Abstract: A detector (20) for high voltage x-rays includes a plurality of sensor elements (22) with each sensor element being aligned along a respective focal axis (25) with respect to a high voltage x-ray source (24). A fiber optic scintillator (34) is optically coupled to each of said sensor elements and is disposed to receive incident x-ray radiation passing from the object to be imaged. Optical fibers of the scintillator are positioned such that their optical axes are perpendicular to incident x-rays. Each sensor element has a length along the focal axis sufficiently long for the fibers to absorb substantially all incident x-rays. Each sensor element comprises an array of amorphous silicon photosensors disposed to detect light generated by the scintillator.

Abstract: A method is provided for applying a two-part RTV silicone tie coat directly onto damaged foul release coating area on a metallic substrate to enable restoration procedures. The direct application onto aged epoxy or silicone surface of an effective amount of an aminoalkyltrialkoxysilane, such as .gamma.-aminopropyltrimethoxy-silane, in a two-part RTV silicone tie coat, has been found to provide cohesive failure results with directly applied two-part RTV silicone top coat. A treated metallic substrate is obtained thereby.

Abstract: Water is disinfected by causing the water to flow around an electrodeless low pressure mercury discharge lamp having high ultraviolet transmission properties.

Abstract: A horizontal axis clothes washing machine. A rotatable clothes basket has a generally longitudinally extending and generally horizontally oriented axis of rotation and has two longitudinally spaced-apart ends. The clothes basket is rotatably attached to a generally surrounding tub which is suspended from a generally surrounding cabinet. Each of a pair of balance rings has a circumferential interior cavity, is attached to the clothes basket near a corresponding one of the ends, and has a generally longitudinally extending axis generally coaxially aligned with the axis of rotation. Tubes connect the cavity of one of the balance rings with the cavity of the other of the balance rings.

Abstract: A mill for producing axially symmetric parts which has a means (35, 36) for fixing the billet under process with a possibility of its rotating about its own axis, rolling rolls (1, 2, 3, 4), a working furnace (44) provided with openings for inserting the rolling rolls therein, and means for control and monitoring the billet processing conditions, comprising means for monitoring and changing the load applied to the rolling rolls and the billet under process, as well as means for establishing a specified temperature gradient in the individual portions of the billet. The mill is intended for producing wheels, disks, and other axially symmetric parts from superalloys.

Abstract: A method and catalyst system for economically producing aromatic carbonates from aromatic hydroxy compounds. In one embodiment, the present invention provides a method of carbonylating aromatic hydroxy compounds by contacting at least one aromatic hydroxy compound with oxygen and carbon monoxide in the presence of a carbonylation catalyst system that includes a catalytic amount of an inorganic co-catalyst containing ytterbium. In various alternative embodiments, the carbonylation catalyst system can include an effective amount of a palladium source and an effective amount of a halide composition. Further alternative embodiments can include catalytic amounts of various inorganic co-catalyst combinations.

Abstract: A gas sensor determines the presence of at least one designated gas in a gaseous environment. The gas sensor comprises a semiconductor substrate; a thin insulator layer disposed on the semiconductor substrate; a catalytic metallic gate layer disposed on the thin insulator layer; and a chemically modified protective layer disposed on the catalytic metal gate. The chemically modified layer comprises a material that protects the sensor from corrosive gases and interference from at least one foreign matter and water, alters at least one of surface chemical properties and surface physical properties of the sensor, and passes only the designated gas therethrough.

Abstract: Graft copolymer particles comprising an elastomeric base polymer such as polybutadiene and grafted chains of a thermoplastic, non-elastomeric polymer such as styrene-acrylonitrile are coagulated for isolation from aqueous emulsion by subjecting the emulsion to mechanical shear in the absence of chemical coagulants at a temperature greater than or equal to the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic, non-elastomeric portion of the copolymer.

Abstract: A back-light assembly for a liquid crystal display (LCD) includes an LCD display screen and at least one cold cathode fluorescent lamp positioned for illuminating a back-side of the display screen. A reflector positioned adjacent the lamp reflects light toward the display screen. A light diffuser is positioned between the lamp and the display screen; and a power controller regulates current supplied to the lamp from an external power source so as to establish a predetermined luminance level at the display screen. A light level sensor provides a signal representative of the luminance output of the lamp to the controller so as to regulate lamp current to maintain the predetermined luminance level.

Abstract: An open magnet useful in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) applications. The magnet has two spaced-apart assemblies. Each assembly has a shielding coil located longitudinally outward from a main coil, a magnetizable member not carrying an electric current and spaced apart from and proximate the main and shielding coils, and a magnetizable pole piece spaced apart from the magnetizable member: The method of the invention generates a magnetic field in a first area between the two assemblies while shielding a second area not between the two assemblies from a stray magnetic field by creating the previously-described open magnet.

Abstract: An MR magnet assembly includes a cylindrical vessel for housing a superconducting magnet and having a vacuum between its inner and outer walls. The vessel defines a magnet bore for receiving a patient to be imaged. A gradient coil assembly is mounted in the bore adjacent the inner wall of the magnet assembly. To reduce gradient coil noise, the inner wall is constructed of a non-conductive material which does not support eddy currents.

Abstract: Coded excitation for medical ultrasound imaging is implemented by transmitting code or element symbols in the encoded base sequence on different firings. The encoded base sequence is formed by convolving a base sequence with an oversampled code sequence. For each firing the designated code or element symbol in the encoded base sequence is replaced by a unit symbol (i.e., 1 or -1) while the other symbol locations are all set to zero. After each transmit, the received waveform is multiplied by the respective symbols and accumulated to synthesize the received encoded waveform.

Abstract: In three-dimensional imaging of ultrasound data, speckle artifact data are reduced before the acquired data from a volume of interest are projected onto an image plane. A master controller performs an algorithm that iteratively morphologically filters the pixel data in a volume of interest and then iteratively projects the morphologically filtered data onto a plurality of rotated image planes using a ray-casting technique. Morphological filtering is performed by stepping a seven-point kernel through a source data volume of pixel data. The kernel, made up of a central pixel value and the six pixel values adjacent to the central pixel value, is stepped through the entire source data volume. The morphological filtering operation includes at least one erosion step, which removes speckle, followed by an equal number of dilation steps, which restore the imaging data.

Abstract: A source applies imaging energy that passes through an object being imaged and is then detected by a detector connected to a processor. A scanning trajectory includes first and second scan paths. The first scan path has a shadow zone where a complete image cannot be obtained from corresponding first scan path data. The second scan path provides data from the shadow zone. Partial images from the first scan path and the second scan path are Fourier transformed after which some data is removed prior to adding the Fourier data together. An inverse Fourier transform is then used to provide an overall image.

Abstract: A method of coding and compressing telemetry data makes use of the fact that the telemetry frames are typically highly correlated at a distance, .delta., corresponding to commutation or data periodicities. The existence of such periodicity is used to render a portion of each frame to zeros. The next steps are to search for and remove correlations between the bits in a set of frames, denoted {F.sub.i *}. The compression algorithm implementing the method according to the invention has four sub-steps; Data preconditioning, Compression and coding of first frame, F.sub.1, Compression and coding of frames 2-.delta., F.sub.1 -F.sub..delta., and Compression and coding of F.sub..delta.+1 and on, the steady-state mode.

Abstract: A method for fabricating a fired ceramic article, a green product, and a fired ceramic article, all for use as a core in the investment casting of directionally solidified eutectic and superalloy material. A ceramic slurry is prepared of alumina, aluminum and a solution of a polymerizable binder in a liquid. The slurry is extruded under low pressure into a closed cavity to form a gelled green product which is subsequently heated in an oxygen-containing atmosphere, wherein the oxygen reacts with the aluminum in the green product to form alumina which advantageously causes an increase in volume of the green product which counters the shrinkage effects of heating.

Abstract: Locally-adaptive, sub-voxel registration of two volumetric data sets is performed by generating match points and then, using the match points, generating a locally-adaptive image-to-warp transformation. Generation of the match points is accelerated by generating a volume hierarchy and then identifying a set of 3D points in the first volume for designation as interesting points. Interesting points in the first volume are then matched with their corresponding points in the second volume. After performing match point generation, points on a cubic grid in the first volume are matched to the corresponding match points in the second volume by resampling the match points on the cubic grid in the first volume. After a grid of match points has been identified, the displacement (dx, dy, dz) that should be added to each cubic grid point in the first volume to identify the coordinates of the corresponding point in the second volume is determined.

Abstract: A multilayer cell is provided that comprises two solid, nonporous current collectors, two porous electrodes separating the current collectors, a porous separator between the electrodes and an electrolyte occupying pores in the electrodes and separator. The mutilayer cell is electrolyzed to disassociate water within the cell to oxygen gas and hydrogen gas. A vacuum is applied to the cell substantially at the same time as the electrolyzing step, to remove the oxygen gas and hydrogen gas. The cell is then sealed to form a ultracapacitor substantially free from water.

Abstract: A tolerancing method includes modeling positions and sizes of apertures in an assembly of parts. The parts are best-fit together. Aperture position in the parts is statistically varied. The best-fitting and statistical variations of the aperture positions are repeated for a statistically significant number of trials to create a statistical model. The size of fasteners for assembly through the mating apertures may be selected as determined in the statistical model.

Abstract: A direct sequence spread spectrum receiver samples an incoming signal and stores the sample in memory. Prior to sampling and storage, the incoming signal is translated to an IF signal. Also prior to storage, the IF signal is corrected for a frequency offset signal. The frequency offset may be caused by many sources, Doppler shift or local oscillator error, for example. Once the signal is corrected for the frequency offset, the signal sample is stored in memory. The signal sample is read from memory as necessary to process the signal. Such a receiver is useful in global positioning satellite (GPS) signal processing where the incoming signal contains several satellite transmissions encoded with CDMA encoding.