Abstract: Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to systems and methods for on-board refining of fuels within motorized vehicles. On board fuel refining is a finish-refining step that allows a fuel to be more precisely tailored to a particular vehicle and internal-combustion engine and to the current conditions under which the fuel is being used. In one embodiment, the fuel is subjected to fluid-shear forces and cavitation.

Abstract: Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to an electronic-device interface integrated into an electric stringed musical instrument. The electronic-device interface can be used for interconnecting an electric stringed musical instrument to an electronic device. In one embodiment of the present invention, an electronic-device interface includes a universal-serial-bus interface, a tip-ring-ring-sleeve output jack, and an enhanced electric-stringed-musical-instrument cable with a tip-ring-ring-sleeve connection at a first end and a universal-serial-bus connection at a second end. When an electric stringed musical instrument is equipped with an electronic-device interface, a user may insert the first end of the enhanced electric-stringed-musical-instrument cable into the tip-ring-ring-sleeve output jack and the second end of the enhanced electric-stringed-musical-instrument cable into a universal-serial-bus port for an electronic device.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention are directed to flexible, user-adapted, continuous searching, on behalf of a particular user, for points of interest relevant to the user's current location within a specifically computed personal region of interest. In a general case, the personal region of interest is computed as a function of the user's level of disposition towards the searched-for points of interest. The level of disposition towards the searched-for points of interest may, in turn, be based on two or more of the user's location, the current date and time, a history of the user's interaction with the POI-searching system, including user-initiated searches and user selections from displayed search results, a user profile developed for, and continuously updated on behalf of, the user, and a current context for the search, as specified by a search query or by other context-specifying means.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention are directed to acquiring information from the worldwide web, organizing information acquired from the worldwide web, and using the acquired and organized information to facilitate web-page searching, web-page browsing, and other worldwide-web-based activities. In one embodiment of the present invention, a database of concept objects is created from an initial set of semantic objects and from hyperlink information obtained from web pages by one or more web crawlers. The initial set of semantic objects is processed using hyperlink based objects created by the web crawler. The processed semantic objects are then associated with additional hyperlink-based objects to create a concept-object database.

Abstract: An integrated circuit implementing a storage-shelf router used alone, or in combination with other storage-shelf routers, and in combination with path controller cards, to interconnect the disks within a storage shelf or disk array to a high-bandwidth communications medium through which data is exchanged between the individual disk drives of the storage shelf and a disk-array controller. In various embodiments, the present invention provides virtual disk formatting by a storage shelf router and the storage shelf in which the storage-shelf is included, to external computing entities, such as disk-array controllers and host computers.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention are directed to pulsed polarimeters for conducting remote, non-perturbative diagnostic measurements of inducing fields of a medium demonstrating induced optical activity. In one aspect, a pulse polarimeter includes a light source emitting a polarized light pulse having sufficiently narrow spatial extent at a prescribed wavelength and a light gathering optical system including a light gathering optic having an optic axis directed toward the medium and positioned to collect and collimate a predetermined solid angle of an emission from the medium into a collimated emission beam, while preserving the polarization state of the emission.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention include flexible and dynamic manufacturing and retailing systems that employ instantiated quoter objects for communicating with remote vendor interfaces to obtain information from vendors related to quote solicitations and to receive and process orders received from remote customers. The quoter objects may also access one or more database systems associated with the retailing system for locally storing and retrieving vendor and product information within the retailing system. The quoter objects may be implemented by vendors, transmitted by vendors to a retailing system, and automatically, manually, or semi-automatically incorporated within the retailing system. In certain embodiments of the retailing system, quoter objects are instantiated by decision support systems that conduct interactive dialogs with clients through one or more customer interfaces via one or more different types of communications media.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method and system for designing the monomer sequence of a polymer to produce a particular polymer that adopts an initially specified, 3-dimensional conformation in a specified chemical environment. In one specific embodiment, the method and system produces amino-acid sequences for polypeptides in order to generate polypeptides that adopt initially specified, 3-dimensional conformations. Additional embodiments determine sequences for various other types of biopolymers in order to produce biopolymers that adopt specific conformations in specified chemical environments. For example, these method embodiments may be used to design sequences for polysaccharides, polynucleotides, and hybrid biopolymers.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention employ complexly shaped, high-surface-area channels for separation and purification of molecules, including important biopolymers such as proteins, glycoproteins, polysaccharides, and other molecular components of living cells. The relatively large internal surface areas of the complexly shaped channels employed in embodiments of the present invention provide, in comparison to traditional, simply shaped separation channels, increased heat dissipation during electrokinetic separation, and a decreased tendency for bulk-solution flow. Heat dissipation prevents high temperatures that can denature proteins and that can induce thermal currents within the separation channel. Bulk-solution flow within a separation channel can overwhelm the generally linear, electrical-potential-induced migration of molecules that leads to efficient and well-resolved molecular separations.

Abstract: Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to real-time capture, analysis, and output of polarizing microscopy images that quantify detected LB signals at discrete locations within the image. In one embodiment of the present invention, circularly polarized light is passed through a sample and optically imaged by traditional polarizing-light-microscope components. The resulting image is then split four ways and analyzed by a four-way polarizer/analyzer, and the four resulting analyzed subimages are computationally processed to produce three false-color, real-time images that represent per-pixel linear birefringence, extinction angle, and transmission at each position within a quarter-sized representation of the original image produced by conventional light-microscope imaging components.

Abstract: Operating system methods and techniques for supporting one or more custom execution environments (CE2s) are provided. According to one embodiment, a determination is made with respect to which system resources of a computer system, if any, are to remain under control of a resident operating system of the computer system and which of the system resources are to be placed under control of one or more CE2s. The system resources are then partitioned among the resident operating system and the one or more CE2s by associating one or more partitions of the system resources with the one or more CE2s. Such partitioning may be performed by the resident operating system by employing hardware-based isolation techniques provided by a processor of the computer system, performed by the resident operating system by employing a secure-platform interface, or configured by a system administrator via hardware partitioning capability provided by the computer system platform.

Abstract: Methods and techniques for implementing a custom execution environment (CE2) and a related loader are provided. According to one embodiment, the CE2 includes code and data sections of an application and code and data sections of a set of system services. The set of system services has direct and full control of a set of hardware resources of a computer system containing one or more processors implementing a parallel protected architecture. According to one embodiment, the system services are designed for maximum simplicity, fastest possible speed, and elimination of security vulnerabilities.

Abstract: A method for controlling crosstalk, power and yield in nanometer-technology integrated circuits (“ICs”) is based on a performance driven space optimization technique that minimizes the coupling capacitance between the interconnecting wires. Given a routed IC design, virtual compression-springs are inserted between all the elements of the design creating a mesh of springs. The design is then perturbed, or shaken, by transforming the spring system into a minimum-energy problem, a solution for which reduces or eliminates crosstalk violations, minimizes power and increases yield as the springs reach minimum energy state. In a described method, the primitives of a given IC layout are defined in terms of object points. In a first step, a mesh of virtual compression springs connecting all the layout primitives is generated from the object points.

Abstract: An integrated circuit implementing a storage-shelf router used alone, or in combination with other storage-shelf routers, and in combination with path controller cards, to interconnect the disks within a storage shelf or disk array to a high-bandwidth communications medium, such as an FC arbitrated loop, through which data is exchanged between the individual disk drives of the storage shelf and a disk-array controller. A set of interconnected storage-shelf routers within a storage shelf can be accessed through a single port of an FC arbitrated loop or other high-bandwidth communications medium. Because, in one implementation, eight storage-shelf routers can be interconnected within a storage shelf to provide highly available interconnection of sixty-four disk drives within the storage shelf to an FC arbitrated loop via a single FC-arbitrated-loop port, a single FC arbitrated loop including a disk-array controller, may interconnect 8,000 individual disk drives to the disk-array controller within a disk array.

Abstract: Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to a system and method for increasing fuel efficiency in internal combustion engines by radially accelerating fuel prior to combustion. In one embodiment of the present invention, fuel is input, under pressure, to an enclosed fuel-acceleration chamber between a rotating rotor and stationary rotor housing. While in the acceleration chamber, the rotating rotor radially accelerates the fuel and the acceleration, in turn, may generate turbulence or cavitation within the fuel. The fuel is then output from the fuel-acceleration chamber to a treated-fuel reservoir and to a fuel-combustion site.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention include a storage-shelf-router-to-disk-drive interconnection method within a high-availability storage shelf amenable to dynamic reorganization in order to ameliorate error conditions that arise within the high-availability storage shelf. In one embodiment, each path-controller card within the storage shelf is interconnected to two storage-shelf routers on separate storage-shelf-router cards via two serial management links and two serial data links. Different types of errors that may arise within the storage shelf are carefully classified with respect to a number of different error-handling techniques, including local path failovers, single path failovers, error reporting and logging, and other types of error handling techniques. In many implementations, particular error handling methods are conifigurably associated with particular errors, in order to adapt error behavior in a storage shelf to the needs and requirements of a system that includes the storage shelf.

Abstract: A single-sheet registration form and key packet that may be printed on a laser printer or other automated printing device during a registration process conducted by a commercial organization, such as a hotel or motel. The single-sheet registration form and key packet includes lines of perforations for separating the registration form from the key packet and for quickly folding the key packet in order to construct the key packet during the registration process. Additionally, the key-packet portion of the single-sheet registration form and key packet includes dye-cut slots for inserting magnetic key cards and metal keys.

Abstract: A method for distribution and maintenance of entertainment-related objects and devices. A predetermined operational location is provided with toys and a toy station that serves as a hub for toy deployment for the on-site use of the toys by people at the location. Each toy station contains a means of disinfecting toys prior to use by the toy-user. Each toy is permanently mounted to a substrate that removably attaches to the toy station. Each substrate is readily identifiable as belonging to a given toy station to reduce theft and intermixing of provided toys with any personal toys of any toy-users. Each toy is regularly inspected, documented, cleaned, and checked for functionality and safety. Unsafe, broken, and undocumented toys are removed and replaced with new toys.

Abstract: Embodiments of the disclosed invention include optimization methods and systems that receive a mathematical description of a system, in symbolic form, that includes decision variables of various types, including real-number-valued, integer-valued, and Boolean-valued decision variables, and that may also include a variety of constraints on the values of the decision variables, including inequality and equality constraints. The objective function and constraints are incorporated into a global objective function. The global objective function is transformed into a system of differential equations in terms of continuous variables and parameters, so that polynomial-time methods for solving differential equations can be applied to calculate near-optimal solutions for the global objective function.

Abstract: A switch, used as an electronic-memory element, comprising a conductive organic polymer layer sandwiched between, and in contact with, two metallic conductive elements. In an initial post-fabrication state, the organic polymer layer is relatively highly conductive, the post-fabrication constituting a first stable state of the memory element that can serve to represent a binary bit “1 or 0,” depending which of two possible encoding conventions is employed. A relatively high voltage pulse can be passed between the two metal conductive elements, resulting in a market decrease in the current-carrying capacity of the organic polymer layer sandwiched between the two conductive elements. This change in conductivity of the organic polymer layer is generally irreversible, and constitutes a second stable state of the memory element that may be used to encode a binary bit “0” or “1,” again depending on which of two possible encoding conventions are employed.