Abstract: A lock comprising a housing, a plunger, a locking member, a locking plate, and a control assembly. The housing having an internal cavity, a recess, and a bore. The plunger is disposed in the bore and is slidable between a closed position wherein a second end of the plunger is positioned in the internal cavity and an intermediate portion of the plunger extends across the recess, and an open position wherein the plunger is withdrawn from the internal cavity and the recess. The locking member is movable between a locking position wherein the locking member is engaged with the plunger and an unlocking position wherein the locking member is disengaged therefrom. The control assembly operates the locking plate between a lock position to hold the locking member in the locking position and an unlock position to permit the plunger to move from the closed position to the open position.

Abstract: Medical devices and methods of use thereof are described. The device may include a body having a housing that defines a lumen, a piston within the housing, and an actuator operably coupled to the piston, wherein the piston is movable along the lumen by operating the actuator. The device also may include a cartridge insertable into the body and/or a flexible fitting configured for direct application to an eye of a subject.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for cutting dielectric or semiconducting material with a laser. The method includes the following steps: emission of a laser beam including at least one burst of N femtoseconds laser pulses; spatial separation of the laser beam into a first split beam having a first energy, and respectively, a second split beam having a second energy; spatial concentration of energy of the first split beam in a first zone of the material, respectively, of the second split beam in a second zone of the material, the first zone and the second zone being separate and staggered by a distance dx; and adjustment of the distance between the first zone and the second zone in such a way as to initiate a straight micro-fracture oriented between the first zone and the second zone.

Abstract: A solar distillation system includes at least one solar panel configured to reflect sunlight, and a distillation tube adjacent the at least one solar panel that is to receive a liquid to be processed into fresh water. The liquid flows through the distillation tube and is heated by the reflected sunlight. At least one supplemental distillation unit is connected to the distillation tube and has at least one curved surface to receive the reflected sunlight. The least one supplemental distillation unit includes a plurality of sprayers configured to spray the liquid onto the at least one curved surface to be further processed into fresh water.

Abstract: A method for producing a shape memory band of an orthodontic appliance. The shape memory band is one piece, has a cross section that can vary according to the longitudinal position of said cross section, and includes a bonding zone configured so as to exhibit a shape substantially identical to that of a tooth. The method includes: determining an orthodontic treatment suitable for treating the teeth, determining a set of forces to be exerted locally on the teeth in order to obtain the orthodontic treatment and the shape of the surface of the teeth to which bonding zones of the shape memory band are to be bonded, and producing the shape memory band. The local cross section of the shape memory band is determined according to the forces and in such a way as to define bonding zones substantially identical to the surfaces of the teeth.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a generation facility for producing electricity includes one or more electricity generating elements for producing electricity from a renewable energy source. The generation facility also includes a controller conductively coupled to: (1) a first conductive path leading from the one or more electricity generating elements; (2) a second conductive path leading to a public utility network; and (3) a third conductive path leading to an energy storage system for storing electrical energy. The energy storage system is also conductively coupled to a fourth conductive path leading to the public utility network. The controller includes one or more processors coupled to a non-transitory computer readable storage media embodying software that is operable when executed by the processors to determine whether to send electricity generated by the one or more electricity generating elements to the energy storage system.

Abstract: A thermoplastic molding process for large parts and particularly to novel rotating elbow piping configurations used to precisely deposit prescribed amounts of thermoplastics or thermoplastic composites into large compression molds.