Abstract: Disclosed are circuits that allow LED bulbs to be replaced regardless of color or construction of the LED element. When used for an LED light string, replacing an LED bulb does not affect the operation of the entire string. When used for other illumination purpose, for example, room light, the bulbs are interchangeable because they have the same operating voltage and current. A standardized input impedance is selected for all of the LED bulbs regardless of construction and color. A resistor circuit is used to create the standardized input impedance while optimizing the operating parameters of the LED element. The resistor circuit includes a bypass element so that if a LED element burns open, a series wired LED string will not go dark. This eliminates the necessity for parallel connected LED bulbs and allows enjoyment of other advantages and economies of series wired LED strings.

Abstract: The invention relates to a device for producing and/or confining a plasma (10), said device comprising a chamber (13) in the space of which the plasma is produced and/or confined, said chamber (13) including a wall (1) defining a housing (15) inside the chamber (15) and encompassing said space, wherein said device is characterised in that it comprises at least one assembly (30) for producing and/or confining plasma, each assembly (30) being composed of magnets (3) having only an axial magnetisation direction and being recessed in the wall (1) defining the housing, so that the magnetisation direction of all the magnets (3) defining each assembly (30) is substantially perpendicular to the housing (15) defined by the wall (1) and so that the assembly (30) is substantially symmetrical to the housing, wherein the magnetic field lines (5) do not extend through the wall (1) of the chamber. The invention also relates to a method for producing and/or confining a plasma.

Abstract: A hair iron 1 includes a pair of grips 9 being rotatably connected to a base end so as to be openable and closable; and a heating part 11 being provided to be opposed to a tip end side of each grip 9 wherein each heating part 11 has a flat opposing surface, a rear surface side of the heating part 11 has a curved curling part 13, and at least one curling part 13 has an auxiliary case 15 with a curved surface having a different curvature from that of the curling part 13 so as to be attachable and detachable thereto and therefrom.

Abstract: A projection device (1) includes: a projector (2) adapted for projecting a mother image along a projection axis (11); and a convex mirror adapted for at least partially reflecting the mother image and projecting it onto a three-dimensional environment (7, 8a, 8b) such as the ground, a ceiling, one or more side walls and the content of a room. When combining the projector with a convex mirror, the mother image can for example be projected into a solid angle higher than 2? steradians (i.e. a half-sphere), or even substantially equal to or slightly lower than 4? steradians (i.e. a sphere). A method implemented by the device is also described. The field of the invention is particularly that of video projectors for virtual or mixed reality applications.

Abstract: A mounting mat for an exhaust gas treatment device including inorganic fibers, organic binder, antioxidant, optionally clay and optionally intumescent material. The exhaust gas treatment device includes a housing, a fragile catalyst support structure resiliently mounted within the housing, and the mounting mat disposed in a gap between the housing and the fragile catalyst support structure. Additionally disclosed are methods of making a mounting mat for an exhaust gas treatment device and for making an exhaust gas treatment device incorporating the mounting mat.

Abstract: The invention relates to a new type of polysaccharide-block-polypeptide diblock copolymer which is bioresorbable or biodegradable and biocompatible, to a method for preparing same, to the micellar vesicles constituted of this copolymer, and to the use thereof for encapsulation, transport, vectorization, and targeting of molecules of interest.

Abstract: Particles conveying a code are incorporated into polymer matrix to form a core document substrate. These particles may be colored to create a distinctive look of the document that makes it unique for a particular document issuer and enables visual authentication. Addition of a covert attribute to the particle, such as a UV pigment or hidden layer of material, allows a covert, forensic characteristic and it also allows a mathematical description to be calculated describing the random distribution of a specific area on a document and then captured on it (e.g., in the bar code or magnetic stripe or digital watermark on an ID document).

Abstract: The disclosure relates to a device for stimulating living tissue, comprising an array of stimulating microelectrodes that are placed in a defined configuration side by side and able to be selected by applying an electrical signal for stimulation by one of the microelectrodes. According to the disclosure, an additional conducting surface for application against the living tissue, is provided in the vicinity of a defined plurality of sections for local application of microelectrodes, connecting means being provided for electrical connection between the zones, and the additional conducting surface being also connected to a lead and being formed so as to ensure local stimulation via a microelectrode.

Abstract: A covert material for printing onto a printing medium is provided, the covert material comprising a covert pigment and a binder encapsulating the covert pigment into a particle, where the binder comprises at least one of cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB), butyral vinyl acetate, acetyl butyrate, and acetate butyrate. Alternatively, the binder comprises at least one of polyester, polyolefin, acetyl butyrate, acetate butyrate, polystyrene copolymer, and polystyrene-polyvinylpyridine. The covert material can comprise additional components, such as ethyl acetate and/or n-propyl acetate. In one embodiment, the covert pigment comprises about 0.5-5% of the covert material. In one embodiment, the binder comprises about 5-30% of the covert material. In one advantageous embodiment, the covert pigment comprises at least 2% of the covert material and the binder comprises about 20-25% of the covert material. The covert material can further comprise at least one of a colorant, a surface additive, and a magnetic particle.

Abstract: A pain management kit for the administration of medication and a related method of use is disclosed. The pain management kit includes the primary medical supplies for performing a continuous nerve block procedure, preferably in a single, sterile container. Specifically, the kit may contain medical supplies to create a sterile field, perform a local anesthetic procedure and to perform a continuous nerve block procedure. Preferably, the contents of the kit are arranged in the general order of their use.

Abstract: A process for managing digital audio streams of a musical work, includes creating digital audio streams called tracks (p1 to p21) of the same musical work, whereby the tracks have a duration that is essentially equal to the musical work, each of the digital audio streams corresponding to a sound signal. The process includes, at the time of creation, combining the tracks into at least two units (G1 to G5), whereby the tracks and the units are called elements; establishing constraints relative to the elements; verifying that each new constraint is compatible with the prior constraints using a constraint resolution engine; encapsulating the tracks (p1 to p21) and the constraints in a single computer file; and, when the user listens to the work, selecting the tracks that he wishes to hear in accordance with the constraints, and obtaining a sound signal from the selected tracks.

Abstract: A castor wheel for a vehicle or an attachment for a vehicle, the castor wheel comprising; a wheel having an axle about which the wheel can rotate, an offset pivot mounting for mounting the castor wheel to the vehicle or vehicle attachment, the pivot mounting being connected to the wheel axle and defining a pivot axis perpendicular to and offset from the wheel axle, the wheel capable of pivoting about the pivot axis, and wherein the castor wheel also comprises a restrainer for restraining the pivoting of the wheel is disclosed.

Abstract: According to one aspect, the detailed technology concerns assessment of the fraud risk presented by an applicant for a driver's license, based on a particular ensemble of information presented by the applicant. For example, certain collateral identification documents presented by the applicant (birth certificate, passport, student body ID card, etc.)—or certain combinations of documents—may be found to have relatively higher or lower historical incidences of fraud associated therewith. Based on such historical insight, the issuing agency can tailor its scrutiny of the applicant accordingly. In one arrangement a score is determined based on the presented information. If it falls below a threshold, extra verification checks can be undertaken, such as querying additional third party databases (credit bureaus, military discharge records, etc.). An automated system may guide the evaluation process, based on the particular ensemble of information presented, and on the results of any database queries.

Abstract: The present invention relates to the use of an oxyhydroxy salt related to the family of layered double hydroxides for the design and manufacture of an electrode with a view to storing electrical energy.

Abstract: Novel compounds of the following formula (I): in which: n represents an integer from 1 to 12, in particular from 1 to 8, m and m? represent, independently of one another, integers from 0 to 8, q and q? represent, independently of one another, integers from 0 to 2, p and p? represent, independently of one another, integers from 0 to 4, A and A? represent, independently of one another, a CH2 group, (particular case of amidines) an NH group or an NR? group, in which R? is a linear or branched alkyl group with 1 to 3 carbon atoms, B and B? represent, independently of one another, an oxygen atom or a CH2 group, R and R? are, independently of one another, a halogen, such as chlorine, bromine, iodine or fluorine atoms, or a linear or branched alkyl group with 1 to 3 carbon atoms, use thereof as medicaments and the method of preparation thereof.

Abstract: A process of differentiation of stem cells through the use of specific oxygen concentrations, provided that the stem cells are not human embryonic stem cells, and seeded on a support, in an appropriate culture medium, wherein the differentiation leads to: a. either a first group of specialized differentiated cells under normoxic conditions, and in an appropriate culture medium, b. or a second group of specialized differentiated cells under hypoxic conditions, in a culture medium of the same nature as the one used for obtaining the first group of specialized differentiated cells; the first and second groups of specialized differentiated cells retaining the functional properties of the corresponding specialized differentiated cells respectively obtained through a biological natural process.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to an image processing method for estimating a brain shift in a patient, the method involving: the processing of a three-dimensional image of the brain of a patient, acquired before a surgical operation, in order to obtain a reference cerebral arterial tree structure of the patient; the processing of three-dimensional images of the brain of the patient, acquired during the operation, in order to at least partially reconstitute a current cerebral arterial tree structure of the patient; the determination from the combination of the reference and current cerebral arterial tree structures, of a field of shift of the vascular tree representing the shift of the current vascular tree in relation to the reference vascular tree; the application of the determined field of shift of the vascular tree to a biomechanical model of the brain of the patient in order to estimate the brain shift of the patient; and the generation, from the estimated brain shift, of at least one image of the brain of the p

Abstract: The invention particularly relates to a so-called continuous or instrumented indentation device for a material, which includes: an indenter; a bearing means for the material to be indented; a means for moving the indenter and/or the bearing means for contacting said indenter with said material and for pressing the indenter into the material; a means for measuring the force and the movement of the indenter when the same is pressed into the material. The bearing means includes a convex surface for receiving said material and oriented towards the indenter so that said material is capable of bearing on said surface; said indenter is one-piece structure. The means for measuring the movement of the indenter when the same is pressed into the material includes at least three movement sensors angularly arranged at an equal distance about said indenter.

Abstract: The invention relates to a composite material comprising nanoparticles of at least one metal derivative and at least one type of carboxylic and/or sulfonic acid derivative organic compound chemically bound in a covalent manner with said nanoparticles by means of at least one carboxylic and/or sulfonic function.

Abstract: the invention provides a composition having laser engraving properties, comprising a host material and a laser enhancing additive. The host material comprises a material, such as a polymer, modified by a first process, whereby the host material as modified by the first process has increased thermal conductivity as compared to the host material before the first process. The laser enhancing additive comprises a first quantity of at least one of copper potassium iodide (CuKI3), Copper Iodide (CuI), potassium iodide (KI), sodium iodide (NaI), and aluminum iodide (AlI), and a second quantity of at least one substance selected from the group consisting of zinc sulfide (ZnS), barium sulfide (BaS), alkyl sulfonate, and thioester.