Abstract: A line card provides terminating resistors for a bus or traces on a backplane. The line card terminations are activated (connected to ground) by a crossbar switch that is set according to programming (software/firmware/flash memory stored instructions) maintained on the line card to set the state of the resistive terminations. The programming maintained on the line card may be downloaded to the card into nonvolatile storage. The decision to utilize a specific line card to terminate or leave the bus unterminated is made by a control unit that sends command messages to the line card. A polling device interrogates each line card and sets the physically last card on the bus as a terminating card. The command messages are in ADSL Provisioning Message format and transmitted to each line card via a CPU Cell Data Link (CCDL).

Abstract: A wireless communication system that utilizes a circularly polarized transmitting antenna with dual orthogonal circularly polarized receiving antenna. According to some embodiments, the present invention provides a wireless communication system that includes a first transmitting antenna capable of transmitting first signals having a first type of circular polarization. The transmitting antenna is located at a first location. The system also includes a first receiving antenna capable of receiving second signals having a second type of circular polarization, where the second type of circular polarization is orthogonal to the first type of circular polarization. The system further includes a second receiving antenna capable of receiving third signals having the first type of circular polarization, and the first receiving antenna and the second receiving antenna are both located at a second location.

Abstract: A method for candidate frame selection involves sampling the source frames of the source video at a predetermined fixed periodic interval. The largest frame differences represent candidate boundaries, and the frames before and after the N/2 largest candidate boundaries are selected as candidate frames. A method for selecting keyframes involves clustering all candidate frames into a hierarchical binary tree using a hierarchical agglomerative clustering algorithm. Optionally, the pairwise distances for the members of the two clusters is modified according to class membership of the members, which is preferably determined statistically from image class statistical models. A method for selecting M clusters from which keyframes are extracted involves splitting the M-1 largest clusters of a hierarchical binary tree of clusters. Optionally, clusters not having at least one uninterrupted sequence of frames of at least a minimum duration are filtered out.

Abstract: A delivery system and method for interstitial radiation therapy comprising substantially axially stiff and radially flexible elongated members made of material which is bioabsorbable in living tissue and a plurality of radioactive seeds dispersed in a predetermined array within the elongate member. The radioactive seeds can be dispersed within assembled half-shells made of the same material. The housing for the radiation seeds can also be manufactured from extruded material. A system for manufacturing the interstitial radiation therapy seed strands that automatically makes the seed strands is also provided. The delivery system and method further customize the member based on a prescription.

Abstract: Techniques for classifying video frames using statistical models of transform coefficients are disclosed. After optionally being decimated in time and space, image frames are transformed using a discrete cosine transform or Hadamard transform. The methods disclosed model image composition and operate on grayscale images. The resulting transform matrices are reduced using truncation, principal component analysis, or linear discriminant analysis to produce feature vectors. Feature vectors of training images for image classes are used to compute image class statistical models. Once image class statistical models are derived, individual frames are classified by the maximum likelihood resulting from the image class statistical models. Thus, the probabilities that a feature vector derived from a frame would be produced from each of the image class statistical models are computed.

Abstract: The performance of a database system can be improved by tracking the way in which data is accessed. By tracking such information, it is possible to load frequently-accessed fields of an entity bean, as well as related beans that are frequently accessed, by optimizing a field group for that entity bean. It is also possible to use the tracking information to prevent infrequently accessed fields from being automatically loaded. Information to be monitored can include how often each field is accessed, how many times a particular entity or application accesses a field, and how often a field is accessed for a given transaction context. By using this information to periodically optimize field groups, the fields and associated entity beans that are most often accessed, such as by the entity and/or transaction causing the entity bean to be loaded, can be automatically loaded when an entity bean is loaded into a container.

Abstract: What is disclosed pertains to improvement in the performance of microchannel devices by providing turns, wyes, tees, and other junctions that produce little dispersion of a sample as it traverses the turn or junction. The reduced dispersion results from contraction and expansion regions that reduce the cross-sectional area over some portion of the turn or junction. By carefully designing the geometries of these regions, sample dispersion in turns and junctions is reduced to levels comparable to the effects of ordinary diffusion. The low dispersion features are particularly suited for microfluidic devices and systems using either electromotive force, pressure, or combinations thereof as the principle of fluid transport. Such microfluidic devices and systems are useful for separation of components, sample transport, reaction, mixing, dilution or synthesis, or combinations thereof.

Abstract: A system is herein disclosed which allows for the interactive design and analysis of analog and mixed-signal circuits. Circuits may additionally be characterized and verified without leaving the environment provided by the system. The system may be used to analyze multiple circuit designs at the same time. In this manner a designer can create a test that sweeps over several circuit designs. Embodiments of the invention may be integrated with other circuit design tools and development systems.

Abstract: A microsized pump is set forth. It comprises a substrate which at least partially defines one or more walls of a longitudinally extending tunnel. The tunnel has a vibratable wall portion. A sonic energy generator is positioned in sonic energy transmitting relation to the vibratable wall portion. The sonic energy generator is adapted to generate elastic waves which travel along the longitudinal extension of the tunnel. The pump is useful for moving material along the tunnel whereby chemical and biological analysis and reactions can be carried out on a micro scale.

Abstract: Insertion instruments and a main body assembly and a universal wing to be inserted are provided, along with methods of using these instruments for the insertion of the spinal implants in patients to relieve the symptoms of, for example, spinal stenosis, injuries, and degenerative diseases of the spine. The instruments are simply designed and can be disassembled, making cleaning and sterilization easy and convenient. The instruments are designed to engage with and disengage from spinal implants easily, and use of the instrument in spinal implant surgery can be carried out with minimal surgical intervention and does not require general anesthesia. The main body assembly and the universal wing are designed to conveniently be secured to the insertion instruments. In an alternative embodiment the instrument can be nested and at least one instrument can include a handle provided at an angle.

Abstract: An electro-kinetic electro-static air conditioner includes a self-contained ion generator that provides electro-kinetically moved air with ions and safe amounts of ozone. The ion generator includes a high voltage pulse generator whose output pulses are coupled between first and second electrode arrays. Preferably the first array comprises one or more wire electrodes spaced staggeringly apart from a second array comprising hollow “U”-shaped electrodes. Preferably a ratio between effective area of an electrode in the second array compared to effective area of an electrode in the first array exceeds about 15:1 and preferably is about 20:1. An electric field produced by the high voltage pulses between the arrays produces an electrostatic flow of ionized air containing safe amounts of ozone. A bias electrode, electrically coupled to the second array electrodes, affects net polarity of ions generated. The outflow of ionized air and ozone is thus conditioned.

Abstract: A remote application on a remote computer interacts with a host application on a host computer so as to present in a remote application display window of the remote computer display a portion of the host computer screen image which intersects the foreground window of the host computer. In the preferred embodiment, a position of a moveable viewport rectangle is calculated so as to center the image of the host active window within the remote application display window if the active window rectangle's dimensions are less than the moveable viewport rectangle's dimensions; if the moveable viewport rectangle's dimensions are less than the active window rectangle's dimensions, then the new position of the moveable viewport rectangle is calculated so as to left and/or top align the moveable viewport rectangle and the active window rectangle.

Abstract: An electro-kinetic electro-static air conditioner includes a mechanism to clean the wire-like electrodes in the first electrode array. A length of flexible Mylar type sheet material projects from the base of the second electrode array towards and beyond the first electrode array. The distal end of each sheet includes a slit that engages a corresponding wire-like electrode. As a user moves the second electrode array up or down within the conditioner housing, friction between slit edges and the wire-like electrode cleans the electrode surface. The sheet material may be biasedly pivotably attached to the base of the second electrode array, and may be urged away from and parallel to the wire-like electrodes when the conditioner is in use. Another embodiment includes a bead-like member having a through opening or channel, through which the wire-like electrode passes.

Abstract: Systems and methods for filter based spectrographic analysis are provided that permit rapid analysis of bioanalytes. Systems include devices for illuminating a sample with electromagnetic radiation and capturing radiation emitted from the sample. Emitted radiation can be collected by a plurality of waveguides each associated with a filter for a particular wavelength of radiation. Focusing devices are associated with filters and waveguides in certain embodiments. Radiation captured by waveguides can then be transmitted to a remote detector, which can determine the intensity of radiation for each waveguide. The use of a plurality of filters having different, band pass characteristics can permits the simultaneous detection of a plurality of different wavelengths of radiation emitted by a sample, thereby providing spectrographic information about the sample under study. Systems can include computers for storing acquired spectrographic information, addressable arrays of samples, and information security measures.

Abstract: A spine distraction implant alleviates pain associated with spinal stenosis and facet arthropathy by expanding the volume in the spine canal and/or neural foramen. The implant provides a spinal extension stop while allowing freedom of spinal flexion.

Abstract: A condenser for a photolithography system, in which a mask image from a mask is projected onto a wafer through a camera having an entrance pupil, includes a source of propagating radiation, a first mirror illuminated by the radiation, a mirror array illuminated by the radiation reflected from said first mirror, and a second mirror illuminated by the radiation reflected from the array. The mirror array includes a plurality of micromirrors. Each of the micromirrors is selectively actuatable independently of each other. The first mirror and the second mirror are disposed such that the source is imaged onto a plane of the mask and the mirror array is imaged into the entrance pupil of the camera.

Abstract: An implant that is implanted between adjacent spinous processes for the relief of pain associated with the spine. The device has a spacer to distract apart the adjacent spinous processes. To minimize trauma to the patient, the device has a tapered tissue expander to distract a previously created opening between the adjacent spinous processes. The device also has two wings. The position of one wing is adjustable to allow for ease of assembly in a patent.