Abstract: In bus communications methods and apparatus, a first set of physical signals representing the information to be conveyed over the bus is provided, and mapped to a codeword of a spherical code, wherein a codeword is representable as a vector of a plurality of components and the bus uses at least as many signal lines as components of the vector that are used, mapping the codeword to a second set of physical signals, wherein components of the second set of physical signals can have values from a set of component values having at least three distinct values for at least one component, and providing the second set of physical signals for transmission over the data bus in a physical form.

Abstract: The present invention enables creating authenticable continuous tone color multi-ink multi-halftone images offering means of verifying their authenticity. The invention relies on color halftones, color separation into different ink surface coverages for different halftoning methods, mapping of an input gamut into a gamut defined by a set of inks, calculating the optimal boundary between region halftones created with different halftoning methods, and color multi-halftone image generation. The basic authentication is performed by examining the color multi-halftone image under a reference illumination and verifying that the message incorporated within the color multi-halftone is hidden and revealed under a different illumination. Authentication can further be performed by observing the color multi-halftone image both in reflection and transmission modes and verifying that in one of these modes the message is hidden and that in the other mode the message is revealed.

Abstract: A method of providing SVC video content with added media content, comprising the steps of: receiving an original video content transmitted from a remote site in a bit stream and including original video encoding parameters; decoding said original video encoding parameters data; selecting a complementary media content to be added to the original video content; modifying said original video encoding parameters; modifying said bit stream in order to integrate the video data of said complementary media content to provide a modified bit stream; sending said modified bit stream for decoding; the additional media content being provided in the form of an additional layer into the scalable bit stream.

Abstract: An amplification device with frequency drift for a pulsed laser includes a stretcher temporally stretching an incident laser pulse, at least one amplifying medium for amplifying the stretched laser pulse, and a compressor for temporally compressing the stretched and amplified laser pulse. The compressor includes an amplifying medium for amplifying a partially temporally compressed laser pulse, increasing energy yield of the amplifier.

Abstract: The system comprises at least a support (5) to be attached to a patient by fixing means (4), said support having an outer thread (7), a first nut (9) with an inner thread (11) cooperating with said outer thread (7); and an anchor having a spherical bottom end (10) being placed between said support and said nut, a spherical head (15) said spherical bottom end and head being linked by a shaft, a second nut (16) having an inner thread (17) and intended to be screwed on an external device having a corresponding thread (31), such as a platform (20) or a surgical device (30), whereby the tightening of at least one of the nuts (9,16) on the support and/or on the external device allows to block the position of the anchor.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a novel organometallic compound based on a divalent metal belonging to the 2nd column of the Periodic Table that can be used as an alkylating agent in a catalytic system based on a rare-earth metal. This novel compound corresponds to the formula: in which, M is a metal belonging to the 2nd column of the Periodic Table, chosen from Be, Mg, Sr, Ba, and Ra; R1, R2, R3 and R4 are hydrogen atoms or alkyl or aryl substituents, optionally bonded together to form at least one ring or at least one aromatic ring; R and R? denote alkyl or aryl substituents; L is a Lewis base; x is an integer from 0 to 4; m is an integer greater than or equal to 0; and n is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

Abstract: The invention relates to a viscosimetric sensor for monitoring an analyte level in a patient or in body fluids ex vivo. In particular, the invention relates to a sensor for monitoring analytes, such as glucose levels in a patient. The sensor comprises at least two hermetically closed chambers (2a, 2b), including an activation chamber and a measuring chamber, containing a sensitive fluid (3), the chambers communicating with each other through at least one microchannel (5), and a semi-permeable barrier (4) allowing the analyte to enter or leave the chambers. Each said chamber comprises at least one flexible membrane (6, 7) configured for antagonistic variations of the volume of the chambers.

Abstract: The invention relates to an improved process for the production of powders of an inhalable medicament by crystallization from a supersaturated fluid containing said medicament, the method comprising passing along a tubular reactor (a) a segmented flow of that fluid comprised of discrete volumes; or (b) a fluid mixture being separated by discrete volumes of a separating fluid which is substantially immiscible with said fluid, characterized in that the crystallization is initiated by application of ultrasound.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and apparatus for managing resources assigned to an application or service. A resource manager maintains a set of workload classes and classifies workloads using workload signatures. In specific embodiments, the resource manager minimizes or reduces resource management costs by identifying a relatively small set of workload classes during a learning phase, determining preferred resource allocations for each workload class, and then during a monitoring phase, classifying workloads and allocating resources based on the preferred resource allocation for the classified workload. In some embodiments, interference is accounted for by estimating and using an “interference index”.

Abstract: A method and computing system are proposed for producing an authenticable security device with two sides. The verso side is covered with a luminescent emissive variable intensity layer formed for example by invisible luminescent ink halftones and the recto side is covered with transmissive non-luminescent ink halftones. The backlit colors resulting from the emissions of the luminescent layer or resulting from illumination by normal white light through the transmissive non-luminescent ink halftones are predicted by a backlighting model. This model enables computing the surface coverages of the luminescent and/or non-luminescent ink halftones in order to obtain a desired color either under excitation light (UV light) or under normal white light. This enable creating authenticable backlit images substantially similar to pre-stored reference images, either under normal white light, under excitation light, or under both the normal white light and the excitation light.

Abstract: The present invention relates to new organic sensitizer compounds and to photoelectric conversion devices, in particular dye-sensitised solar cells comprising the new sensitizers. The present invention also relates to flexible photoelectric conversion devices, which are based on ionic liquid electrolytes or organic charge transporting materials.

Abstract: A high-speed laser perfusion imaging instrument including a laser source, a detector, a signal-processing unit, data memory, and a screen to display results. A section of a sample surface is illuminated with laser light; reemitted light from the irradiated surface is collected by focusing optics on a 2D array of integrating photodetectors having elements that can be accessed individually or in a pre-defined selection of pixels at high speed. This 2D array measures intensity variations at each individual pixel. Average amplitude and mean frequency of the measured signal contain information about concentration and speed of moving blood cells. For real-time imaging, exposure time is used as a parameter to measure relative perfusion changes. These data are stored and processed with the signal-processing unit to deliver 2D flow maps of the illuminated sample section, and allow a simple overlay between a conventional image and processed flow maps.

Abstract: A method for labeling acyl carrier protein (ACP) fusion proteins with a wide variety of different labels is disclosed. The method relies on the transfer of a label from a coenzyme A type substrate to an ACP fusion protein using a holo-acyl carrier protein synthase (ACPS) or a homologue thereof. The method allows detecting and manipulating the fusion protein, both in vitro and in vivo, by attaching molecules to the fusion proteins that introduce a new physical or chemical property to the fusion protein. Examples of such labels are, among others, spectroscopic probes or reporter molecules, affinity tags, molecules generating reactive radicals, cross-linkers, ligands mediating protein-protein interactions or molecules suitable for the immobilization of the fusion protein.

Abstract: Method of fabricating a multilayer film having at least one ultrathin layer of crystalline silicon, the film being fabricated from a substrate having a crystalline structure and including a previously-cleaned surface. The method includes the steps of: a) exposing the cleaned surface to a radiofrequency plasma generated in a gaseous mixture of SiF4, hydrogen, and argon, so as to form an ultrathin layer of crystalline silicon having an interface sublayer in contact with the substrate and containing microcavities; b) depositing at least one layer of material on the ultrathin layer of crystalline silicon so as form a multilayer film, the multilayer film including at least one mechanically strong layer; and c) annealing the substrate covered in the multilayer film at a temperature higher than 400° C., thereby enabling the multilayer film to be separated from the substrate.

Abstract: The subject of the invention is a method of synthesizing a compound MxPy where M is an element belonging to one of columns II to XV of the Periodic Table of the Elements or to the family of lanthanides or to the family of actinides, characterized in that it includes the reaction of x moles of compound comprising the element M in its oxidation state 0 with y/4n moles of compound (P4)n. The method of the invention may be carried out at a temperature much lower than those necessary in the methods of the prior art. It also allows low-temperature formation of nanoparticles and stoichiometric reaction control. The applications of this method are numerous: magnetic ferro-magnets for MnP and FeP; hydrodesulfurization catalysts for Ni2P; luminescent nanoparticles for biological applications; microelectronics and optoelectronics for InP; and electronics for GaP. The latter two phosphides are also used in the photovoltaic energy field.

Abstract: A method for producing nanostructures on a metal oxide substrate includes the following steps: a) forming metal aggregates on the metal oxide substrate; and b) vapor phase growing nanostructures on the metal oxide substrate covered with metal aggregates, the substrate being heated in the presence of one or more precursor gases, and the vapor phase growth of nanostructures being catalyzed by the metal aggregates. The metal aggregate formation stage a) includes an operation for reducing the surface of the metal oxide substrate by reductive plasma treatment, causing droplets of metal aggregates to form on the substrate, the metal aggregate formation stage a) and the nanostructure growth stage b) being carried out in series in a single shared plasma reactor chamber, the nanostructure growth being directly carried out on the droplets of metal aggregates.

Abstract: The present invention aims to capture two images simultaneously in the visible part of the spectrum and a NIR image. This is achieved through a camera for simultaneously capturing a visible and near-infrared image by at least a sensor producing sensor response data and having at least one color filter array (CFA) comprising at least four different filters, said color filter array having visible and near-infrared light filters, and said camera comprising means to obtain a visible image while using the sensor response data from the visible part of the spectrum and a NIR image using the sensor response data from the near-infrared part of the spectrum.

Abstract: A method for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements, includes creation of enhanced polarization of nuclei of a first kind within a sample in a magnetic field at cryogenic temperatures and transfer of the polarized sample to room temperature. The enhanced polarization of nuclei of the first kind is thereby transformed into long-lived states (LLS) of nuclei of a second kind and these LLS are sustained. The LLS is at least partially converted into observable magnetization and an NMR or MRI measurement is carried out. The method allows one to extend the time needed between hyperpolarized magnetization and NMR detection.

Abstract: A method for fabricating a micromirror in a wafer, including the steps of: depositing and etching layers forming two arms; etching the wafer such that in the back face only a thin portion of the wafer remains in the region of formation of the micromirror and the arms; performing an anisotropic etch, such that the thin portion remains only in the areas of the micromirror and the arms; and performing an isotropic etch to remove the thin portions under the arms, the etching step for forming the arms being performed following their shape and so as to form holes traversing the arms, the holes being positioned at edges of the region separating the micromirror and the wafer on both the side of the micromirror and the side of the portions of the wafer remaining after the anisotropic etching step. The invention also concerns the micromirror.

Abstract: A method and device for predicting faults in a distributed heterogeneous IT system (100), the method comprising: creating a local checkpoint (19) in an explorer node (10) of said system (100), said local checkpoint (19) reflecting the state of said explorer node (10); running a path exploration engine (14) on said local checkpoint (19) in order to predict faults, wherein a plurality of possible inputs (71) are used by said exploration engine (14) in order to explore different paths, wherein path exploration comprises sending messages to remote client nodes (20), and receiving messages from said remote clients (20); wherein said received messages do not reveal checkpoints of said other nodes, so as to avoid leakage of any confidential information.