Abstract: An electronic wattmeter is full-floating relative to a source of alternating current (a.c) voltage power that it serves to monitor. It is so full-floating by virtue of a direct current, d.c., power supply that is full floating relative to a.c. ground, and that produces a d.c. voltage that is impressed upon the a.c. voltage, meaning that the d.c. ground is equal to the a.c. voltage. A sense resistor is located in series between the source of a.c. electrical power and an a.c. load. Three resistive voltage dividers respectively between (i) the a.c. voltage at the source side of the sense resistor and a.c. ground, (ii) the a.c. voltage at the source side of the sense resistor and d.c. ground, and (iii) the a.c. voltage at the load side of the sense resistor and d.c. ground, respectively develop at their center taps logic-level, low, (i) first, (ii) second, and (iii) third voltages. The first voltage is indicative of the instantaneous a.c.

Abstract: A water purification system and method suitable for use in swimming pools, spas, hot tubs, water storage tanks, wells and water cooling towers employs a galvanic cell having a silver or copper or zinc anode electrically connected to a cathode made from a metal of still higher electrochemical potential, normally a platinum group metal and preferably palladium. A galvanic cell of some tens of square centimeters in size and some hundreds of grams in weight liberates sufficient silver or copper ions so as to treat a multi-thousand liter body of water, such as a swimming pool, for, typically under normal contamination, some months until the anode is consumed. Copper and/or silver ions liberated from the galvanic cell suppress bacterial, fungal and/or algae growth, thus, significantly reducing the amount of chlorine, bromine or other chemicals needed to maintain water quality.

Abstract: The invention provides a method of alleviating neuropathic pain in a subject by administering an effective amount of an active fragment of prosaposin to the subject. The invention also provides a method of preventing neuropathic pain in a subject by administering an effective amount of an active fragment of prosaposin to the subject.

Abstract: The invention provides a method of alleviating neuropathic pain in a subject by administering an effective amount of an active fragment of prosaposin to the subject. The invention also provides a method of preventing neuropathic pain in a subject by administering an effective amount of an active fragment of prosaposin to the subject.

Abstract: A handheld, durable, easy-maintenance, easy-hold, precision-contour drywall finishing tool substantially in the shape of a round disk presents both convex and concave, or bull-nose, peripheral regions repectively suitable for coving, and for cleaning, flowable building material within, respectively, concave wall joints >90° and <180° nominally 135°, and convex wall joints >180° and <270° nominally 225°. The disk is preferably about 12 cm. in diameter, with its otherwise circular peripheral edge relieved over about 45° of arc in the shape of a concave curve, or bull nose, of some 3.5 cm diameter. Preferably one major surface of the disk is flat while the opposing surface slopes radially symmetrically from a central region of greater thickness, about 0.75 cm., towards a lesser thickness, about 3 mm., at the edge of the disk. A feature, preferably a knob of about 0.75 cm height by 3 cm.

Abstract: Generally large, typically eight feet by two inches by ten or sixteen or twenty-four inches, sidewalls for modular concrete forms are easily, efficiently and economically produced by cutting and by routing sheet-type polymeric material, preferably polyurethane or expanded polystyrene foam. Metal connecting members are produced in standard sizes by cutting and bending sheet steel and/or wire. The sidewalls and connecting members are transported to a building site tightly and compactly in pieces, and then flexibly assembled into precision wall forms at the site with good efficiency at any scale. The wall forms so assembled define a cavity into which reinforcing steel rod, electrical and/or communications conduit, plumbing, etc., may be entered. Concrete is poured into the cavity to create a wall having the form sidewalls as its permanent surfaces.

Abstract: An improved apparatus and method for nucleic acid base sequencing by annealing a primer to a nucleic acid template, extending the primer and direct step-wise detecting of incorporated bases, without the use of nucleic acid fragments, extrinsic labeling or electrophoresis, the apparatus described by employing a simple rotary valve system to generate sequential growth of a molecular chain, a laser beam and detection system for determining the amount of native fluorescence quenched in an aliquot of reaction mixture solution as each nucleotide species is extracted from a reactant solution and incorporated into the growing chain.

Abstract: An orthopedic fastener device is based on a strong central shaft that is threaded in a one end region and that, in one embodiment, presents a ramp surface in the other end region. The ramp end is inserted down-hole a bore in bone while an expandable first collet having bendable circumferential flukes is snug to the shaft, presenting a diameter less than the bore. Partial axial withdrawal of the shaft from the bore forces the first collet into and against the shaft's ramp region, causing the collet's flukes to splay and strongly compressively engage the bone, thereby permanently anchoring the fastener's first end. Soft tissue, normally a ligament, is slipped over the shaft region extending beyond the bone, and is optionally grasped by a toothed washer. Another, second, split collet--initially expanded in its internal diameter that has and presents threads--slides along the shaft so as to compress the ligament in position against the bone.

Abstract: Streaming compressed digital hypervideo received upon a digital communications network is decoded (decompressed) and played in a client-computer-based "video on web VCR" software system. Scene changes, if not previously marked upstream, are automatically detected, and typically twenty-one past scenes are displayed as thumbnail images. Hyperlinks within the main video scene, and/or any thumbnail image, show as hotspots, with text annotations typically appearing upon a cursor "mouse over". All hyperlinks--as are provided and inserted by, inter alia, the upstream network service provider (the "ISP")--may be, and preferably are, full-custom dynamically-resolved to each subscriber/user/viewer ("SUV") upon volitional "click throughs" by the SUV, including retrospectively on past hypervideo scenes as appear within the thumbnail images.

Abstract: A similarity-based database of images, where images are preferably ranked and correlated in correspondence to biological preattentive similarity, supports a new type of interface for visual navigation within the database to the end that a human may perceive not only selected images resultant from a query, but the relationship between the selected images. In particular, navigation is within a display space whose geometric characteristics depend on the geometry of the perceptual space in which image similarity is measured. The display space is a subset of the three dimensional Euclidean space that, for many of the distance functions appropriate to the images, is contained in the unit cube. The perceptual intuition of the metric is given (i) in part by the distribution of images in the space, and (ii) in part by making the motion of the user uniform with respect to the metric of the space.

Abstract: A concrete footing for the construction of a wall is created by the placement of a guide member with a series of very large holes, which is supported with adjustable threaded stake supports. This guide is situated along a location which will become the top surface of that footing, typically within the confines of a footing trench. Concrete is conventionally placed via a pump through the large holes thus filling the trench void up to the guide element underside. Adjacent guides are attached with plastic connectors which also fixture vertical reinforcing elements which disassemble to strip guides, typically immediately after concrete has been placed.

Abstract: A ceramic electrical device or component, normally a barium titanate ceramic capacitor, having a first coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), typically about 10 parts per million per degree centigrade (10 ppm/.degree.C.), is physically and electrically mounted through an intermediary solder layer, normally copper, to a lead frame, normally made from a selected alloy of nickel-iron, having a second CTE at least one-fifth (20%) less, and more typically about 5 ppm/.degree.C., or one-half (50%) less, than is the CTE of the ceramic capacitor. Because ceramics are stronger in compression than in tension, the ceramic capacitor held within the lead frame is less likely to undergo a stress fracture at temperatures elevated above those of assembly than would be the case should the CTE's be equal, or should the CTE of the lead frame be greater than the CTE of the ceramic capacitor.

Abstract: A great number (typically over 1 million) radio-communicating monitors of electricity consumption (typically all-electronic computerized wattmeters) distributed over a large geographical area (typically over 4500 square miles) communicate over radio frequency band (typically V.H.F. band at a one of three different frequencies) to multiple (typically over 45) regional central stations. Communication both to and from distant monitors is multi-path multi-link radio through intervening monitors, commonly located each in an associated annular concentric ring centered about a regional central station. Individual monitors from 0 to typically 5.64 miles distance from regional central stations are individually interrogated of typically 25 bytes information in typically up to 5 relays both outgoing and incoming during a time interval of up to typically 9.78 seconds at data transfer rates of typically 6 kbaud/second. Some 1.2 million monitors, called "demand relay meters" can typically be read out in 55 hours.

Abstract: Diverse communication terminals attach via broadband radio to a communications network at any of typically three hierarchical cell sizes increasing from, typically, a single building to a city to a region. Almost all telecommunications traffic transpires, however, within lowest-level "picocells 1" to and from low cost "base stations 11" that have typically one radio transceiver 111, four optical transceivers 112, an ATM switch 113 and an ATM controller 114. Each local "base station 11" is interconnected to a regional "end office switch 12", where is realized connection to a worldwide wire/fiber line communications backbone 4, upon a multi-hop mesh network 100 via short highly-focused free-space broadband directional optical links 10. By this free-space wireless broadband access the need for new broadband access cabling the "last mile" to subscriber/users is totally surmounted. Subscriber service is of the order of 20 Mb/s peak rate, and 10 Mb/s average rate.

Abstract: Highly thermally isolated pixel-array radiation sensor elements, preferably each (i) KTN material with (ii) an optional radiation-wavelength-tuned absorption coating (iii) suspended above a common substrate by surface micromachining, are continuously illuminated with thermal radiation from a scene so as to each come to an associated thermal equilibrium temperature, and so as to each produce an associated electrical signal. Each and every sensor is occasionally, preferably periodically on the order of seconds, momentarily, typically on the order of milliseconds, subjected to a thermal pulse, preferably as is generated by discharge of an associated local capacitor into a typically polysilicon local resistor.

Abstract: A housing holds embedded in arrayed order along an axis (i) a conical first omni-directional reflector, (ii) a directional second reflector and a second LED, (iii) a directional first reflector and a first LED, and (iv) a conical second omni-directional reflector. Light from the first (second) LED as is in part reflected by the directional first (second) reflector is omni-directionally dispersed by the first (second) omni-directional reflector. All reflectors optionally serve as electrical connections to the LED's. A linear light constructed as a chain of these omni-directional LED lamps wired in electrical parallel may be easily cut to length. Other two and three-dimensional omni-directionally-illuminating lighting fixtures are possible, such as in the shape of crosses and stars and the six-pointed metal object used in the game of jacks.

Abstract: A convertible container is formed from (i) a collapsible foldable five-sided open-ended bag in the substantial shape of a rectilinear body preferably having handles for use as an object-carrying, or shopping, bag, in combination with (ii) a collapsible foldable five-sided lid affixed to the bag at its open end for unfolding between (1) a collapsed position interior to the bag and (2) an expanded position fitting over the bag's open end. The lid is of dimension A.times.B with three sides of width A/2, and with one, dual-creased, side which is joined to the bag at an extension of width A. The two creases are each folded in a first sense to fit the lid within the interior of the bag, and are each folded in an opposite, second, sense to fit the lid upon the bag's open end, forming thereby a six-sided closed package which may variously be used as gift wrap or for mailing or the like.

Abstract: Variable width electrically conductive (i) traces and (ii) pads in the forms of castellations and connecting traces upon the surfaces of volume microminiature electronic components permit variable area electrical interconnection in three dimensions, particularly of monolithic, buried-substrate, multiple ceramic capacitors to integrated circuit receivers and amplifiers to make microminiature hearing aids insertable within the ear canal. A preferred embodiment monolithic multiple capacitor with side, top and bottom surfaces has a number of electrically conductive parallel layers disposed within its body with a conductive trace extending from each layer to be exposed upon a side surface.

Abstract: The cap to a reverse osmosis (R.O.) system membrane cartridge housing integrates both (i) a system automatic shut-off valve, and (ii) an improved check valve of such enlarged area and low pressure drop as typically gains 2-4 gallons per day in purified water output. The housing both reduces, typically from seven ports to five ports, and simplifies with hand-tightened quick fittings, the plumbing requirements of the R.O system. The housing fits a new and larger, typically 100+ gallon per hour, high-flow-rate R.O. membrane cartridge as well as myriad universal standard cartridges. A pressure gauge is optionally integrated.

Abstract: Streaming digital hypervideo including copious embedded hyperlinks is distributed upon a digital communications network from a hypervideo server, normally an Internet Service Provider, to multitudinous client subscribers/users/viewers (client SUVs). Some or all of the client SUVs receive the same hyperlinks at the same place in the streaming hypervideo. Some small fraction of the client SUVs selectively volitionally exercise a fraction of the total hyperlinks, causing an access in the background of the unfolding hypervideo across the digital communications network to yet another server commonly called a "Video On Web server", or "VOW server". The VOW sever interprets each hyperlink request in consideration of (i) the identity of the exercising client SUV and, most commonly, (ii) additional data of a demographic, socioeconomic, credit, viewing preference, security and/or past hyperlinking history nature.