Abstract: The cooling apparatus (2) for a wine bottle includes a pump (18, 20) for circulating iced water (30) around the inside of chamber (4). A bottle (14) is placed within the chamber (4). The pump (18) may be operated by a timer mechanism (10).

Abstract: A smart-card reader that includes a base, a first group of contact elements, a cover, a second group of contact elements and connecting means is disclosed. The smart-card reader can be readily soldered into a printed circuit board of a customer to be used in an apparatus in which the smart card reader is located.

Abstract: An apparatus and method delivers an expandable body member into a uterine cavity of a uterus through a cervical opening and deploys the expandable body member in the uterine cavity. The expandable body member in a compressed state is inserted into the uterine cavity. A fluid is provided to the uterine cavity at a pressure sufficient to inflate the uterine cavity. The expandable body member expands from the compressed state to the expanded state. After expansion of the expandable body member and inflation of the uterine cavity, the fluid pressure is relieved thereby collapsing the uterine cavity about the expandable body member in the expanded state such that an endometrial layer of the uterus and a surface of the expandable body member substantially contact each other in a facially opposing relationship maximizing contact therebetween.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for generating a bounding rectangle of a VOP for interlaced scan type video signals, which are capable of accurately generating a bounding rectangle, thereby preventing a color bleeding from occurring in the field-based chrominance shape subsampling. The method includes bounding rectangle formation step of forming a bounding rectangle of a video object plane in such a fashion that the bounding rectangle contains an object therein, based on input luminance shape information, optimum setting determination step of determining whether or not a spatial reference point of the bounding rectangle is positioned on an x-y coordinate of coordinate value (2m, 4n) (m and n=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, . . .

Abstract: An electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopic method for quantifying molecular oxygen and its isotopes in a sample and an electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometric cell for use in this method are provided.

Abstract: A penetrating endoscope provides visualization of organ or tissue structures or foreign objects in a body. The penetrating endoscope includes an elongate penetrating member, a complementary metal dioxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor and an objective lens. The CMOS image sensor is substantially planar and includes a plurality of pixels with a pixel signal processing circuit for generating a color image ready signal. The CMOS image sensor converts image light energy into electrical color image ready signal energy for transmission out of the body. The color image ready signal is viewed on a color image display. The CMOS image sensor is carried on the elongate penetrating member adjacent a distal end of the elongate penetrating member. The objective lens is also carried on the distal end of the elongate penetrating member on an optical axis and focuses an image corresponding to an endoscope field of view at an image plane intersecting the optical axis.

Abstract: A decorative and educational waterfall device has a substantially continuous film of a liquid, such as water, low viscosity oil or an aqueous solution, extending between spaced guide surfaces. The waterfall comprises a base reservoir in which is mounted an electrical pump. A liquid flow passage is mounted to the base and extends to a trough with a lip portion or a tank with a flow orifice from which water flows to form the waterfall between the spaced guide surfaces. The trough or flow orifice is configured to cause the flow of water to be directed outwardly toward the guide surfaces to improve the capability of the liquid to form a continuous film and the adherence of the liquid film to the guide surfaces.

Abstract: A printer includes a flat case having a flat top surface in which a printing mechanism and a sheet storage portion capable of accommodating a plurality of printing sheets are housed to be arranged along the top surface such that the printed sheet is fed out through an exit slot formed in the top surface. With such an arrangement, a thin printer can be achieved. In addition, the printed sheet fed out through the exit slot onto the flat top surface can be used just like a scratch pad or a notebook while being placed thereon. Moreover, the printer is of a thermal-type using thermal sheets, leading to reduced number of components. Therefore a compact printer can be achieved. Furthermore the printer uses thermal sheets of standard size such as A6 or B7. Accordingly, the printer can be formed to have a size substantially the same as that of a small notebook. A printer that can be handled like stationery, thus, can be obtained.

Abstract: A method of and apparatus for improving vision and the resolution of retinal images is described in which a point source produced on the retina of a living eye by a laser beam is reflected from the retina and received at a lenslet array of a Hartmann-Shack wavefront sensor such that each of the lenslets in the lenslet array forms an aerial image of the retinal point source on a CCD camera located adjacent to the lenslet array. The output signal from the CCD camera is acquired by a computer which processes the signal and produces a correction signal which may be used to control a compensating optical or wavefront compensation device such as a deformable mirror. It may also be used to fabricate a contact lens or intraocular lens, or to guide a surgical procedure to correct the aberrations of the eye. Any of these methods could correct aberrations beyond defocus and astigmatism, allowing improved vision and improved imaging of the inside of the eye.

Abstract: A tubing organizer apparatus includes a body member that extends radially outwardly from a central axis. The body member has opposite surfaces and a peripheral wall that is disposed between the opposite surfaces to define a thickness and extends circumferentially about the central axis. The peripheral wall includes a plurality of exterior wall segments facing outwardly relative to the central axis and a plurality of interior wall segments connected to the exterior wall segments. The plurality of interior wall segments are configured to form a corresponding plurality of notches extending inwardly between consecutive ones of the exterior wall segments and into the body member relative to the central axis. The tubing organizer apparatus might also include a support structure sized and adapted for rotatably mounting the body member thereto.

Abstract: A method of transforming a normally gaseous composition containing at least one hydrogen source, at least one oxygen source and at least one carbon source into a normally liquid fuel, wherein said gaseous composition consists at least in part of carbon dioxide as said carbon source and said oxygen source, and of methane as said hydrogen source and as a second carbon source; the method comprising the steps of feeding the composition into a reactor including a first electrode means, a second electrode means and at least one layer of a normally solid dielectric material positioned between the first and the second electrode means; submitting the composition within the reactor in the presence of a normally solid catalyst to a dielectric barrier discharge, wherein said normally solid catalyst is a member selected from the group of zeolites, aluminophosphates, silicoaluminophosphates, metalloaluminophosphates and metal oxides containing OH groups; and controlling the dielectric barrier discharge to convert the gaseo

Abstract: A silencer for a shotgun firearm comprises a metal body tube, a front end closure having a projectile exit guide, and a rear end closure having a barrel mounting element. A plurality of conical baffles with metal guide bushings are serially positioned in the body and arranged coaxially with the bore of the shotgun barrel. The guides are spaced apart a distance less than the axial length of the shot cup of the shotgun projectile. An expansion chamber is provided in the body rearwardly of the muzzle where the muzzle gasses are initially discharged into the body.

Abstract: An energy saving heat transfer unit providing an efficient means to transfer energy from steam to water in a central heating system. The steam enters a mixing chamber and creates a negative pressure environment. Water in a backwater pipe, which is at a lower temperature and pressure, is than is absorbed into the mixing chamber where energy is passed from the steam to the water. A by-pass outlet is provided which relieves the heat transfer unit of excess pressure which may build up. The heated water then exits the heat transfer unit and goes back into the central heating system. After being cooled in the central heating system, the water then reenters the heat transfer unit at the backwater pipe and continues the cycle over again.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for measuring the lipid peroxidation extent in biological fluids and suspensions of tissues, in which a specifically prepared lipids containing sample is exposed to heat so as to induce thermo-chemiluminescence light which is emitted by the sample and is enhanced to an amount which can be detected by a special purpose photo detector The measurement of the light allows to conclude about the content of peroxides and subsequently to obtain accurate assessment of lipid peroxidation .

Abstract: A magnetic imaging device, such as an MR scanner, is used to provide a modified three-dimensional gradient echo sequence having a spatial-spectral excitation in which phase-encoding lines are interleaved for the excitation of water and of fat. The phase-encoding lines are spaced by an interval equal to half of the repetition time. The resulting data are sorted for the reconstruction of water-only and fat-only images, which are realigned and combined to form water-fat combined images free of chemical shift artifacts.

Abstract: An interactive virtual sexual stimulation system has one or more user interfaces. Each user interface generally comprises a computer having an input device, video camera, and transmitter. The transmitter is used to interface the computer with one or more sexual stimulation devices, which are also located at the user interface. In accordance with the preferred embodiment, a person at a first user interface controls the stimulation device(s) located at a second user interface. The first and second user interfaces may be connected, for instance, through a web site on the Internet. In another embodiment, a person at a user interface may interact with a prerecorded video feed. The invention is implemented by software that is stored at the computer of the user interface, or at a web site accessed through the Internet.

Abstract: A fish is scaled, and its internal organs removed, by continuously advancing the fish along a treatment path while simultaneously exposing the fish body to high-pressure water jets. During treatment the fish is positioned vertically, with the belly downwards. The forces required for holding and transporting the fish are applied laterally to the upper part of the fish body, which is harder, without touching the belly area, which is soft and therefore is left free. The descaled fish proceeds to a position for cutting the belly area and removing the internal organs. The treatment is carried out in the same devices efficiently and without deterioration of the gustatory properties.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for producing a hollow plastic section by extrusion through a die in a horizontal direction. The die has an inner mandrel which forms the cavity in the section. A first sealing plug and a second sealing plug, which sealing plugs are situated at a distance from one another downstream of the inner mandrel are attached to the inner mandrel. The sealing plugs are designed, during operation of the apparatus, to lie in the hollow section, such that they are sealed against the section, so that the sealing plugs and the section delimit a compartment in the cavity of the section. The compartment is filled with a liquid during operation of the apparatus. Vent means are located in the compartment for receiving and discharging gases or vapor which collects at the highest point of the compartment.

Abstract: Device and method are disclosed in which leads with pacing and defibrillating electrodes are implanted into both the right and left ventricles of a patient's heart to enable simultaneous pacing of both ventricles to reduce the width of the QRS complex of the patient's cardiac activity to a more normal duration, and, when appropriate, to apply electrical shock waveforms to both ventricles simultaneously for lower energy defibrillation of the ventricles. In applying the defibrillation therapy, the defibrillating electrode in the left ventricle may be used as the anode and the defibrillating electrode in the right ventricle may be used as the cathode, or both ventricular defibrillating electrodes may be the anode and the metal case in which the shock waveform generator is implanted may be the cathode.

Abstract: A method for cutting a window in a sheet of material that is held in a vertical plane. The cut is obtained by moving a cutting head that emits a fluid along a closed cutting run (14) that defines the outline of a piece of waste material (18). The run (14) returns to its starting point situated above a horizontal axis (22) passing through the barycenter (20) of the piece of waste material (18) and preferably situated in the vicinity of a vertical (24) passing through the barycenter.