Abstract: A microchannel plate (1) having an array of channels (5),includes a substrate (2) and, deposited on the substrate, a hydrogenated amorphous silicon film (3) having a thickness ranging between 50 ?m and 200 ?m, preferably between 80 ?m and 120 ?m, the film including the array of channels (5). Preferably, the substrate (2) is an integrated circuit having an internal electronic readout circuit and pixilated collection electrodes (8), and the film (3) is integrated on the substrate (2). The channels (5) may be formed by a Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE) process.

Abstract: A growing amount of data is produced daily resulting in a growing demand for storage solutions. While cloud storage providers offer a virtually infinite storage capacity, data owners seek geographical and provider diversity in data placement, in order to avoid vendor lock-in and to increase availability and durability. Moreover, depending on the customer data access pattern, a certain cloud provider may be cheaper than another. In this respect is provided a method and a system that facilitates allocation of data objects in a distributed data storage environment. The system continuously adapts the placement of data based on its access patterns and subject to optimization objectives, such as storage costs. The system efficiently considers repositioning of only selected objects that may significantly lower the storage cost.

Abstract: A database system maintains a feature set of a modern database system while operating directly on raw data files. Systems may use an adaptive indexing mechanism that maintains positional information to provide efficient access to raw data files, a flexible caching structure, and techniques for selective parsing and selective tokenizing. In doing so, possible performance bottlenecks associated with repeated parsing, tokenizing, and expensive data type conversion costs can be overcome.

Abstract: A device for supplying power to a load, requiring both a pre-determined supply of electrical power and high power for short durations of the operating cycle of the load, where the operating cycle is repeated. The power supply device includes a connection to an electrical grid, an AC voltage transformation circuit, a voltage rectification means and a plurality of DC/DC converters mounted in series to terminals of the load. Each of the DC/DC converters has a storage capacitor mounted in parallel to it and at least one of the DC/DC converters is supplied directly by the voltage rectification means. At least another one of the DC/DC converters is not supplied directly by the voltage rectification means. The power supply device may compensate for losses in the power supply device and load, and may substantially continually and uniformly balance voltages at terminals of the storage capacitors.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a method, apparatus and computer program product for locating a source of diffusion in a network, the method comprising providing a model of at least a portion of the network, the network comprising a plurality of nodes, a plurality of edges, and at least one source of diffusion, providing a model of a diffusion process initiated by the at least one source during a time period of interest, and employing a source estimator to determine a location of a source of diffusion in at least a portion of the network based on a plurality of network model parameters characteristic for the at least a portion of the network, and a plurality of diffusion process model parameters characteristic for the provided model of a diffusion process.

Abstract: A device for detecting objects such as mines placed in a zone to be explored, the device being placed on a vehicle moving at a velocity V and including a panel on which a radiation set is arranged to transmit signals at an illumination frequency and to receive signals reflected from the zone, and a processing circuit to provide information about the presence of the objects after processing of the reflected signals, wherein the radiation set includes an alignment of antennas arranged transverse to the velocity V of displacement of the vehicle.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method, such as a surgical method for assisting a surgeon for placing screws in the spine using a robot attached to a passive structure. The present invention also related to a method, such as a surgical method for assisting a surgeon for removing volumes in the body of a patient using a robot attached to a passive structure and to a device to carry out said methods. The present invention further concerns a device suitable to carry out the methods according to the present invention.

Abstract: Computer-implemented methods, software, and systems for determining a distribution of neuronal cells across a portion of a brain are described. One computer-implemented method for determining a target distribution of one or more neuronal cells across a portion of a brain, comprising: constraining, by one or more computers, a start distribution of the one or more neuronal cells by expression of one or more marker genes and by protein stain of the one or more marker genes across the portion of the brain to obtain the target distribution.

Abstract: Computer-implemented methods, software, and systems for determining functional synapses from given structural touches between cells in a neuronal circuit are described. One computer-implemented method for determining functional synapses from predetermined synapses of connections between two cells in a neuronal circuit, includes determining, from the predetermined synapses, the functional synapses by leaving a portion of the connections unused, e.g. for activation by plasticity mechanisms.

Abstract: The present invention refers to using the principal of a room temperature molten ionic liquid, to an electrolyte, to devices comprising the ionic liquid co-melting, and to the preparation of a room temperature ionic liquid via various physical and chemical methods. The room temperature molten ionic liquid comprises at least two component salts, at least one of which is not molten at room temperature, but, if combined with another salt, is in the molten state at room temperature.

Abstract: An article made of an alloy of the general formula Pt1-a-bMa(B1-xMdx)b in which i) M stands for one or a mixture of metallic element(s) of the group Zr, Ti, Fe, Ni, Co, Cu, Pd, Ag, Al; ii) Md stands for one or a mixture of several metalloids of the group Si, P, C, S, As, Ge; iii) a is smaller than 0.2; iv) b is comprised between 0.2 and 0.5; v) x is comprised between 0 and 0.8; vi) the overall P content, if present, is less than 10 atomic percent the proportions of the elements forming the alloy having been selected to confer a hardness of at least 400 HV, a melting point below 1000° C. and improved processibility to the alloy.

Abstract: A method for producing a hyperpolarized sample for use in a magnetic resonance investigation has the following steps: a) providing a solid sample (50), containing long T1 nuclei and short T1 nuclei in the same molecules (51); b) hyperpolarizing the short T1 nuclei in the solid sample (50); c) transforming the solid sample (50) into a liquid sample (52); and d) transferring the polarization of the short T1 nuclei to the long T1 nuclei within the molecules in the liquid sample (52) by Cross Polarization. The method can provide samples with hyperpolarized long T1 nuclei, in particular 13C or 15N, in a simple and efficient way.

Abstract: The present invention refers to using the principal of a room temperature molten ionic liquid, to an electrolyte, to devices comprising the ionic liquid co-melting, and to the preparation of a room temperature ionic liquid via various physical and chemical methods. The room temperature molten ionic liquid comprises at least two component salts, at least one of which is not molten at room temperature, but, if combined with another salt, is in the molten state at room temperature.

Abstract: A method for the recognition of objects in at least one digital image includes: a) simulating from the digital image a plurality of digital rotations and at least two digital tilts different from 1 in order to develop a simulated image for each rotation-tilt pair; and b) applying an algorithm generating values that are invariant in translation, rotation and zoom onto the simulated images in order to determine so-called SIF (scale invariant features) local characteristics used for recognizing objects. The SIFT method can be used in step b.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a process for the growth of a crystalline solid by inching then cooling a crystallization material (2), in which the crystallization material (2) spread over a support is melted in the operating region (4) of a heat source. According to this process: outside of the operating region, the crystallization material (2) is spread over at least two areas of different compositions (31, 32, 33, 34, 33), and the crystallization material (2) being spread over a length greater than the length of the operating region (4), a movement of the operating region (4) relative to the crystallization material (2) is carried out so as to place successively in the operating region (4) then outside of the operating region, portions of the crystallization material of different compositions. This process is used to manufacture laser crystals having a controlled spatial distribution of doping.

Abstract: In a view, e.g. of scenery, of a shopping or museum display, or of a meeting or conference, automated processing can be used to annotate objects which are visible from a viewer position. Annotation can be of objects selected by the viewer, and can be displayed visually, for example, with or without an image of the view.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods of treating various disorders associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, including but not limited to metabolic disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, chronic inflammatory diseases, and diseases of aging.

Abstract: The present invention provides an improved redox couple for electrochemical and optoelectronic devices. The redox couple is based on a complex of a first row transition metal, said complex containing at least one mono-, bi-, or tridentate ligand comprising a substituted or unsubstituted ring or ring system comprising a five-membered N-containing heteroring and/or a six-membered ring comprising at least two heteroatoms, at least one of which being a nitrogen atom, said five- or six-membered heteroring, respectively, comprising at least one double bond. The invention also relates to electrolytes and to the devices containing the complex, and to the use of the complex as a redox couple. The invention further provides electrochemical and/or optoelectronic devices comprising a first and a second electrode and, between said first and second electrode, a charge transport layer, said a charge transport layer comprising tetracyanoborate ([B(CN)4]?) and a cationic metal complex functioning as redox-couple.

Abstract: A Generalized Programmable Counter Array (GPCA) is a reconfigurable multi-operand adder, which can be reprogrammed to sum a plurality of operands of arbitrary size. The GPCA is configured to compress the input words down to two operands using parallel counters. Resulting operands are then summed using a standard Ripple Carry Adder to produce the final result. The GPCA consists of a linear arrangement of identical compressor slices (CSlice).

Abstract: An optical fibre designed to simultaneously attenuate the effect of modulation instability and stimulated Raman scattering. A first solution proposes to use non-zero dispersion shifted fibres in the normal dispersion regime to reduce both influences at the same time. A further solution proposes to implement corresponding filter elements in the signal line. A still further solution proposes to additionally provide absorber elements for the Raman wavelengths or to design the core as a leaky one for these wavelengths.