Abstract: A system and method are used to isolate a first gas from a second gas using a third gas. A first chamber includes an element that emits light based on a first gas. A second chamber uses the emitted light to perform a process and includes the second gas. A gaslock that couples the first chamber to the second chamber. A gas source supplies a third gas between the first and the second gas in the gaslock, such that the first gas is isolated from the second gas in the gaslock. The first and third gas can be pumped from the first chamber and separated from one another, such that the first gas can be recycled for reuse to form the emitting light.

Abstract: An X-ray examination apparatus includes an X-ray source, an X-ray detector and an exposure control system. The exposure control system is arranged to control the X-ray source so as to perform a test exposure at a low X-ray dose and to perform an X-ray exposure at a higher X-ray dose. The X-ray detector applies a control signal resulting from the test exposure to the exposure control system and the X-ray source is adjusted on the basis of this control signal. The X-ray exposure produces an X-ray image and the X-ray detector supplies an image signal representing this X-ray image. The exposure control system is arranged to adjust the X-ray detector to a low spatial resolution during the test exposure and to a high spatial resolution during the X-ray exposure. The X-ray detector preferably includes a sensor matrix having sensor elements arranged in columns and rows. The spatial resolution is adjusted by deriving the control signal and the image signal from large and small groups of sensor elements, respectively.

Abstract: A transistor substrate for a liquid crystal display comprises an array of insulated-gate staggered TFTs and a capacitor (36) associated with each transistor. The gate insulator (400,420) comprises a first inorganic layer (400) and a second, polymer or spin-on glass layer (420), of which layers only the polymer or spin-on glass layer (420) extends to the capacitor (36) to define the capacitor dielectric.

Abstract: The invention pertains to a hydroprocessing catalyst comprising a Group VIB hydrogenation metal component, a non-noble Group VIII hydrogenation metal component, an alkali metal component, and silica. The catalyst has a specific surface area, total pore volume and pore size distribution. The invention also pertains to the use of this catalyst in hydroprocessing of heavy hydrocarbon feedstocks, e.g, in an ebullated bed process.

Abstract: A two-dimensional ultrasound phased array transducer includes an acoustic backing, a first circuit, which may be a flexible circuit disposed over the acoustic backing or a ground plane, an acoustically absorptive interface layer disposed over the flexible circuit, and a piezoelectric layer disposed over the interface layer. A matching layer may be disposed over the piezoelectric layer, and a second circuit, which may be a ground plane or a flexible circuit, may be disposed over the matching layer. The piezoelectric layer and the matching layer are diced by forming kerfs extending through these layers and at least partially into the interface layer. Extending the kerfs into the interface layer reduces cross-talk between elements, electrically isolates the elements, and facilitates manufacturing by reducing the precision required in controlling the depth of the cut.

Abstract: The invention relates to an arrangement with light-sensitive or X-ray-sensitive sensors which are arranged in rows and columns of a matrix and generate charges in dependence on the amount of incident radiation, each sensor including a photosensor element with an intrinsic storage capacitor and/or a storage capacitor connected parallel to its terminals, and also a respective transistor; it also includes at least one switching line for each row of sensors via which the transistors can be activated so that the charges of the relevant activated sensors S can be read out simultaneously via read-out lines 8 in order to ensure that, in conformity with the relevant mode of operation of the arrangement, the switching noise caused by the reading out of the sensors is reduced and/or a higher image repeat rate or more stable operating conditions for the photosensor element, also in the case of large signals, as well as an increase of the dynamic range of the photosensor element become possible in that each sensor S inclu

Abstract: An improved method is presented for adding ESD protection to large signal MOS circuits. Each of the ESD and the MOS devices are separately connected off chip to rigid voltage points, thereby eliminating additional capacitive loading of MOS devices. An improved RF MOS amplifier is presented which implements the method of the invention. An ESD device, comprising back to back diodes, is connected to the Vdd and GND nodes off chip, thus insulating the amplifying transistor from any performance degradative interaction with the ESD device due to transient forward biasing. The method and apparatus are easily extended to circuits comprising any number of MOS devices.

Abstract: The present invention falls into the category of devices designed to print decoration onto objects in general and in particular onto containers. A non-stick film (1), onto which is deposited an image (5) produced using solid thermoplastic colours, moves between a pressing element (4) and an object (6). The action of a heat generator (7) causes the colour to change from a powdery state to a semi-liquid plastic state.

Abstract: The invention relates to an aqueous silica-based sol comprising a nitrogen-containing organic compound and silica-based particles with a specific surface area of at least 300 square meters per gram of silica. The invention further relates to a process for the production of an aqueous silica-based sol comprising a nitrogen-containing organic compound which comprises incorporating a nitrogen-containing organic compound into a silica-based sol containing silica-based particles with a specific surface area of at least 300 square meters per gram of silica. The invention also relates to the use of an aqueous silica-based sol comprising a nitrogen-containing organic compound and silica-based particles with a specific surface area of at least 300 square meters per gram of silica as a flocculating agent in the production of pulp and paper and in water purification.

Abstract: The invention relates to a process for genotyping any HCV isolate present in a biological sample, previously identified as being HCV positive, and for classifying said isolate according to the percentage of homology with other HCV isolates, comprising the steps of: contacting said sample in which the ribonucleotides or deoxyribonucleotides have been made accessible, if need be, under suitable denaturation, with at least one probe from about 10 to about 40 nucleotides, with said probe being liable to hybridize to a region being in the domain extending from nucleotide at position ?291 to nucleotide at position ?66 of the 5? untranslated region of one of the HCV isolates represented by their cDNA sequences, with said numbering of position beginning with the first ATG codon of the open reading frame encoding the HCV polyprotein, or with said probe being complementary to the above-defined probes, detecting the complexes possibly formed between said probe and the nucleotide sequence of the HCV isolate to be iden

Abstract: A MPEG-2 decoder receives an MPEG-2 video stream containing discrete cosine transform (DCT) blocks and generates linear contrast enhanced DCT blocks applied to an inverse DCT processor contained therein. Preferably, the MPEG-2 decoder includes a linear contrast enhancement processor receiving the DCT blocks and generating the linear contrast enhanced DCT blocks, and the inverse DCT processor coupled to the linear contrast enhancement processor. Additionally, the MPEG-2 decoder can include a microprocessor which controls the linear contrast enhancement processor and the inverse DCT processor. A method and a memory containing computer readable instructions permitting the microprocessor to control the MPEG-2 decoder are also described.

Abstract: The features that are presented to an evolutionary algorithm are preprocessed to generate combination features that may be more efficient in distinguishing among classifications than the individual features that comprise the combination feature. An initial set of features is defined that includes a large number of potential features, including the generated features that are combinations of other features. These features include, for example, all of the words used in a collection of content material that has been previously classified, as well as combination features based on these features, such as all the noun and verb phrases used. This pool of original features and combination features are provided to an evolutionary algorithm for a subsequent evaluation, generation, and determination of the best subset of features to use for classification.

Abstract: The invention proposes to improve the performance of the conventional methods of correcting channel transmission errors without increasing the redundance of encoding the channel. It is particularly advantageous for the systems which may be subjected to very poor transmission conditions such as radio interference or any other noise phenomenon in the channel. The invention provides the addition of a specific correction device after decoding the channel for detecting and correcting the residual channel errors exceeding the correction capacity of the channel decoder. It also proposes that the signal supplied by the decoder is a speech signal constituted by a limited number of determined speech elements. The invention provides permanent vocal recognition of the received signal with the aid of a dictionary of speech elements for detecting the transmission errors and for correcting them by replacing the erroneous part in the received signal by a synthesized part on the basis of the speech dictionary.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described for a load/store micropacket handling system. A method includes interconnecting a compute node with a shared memory node; translating a processor instruction into an interconnect command; transforming the interconnect command into a direct memory access interconnect command; transmitting the direct memory access interconnect command via a link medium; and performing an operation defined by the direct memory access interconnect command. An apparatus includes a computer network, including: a compute node, having: a compute node interconnect interface unit; and a compute node interconnect adapter; a link medium, coupled to the compute node; and a shared memory node, coupled to the link medium, having: a shared memory node interconnect interface unit; and a shared memory node interconnect adapter.

Abstract: Cementing compositions and methods of cementing in a subterranean formation are provided. The cement composition includes a hydraulic cement, lightweight beads, and a desegregating agent for inhibiting segregation of the beads. The lightweight beads may be, for example, cenospheres, glass spheres, and ceramic spheres. The desegregating agent comprises a particulate substrate such as precipitated silica. It also comprises a polar molecule producing chemical disposed on the particulate substrate. Preferably, the polar molecule producing chemical is absorbed on the particulate substrate. The polar molecule producing chemical comprises at least one of a polar molecule producing acid such as glacial acetic acid, a salt of such an acid, and an acid anhydride. The method of cementing includes forming a pumpable slurry using the cement composition, pumping the slurry into a subterranean formation, and allowing the slurry to set.

Abstract: A method of despreading GPS spread spectrum signals containing pseudorandom noise (PRN) code sequences and received by a GPS receiver (24) is disclosed together with a GPS receiver (24) and a mobile communications device (MS1) (especially a mobile cellular telephone) for the same. The method comprises the steps of providing Doppler information relating to an estimate of the variation in Doppler shift as observed on the target signal by the GPS receiver and which is attributable to the motion of the GPS satellite; and correlating the target signal with a reference signal containing corresponding PRN code sequences, wherein, in the course of a single dwell, the correlation is modified as a function of the Doppler information.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for determining a physical parameter of features on a substrate by illuminating the substrate with an incident light covering an incident wavelength range ??, e.g., from 190 nm to 1000 nm, where the substrate is at least semi-transparent. A response light received from the substrate and the feature is measured to obtain a response spectrum of the response light. Further, a complex-valued response due to the feature and the substrate is computed and both the response spectrum and the complex-valued response are used in determining the physical parameter. The response light is reflected light, transmitted light or a combination of the two. The complex-valued response typically includes a complex reflectance amplitude, a complex transmittance amplitude or both. The apparatus and method take into account the effects of vertical and lateral coherence length and are well suited for examining adjacent features.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for purifying recombinant HCV single or specific oligomeric envelope proteins selected from the group consisting of E1 and/or E1/E2, characterized in that upon lysing the transformed host cells to isolate the recombinantly expressed protein a disulphide bond cleavage or reduction step is carried out with a disulphide bond cleavage agent. The present invention also relates to a composition isolated by such a method. The present invention also relates to the diagnostic and therapeutic application of these compositions. Furthermore, the invention relates to the use of HCV E1 protein and peptides for prognosing and monitoring the clinical effectiveness and/or clinical outcome of HCV treatment.

Abstract: A radio station (10) in which the value of parameters for a model of a received multipath signal are estimated, the model comprising a value representative of the perpendicular distance between the plane of the reflecting surfaces (40, 50) and the radio station. This perpendicular distance may be measured from the round trip delay of a sounding signal transmitted by the radio station. The amount of computation is reduced by applying constraints to the parameters, and these constraints may comprise this perpendicular distance. The constraints may also be a function of parameters such as the path length, angle of arrival or amplitude of the direct path signal, and the amplitude of reflections of the sounding signal. The values of the parameters may be estimated initially by analysis of the received signals, followed by a parameter estimation process. The values of the resulting parameters are exploited in applications such as ranging, location or equalisation.