the original data.

Abstract: A fault-tolerant magnetoresistive solid-state storage device (MRAM) in use performs error correction coding and decoding of stored information, to tolerate physical defects. At manufacture, the MRAM device is tested to confirm that each set of storage cells is suitable for storing ECC encoded data, using either a parametric evaluation (step 602), or a logical evaluation (step 603) or preferably a combination of both. Failed cells are identified and a count is formed, suitably in terms of ECC symbols 206 that would be affected by such failed cells (step 604). The count can be compared to a threshold (step 605) to determine suitability of the accessed storage cells and a decision made (step 606) on whether to continue with use of those cells, or whether to take remedial action.

Abstract: A magnetoresistive solid-state storage device (MRAM) performs error correction coding (ECC) of stored information. At manufacture or during use, each logical block of ECC encoded data and/or the corresponding set of storage cells are evaluated to determine suitability for continued use, or whether remedial action is necessary. In a first preferred method ECC decoding is attempted to determine whether information is unrecoverable from the block of ECC encoded data. In a second preferred method a parametric evaluation is made prior to attempting ECC decoding.

Abstract: A magnetoresistive solid-state storage device (MRAM device) uses storage cells 16 arranged in many arrays 10 to form a macro-array 2. For fast access times and to reduce exposure to physical failures, each unit of data (e.g. a sector) is stored with a few sub-units (e.g. bytes) in each of a large plurality of the arrays 10. Advantageously, the plurality of arrays 10 are accessible in parallel substantially simultaneously, and a failure in any one array affects only a small portion of the data unit. Optionally, error correction coding (ECC) is employed to form encoded data with symbols which are stored according to preferred embodiments which further minimise exposure to physical failures.

Abstract: A data storage device comprises at least one array of memory elements arranged in a plurality of rows and columns; coding means for coding an input data into a form having a balanced proportion of ‘1’s and ‘0’s, said coding means comprising means for applying an output of a pseudo random bit sequence generator to said incoming data, wherein the coded data is stored in the array of memory elements such that the ‘1’s and ‘0’s are spatially distributed relatively evenly across the plurality of memory elements; and decoding means for decoding the coded data read from the plurality of memory elements, into the original data.

Abstract: A method for defining a binding site in a biological macromolecule based on a two-sphere grid and a method for determining the free energy of a ligand:RNA structure based on pseudo-energy values. These methods can be use in docking and also in high-throughput in silico screening of ligand libraries against an RNA structure of interest.

Abstract: A method for correcting errors when writing a stream of data to a data, received from a host apparatus, to a magnetic tape data storage medium comprises: partitioning the stream of digital data into a plurality of fragments; writing the plurality of fragments to the data storage medium; reading the plurality of fragments from the data storage medium; checking whether each of the read fragments are correct; assigning each of the correct read fragments to only one of a plurality of groups of fragments; counting a total number of correct read fragments within each of the plurality of groups of fragments; and if the total number of correct read fragments within any of the plurality of groups of fragments is less than the threshold number of correct read fragments then the step of writing the plurality of fragments to the data storage medium is repeated.

Abstract: A method for defining a binding site in a biological macromolecule based on a two-sphere grid and a method for determining the free energy of a ligand:RNA structure based on pseudo-energy values. These methods can be use in docking and also in high-throughput in silico screening of ligand libraries against an RNA structure of interest.

Abstract: The present invention concerns a multiplexer for use in a system for transmitting more than one type of data, e.g. a system for transmitting voice and data. The invention eliminates transmission errors in framed data due to clock errors on the transmission side by appropriate choice of the length of multiplexer frames. Two embodiments are disclosed, one in which the frame rate of the multiplexer is greater than the frame rate of a voice coder and another in which the length of multiplexer frames is slightly adjustable to account for clock errors.