Abstract: A magneto-optical disk reproducing device includes a clock producing circuit, which, on the basis of a reproducing signal from recorded marks recorded in a magneto-optical disk, produces a timing offset from peak positions of the reproducing signal; an A/D converter, which samples the reproducing signal in accordance with the timing, and outputs a reproducing signal quantity; and a short mark signal quantity averaging circuit and a long mark signal quantity averaging circuit, each of which averages a plurality of reproducing signal quantities. When projecting a light beam onto a magneto-optical disk, the magneto-optical disk reproducing device controls light quantity of the light beam on the basis of a ratio between the respective values outputted by the foregoing averaging circuits.

Abstract: There is provided a forced mixer for mixing components, comprising a funnel-shaped mixing space having along its center axis (3) a coaxially mounted inner and outer mixing tool, the inner mixing tool (2) consisting of a screw (5) extending toward the outlet slide (6). For the forced mixer to be usable with a high efficency in particular as a concrete mixer, the outer mixing tool (8) comprises mixing shares or scrapers (9) glidingly moving along the mixing container surfaces (1) contacted by the mixed material.

Abstract: Methods for treating allergies, cutaneous inflammation, arthritis, chronic obstruction pulmonary disease and treating chronic inflammatory bowel disease are described. Also described is a method for inhibiting the infiltration of eosinophils into airways of a patient, a method for inhibiting the mucous release into airways of a patient, a method for blocking IgE activation of a lymphocyte, a method for stabilizing the cell membrane of a lymphocyte; thereby preventing their further involvement in the increased inflammatory response to an IgE antigen challenge, and a method for inhibiting the migration of T-cells. Such methods involve administering to said patient a therapeutically effective amount of a peptide having the formula f-Met-Leu-X, wherein X is selected from the group consisting of Tyr, Tyr-Phe, Phe-Phe and Phe-Tyr.

Abstract: An integrated system for comprehensive control of an electric power generation system utilizes state machine control having particularly defined control states and permitted control state transitions. In this way, accurate, dependable and safe control of the electric power generation system is provided. Several of these control states may be utilized in conjunction with a utility outage ride-through technique that compensates for a utility outage by predictably controlling the system to bring the system off-line and to bring the system back on-line when the utility returns. Furthermore, a line synchronization technique synchronizes the generated power with the power on the grid when coming back on-line. The line synchronization technique limits the rate of synchronization to permit undesired transient voltages.

Abstract: A continuous process for the production of elemental aluminum is described. Aluminum is made from aluminum oxide and a reducing gas such as a light hydrocarbon gas or other reducing gas, for example hydrogen. In the process, a feed stream of the aluminum oxide and the reducing gas is continuously fed into a reaction zone. There the aluminum oxide and reducing gas are reacted at a temperature of about 1500° C. or greater in the reaction zone to provide a continuous product stream of reaction products, which include elemental aluminum. The product stream is continuously quenching after leaving the reaction zone, and the elemental aluminum is separated from the other reaction products.

Abstract: An variable shaft, for example for a golf club. A hollow shaft has a cable or wire in the center, and means for varying the tension of the cable or wire. Increasing tension on the cable or wire places the shaft in compression and thereby reduces its bending stiffness. Preferably, the variation means are designed so that the wire tension may be quickly and easily varied by the user.

Abstract: In a method and an apparatus for producing monocrystals, in particular of gallium arsenide monocrystals, the crystal growth is carried out with a thermal shock resistant nucleus which is freely standing within a nucleus channel and the interspace in the nucleus channel between the nucleus and the crucible is filled with liquid boric oxide.

Abstract: There is provided a heating element and an arrangement of heating elements, respectively, for heating crucibles, in particular for LEC devices for growing semiconductor single crystals, with a tulip-shaped bottom heater (20) being built such that the heater legs of the main heater (40) positioned thereabove can barely be guided towards the bottom. Such arrangement of bottom and main heater enables multi-heater arrangements without having to interfere with a lateral insulation (18) which, thus, need not be cut out or pierced.

Abstract: A retardation film made of a polymerized liquid crystal material of the present invention includes: a first region having a first flat surface pattern; and a second region having a second flat surface pattern, wherein a thickness in the first region is different from that in the second region, thereby retardations in the first region and in the second region are different from each other.

Abstract: New tropane analogs that bind to monoamine transporters are described, particularly, 8-aza, 8carbo and 8-oxo tropanes having 6- or 7-substituents. The compounds of the present invention can be racemic, pure R-enantiomers, or pure S-enantiomers. Certain preferred compounds of the present invention have a high selectivity for the DAT versus the SERT. Also described are pharmaceutical therapeutic compositions comprising the compounds formulated in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and a method for inhibiting 5-hydroxy-tryptamine reuptake of a monoamine transporter by contacting the monoamine transporter with a 5-hydroxytryptamine reuptake inhibiting amount of a compound of the present invention. Preferred monoamine transporters for the practice of the present invention include the dopamine transporter, the serotonin transporter and the norepinephrine transporter.

Abstract: The invention relates to a bainitically hardened brake disk comprising at least one ring-shaped cast disk (1) body with radially extending ring sections in contact with brake shoes (2). Said brake disk is mounted on the hub of a bicycle wheel (5) for braking purposes. In order to avoid noise emissions and vibrations, the inventive disk is made of cast iron, is highly tough and has a low weight. The aim is to avoid the disadvantages of combining disk brakes with an aluminium wheel hub. The inventive disk is characterized in that it has a thoroughly bainitically hardened body (1) made of cast iron with lamellar graphite (AGI), the brake disk is designed as a single piece and is linked to the wheel hub (5) through composite casting by forming a positive material fitting joint (15) in the area where the hub (5) is connected to the base (3) of the disk.

Abstract: An operating apparatus comprises an operating table with an operating support post, an operating table top and means for detachably fastening said operating table top to said operating support post, an anesthesis station and an examining station located at a distance from said operating support post and comprising an examining support post for receiving said operating table top. An overhead rail extends above said operating table and said examining station, and an overhead conveyor comprising means for carrying said operating table top is mounted on said overhead rail for movement therealong from a first position above said operating support post to a second position above said examining station. An overhead support carrying said anesthesis station is also mounted on said overhead rail for movement therealong. First coupling means are provided on said overhead conveyor and second coupling means are provided on said overhead support.

Abstract: A reflective type liquid crystal display device in accordance with the present invention includes a reflector film having excellent polarization preservation properties and an anisotropic diffusing film for diffusing only the light polarized in a particular direction. The anisotropic diffusing film is composed of a complex of liquid crystal and a polymer and selectively diffuses incident light. If a liquid crystal layer composed of dichroic dye and liquid crystal is employed, it becomes possible to carry out high contrast display with the anisotropic diffusing film and the reflector film and to prevent reflections of nearby objects appearing on the screen.

Abstract: A high speed, highly sensitive optical sensing platform and a method for detecting and/or measuring characteristics of a substance in a measurement sample are disclosed. The platform includes at least one pair of optical paths formed in a waveguide, a light source for injecting optical beams along the optical paths, a light modulator for enabling the excitement of a transverse electric and a transverse magnetic guide modes, and a phase detector for detecting phase differences between the beams propagating along the optical paths. One of the optical paths has a target analyte of unknown concentration with a measurement sample bound to its upper surface, while the second optical path has a reference sample containing a known concentration of the target analyte bound to its upper surface. A guided mode modulator causes an optical beam to propagate through the waveguide sequentially as two polarized modes.

Abstract: A composite casting process for the production of brake elements is described. The brake element has a hub and a flange for fastening to a vehicle wheel, and brake body component bearing a friction surface for interaction with brake jaws for braking The brake body component is made of a first cast iron material having lamellar graphite with a high resistance to thermal shocks, and the hub and the flange are made of a second cast iron material with a higher-grade tensile strength greater than the tensile strength of the first cast iron material. The brake body component is connected to the hub by forming a material union between the hub and the brake body component by casting a melt of one of the cast iron materials on a solid body of the other cast iron material that is placed into a mold cavity. After the casting of the melt forming the material union, which forms a juncture between the cast iron materials, a temperature is provided that is at least 10° C.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for generating and displaying undistorted images of a field of view containing undesirable motion and/or time varying magnetic field inhomogeneities, uses a time series of magnetic resonance (MR) image signals, corresponding to a time series of MR images, generated by a single-shot imaging technique without shot-to-shot phase encoding. Signals are stored and analyzed to identify missing and/or deteriorated images (including image portions, image lines or image line segments). Identified missing and/or deteriorated images are compensated for by replacement, repair or otherwise. MR image signals representative of a specified time series are selected. Then, selected signals of corresponding portions of the field of view are averaged. The invention may be used to present: a continuously updated time series of images; a time series of images with only a specified portions of the image updated in each display; or an entire time series of images re-created in any desired sequence.

Abstract: An integrated system for comprehensive control of an electric power generation system utilizes state machine control having particularly defined control states and permitted control state transitions. In this way, accurate, dependable and safe control of the electric power generation system is provided. Several of these control states may be utilized in conjunction with a utility outage ride-through technique that compensates for a utility outage by predictably controlling the system to bring the system off-line and to bring the system back on-line when the utility returns. Furthermore, a line synchronization technique synchronizes the generated power with the power on the grid when coming back on-line. The line synchronization technique limits the rate of synchronization to permit undesired transient voltages.

Abstract: A rubbing treatment apparatus and method of rubbing are described. A rubbing roller has a rotation axis and a rubbing cloth wound around its surface. The rubbing cloth is made with pile yarns which are implanted at cyclic intervals in two directions perpendicular to each other. The rubbing roller is used to contact a surface of a film-to-be-processed which is formed so as to cover a plurality of strip-shaped electrodes formed parallel to each other on a substrate, to be moved together with the substrate in relation to each other to perform a rubbing treatment on the surface of the film-to-be-treated. The rotation axis of the rubbing roller is parallel to the surface during the rubbing treatment. An angle &thgr;3 in a plane parallel to the surface is formed by one of the implanting directions of the pile yarns of the rubbing roller and the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped electrodes of the substrate and is in a range of from +5 degrees to −5 degrees.

Abstract: In an image forming apparatus including a transfer and transport belt suspended between a plurality of rollers, an image forming section for forming a pattern image on the transfer and transport belt, and a pattern image detecting sensor for detecting the pattern image, the pattern image detecting sensor is disposed so as to detect the surface of a suspended segment, of the transfer and transport belt, suspended between the rollers, and a back surface contact member that is in contact with a back surface of a detection area where the pattern image detecting sensor detects the pattern image on the surface of the transfer and transport belt is provided so as to render the detection area flat and stable. This can provide an image forming apparatus incorporating a pattern image detecting means having a simple arrangement and a capability to surely detect the pattern image in a precise and stable manner.

Abstract: New tropane analogs that bind to monoamine transporters are described, particularly, 8-aza, 8carbo and 8-oxo tropanes having 6- or 7- substituents. The compounds of the present invention can be racemic, pure R-enantiomers, or pure S-enantiomers. Certain preferred compounds of the present invention have a high selectivity for the DAT versus the SERT. Also described are pharmaceutical therapeutic compositions comprising the compounds formulated in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and a method for inhibiting 5-hydroxy-tryptamine reuptake of a monoamine transporter by contacting the monoamine transporter with a 5-hydroxytryptamine reuptake inhibiting amount of a compound of the present invention. Preferred monoamine transporters for the practice of the present invention include the dopamine transporter, the serotonin transporter and the norepinephrine transporter.