Abstract: A process for aiding the operation of the heart muscle comprising periodically sending to the heart during at least certain heart cycles sub-threshold test impulses and detecting whether there occurs a systole in response during a time window following the test impulse. In the case of a response, the heart is stimulated at a frequency higher than the heart frequency in course of operation.

Abstract: A rapid and reliable method is proposed for the quantitative determination of the individual free and acetylated polyamines, i.e. spermine, spermidine, putrescine, acetylspermine, N.sup.1 - and N.sup.8 -acetylspermidines and acetylputrescine in the body fluid of a patient suffering cancer or other deseases to facilitate diagnosis and therapeutic treatment. The method comprises subjecting the aqueous fluid to several enzymatic oxidative decomposition reactions of the polyamines in sequence or in combination by use of the 4 enzymes, i.e. polyamine oxidase AT-1, polyamine oxidase PC-3, putrescine oxidase and acetylputrescine oxidase, and determining, preferably photometrically, the amount of hydrogen peroxide formed as a byproduct in each of the reaction steps followed by setting up a set of simultaneous equations to give the respective amounts of the individual polyamines as a function of the amounts of the hydrogen peroxide formed in the reaction steps and solving the simultaneous equations.

Abstract: A perfume dispenser has compartments for separately storing a plurality of liquid perfumes each of a different fragrance, a selector device which enables any one liquid perfume or any combination of liquid perfumes to be selected for dispensing through an outlet of the dispenser and an actuating device operable to cause the release of a quantity of the selected liquid perfume or perfumes into a mixing chamber and from the chamber to said outlet. The actuating device includes a depressable cap which carries an outlet nozzle through which the selected perfume or combination of perfumers may be dispensed and a tubular member of resilient material is provided to conduct the selected perfume or combination of perfumes to the outlet nozzle this tubular member also providing a resilient force against which the cap is depressed when it is desired to actuate the dispenser to dispense the selected perfume or mixture of perfumes from the outlet nozzle.

Abstract: This invention relates to hoisting and traversing apparatus, and particularly to automatic hoisting and traversing apparatus which requires only a single motor for both hoisting and traversing. More particularly, the invention relates to a hoisting and traversing system in which the cable or chain which lifts the load can also be used to control the traversing movements of the load.

Abstract: An apparatus for blood analysis to determine the rate of corpuscle sedimentation. The apparatus has a first support (1) with several graduated tubes (4) open at both ends and held vertically in spaced relation on the first support. The tubes (4) have enlarged lower ends (4b) which can diverge. A second support (2) has blood sample containers (13) of larger diameter than the vertical tubes on the first support. The containers (13) are spaced apart on the said second support, the same distance as the tubes on the first support so the containers are respectively, vertically below the tubes. Sealing and flow inducing members engage in the diverging lower ends (4b) of the respective tubes. The support means (1, 2) are movable with respect to each other between a first position in which the tubes are vertically above the containers, and a second position in which the lower ends of the tubes are immersed in the containers.

Abstract: A surgical corset including a shoulder section to be applied to the shoulders and having shoulder bands, a waist section to be applied to the waist, of which both the side margins are extended forwards to form supporting portions; a back section to be applied to the back and connecting the shoulder section and the waist section. A plurality of fasteners on both sides of the outer surface of the back section are spaced at a distance corresponding respectively to an aliquot of the whole length of the back section. Elastic straps are removably mounted along and on the back section by adjacent ones of the fastening members. This provides a surgical corset which is more conventionally and comfortably worn due to its elastic structure.

Abstract: A reactor for chlorinating rubber has an inlet opening which closely surrounds the rubber material entering the reactor therethrough, and hence any tendency for escape of chlorine is countered by absorption of that chlorine by the entering completely non-chlorinated rubber. The chlorinated rubber emerging from the outlet opening of the chamber is immersed in water before leaving the reactor and hence the outlet is sealed, by the water, against escape of the chlorine treatment gas. The rubber and chlorine displacements through the reactor are counter current to one another.

Abstract: The invention provides a novel magnetically traceable or detectable explosive blended with a magnetic ferrite powder which facilitates the detection of the misfired explosive, e.g. dynamite, remaining in the field after blasting by a magnetic means but not to adversely affect the stability of the explosive. The ferrite powder is freed of any free alkalinity on the surface before blending with the explosive either by washing with water, neutralization with a dilute acid, reaction with an acid followed by washing with water or neutralization with an alkali and/or by coating with a polymeric material on the particles. The most efficient method for the coating of the ferrite powder with a polymeric material is the in situ polymerization of a radical-polymerizable monomer in contact with the ferrite particles in the presence of hydrogensulfite ions and the explosives blended with such a polymer-coated ferrite powder retain their stability even after a prolonged storage.

Abstract: This invention relates to a screen system for color reproduction wherein screens differing in angle and screen line spacing from color separation to color separation are utilized in each case in the individual color separations. Special screens are specified, whereof the tolerance ranges are situated at 2.degree. for the angles and at approximately 12% for the screen fineness.

Abstract: This invention relates to a method of producing protein-rich forage or nitrogenous fertilizer as a commercial product from fowl droppings, swine dung, cow dung and the like by charging said ordure into a heated animal, fish or vegetable oil, subjecting the mixture to a smooth dehydrating treatment under the two-step reduced pressure conditions starting initial by with a limited pressure reduction and later increasing the degree of pressure reduction, and thereafter squeezing oil out of the treated mixture to thereby produce said forage or fertilizer. Said method is conducive to the prevention of malodor pollution caused by said livestock excrements and can also eliminate the wasteful use of fuel required in the incineration treatments.

Abstract: The invention provides a novel watertight rubbery sealing material of which the water-swellability is markedly insusceptible to the adverse influence of compression of the material in a dry condition. The watertight sealing material is a shaped and vulcanized body of a water-swellable rubber composition comprising, in a limited proportion, (a) a chloroprene rubber, (b) a highly water-absorptive resin such as a crosslinked polyacrlylic acid in the form of a sodium salt, (c) a rubbery polymer unvulcanizable with a metal oxide-based vulcanizing agent and (d) a metal oxide-based vulcanizing agent which is preferably a combination of magnesium oxide and zinc oxide.

Abstract: The performance of an asphaltic paving material can be greatly improved when the paving material is prepared by first coating the particles of the aggregate material with a molten phenolic resin and then mixing the thus resin-coated aggregate material with asphalt and the like bituminous material. The phenolic resin is preferably modified with a phenoxy resin.

Abstract: An apparatus for stunning animals and which has multiple propulsive charges. The apparatus is of the type in which a spike or plunger is projected toward the head of an animal to be slaughtered. The barrel of the apparatus is mounted on a part pivoted to the breech for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to the axis of the barrel. This arrangement mounts the barrel for pivotal movement between a position in which the barrel can be locked to the breech for firing, and a position in which the cartridge chamber of the barrel is aligned with cartridges in the cylinder of a magazine located in a handle connected to the breech. This arrangement permits simply pivoting the barrel into alignment with the magazine to load a cartridge into the chamber, and then pivoting the barrel back to the firing position in which it can be locked to the breech.

Abstract: The invention provides an improvement in the disposal of a waste water coining iron-cyanide complexes including ferricyanides by the reduction of the ferricyanide ions into ferrocyanide in the presence of a zinc salt to precipitate the ferrocyanide ions in the form of zinc ferrocyanide. The improvement comprises the use of a sulfite, e.g. sodium sulfite, and a thiosulfate, e.g. sodium thiosulfate, in combination as the reducing agent whereby the reduction of the ferricyanide ions is complete within a relatively short time without being affected by the atmospheric oxygen or other factors.

Abstract: The ceramic roller-hearth kiln is divided into three zones, of which the first and last are utilized for the initial heating and the cooling of the material respectively, and the central zone, which is provided with combustion means and utilized for high-temperature firing, comprises a conduit for the forced counter-current suction of the gaseous products of combustion between said second and said first zone, from said conduit there branching two ducts for the feed and recovery of part of the hot gas to and from the first zone; the cooling zone being constituted by three successive sections comprising, respectively, direct cooling by blowing air on to the material, cooling by induction and cooling by forced ventilation, the hot air recovered from said cooling zones being fed to the head of the kiln, to flow into said forced suction conduit.

Abstract: An apparatus for sampling liquids flowing in closed pipes includes a piston (3) and cylinder (4) linked to a manifold with an inlet valve (7) leading to the pipeline (15) and a delivery valve (10) leading to a collection bottle (12). With valve (7) open, reciprocation of the piston flushes the apparatus of old liquid. Cylinder (4) is then fully charged, valve (7) closed and the valve (10) opened so that, on the next stroke of piston (3), the contents of the cylinder (4) is discharged into collection vessel (12). A controller (20) synchronizes the movements of the valves and piston. A variation includes a return valve to enable liquid to be recirculated back to the pipeline, and also an apparatus with a moving probe (14), synchronized to the movement of piston (3). The apparatus can use pneumatic controls.

Abstract: Pinging in an internal combustion engine is avoided by reducing the ignition advance angle, whenever pinging is detected, by a given angular retardation to arrive at a corrected advance angle. In the absence of pinging at said corrected advance angle, the angle of advance is progressively increased again stepwise at a first incremental rate of increase which is being maintained so long as the absence of pinging is maintained, up to a maximum cumulative increase; if this cumulative increase is attained without again detecting pinging the advance angle is increased stepwise at a second incremental rate until the normal advance angle value or the recurrence of pinging. At the time of transition from said first to said second incremental rate, said second incremental rate of increase is greater than or equal to said first incremental rate.

Abstract: A windscreen wiper system, designed in particular for road vehicles, providing a non-circular path of any one of the points of at least one windscreen wiper blade and comprising a shaft having an alternating rotational movement which drives a main guide arm associated with the said shaft by a pivot joint, characterized in that it comprises, on one hand, a rocker (2) associated with the main guide arm (3) by a further pivot joint and, on the other hand, a secondary guide arm (4) articulated at two of its points, each articulation comprising at least two pivot joints, one of the above-mentioned articulations connecting it to the rocker (2), the blade (1) being articulated by a pivot joint on the rocker (2).

Abstract: The inventive liquid separator of laboratory use can overcome the problems in the conventional separatory funnels used for liquid-liquid phase separation. The inventive apparatus comprises (a) a first bottle-like vessel with a mouth, (b) a second bottle-like vessel with a mouth connected with the first vessel at the mouths with air-tightness but disconnectable therefrom, (c) a porous membrane partitioning the first and the second vessels and made, preferably, of a sintered body of a water-repellent plastic resin such as a fluorocarbon polymer, and (d) an air-passage tubing opening at the ends in the first and the second vessels. When a two-phase mixture of an aqueous liquid and an organic liquid is taken in the first vessel positioned above the second vessel, the organic liquid can pass through the porous membrane to be transferred into the second vessel but the aqueous liquid is retained in the first vessel by virtue of the water-repellency of the fluorocarbon polymer.

Abstract: Simple twist wire net of the type in which adjacent rows can pivot relative to each other is folded, accordian fashion, by depositing the net onto at least two elongated, spaced apart, parallel supports. The supports are spaced apart a distance equal to a multiple of the distance between interlooped peaks and valleys of adjacent rows of the net, and engage the underside of the peaks and valleys to permit the net to fold by gravity on the supports and to maintain the peaks and valleys aligned. The supports can be rigid beams or drivable strands to fold and store the net, and the folded net can be formed into a compact roll.