Abstract: Disclosed are a crack measuring method that may automatically measure crack growth in a surface of a structure rapidly and exactly without influencing the structure using image processing scheme, and an apparatus thereof. The crack measuring method includes: irradiating light to a surface of a structure; converting reflected light, wherein the irradiated light is reflected from the surface of a structure, into an image signal and capturing images of the surface of a structure corresponding to the image signal at predetermined scan intervals through a camera; performing continuously a line scan on the crack parts in the captured images at predetermined scan intervals; and inspecting crack growth in the surface of a structure by identifying pixels with relatively higher or lower light intensity in the scan lines.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of isolating at least one plasmid from other components of a liquid, which method comprises the steps of providing a separation matrix comprised of one or more porous carriers, which carrier(s) present anion exchange groups on external surfaces as well as pore surfaces and a pore size distribution that does not allow access of plasmids to pore surfaces; contacting said matrix with the liquid to allow adsorption of the plasmids to ligands present on the separation matrix; contacting an eluent with the separation matrix to release the plasmids and recovering plasmids from a fraction of said eluent. Thus, the present method allows the plasmids to adsorb to the external surfaces of the matrix, while other components such as RNA is adsorbed onto the pore surfaces. In one embodiment, the matrix presents a DNA exclusion limit of at least about 270 base pairs; such as at least about 1,000 base pairs.

Abstract: A method of preparing a protein-resistant reactive solid support surface is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of providing a solid support having a hydrogel coating with a plurality of binding elements, coupling a protein resistant compound to the hydrogel via a first fraction of the binding elements, and coupling at least one binding agent to the hydrogel via a second fraction of the binding elements, whereby the protein resistant compound and the at least one binding agent are co-immobilized to the hydrogel. Also the use of the reactive surface in analysis, such as immunogenicity assays, is disclosed.

Abstract: A method of using off-axis particle beam injection in energy-recovering linear accelerators that increases operational efficiency while eliminating the need to merge the high energy re-circulating beam with an injected low energy beam. In this arrangement, the high energy re-circulating beam and the low energy beam are manipulated such that they are within a predetermined distance from one another and then the two immerged beams are injected into the linac and propagated through the system. The configuration permits injection without geometric beam merging as well as decelerated beam extraction without the use of typical beamline elements.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a separation matrix comprised of a support to the surfaces of which polymer chains have been coupled, wherein each polymer chain presents recurring proton-donating groups and at least the surface of the support is substantially hydrophilic. In the most advantageous embodiment, the support is porous cross-linked agarose, the polymers are poly(acrylic acid) and the proton-donating groups are carboxyl groups. The matrix is useful e.g. to remove PEG from pegylated and/or native compounds in a liquid. Accordingly, the invention also encompasses a method, such as a chromatographic method, wherein the separation matrix according to the invention is used, for example as a pre-treatment of a reaction mixture that comprises unreacted PEG, pegylated proteins and native proteins.

Abstract: A tank adapted to be used for suspending separation media slurry before transferring the separation media slurry to a column or a container comprises: an impeller (7) adapted to rotate in order to mix the media slurry, a nozzle (9) provided protruding into the tank from the bottom (8) thereof, and an adjustable pipe (5) having an open end (6) positioned in the tank and which can be adjusted in position. The nozzle (9) and the adjustable pipe (5) are adapted to be connected to a pump (3) adapted to pump liquid from the adjustable pipe (5) when the open end (6) of the adjustable pipe (5) has been positioned in an uppermost liquid phase provided in the tank when the media slurry has started to sediment and pump the liquid, possibly containing a small amount of media, through the nozzle (9) back into the tank from the tank bottom (8) in order to start re-suspending media that has sedimented in the tank.

Abstract: An email wrong transmission preventing apparatus calculates memory ratios of addresses of emails in a transmission log by a model expression in which the memory ratios decline over time, compiles the memory ratios of the emails for each destination to set weights, and records the weights in a user weight list. When receiving a planned outgoing email, the apparatus compares the weight of the destination of the planned outgoing email obtained by referring to the user weight list with a predetermined threshold and determines that the destination is “reliable” only if the weight is over the threshold. If even one of the destinations of the planned outgoing email is not “reliable”, the apparatus causes a sender terminal to display an address check screen to prompt address checking. When “checked” is inputted, the apparatus transfers the planned outgoing email to an email transmission server.

Abstract: The liquid fullerene derivative according to the present invention contains a fullerene moiety, a benzene ring bonded to the fullerene moiety, and first to third alkyl substituents R1, R2 and R3 bonded to 2-, 4- and 6-positions of the benzene ring, respectively, and the first to third alkyl substituents R1, R2 and R3 each contain at least 12 carbon atoms. The liquid fullerene derivative which is liquid at room temperature without requiring a solvent and easily exhibits the function of the fullerene itself, a method for producing the same, and a device using the same are provided.

Abstract: A multi-spectral reconstruction method based on adaptive finite element comprising the following steps: discretizing the diffusion equation in the object domain on the single spectral; establishing the relationship between the boundary measurement data and the unknown source variables on single spectral based on a posteriori permissible source region selection method, and forming the objective function based on the multi-spectral characteristics and the regularization method; optimizing the objective function and determining if the reconstruction shall be stopped or not; and if the reconstruction shall not be stopped, refining the mesh adaptively by using a posteriori measure method, and then returning to the first step to continue the reconstruction process.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of preparing a library of resins which are useful in chromatography, which method comprises creating a diversity of multi-modal ion exchange resins; and providing the diversity in a parallel system in which each resin is presented separated from the other resin(s).

Abstract: New compositions and methods of using those compositions as bonding compositions are provided. The compositions comprise a cycloolefin copolymer dispersed or dissolved in a solvent system, and can be used to bond an active wafer to a carrier wafer or substrate to assist in protecting the active wafer and its active sites during subsequent processing and handling. The compositions form bonding layers that are chemically and thermally resistant, but that can also be softened or dissolved to allow the wafers to slide or be pulled apart at the appropriate stage in the fabrication process.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described relating to accepting user input relating to a plurality of health service option selection factors; presenting a plurality of choices for at least one of the health service option selection factors; and presenting at least one outcome output based on a selection of at least one of the plurality of choices for at least one of the health service option selection factors.

Abstract: A plasma reactor having a reactor chamber and an electrostatic chuck with a surface for holding a workpiece inside the chamber includes a backside gas pressure source coupled to the electrostatic chuck for applying a thermally conductive gas under a selected pressure into a workpiece-surface interface formed whenever a workpiece is held on the surface and an evaporator inside the electrostatic chuck and a refrigeration loop having an expansion valve for controlling flow of coolant through the evaporator. The reactor further includes a temperature sensor in the electrostatic chuck and a memory storing a schedule of changes in RF power or wafer temperature.

Abstract: A modeling device is disclosed that easily projects characteristic information obtained from an object onto a differently-shaped object, even if the object, from which the characteristic information is obtained, has a complex shape. A modeling device in one embodiment of the present invention includes a virtually electrifying section to calculate an electric potential at a spot in a heart at the time when a predetermined voltage is applied to the heart, and a projecting section to project a fiber orientation onto a heart model created on the basis of shape information that is input to the input section. The projecting section specifies a spot to be a target of projection on the basis of the electric potential obtained by the virtually electrifying section. Use of the electric potential in specifying the spot makes it possible to easily project the fiber orientation onto any heart having complex and various shapes.

Abstract: A process for producing an anisotropic magnetic material includes: preparing a feebly magnetic material capable of transforming into a magnetic material by a prescribed reaction, orienting the feebly magnetic material by imparting an external field to the feebly magnetic material, and transforming the oriented feebly magnetic material to a magnetic substance by the prescribed reaction.

Abstract: A process for making a particulate material comprising mesoporous particles having granules of a metal containing species in at least some of the pores thereof, said process comprising: allowing a compound of the metal to enter pores of hydrophobic mesoporous particles, said compound being thermally decomposable at a decomposition temperature to form a metal containing species and said particles being substantially thermally stable at said decomposition temperature; and heating the hydrophobic mesoporous particles having the compound in the pores thereof to the decomposition temperature so as to decompose the compound and to form the mesoporous particles having granules of the metal containing species in at least some of the pores thereof.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods of isolating cytotoxic metabolites from a fungus, and specific metabolites obtained from such methods. The present invention also provides methods of controlling fungal diseases in plants by treating the plants with cytotoxic metabolites as well as methods of treating cardiac arrhythmia in organisms in need of such treatment by administering the above-noted metabolites to such organisms.

Abstract: The present invention relates to method and apparatus for scalable video coding. In particular, the present invention describes a scalable video coding method and a layered video representation that achieves better video quality with more efficient bitstream representation and scalability, and yet is compliant with various codec standard from base layer to enhancement layers so that it incurs minimum modification to existing hardware or system deployed in the field.

Abstract: An approach is provided for a multi-component seismic data processing that separates P-type and S-type seismic waves in an affine coordinate system. A method for separating and composing seismic waves comprises: determining base vectors of the seismic waves; transforming and separating the seismic wave in an affine coordinate system; and obtaining a signal with true amplitudes and eliminating a mode leakage phenomenon. Therefore, the method achieves the wave separation and recovers the amplitudes of separated waves simultaneously, which reduces noises to provide more precisely seismic data and to satisfy the requirement of seismic data analysis and processing.