Abstract: A method of externally sorting large files in a computer system is presented. The contents of the input file to be sorted are investigated in order to identify presorted portions thereof. The presorted portions of the input file as thus identified are incorporated as sorted strings into an external sortwork file, by rearranging directory information rather than physically transferring data. If merging is necessary, the data may then be merged by a procedure wherein blocks of sorted data to be merged are incorporated into an output (sortout) file, by rearranging directory information rather than physically transferring sorted blocks to the sortout file. As a result of the process, portions of sorted data incorporated into the sortout file may physically remain in external storage space allocated to the input file, and/or in external space allocated to sortwork, thereby eliminating or reducing reading and writing from disk during sort-merge processing.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided for accurately imaging, assessing and measuring a patient's macular pigment. A multiband filter is employed in combination with a color digital fundus camera to provide a method that operates with a single imaging exposure. The multiband filter has bandpass regions within spectral ranges of the red, green and blue detectors of the CCD array employed within the fundus camera, the bandpass regions being sufficiently sharply defined so as to avoid regions where the CCD detector responses spectrally overlap. This provides three discrete channels of grayscale data corresponding to the bandpass regions of the multiband filter, which can be used to calculate macular pigment topographically. Methods are also disclosed for calculating the optical density of the macular pigment and advantageously displaying the resulting data.

Abstract: A bathrobe that has an arm access in the form of an openable seam such that a user with an IV may put the bathrobe on without the need of substantially moving his or her arm inserted with the IV. The bathrobe comprises a main body having a first shoulder portion, a second, opposing shoulder portion, a collar portion, a first arm opening, and a second, opposing arm opening; a first sleeve that covers the first arm opening and extends downward therefrom, a second sleeve that covers the second arm opening and extends downward therefrom, each of the sleeves having a distal end; and an arm access in the form of an openable seam on one or both sleeves that starts from a starting point on the edge of the collar portion and extends outward on one of the shoulder portions that is closer to the starting point of the seam and downward on the respective sleeve.

Abstract: The invention provides secure and private communication over a network, as well as persistent private storage and private access control to the stored information, which is accomplished by imposing mechanisms that separate a user's actions from their identity. The system provides (i) anonymous network browsing, in which event the anonymity system is unaware of both the user's identity and browsing activities, (ii) private network storage and retrieval of data such as passwords, profiles and files in a manner such that the data can be stored into the system and later retrieved without the system knowing the contents or owners of the data, and (iii) the ability of the user to control and manage access to the remotely stored data without the system knowing the contents, owners, or accessors of the data.