Abstract: A spider for an extrusion apparatus located upstream from a die, through which a profile is extruded. The spider can have an outer housing with a central flow passage therethrough. An inner hub can be positioned within the central passage for supporting an inner portion of the die. At least one spider leg can be secured to the outer housing and the inner hub, and support the inner hub within the central passage. The at least one spider leg can recess radially rearwardly outwardly in the downstream direction such that molten polymer flowing through the central passage flows around the at least one spider leg, separating and rejoining together earlier in inner radial regions close to the inner hub than in outer radial regions close to the outer housing for reducing spider lines on inside surfaces of extruded profiles.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method of design of ruled surfaces may comprise the step of accessing data defining guiding curves P(u) and Q(v) and a cost function ƒ(t,w). Given P(u) and Q(v), the unknown coupling is a parameterized curve s(t(s),w(s)). The method further comprises defining an objective function of the type J=J(ƒ,t,w), involving both ƒ(t,w) and coordinates t, w of the coupling curve. Then, optimizing the objective function J makes it possible to obtain the target coupling curve. Finally, a ruled surface S(s,?)=?Q(w(s))+(1??)P(t(s))is provided, according to the guiding curves P(t(s)) and Q(w(s)), composed with the coordinates t,w of the coupling curve previously obtained. In addition, the objective function is further constrained at the optimization step such that arguments t,w of the cost function ƒ(t,w) are regulated by a regulation function ?.

Abstract: A needle-free transdermal transport device for transferring a substance across a surface of a biological body includes a reservoir for storing the substance, a nozzle in fluid communication with the reservoir and a controllable electromagnetic actuator in communication with the reservoir. The actuator, referred to as a Lorentz force actuator, includes a stationary magnet assembly and a moving coil assembly. The coil assembly moves a piston having an end portion positioned within the reservoir. The actuator receives an electrical input and generates in response a corresponding force acting on the piston and causing a needle-free transfer of the substance between the reservoir and the biological body. The magnitude, direction and duration of the force are dynamically controlled (e.g., servo-controlled) by the electrical input and can be altered during the course of an actuation cycle. Beneficially, the actuator can be moved in different directions according to the electrical input.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a circuit provides two quadrature components, I and Q, from a received modulated signal, from three mutually phase-shifted components of the received signal. The circuit can demodulate three mutually phase-shifted components of a baseband signal, in order to provide two quadrature demodulation components. The circuit includes three circuit inputs, each designed to received said three components, respectively. The circuit further includes a first and second adder circuit. The circuit also includes a bank of weighting circuits linked, at input, to the three circuit inputs and linked, at output, to the inputs of the first and second adder circuits so as to transmit to each adder input, with a determined weighting, a particular one of said three components, the weightings being chosen so that the first and second adder circuits provide said two quadrature demodulation components.

Abstract: An isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising the nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1.

Abstract: The inventions provides methods and kits for the dissociation of Fc?-receptor-IgG complexes, and methods and kits for the isolation of IgG and Fc and Fab fragments of IgG.

Abstract: A ring that can maintain a pupil in an extended position during an ophthalmic procedure. The ring has a plurality of loops that capture iris tissue. The ring is configured to extend the pupil when iris tissue is inserted into each loop. An ophthalmic procedure such as phacoemulsification can then be performed on the patient. The ring has a center opening that provides a wide view of the ocular chamber during the procedure.

Abstract: An internet router is implemented as a network fabric of fabric routers and links. The internet router receives data packets from trunk lines or other internet links and analyzes header information in the data packets to route the data packets to output internet links. The line interface also analyzes the header to define a fabric path through the router fabric. The internet packets are broken into flits which are transferred through the router according to a wormhole routing protocol. Flits are stored in fabric routers at storage locations assigned to virtual channels corresponding to destination internet links. The virtual channels and links within the fabric define virtual networks in which congestion in one virtual network is substantially nonblocking to data flow through other virtual networks. Arbitration is performed at each fabric router to assign packets to virtual channels and to assign virtual channels to output fabric links.

Abstract: A system for protecting software against piracy while protecting a user's privacy enables enhancements to the protection software in a user device and extended protections against piracy. The protection system allows the user device to postpone validation of purchased tags stored in a tag table for installed software and to re-establish ownership of a tag table to recover from invalidation of a tag table identifier value resulting from revelation of a tag table identifier value. Continued use of the tag table is provided by the use of credits associated with a tag table. A protection center is protected against denial of service attacks by making calls to the protection center cost time or money to the attackers.

Abstract: A system, and method for use thereof, for image manipulation. The system may generate an original image in a three dimensional coordinate system. A sensing system may sense a user interaction with the image. The sensed user interaction may be correlated with the three dimensional coordinate system. The correlated user interaction may be used to project an updated image, where the updated image may be a distorted version of the original image. The image distortion may be in the form of a twisting, bending, cutting, displacement, or squeezing. The system may be used for interconnecting or communicating between two or more components connected to an interconnection medium (e.g., a bus) within a single computer or digital data processing system.

Abstract: Aerosol and hydrosol particle detection systems without knowledge of a location and velocity of a particle passing through a volume of space, are less efficient than if knowledge of the particle location is known. An embodiment of a particle position detection system capable of determining an exact location of a particle in a fluid stream is discussed. The detection system may employ a patterned illuminating beam, such that once a particle passes through the patterned illuminating beam, a light scattering is produced. The light scattering defines a temporal profile that contains measurement information indicative of an exact particle location. However, knowledge of the exact particle location has several advantages. These advantages include correction of systematic particle measurement errors due to variability of the particle position within the sample volume, targeting of particles based on position, capture of particles based on position, reduced system energy consumption and reduced system complexity.

Abstract: A method for planning a multi-phase network includes storing initial parameter values for parameters associated with first and second growth phases in a multi-phase network plan, wherein each of the first and second growth phases is characterized by sets of the parameters. The method also includes calculating an initial growth scenario including the first and second growth phases based on the initial parameter values, and adjusting a value for at least one of the parameters to produce a modified parameter value. The method further includes automatically calculating a new growth scenario based on the modified parameter value and at least a portion of the initial parameter values, and displaying the new growth scenario. A computer readable medium for implementing the method described herein is also provided.

Abstract: A text-to-speech system adapted to operate on text in a first language including sections in a second language, includes a grapheme/phoneme transcriptor for converting the sections in the second language into phonemes of the second language; a mapping module configured for mapping at least part of the phonemes of the second language onto sets of phonemes of the first language; and a speech-synthesis module adapted to be fed with a resulting stream of phonemes including the sets of phonemes of the first language resulting from mapping and the stream of phonemes of the first language representative of the text, and to generate a speech signal from the resulting stream of phonemes.

Abstract: Erroneous data due to faults are prevented from propagating through a distributed network node having diversely routed communications links by using a fault masking technique that eliminates the 60 ms of error propagation time associated with SONET networks. The fault masking technique can also prevent random bit errors from propagating through the distributed network node. A frame alignment technique used in the network node is scalable for very wide words (e.g., 128 bits) for use with high speed optical communications protocols, such as OC-192.

Abstract: Disclosed is an improved automated system and corresponding computer method of promoting and maintaining health, wellness, and fitness. Multiple sponsors per member participant are enabled. Each sponsor defines respective qualifying healthy behavior (activities, purchases, other) and reward rate for each such activity and purchase. A rewards engine operates on member accounts adding units per member completion of qualifying healthy activities or purchases, thereby encouraging members to adopt healthy habits. This, in turn, leads to better health, wellness, and fitness for the subject members. The combination of different and multiple sponsors having different qualifying activities/purchases provides increased member incentive.

Abstract: Optical networks are increasingly employing optical network nodes having multiple interfaces to allow a node to direct optical signals received at any interface to any other interface connected to the node. Constructing a larger wavelength selective switching (WSS) module used in such a node can be complex and expensive. A method an apparatus for constructing a large WSS using parallelism is provided. In example embodiments, a larger WSS may include multiple parallel non-cascaded smaller WSSs and an optical coupler configured to optically couple the multiple parallel, non-cascaded smaller WSSs. This technique may be used to construct both N×1 and 1×N WSSs. Because the technique employs multiple parallel, non-cascaded WSSs, all inputs of a larger N×1 WSS and all outputs of a larger 1×N WSS are available receive or transmit external signals rather than being rather than being unavailable due to, for example, cascading smaller WSS devices together.

Abstract: A method of equalization used to estimate a transmitted signal given a received output is presented herein. The equalization method involves modeling a transmission channel as a Hidden Markov Model (HMM). The HMM channel is evaluated as a finite state machine. A Markov Chain Monte Carlo technique of sampling and computation is then utilized to estimate the transmitted signal.

Abstract: A multiple carrier communication system includes a primary impulse shortening filter that receives an output signal of an analog to digital converter and accepts coefficients. A secondary impulse shortening filter receives the output signal of the analog to digital converter, outputs an output signal, and passes coefficients to the primary impulse shortening filter. A reference signal generator outputs a reference signal. A comparator compares the output signal and the reference signal and outputs a resulting error signal. An adaptive processor computes coefficients for the secondary impulse shortening filter based on the error signal.

Abstract: A control system for improving and stabilizing Fourier domain mode locking (FDML) operation. The control system may also provide regulation of FDML operational parameters such as filter tuning, laser gain, polarization, polarization chromaticity, elliptical polarization retardance, and/or dispersion. The control system may be located internal to or external from the FDML laser cavity.

Abstract: A computer system and method of modeling a crystallization process includes representing a plurality of crystals in a solution by different subsets of the plurality, tracking increase of the respective characteristic length of each crystal group, and determining a crystal size distribution to output a model to a user. Each subset forms a respective crystal group characterized by group attributes of (i) a number of crystals and (ii) a characteristic length. Additionally, the system and method track generation of new crystal groups generated by seeding, nucleation and/or breakage.