Abstract: An apparatus and a method for the treating gases, such as natural gas extracted as shale gas, has a heat-insulated protective housing with a stratified liquid reservoir. An outer heat exchanger outside the protective housing has a primary side about which ambient air flows as heating medium and a secondary side for cold stratified reservoir liquid to be heated and fed back to the stratified reservoir. A defined quantity of gas flows through an inner heat exchanger inside the housing and is heated to a defined gas temperature by heated stratified reservoir liquid. The cooled stratified reservoir liquid leaving the inner heat exchanger feeds back to the stratified reservoir. The heated gas leaving the inner heat exchanger flows to a gas analysis apparatus inside or outside the heat-insulated protective housing.

Abstract: An integrated CO2 refrigeration and air conditioning (AC) system for use in a facility includes one or more CO2 compressors configured to discharge a CO2 refrigerant at a higher pressure for circulation through a circuit to provide cooling to one or more refrigeration loads in the facility and a receiver configured to receive the CO2 refrigerant at a lower pressure through a high pressure valve. The integrated system further includes an AC module configured to deliver a chilled AC coolant to AC loads in the facility. The AC module includes an AC evaporator and an AC compressor. The AC evaporator has an inlet configured to receive CO2 liquid and an outlet configured to discharge a CO2 vapor. The AC compressor is arranged in parallel with the one or more CO2 compressors and is configured to receive CO2 vapor from both the AC evaporator and the receiver.

Abstract: A rotary exhaust heat recovery apparatus may include an exhaust gas pipe including a bypass path into which a high-temperature exhaust gas is introduced and bypassed and an extension part extending from a side of the bypass path in a semi-cylindrical shape to allow the exhaust gas to pass and a semi-cylindrical heat exchanger rotatably accommodated within the exhaust gas pipe, allowing heat exchange to be performed between the high-temperature exhaust gas supplied from the bypass path and a low-temperature coolant introduced through a coolant inlet, in which a side surface of the heat exchanger includes a diameter surface formed as a flat surface and an arc surface formed as a curved surface, and the diameter surface of the heat exchanger has a surface with a rotation axis of the heat exchanger as a reference thereof which is closed and another surface provided with exhaust gas inlets.

Abstract: A refrigerator system or cryopump includes a first refrigerator having at least first and second stages, and a second refrigerator. A thermal coupling between the first stage of the first refrigerator and a cold end of the second refrigerator is restricted to maintain a temperature difference between the cold end of the second refrigerator and the first stage of the first refrigerator. The refrigerator system or cryopump also includes a radiation shield in thermal contact with the cold end of the second refrigerator, and a condensing surface, spaced from and surrounded by the radiation shield, and in thermal contact with a second stage, e.g., coldest stage, of the first refrigerator. The restricted thermal coupling can be configured to balance the cooling load on the two refrigerators.

Abstract: A flat heat pipe includes a tube, a sealed section, an insulation section and a heat conduction section. The tube includes a metal shell and a chamber. The sealed section is formed by rolling the metal shell and making two opposite inner walls of the tube combined closely on the tube that separate the chamber into a first chamber and a second chamber. The insulation section is a hollow chamber including the first chamber. The conduction section includes the second chamber, a capillary and working fluid. Further, the heat conduction device includes a heat dissipating shell, a heating element and a flat heat pipe. The plate heat pipe is disposed in the heat dissipating shell and thermally conducted with the heating element.

Abstract: Epileptogenic source localization methods and systems based on ECoG signals are provided for obtaining spatial and temporal relationships among epileptogenic zones. Seizure detection is based on an Independent Component Analysis (ICA) and temporal and spatial relationships among the detected epileptogenic zones are based on a steepest descent-based source localization method. Embodiments of the invention facilitate the epileptiform activity investigation and seizure dynamics study and further benefit the neurophysiology community in the surgical decision making of neurosurgeons.

Abstract: Ammonium carbamate-based methods and systems for management of thermal loads, particularly low-quality, high-flux thermal loads. The increase in temperature in heat sensitive devices is mitigated by the endothermic decomposition of ammonium carbamate into carbon dioxide and ammonia gases. This process has an energy density an order of magnitude greater than conventional thermal management materials and is particularly useful for temperatures between 20° C. and 100° C. Systems incorporating ammonium carbamate may be controlled by regulating the fluid flow, overhead pressure, temperature, or combinations thereof.

Abstract: An ice support and storage tray includes one or more cavities having upwardly facing spherical surface portions that support spherical pieces of ice. The tray is preferably made of a material having a low thermal conductivity to reduce melting of the spherical pieces of ice. The spherical support surfaces minimize melting points that could otherwise cause the spherical pieces of ice to melt and develop irregular surface shapes. The ice tray may be used in a freezer having an ice maker that transports spheres of ice to the ice support cavities. The ice storage tray may be configured to permit removal of spheres of ice without tipping the tray upside down and/or twisting/deforming the tray.

Abstract: A method and system for enabling collaborative analysis of biosignal data comprising: collecting a bioelectrical signal dataset from a first user; transmitting the bioelectrical signal dataset to a second user; generating an analysis based upon the bioelectrical signal data; transmitting the analysis to at least one of the first user and a third entity; and facilitating a communication, related to the analysis, between at least two of the second user, the first user, and the third entity. The method can further comprise providing a stimulus configured to prompt the action; and providing a modified stimulus to the first user based upon at least one of the analysis and the communication. An embodiment of the system comprises a biosignal detector and a processor configured to implement an embodiment of the method.

Abstract: At least one of a medical device, such as an implantable medical device, and a programming device determines values for one or more metrics that indicate the quality of a patient's sleep. Sleep efficiency, sleep latency, and time spent in deeper sleep states are example sleep quality metrics for which values may be determined. In some embodiments, determined sleep quality metric values are associated with a current therapy parameter set. In some embodiments, a programming device presents sleep quality information to a user based on determined sleep quality metric values. A clinician, for example, may use the sleep quality information presented by the programming device to evaluate the effectiveness of therapy delivered to the patient by the medical device, to adjust the therapy delivered by the medical device, or to prescribe a therapy not delivered by the medical device in order to improve the quality of the patient's sleep.

Abstract: A method of measuring electrically evoked auditory brainstem responses of a patient or animal body is provided. The method includes surgically implanting an auditory prosthesis having an electrode array, the electrode array positioned either intracochlear or substantially proximate a brainstem of the body. At least one electrode is stimulated in the electrode array. Electrically evoked auditory brainstem responses resulting from said stimulation are recorded using, at least in part, an electrode in the electrode array as a negative electrode, and a positive electrode positioned substantially proximate the vertex of the head of the body.

Abstract: A device and method for use in monitoring blood pressure. The device comprises a controller configured to monitor a first blood pressure measurement based on a first blood pressure signal. The controller is configured to initiate acquiring a second blood pressure measurement based on a second blood pressure signal if the first blood pressure measurement exceeds a predetermined threshold. The decision to initiate acquiring the second blood pressure measurement is based on only one blood pressure measurement.

Abstract: Exemplary embodiments of a cooling apparatus cool a charger for charging a storage battery upon reception of a supply of power from a power supply. Exemplary embodiments include a compressor that circulates a refrigerant, a cooling unit provided on a path along which the refrigerant flows between the heat exchanger and the expansion valve to cool the charger using the refrigerant, a refrigerant passage through which the refrigerant flows between the compressor and the heat exchanger, a refrigerant passage through which the refrigerant flows between the cooling unit and the expansion valve, and a connecting passage connecting the refrigerant passage and the refrigerant passage. When heating occurs, frost formation can be suppressed without increasing configuration complexity and power consumption.

Abstract: A fluid direct contact heat exchanger having a contact chamber with a source fluid inlet provided by a source fluid inlet pipe, a source fluid outlet provided by a source fluid outlet pipe, a transfer fluid inlet provided by a transfer fluid inlet pipe, and a transfer fluid outlet provided by a transfer fluid outlet pipe. The source fluid and the transfer fluid have substantially different specific gravities and the source fluid and the transfer fluid are each insoluble in the other. The heat exchanger incorporates a heat transfer inducement element in the contact chamber which has a rotatable inducer shaft and a transfer accelerator element attached to the inducer shaft.

Abstract: An air-conditioning remote controller includes a display section, an operable section, a memory, a transmitter unit, and a processor. The operable section includes a set-temperature increase button and a set-temperature decrease button. In the memory, information designating an upper limit, a lower limit, or both the upper limit and the lower limit as a setting target in setback control is set. The processor makes the display section display a set temperature or temperatures designated by the setting target set in the memory, changes the set temperature or temperatures designated by the setting target on the basis of an operation result of one of or both of the set-temperature increase button and the set-temperature decrease button, and transmits the changed result to the transmitter unit.

Abstract: A system and method for identifying changes in a state or activity is described. A real-time event monitoring application, implemented in a hardware processor, computes features over varying sampling periods, which are stored in cascading buffers. The various sampling periods enable determination of trends of a computed feature, comparison of the trends of the computed feature with trends of other features, normalization of the computed feature based on the same or different features at the same or different time scales, scaling of the normalized computed feature relative to other features at the same or different time scale, and identification of a change in state or activity based on a scaled normalized computed feature.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for use with a pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) monitor having an implantable PAP sensor. In one example, a PAP signal is sensed that is representative of beat-by-beat variations in PAP occurring during individual cardiac cycles of the patient. The PAP monitor detects peaks within the PAP signal corresponding to valvular regurgitation within the heart, then detects mitral regurgitation (MR) based on the peaks. In other examples, the PAP monitor optimizes pacing parameters based on the PAP signal and corresponding electrical cardiac signals. Examples are provided where the PAP monitor is an external system and other examples are provided where the PAP monitor is a component of an implantable cardiac rhythm management device.

Abstract: A system that analyzes neurological signals is described. During operation, the system monitors neurological signals from users at multiple locations, where the neurological signals are associated with different electrode configurations. Then, the system modifies the monitored neurological signals to correct for the different electrode configurations so that a resulting set of modified neurological signals corresponds to a common electrode configuration, thereby facilitating subsequent identification of a subset of the set of modified neurological signals.

Abstract: It is provided a blood vessel function inspecting apparatus including: a blood vessel diameter measuring portion configured to measure a diameter of a blood vessel; a blood vessel wall thickness measuring portion configured to measure a wall thickness of the blood vessel; and a blood vessel function index value calculating portion configured to calculate a function index value for diagnosing the blood vessel of its function, after releasing of the blood vessel from blood flow obstruction, by dividing an amount of dilatation of said diameter of the blood vessel continuously measured by said blood vessel diameter measuring portion, by the wall thickness measured by said blood vessel wall thickness measuring portion.

Abstract: A method of retraining brainwave patterns using direct electrical stimulation feedback comprises: securing two or more electrodes to a subject's scalp and/or ears; acquiring EEG signal(s) on at least one channel; amplifying the EEG signal or signals via differential amplifier means; digitizing said EEG signal or signals via Analog-to-Digital converter means; selecting at least one of said channels from which to derive feedback; creating at least one digital-domain representation of said selected EEG signal or signals; creating a signal or signals representing at least one time-domain “distortion” of said digital domain representation or representations by time distortion means; differentiating said time distorted signal or signals; and introducing said differentiated signal or signals back onto the pairs of input leads via coupling means, wherein said differentiated signal or signals are thus input directly to the brain and nervous system, bypassing the normal systems of perception.