Abstract: A casino style card game, played in accordance with the standard rules of Blackjack, also known as “21,” and including an auxiliary component allowing additional wagering on the outcome of the dealer's hand for each participating player. Participating players are able to wager on the dealer having a non-breaking hand (i.e., a hand having a value less than 21 in accordance with the rules of Blackjack) containing two, three, four, five, six, or seven cards. Wagers may also be made on the dealer having an even or odd count, or an all read or all black hand. A return is paid on wagers in the auxiliary game only if the dealer hand does not “bust” (i.e, exceed a value of 21). The game is also playable in electronic or other automated versions using, for example, terminals and networks, or slot machines.

Abstract: An auxiliary pot shot video poker game and a poker table surface comprise a variety of unique and independent betting positions such as No Pair. A player betting on No Pair may place their bet or wager that the end outcome of poker game play will be that their hand will represent no pair, a poor outcome. Other positions of the auxiliary game may comprise one pair of 2's through 10's, one pair of Jack's through Aces, two pair, three of a kind, a straight, a full house and so on with generally increasing pay-offs as the likelihood of receiving the predicted outcome poker hand decreases. However, because these bets are independent the payoffs may be much larger than a pay-off for a standard video poker or poker table game. As a poker game continues and cards are dealt, a player of the auxiliary game may receive compensation for bets on predicted outcomes with automatically calculated pay-offs depending on the wagers places.

Abstract: Three methods of predicting whether an unknown biological specimen of a missing person originates from a member of a particular family comprise an initial automated decision support (ADS) algorithm for determining a list of relatives of the missing person for DNA typing and which typing technologies of available technologies to use for a listed relative. The ADS algorithm may be implemented on computer apparatus including a processor and an associated memory. The ADS method comprises determining a set of relatives of available family member relatives for DNA typing via a processor from a stored list of family member relatives according to one of a rule base, a table of hierarchically stored relatives developed based on discriminatory power or by calculating the discriminatory power for available family relatives to type.

Abstract: The present invention provides at least three methods of predicting whether an unknown biological specimen originates from a member of a particular family. These methods compare DNA profiles from unknown biological specimens to DNA profiles of more than one family member, which significantly increases the methods' identification ability. In particular, the invention describes combining at least a ranked first family member list and a ranked second family member list to create a combined ranked list and identifying the unknown biological specimen as one contained among a list of specimens having the highest combined rankings representing the candidates that are most likely related to the family. A second method encompasses comparing test DNA profiles from unknown biological specimens to a family pedigree comprising target DNA profiles obtained from multiple biological specimens of family members.

Abstract: An implantable, remotely controlled medical device that incorporates an imaging/therapy ultrasound system may be minimally invasive and equipped with an anchoring portion for securing the device within a human body. Transducers for imaging/therapy may be manipulated remotely using motors and/or selectively actuated to obtain different fields of view and stereoscopic imaging. The implantable medical device can be in the shape of a disc, double disc, sphere or pellet, for example, and may be implanted during open surgery using a manipulatable tool or using a minimally invasive image-guided sheath or catheter. The imaging system comprises one or more ultrasound transducers and can be used to provide therapy to or obtain ultrasound images of a target and surrounding volumes or focal points. The device may be controlled and report data by wired or wireless means and, if wireless, permanently worn inside the body as the patient follows their normal daily routine.

Abstract: A passive microwave receiver array, operating in the one meter to sub-millimeter wavelengths range and including an internationally protected range of frequencies of varying bandwidth, may be used for fire and intrusion detection. One or more receiver array can be used to provide a plurality of frequency ranges that can be detected. In an interior installation, one or more receiver array can be placed inside a wall. In other embodiments, the receiver and array can be in the form of a hand-held or wearable device. This method and apparatus achieves high performance by exploiting conventional low noise amplification block conversion circuits and provides the detection of thermal signals through clear, smoky, misty, or environmentally untenable conditions as well as the detection of fire and intrusion events through a non-metallic wall.

Abstract: A frame block for use in displaying typically flat planar rectangular objects such as photographs comprises two parallel planar areas, at least one such area having a plurality of grooves and associated ridges. The grooves and ridges each have a predetermined width and an associated length. The grooves are cut into a surface of the frame block and have a predetermined depth for receiving a clear plastic protector frame for an object to be displayed. The grooves and ridges form an area for display in which a two- or three-sided clear plastic protector frame may be mounted, each of which protects the object to the displayed. When standing on a side with the grooves horizontally aligned to said side, the frame block area is adapted to receive a three-sided protector and associated object at a location within the area selected by a user, two opposite sides of the three-sided protector being received into two horizontally aligned grooves.

Abstract: An interventional medical device that incorporates an imaging system may be minimally invasive and equipped with an anchoring portion that may be slidable and fixed in a predetermined position of its elongate body outside the human body, the device further comprising deployable first and second balloons for also securing the device to an internal wall, for example, within a human body. The medical device can be in the form of a catheter, a sheath or comprise interventional devices, particularly those suitable for minimally invasive procedures in the pericardium. The dual sealing/locking balloons may comprise a slidably moveable assembly for moving from a first position over an inflation channel to a second position over one inflation/deflation channel for separately inflating a distal balloon and then a proximal balloon to the patient's skin surface.

Abstract: A remotely manipulatable ultrasound transducer element or transducer array permits an operator of an ultrasound system to be remotely located from a patient and yet remotely control the location of the element or array on a patient's body such as on the skin surface or within a body cavity. The transducer element or transducer array associated with motors and control circuits comprises an assembly within a housing for fixation to or within a human body. The transducer assembly may be fixed to a ring surrounding an image guided catheter and may rotate about the image guided catheter or move along its length to an anchoring position proximate the surface skin. Two embodiment systems for pericardial access may comprise surface and internal vision or ultrasound guidance systems that are wireless or wired one operating on suction and another on mechanical grasping of the pericardial lining.

Abstract: Least Square Deconvolution (LSD) uses quantitative allele peak data, for example, allele peak area, allele peak height and optical density, derived/obtained from a sample containing the DNA of more than one contributor to resolve the best-fit genotype profile of each contributor. The resolution is based on finding the least square fit of the mass ratio coefficients at each locus to come closest to the quantitative allele peak data. Consistent top-ranked mass ratio combinations from each locus can be pooled to form at least one composite DNA profile at a subset of the available loci. The top-ranked DNA profiles can be used to check against the profile of a suspect or be used to search for a matching profile in a DNA database.

Abstract: A tree-structured index to multidimensional data is created using naturally occurring patterns and clusters within the data which permit efficient search and retrieval strategies in a database of DNA profiles. A search engine utilizes hierarchical decomposition of the database by identifying clusters of similar DNA profiles and maps to parallel computer architecture, allowing scale up past to previously feasible limits. Key benefits of the new method are logarithmic scale up and parallelization. These benefits are achieved by identification and utilization of naturally occurring patterns and clusters within stored data. The patterns and clusters enable the stored data to be partitioned into subsets of roughly equal size. The method can be applied recursively, resulting in a database tree that is balanced, meaning that all paths or branches through the tree have roughly the same length.

Abstract: A tree-structured index to multidimensional data is created using naturally occurring patterns and clusters within the data which permit efficient search and retrieval strategies in a database of DNA profiles. A search engine utilizes hierarchical decomposition of the database by identifying clusters of similar DNA profiles and maps to parallel computer architecture, allowing scale up past previously feasible limits. Key benefits of the new method are logarithmic scale up and parallelization. These benefits are achieved by identification and utilization of naturally occurring patterns and clusters within stored data. The patterns and clusters enable the stored data to be partitioned into subsets of roughly equal size. The method can be applied recursively, resulting in a database tree that is balanced, meaning that all paths or branches through the tree have roughly the same length. The method achieves high performance by exploiting the natural structure of the data in a manner that maintains balanced trees.