Abstract: A balloon angioplasty device includes a microwave antenna, a catheter and a transmission line disposed through the catheter and coupled to the antenna. The device further includes a balloon coupled to the catheter and a mode filter disposed about the antenna.

Abstract: The invention provides metal-phosphorus-nitrogen polymer compounds and methods for their preparation at low temperatures using readily available starting materials. One group of compounds, metal-phosphazene polymers, are comprised of repeating units of [PN].sub.3 rings linked to form polymers through P--X--M--X--P bonds. The linking atoms X are either NH.sub.2 or O, and M is a metal cation. Another group of the compounds have the generic formula M.sub.a (P.sub.2 O.sub.5).sub.b (NH.sub.3).sub.c O.sub.d.eH.sub.2 O. If the metal-phosphorus-nitrogen polymers are heated to a sufficiently high temperature to reduce the nitrogen/phosphorus ratio, additional novel solid metal phosphorus compounds of the invention are formed, many of which have a foamed, porous structure. The properties of the compounds of the invention can be varied by choice of metal and reaction conditions to create materials having useful conductive, magnetic, optical, catalytic, or ion-exchange properties.

Abstract: A reaction turbine capable of providing high speed unidirectional rotation under a reversible ultra low head pressure and/or high velocity fluid flow is disclosed. The turbine comprises a working wheel with a plurality of airfoil-shaped blades mounted transversely to the direction of fluid flow for rotation in a plane parallel to the fluid flow. The blades are arranged in a helical configuration, a modification of a delta turbine, which ensures that a portion of the blades are always positioned perpendicular to the fluid pressure, thereby creating maximum thrust to spin the turbine and ensuring a continuous speed of rotation with no accelerations and decelerations. The skewed leading edges further reduce resistance to the turbine rotation. A channel having a rectangular cross-section may be provided to direct the fluid flow to the blades.

Abstract: A reaction turbine capable of providing unidirectional rotation under a reversible fluid flow is disclosed. The turbine comprises inflow and outflow fluid channels, a turbine chamber, and a working wheel with a plurality of airfoil-shaped blades mounted transversely to the direction of fluid flow for rotation in a plane parallel to the fluid flow. A channel directs the fluid flow to the blades. In the turbine chamber, the channel has a curved configuration having opposed changes in elevation or bulges directed towards the center of the turbine in a plane parallel to the flow of fluid to optimize the angle of attack of the fluid on the blades. In one embodiment, the channel also has a V or other linear or non-linear shape in transverse cross-section in the turbine chamber to smooth and direct the fluid flow. In another embodiment, the blades have a delta or other curvilinear shape, which smooths and directs the fluid flow and allows the channel to have a simpler rectangular cross-section.

Abstract: A large area ion implantation apparatus which selects ions having predetermined characteristics for implantation. The ions having predetermined characteristics are selected from a plasma contained within a magnetic bottle and heated by a radio frequency source. The selected ions in one embodiment escape from the magnetic bottle and bombard a substrate located external to the magnetic bottle. In another embodiment the selected ions are retained within the magnetic bottle and bombard a substrate which is also located within the bottle. In yet another embodiment of the apparatus, a positive potential on an electrostatic grid located between the substrate and the plasma prevents ions from bombarding a substrate maintained at a negative potential until the potential on the grid is reduced to approximately zero volts.

Abstract: A general purpose technique called extractive hydrogenation analysis, useful for both trace component and imaging analysis of samples containing organic matter. In processes according to the invention, organic matter is thoroughly decomposed in the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst under substantially aqueous conditions into products, and one or more of the products is then detected.

Abstract: An anodic vacuum arc deposition system for rapidly depositing a high quality, small grain size, coating on a workpiece. The anodic vacuum arc deposition system includes an arc initiator and an anodic electrode having a continuous feed. The anodic vacuum arc deposition system may be configured with a coaxial anode and cathode. A plurality of coaxial electrodes may used to coat a large area and/or to simultaneously deposit two or more different materials for multi-layer or alloy coating. Several material recovery systems including both methods and devices for recovery of the undeposited anodic arc coating material minimize the anode source waste such that selective coatings may be applied with virtually all excess coating material recovered for reuse. In one embodiment, an anode shield is made of the same material as the anode source material. After the deposition process is complete, captured material is recovered for future reuse by removing the anode shield and reprocessing it into anode source material.

Abstract: An anodic vacuum arc deposition system for rapidly depositing a high quality, small grain size, coating on a workpiece. The anodic vacuum arc deposition system includes an arc initiator and an anodic electrode having a continuous feed. The anodic vacuum arc deposition system may be configured with a coaxial anode and cathode. A plurality of coaxial electrodes may used to deposition-coat a large area and/or to sequentially deposit a series of layers each of a different material. In one embodiment, a low current triggered anodic vacuum arc with a continuous wire feed mechanism provides the user with a self-contained high differential metal plasma spray. This apparatus provides coatings with properties similar to coatings from a basic anodic arc deposition source but can be self-ignited, continuously run, and made highly mobile for greater coverage control.

Abstract: A large area ion implantation apparatus which selects ions having predetermined characteristics for implantation. The ions having predetermined characteristics are selected from a plasma contained within a magnetic bottle and heated by a radio frequency source. The selected ions in one embodiment escape from the magnetic bottle and bombard a substrate located external to the magnetic bottle. In another embodiment the selected ions are retained within the magnetic bottle and bombard a substrate which is also located within the bottle. In yet another embodiment of the apparatus, a positive potential on an electrostatic grid located between the substrate and the plasma prevents ions from bombarding a substrate maintained at a negative potential until the potential on the grid is reduced to approximately zero volts.

Abstract: A multiuser receiver for use in additive white Gaussian noise, multiple-access communication channels. The receiver includes an interference estimator which estimates multiple-access interference signals using a variable weighting provided by a soft decision processor. The interference estimator may receive signals from matched-filter/sample-and-hold circuits, decorrelator circuits, or sliding-window-decorrelator circuits. The soft decision processor is provided having a soft-decision nonlinearity characteristic, which may correspond to a multilevel quantizer characteristic, a dead-zone nonlinearity characteristic, or a linear clipper characteristic.

Abstract: A diesel engine exhaust gas recirculation system for control of NO.sub.x emissions is disclosed in hi h total particulate (soot, condensed polynuclear aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, and ash) control system is employed to filter the exhaust gas prior to reintroduction to the diesel engine. By cleaning the recirculated exhaust gas of substantially all particulates, wear on the engine due to particulate abrasion is minimized, and NO.sub.x and particulate emissions are reduced. The particulate control system includes a high efficiency ceramic monolith trap that is periodically regenerated by one or more pulses of high-pressure air that move in the opposite direction of the engine exhaust flow through the trap. In one embodiment, a portion of the filtered diesel exhaust is recirculated to the engine. In a further embodiment, the particulate control system filters a portion of the diesel exhaust in the recirculation flow path. The system can retrofit any existing diesel-powered equipment.

Abstract: Methods for producing hybrid and transgenic strains of marine algae, and seaweeds and phycocolloids produced by the product seaweeds. Hybrid marine algae are produced by preparing protoplasts from spores of parental algal plants, fusing the spore-protoplast to form heterokaryon fusion products, isolating selected fusion products, and culturing these to produce multicellular material. Similarly, transgenic marine algae are produced by preparing protoplasts from spores of a marine algal plant, introducing foreign DNA into the resulting spore-protoplasts to form transformed spore-protoplasts, selecting certain transformed spore-protoplasts, and culturing these to produce transgenic multicellular material.

Abstract: A planar SQUID magnetometer for detection and measurement of an applied magnetic flux is disclosed wherein a planar microwave-resonant element overlaps a Josephson device incorporated in a high-T.sub.c superconducting, thin-film SQUID device, thereby providing inductive coupling between the planar microwave-resonant element and the SQUID device. When the microwave-resonant element is excited by incident high-frequency microwave radiation, the intensity of reflected microwave radiation varies in response to a magnetic flux applied to the SQUID device in accordance with non-linear oscillatory behavior of the microwave-resonant element due to inductive loading by the SQUID device. The microwave-resonant element and the SQUID device are preferably fabricated photolithographically on a single substrate.

Abstract: A heterobifunctional cross-linking reagent having a carbohydrate backbone (derived from a chitin substrate) is disclosed. The cross-linker is available in a variety of lengths, is highly water-soluble, and can be formulated to undergo cleavage catalyzed by the enzyme lysozyme.

Abstract: An interactive speech pronunciation system for teaching pronunciation and reducing the accent of a user includes a memory for storing a plurality of presequenced lessons, an input interface for allowing a user to select predetermined ones of the presequenced lessons, a processor for executing program steps corresponding to the lessons selected by the user, and a monitor for displaying visual indicators to the user of the system. The speech pronunciation system further includes an audio input device, for recording sounds spoken by the user, an audio output device for transducing signals fed thereto to pre-recorded sounds and a speech processor for providing stored signals to the audio output device.

Abstract: A flow-through particulate incineration system is coupled to an aerodynamically regenerated diesel engine exhaust gas particulate (soot, condensed polynuclear aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, and ash) trap. An incineration chamber is provided downstream of the particulates dislodged from the particulate trap during regeneration thereof by a pulse of compressed air. During regeneration, a valve between the particulate trap and the incineration chamber opens to allows the air and entrained particles to pass into the incineration chamber. A secondary filter is mounted within the incineration chamber to allow passage of the regeneration air therethrough, but prevent passage of the particulates, whereby the particulates are retained in the incineration chamber. A heater in the incineration chamber is periodically activated to burn the particulates collected in the trap. The oxidation products may be exhausted to ambient or may be returned to the engine intake in an exhaust gas recirculation system.

Abstract: A method of causing somatic cell hybridization between two species of non-filamentous algae by growing somatic algal tissue from each of the two species of algae in close proximity, in a nutrient solution, and isolating and culturing the hybrid somatic shoots that form.

Abstract: A release tag reagent suitable for use in the chemical analysis of a substance to be detected, which substance contains reactive groups, such as for, but not limited to gas phase detection groups, which reagent comprises three covalently bonded groups: a signal group which on release provides a ketone signal compound to be detected, a release group which may be cleaved to release the ketone signal group, which release group contains, for example, a vic glycol or an olefin group and a reactivity group which is reactive with a reactive group of the substance to be detected.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for removing pollutants from the exhaust of combustion systems burning fuels containing substantial amounts of sulfur and nitrogen. An exemplary method of the invention involves the formation and reaction of a sorbent comprising calcium benzoate. The calcium benzoate is either dry-sprayed (in the form of a fine powder) or wet-sprayed in an aqueous solution in a high temperature environment such as a combustion chamber. The latter technique is feasible since calcium benzoate is a water-soluble form of calcium. When the dispersed particles of calcium benzoate are heated to a high temperature, the organic benzoate burns off and fine calcium oxide particles are formed. These particles are cenospheric (hollow) and have thin and highly porous walls, thus, affording optimum external and internal accessibility for reacting with toxic gaseous emissions such as SO.sub.2. Further, the combustion of the organic benzoate portion of the sorbent results in the conversion of NO.sub.x to N.sub.2.

Abstract: A method for quantitative detection of trace amounts of an analyte in a sample is disclosed. The method in the preferred embodiment includes providing an Fab' fragment of an immunoglobulin labelled at a reactive sulfhydryl group with a fluorescent dye; combining the labelled Fab' fragment with a sample that may contain the analyte; concentrating the elements of the resulting mixture in an electric field; separating the labelled analyte/agent complex formed from any unreacted labelled agent using capillary electrophoretic methods; and detecting the fluorescent signal of the labelled analyte/agent complex. The invention also is directed to a method of producing a labelled Fab' fragment that includes cleaving an immunoglobulin molecule to obtain one F(ab').sub.2 fragment; reducing the disulfide-bonds of the F(ab').sub.