Abstract: The present invention provides a chelating agent suitable for chelating metals metals in liquid or supercritical carbon dioxide. The chelating agent comprises generally a conventional chelating group and a CO.sub.2 -soluble functional group covalently attached to the chelating group. Examples of suitable CO.sub.2 -soluble functional groups include fluorinated polyether groups, silicone groups, fluorinated polyalkyl groups, phosphazene groups and fluorinated polyacrylate groups. The present invention also provides a method of extracting a metal from a matrix containing at least one other material and the metal using such CO.sub.2 -soluble chelating agents.

Abstract: An article of footwear includes a heel, a sole and an upper portion adapted to cover the foot. The upper portion includes a tongue and spaced-apart right and left side portions overlying the tongue. The right and left side portions each respectively define confronting right and left edges. A plurality of hooks are spaced along each of the right and left edges, each of the hooks including an open end facing outwardly from the adjacent confronting edge. A plurality of resilient loops extend from each of the right and left side portions. The resilient loops extending from the right side portion are positioned to engage the hooks spaced along the left edge and the resilient loops extending from the left side portion are positioned to engage the hooks spaced along the right edge.

Abstract: A method for searching a database of an information retrieval system in response to a query having a query length of at least one word, for applying the query word to the database and selecting information from the database according to the query word. The query is received and the length of the query is determined. Information is selected from the database according to the query. The relevance of the selected information is determined according to matches between the query and the information. The determined relevance of the selected information is adjusted according to the length of the query.

Abstract: A method of forming HSG is disclosed, in which a layer of starting material is formed on a wafer, the layer of starting material is seeded with a species and the seeded layer is annealed. The seeding and annealing steps can be performed under different conditions and can be varied independently of each other.

Abstract: An improved oxygen blowing/fuel burner lance assembly for introducing, at selected times, a flow of oxygen and/or carbonaceous fuel material, such as fine-grained carbon or hydrocarbon gas (e.g., natural gas and the like), into an electric furnace vessel. The lance assembly includes a housing portion, a straight barrel having a first and connected to the housing portion and a second end connected to a lance tip. The lance tip includes a nozzle structure having at least one oxygen injection nozzle and at least one carbonaceous material injection nozzle which together define a burner assembly for dispensing a combined flow of carbonaceous fuel and oxygen from the lance which may be ignited to produce a flame for preheating a scrap charge in an electric furnace vessel.

Abstract: A system for recovering ferrous metal components from waste materials includes a first magnetic separator for magnetically separating ferrous metal components from waste material and an impacting device for dislodging residual waste material from the surface of ferrous metal components separated by the first magnetic separator. The system may also include a second magnetic separator following the impacting device, a water washing system for cleaning ferrous metal components retained by the second magnetic separator, a ferrous metal collection station, a waste material collection station and conveyors for conveying the various unseparated and separated materials throughout the system. The impacting device includes a solid wall rotatable drum having at least one radially inwardly projecting protruberance on its interior surface. As the drum rotates, the protruberances lift the ferrous materials separated by the first magnetic separator.

Abstract: Aminated polymers capable of reversibly complexing carbon dioxide and other acid gases including CO.sub.2, SO.sub.2, NO.sub.x and H.sub.2 S, a method of using such polymers and an operational unit including such polymers are disclosed. The polymers incorporate amine group which reversibly complex acid gases. Such polymers provide a significant advantages over presently used sorbents used to remove acid gas.

Abstract: The image restoration system and method of the present invention is applied to point spread functions p(x,y) which may be described in the Fourier domain as .rho.(.xi.,.eta.)=exp{-.SIGMA..sup.j.sub.i=1 .lambda..sub.i (.xi..sup.2 +.eta..sup.2).sup..beta.i }.lambda.i.gtoreq.0, 0<.beta.i<1, to improve noise performance and permit identification of fine detail. The novel method formulates the image restoration problem as a problem in the partial differential equations describing diffusion phenomena using a new type of a priori constraint. The restored image is obtained by minimizing a quadratic functional incorporating this new constraint. The solution of the minimization problem may be obtained directly by means of fast Fourier transform algorithms. The restoration method may be performed as a sequence of partial restorations as t.dwnarw.0 wherein the partial restorations become sharper and noisier as t.dwnarw.0, or as a single full restoration.

Abstract: A semiconductor integrated circuit fabrication method is provided for forming a capacitor on a semiconductor integrated circuit substrate. A lower capacitor electrode is formed over the semiconductor integrated circuit substrate and a capacitor dielectric is formed over the lower capacitor electrode. The capacitor dielectric is preferably formed of silicon nitride. A reoxidation anneal of the capacitor dielectric is performed at a pressure greater than one atmosphere in order to form an oxide layer over the capacitor dielectric. An upper capacitor electrode is disposed over the oxide layer to form a capacitor. The capacitor is formed as part of a dynamic random access memory cell. A transistor is formed upon the semiconductor integrated circuit substrate and the lower capacitor electrode is formed in electrical contact with a diffusion region of the transistor. The capacitor is formed within an opening in molding material that is deposited over the surface of the semiconductor integrated circuit substrate.

Abstract: A modular bill validator is disclosed consisting of easily separable modules and sub-modules. The main modules consist of a validation module and a removable, lockable or sealable stacker module. The validation module has slide out sub-modules can function independently without a stacker module or can accept replaceable stacker modules of different styles and sizes. The stacker module comprises a novel low power mechanism with moveable stacker bars to effect stacking of bills rather than fixed rails and a pusher plate thereby achieving an appreciable saving of space over prior art devices and permitting greater stacking capacity for bills. Various security options as well as improved sensing and validation techniques are also disclosed.

Abstract: An arrangement in a protective membrane (1; 101; 201), particularly for floors (11; 111; 211), comprising a substantially plane membrane of a preferably rigid material, e.g.

Abstract: A chemical oxygen device having one or more CO.sub.2 -bonding and O.sub.2 -releasing chemical canisters (2) arranged in a housing (1); a breathing bag (3) for the exhaled air, which itself is arranged in a breathing bag (7) for the inhaled air; an inhalation valve (4); an exhalation valve (5); and a particle filter (6). The usage conditions of chemical oxygen devices is improved by reducing breathing resistances and by an indication of consumption indication in which, at any time, the supply of breathing gas still available is indicated. A bellows (8) is arranged between the breathing bag (3) and chemical canisters (2) to reduce the breathing resistances and the particle filter (6) is arranged at the input of the breathing bag (7). The bellows (8) is connected to an evaluation unit (9), via which the wearer of the chemical oxygen device can check at any time the supply of breathing gas still available.

Abstract: A surgical system including: (1) a thermoplastic, body absorbable, bodily tissue fixation plate having a plurality of formations and a plurality of through-bores arranged in alternating relation along with plate; (2) body absorbable fasteners adapted for insertion into the through-bores to secure the plate to underlying bodily tissue; and (3) heating apparatus including a wand having a heating tip of a configuration adapted to substantially matingly cooperate with the formations to facilitate heating and bending of the plate into conformance with the underlying bodily tissue.

Abstract: A yeast cell, preferably Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which contains a functional stable recombinant DNA sequence that does not allow for the encoding of a negative regulator of phospholipid biosynthesis therein. In a preferred embodiment, the recombinant DNA sequence is an opil gene deletion which results in the deregulation of inositol or inositol-containing metabolites such as inositol-1-phosphate synthase. Moreover, there is a method for obtaining inositol, inositol-containing metabolites or phospholipids such as myo-inositol or inositol-1-phosphate. The method comprises the steps of genetically engineering a stable yeast cell, preferably Saccharomyces cerevisiae, to continually produce inositol, inositol-containing metabolites or phospholipids. Additionally, there is the step of then generating the inositol, inositol-containing metabolites or phospholipids.

Abstract: A passive humidifier for use with positive airway pressure devices including a chamber having an inlet and an outlet for holding a supply of water. Pressurized air is forced over a series of baffles arrayed within parallel channels inside the chamber for creating localized turbulence at the free water surface to maximize humidification efficiency. An accumulation chamber in communication with the outlet reduces the likelihood of water droplets escaping from the outlet.

Abstract: A device for providing angular displacement of an axis in a direction selected from the X or Y direction or rotational movement about the Z direction with respect to the axis. The device comprises a magnetic core element which produces a magnetic field and defines a Z axis. The core element is capable of displacement in the X and Y directions respectively, and also rotational movement about the Z axis. A coil device proximate the core element introduces a distortion force in the core element in at least one of the X and Y directions or about the Z axis as desired a mounting device suspends the core element with respect to the coil means to permit relative movement therebetween in response to the distortion force.

Abstract: A non-contact light beam scan system small enough to fit into a hand holdable wand, pen or calculator size terminal incorporates a novel scan element which can scan at rates of ten to hundreds of scans per second in one or two dimensions. The device is immune to low frequency vibrations and can scan large angles of 60 degrees or more. Automatic trigger circuitry enables it to be used equally well in hand held or fixed mount applications. The depth of operating range is extended with a novel focal system which is integrated with the light source. The entire scanning system for generating a beam, focusing the beam electronically, scanning the beam, collecting light from a target and converting it into electrical signals, and automatically generating a trigger signal can work with industry standard low or high speed bar code decoders.

Abstract: Apparatus and a method are disclosed for decontaminating water, using an ionizing reactor. Water contaminated by organic compounds is introduced into a chamber in which it is concurrently irradiated by microwave and an ultraviolet source to activate it by photolysis. The water is then introduced to a hydroxyl reactor chamber. An oxidizing reagent, such as hydrogen peroxide, is irradiated by subjecting it to the UV source. The activated water and irradiated oxidizing reagent are then vectored to a locus at which they are mixed under continuing UV radiation from the source. The apparatus and method may be incorporated into a water treatment system employing existing contaminant extraction techniques, such as immiscible fluids separation and turbo-aspirated sparging.