Abstract: A new therapeutic polymeric foam dental appliance is disclosed for utilization in the treatment of teeth and/or gums, as well as a method of preparing said appliance by reaction of a polyurethane foam prepolymer with an aqueous treatment solution. A sterile, prepackaged therapeutic dental appliance in ready to use form by dental professionals is also disclosed.

Abstract: A wafer-scale integrated circuit comprises a few hundred modules which can be connected into a long chain by commands sent to the modules along a transmit path set up by way of module inputs XINN, XINE, XINS, XINW from neighbouring modules and outputs thereto XOUTN, XOUTE, XOUTS, XOUTW, only one of which is enabled to by one of four selection signals SELN, SELE, SELS, SELW acting both on transmit path logic and on receive path logic in a return path. A RAM unit can be enabled by WRITE to write a block of data sent to RID via the transmit path and can be enabled by READ to read a block of data to ROD for return along the return path. The provision of SELN, etc. READ and WRITE is effected by configuration logic which includes a shift register and is responsive to a command mode signal CMND, on a line which runs to all modules in parallel. If, when CMND is asserted the bit currently in the transmit path is logic (, the module is not addressed.

Abstract: A transdermal medication delivery system in which a housing includes a power source for supplying programmed current pulses to an electrical current path which includes an electrically charged medication and a body location at which the medication is placed. The level of the current pulses and the time over which they are provided is controlled to deliver a predetermined dosage of the medication to the body location at a predetermined rate.

Abstract: A video signal received from a source (10) is bandwidth-compressed by filters (12, 14, 16), filter (14) being a temporal filter and filter (16) being a spatial filter. Selection of the filter to be used is dependent upon picture content. The transmitter reconstitutes in interpolators (44, 46) the signal which would be regenerated at the receiver, determines which filter gives the best results, and transmits an indication of which filter has been used in a digital signal associated with the analogue video signal. Preferably a determination of motion vectors associated with the signal is made and the digital signal indicates which of the determined motion vectors is applicable to different areas of the picture. By transmitting the control signal digitally with the analogue video signal the receiver circuitry is greatly simplified while its reliability is improved.

Abstract: A data processing system which includes a memory and a processor comprising at least two execution units. The system further includes a microcode control unit for storing sequences of microinstructions and an execution microinstruction stack containing at least one stack frame containing the machine state of a first execution unit when the execution of a microinstruction has been interrupted. A memory microinstruction stack is provided to store a plurality of stack frames, stack frames being transferrable between the execution microinstruction stack and the memory microinstructiion stack. The microcode control unit contains sequences of monitor microinstructions and has associated with it a minotor microinstruction stack for storing the machine state of the first execution unit when the execution of a monitor microinstruction has been interrupted.

Abstract: A data processing system which includes a host processor and an input/output (I/O) controller unit for controlling communication with I/O devices. The I/O controller unit responds to a plurality of I/O commands from the host processor each of which is associated with one of a plurality of control block lists each containing one or more control commands. The I/O controller unit can access and store control commands from each of the plurality of control block lists and execute the stored commands from such lists in a selected order for providing the most effective execution thereof.

Abstract: A system for synchronizing the operation of a plurality of redundant processors forming groups thereof in which a frame of operation is defined as a time period during which a selected number of processing events occurs. For each processor, the performance of a first one of such events specifies the start of a frame and the performance of the last one of such events specifies the end of a frame. When the final event is performed by the last-to-perform of the processors of a group, the operations of all the processors of the group are then synchronized to start the next frame of operation at substantially the same time. The processors have execution rates which lie within the specified range thereof, the processors must perform their final events within a specified time period, and the processors of a group are arranged so as to start a frame of operation within another specified time period.

Abstract: In a method for converting n data input bits to n data output bits, groups of m data input bits from an input data buffer (10) are used as address input for a plurality of identical substitution look-up tables (20 to 27). Each look-up table (20 to 27) has a plurality of groups of m data output bits stored at a plurality of locations in the table. The output bits held at each location within the look-up tables (20 to 27) are dependent on a control word taken from a control word register (11).

Abstract: A method of determining the moisture content of a material in which the material is caused to flow continually through a sensor region, the spatially averaged temperature of the material being continually determined independently of the dynamic thermal response of the material. The loss and capacitance of the sensor is also continually determined, the moisture content of the material than being determined in response to the spatially averaged temperature and the loss and capacitance determinations independently of changes in the packing density of the material as it continually flows through the sensor region.

Abstract: A transdermal medication delivery system in which the medication is retained in a non-charged form such that it can be electrically charged. A d-c electrical current is supplied through the retained medication when it is in its electrically charged form and current control is used to control the current level. The electrical current supply circuit, the control circuit, the retained charged medication, and the body location of a patient to which the medication is to be delivered transdermally, form a closed loop during operation so that the current is maintained at a substantially constant level while being delivered to the body location. Such delivery can be terminated if the current exceeds a maximum allowable level.

Abstract: A structure for use in reducing reflections as from a light reflecting surface of an optical device. The structure utilizes a plurality of substantially tubular elements mounted in front of the reflective surface. In a preferred embodiment, the aspect ratio of the tubular elements being selected to be substantially the same as that of the optical device.

Abstract: A technique for controlling the routing of valid messages, such as digital data in bit-serial form, for example, wherein such messages are supplied to a selected number of input terminals and circuitry is provided to make such valid messages available at selected ones of a plurality of output terminals which preferably are concentrated as adjacent ones of the output terminals. An overall concentrator system can use successive stages of devices having n+m input and n+m output terminals each device employing a plurality of gates which include one or more pulldown circuits, each pulldown circuit having no more than a fixed number of transistors in series, which number is independent of n and m. Such devices can be implemented by nMOS or domino CMOS integrated circuits so that the transistors are formed in a regular pattern of relatively high density at reasonable cost.

Abstract: A fault tolerant processing system which includes a plurality of at least (3f+1) fault containment regions each including a plurality of processors and a network element connected to each of the processors and to the network elements of the other regions. Groups of processors are used to form redundant processing sites, the number of each group being included in a different fault containment region. The operations of the network elements are synchronized and the system can be arranged to re-configure the groups of processors so as to form different pluralities of redundant processing sites.

Abstract: In a system in which an audio signal is scrambled by being divided into blocks each comprising a plurality of segments, and the segments are re-ordered within the blocks to provide the scrambled signal, the joins between the segments are required to be located at a descrambler. To enable the joins to be located, a framing sequence is added to the signal in synchronism with the segments and which consists of a low-level signal having a frequency spectrum which is substantially similar to the spectrum of the audio signal. Preferably a pseudo-random binary sequence is used having typically 200 to 500 bit periods per segment.

Abstract: Transmission of video pictures containing depth information is achieved by taking video signals from two sources, showing different representations of the same scene, and correlating them to determine a plurality of peak correlation values which correspond to vectors representing depth information. The first video signal is divided into elementary areas and each block is tested, pixel by pixel, with each vector to see which vector gives the best fit in deriving the second video signal from the first. The vectors which give the best fit are then assigned to their respective areas of the picture and constitute difference information. The first video signal and the assigned vectors are then transmitted in parallel. The first video signal can be received as a monoscopic picture, or alternatively the vectors can be used to modify the first signal to form a display containing depth.

Abstract: Video signals from a source are digitized and applied to a source coder which segregates the signals into four channels (CH1 to CH4) of progressively less visual significance. CH1 carries basic picture information at a relatively low resolution. CH2 to CH4 carry differential information at progressively higher resolutions. The four channels signals are applied to respective coders and the digital outputs are combined in a matrix with voltage levels falling off as visual significance decreases. Received signals, transmitted say by way of a satellite, are applied to a first, high level decoder which extracts the digital waveform for CH1 as DCH1. This is recoded and subtracted from the input to provide a signal to a decoder which recovers CH2 as DCH2, and so on. DCH1 to DCH4 are applied to a source decoder complementary to the coder to recover the source signal. Low significant channels can be omitted at the transmitter, or not be recovered at the receiver to adapt to the prevailing signal to noise performance.

Abstract: An electroluminescent (EL) lamp element and a process for making same. The EL lamp element has a monolayer of phosphor particles deposited in a resin binder material. The sizes of the particles are controllably pre-selected to lie within a selected range thereof. The thickness of the resin binder layer is about one-half that of the average particle size so that the tendency of the resin to migrate through the particles and to cover the surfaces of the particles is prevented. A second resin binder layer is then deposited over the exposed surfaces of phosphor particles to form a relatively thin monolayer of particles uniformly distributed in the resin binder layers. If desired, the particles can be coated with a colloidal silica material to prevent any agglomeration thereof when depositing them in the resin binder layer.

Abstract: A data processing system which includes a host processor and an input/output (I/O) controller unit for controlling communication with I/O devices. The controller processor receives I/O commands from the host processor, accesses and stores control block lists of control commands associated with such I/O commands, and executes the control commands from such control block lists. The controller unit stores controller information concerning the operational capability of the controller unit and the host processor is capable of accessing such controller information and in turn can modify such operational capability if desired.

Abstract: A data processing system which includes a central processor unit which has an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) for performing fixed point arithmetic operations and a separate floating point unit (FPU) for performing floating point operations and which uses multi-level microcode architecture wherein each unit has its own control store (a "horizontal" store) which responds to addresses of execution control signals supplied thereto from a common control store (a "vertical" store) to produce horizontal microinstructions for performing ALU and FPU operations, respectively. Selected ones of such addresses are recognized for ALU operations by the CPU control store only, other selected ones are recognized for FPU operations by the FPU control store only, while still other selected ones are recognized for both ALU and FPU operations by both control stores so that such operations can be performed simultaneously in parallel.

Abstract: Tubes are cleaned using projectiles propelled by the more or less instantaneous release of liquid cleaning medium at high pressure acting upon one face of the projectile. Projectiles travel at a velocity of at least about 10 m sec.sup.-1 inducing a cavitation-like process to the rear of said projectile.