Abstract: A device for manual manipulation of a guidewire including a generally cylindrical, integrally formed, compressible element arranged along a longitudinal axis and being compressible transversely to the longitudinal axis and having first, second and third, respectively uncompressed, fully compressed and partially compressed operative orientations, the element in the fully compressed operative orientation defining an axial slot adapted for side mounting of the element onto a guidewire and the element in the partially compressed operative orientation being adapted for tightly engaging a guidewire in the slot such that axial and rotational movement of the element produces corresponding axial and rotational movement of the guidewire.

Abstract: An apparatus and method determine a 3D shape of an object in a scene. The object is illuminated to cast multiple silhouettes on a diffusing screen coplanar and in close proximity to a mask. A single image acquired of the diffusing screen is partitioned into subview according to the silhouettes. A visual hull of the object is then constructed according to isosurfaces of the binary images to approximate the 3D shape of the object.

Abstract: A method and device for operating a fuel cell system. The method includes applying a catalyst ink or related liquid that contains an electrocatalyst and electrolyte to a diffusion media so that the portion of the media that includes the electrocatalyst can function as a fuel cell electrode, specifically an anode or cathode. In addition to the electrocatalyst and electrolyte, the ink contains a solvent and a co-solvent, where the co-solvent has a boiling point that exceeds that of the solvent. Heating or related processing removes the solvent from the diffusion layer, but leaves at least some of the co-solvent in liquid form. This residual liquid reduces the likelihood of electrode cracking that may otherwise form during subsequent electrode processing.

Abstract: A method for doing business, wherein a web server maintains a commercial subscriber database including a plurality of records each containing data relating to commercial subscribers including at least name, address and category, and imposes a periodic subscription fee on at least some of the commercial subscribers. On receiving from a client machine connected thereto a request to download data relating to at least one specified category of commercial subscriber, it extracts from the commercial subscriber database respective records and sends to the client machine for display thereby, allows receipt of an update from one or more commercial subscribers in respect of substitute or supplementary data to that contained in the respective database record of the commercial subscribers, and updates the commercial subscriber database as required.

Abstract: The invention relates to secured distributed impersonation, for use within systems such as batch system and batch message transaction systems. In one embodiment, a method includes sending a request for credentials of a network account from an originating account associated with an unpublished object to a dispatch associated with a published object. In one embodiment, both the unpublished and the published objects can each be a message queue. The dispatch authenticates the originating account. Upon successful authentication, the network account access emblem is sent to the originating account—that is, the originating account receives the requested credentials, which facilitate the ability to impersonate into the network account.

Abstract: A method, system, business method, and computer program product for retrieving and organizing networked data, wherein fetch rules and extraction rules enable a user to automatically collect and extract information from a remote network site. The fetch rules reproduce the interaction a client executes if interacting directly with the remote site, so a server cannot be shut out. The extraction rules allow the client, preferably via an applet, to glean relevant information from the acquired pages for presentation in a general interface. As an electronic commerce business method, information about remote site responsiveness, fetch rules, and extraction rules may be shared between server and client for a fee. The server accumulates vendor contacts, stores query rules, and provides common interface rules. The invention can gather statistics on vendor responsiveness and can resell information to vendors or others.

Abstract: A computer system receives a command to initiate setting a display mode of its corresponding display screen to one in which received input commands (e.g., mouse input, keyboard input, etc.) are directed to multiple display applications running on the computer system instead of only a single display application in a foreground (e.g., a “topmost” window presented to a user) on the computer display screen. For example, based on input from a user, an auxiliary application herein receives an identification of at least a first display application and a second display application that each display information on different respective windows of the display screen. Thereafter, the auxiliary application duplicates received input commands and forwards the received input commands to both the first display application and the second display application, alleviating the user from having to separately apply the same commands to each of the first and second display applications.

Abstract: An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for detecting cracking in a particulate filter. The method may include providing an apparatus comprising an aftertreatment device with a substrate and a substrate surface, a conductive material forming a conduction path bonded to the surface of the substrate surface, and access points configured to allow a resistance measurement of the conduction path. The method may include measuring the resistance of the conduction path, and determining if one or more cracks have occurred on the substrate surface based on the resistance measurement. The method may further include labeling the degradation level of the aftertreatment device based on the indicated amount of cracking, and replacing the aftertreatment device with an equivalent aftertreatment device, based on the degradation level, after a service event.

Abstract: A mechanism is disclosed where a Base Station provides assistance to a mobile device in the channel-switch process because a mobile device might have to perform frequent channel switches to overcome adverse channel conditions due to interference in the 900 MHz ISM band. The Base Station broadcasts channel-specific information that will be used by all mobile devices to accurately select prospective channels for future channel-switches, thereby cutting down the latency that is experienced during an actual switch.

Abstract: Footwear including a support member having an upper surface attachable to a foot, and two bulbous protuberances, a forward bulbous protuberance and rearward bulbous protuberance, each having a curved outer contour, protruding from a lower surface of the support member on opposite sides of a latitudinal midline thereof, and wherein at least one of the protuberances is offset from the centerline of the support member.

Abstract: An exoskeleton bracing system includes: a trunk support for affixing to the trunk of a disabled person and leg braces for connecting to the legs of the person, each leg brace including limb segment braces. Motorized joints are adapted to provide relative angular movement between the limb segment braces of the leg braces and between the leg braces and the trunk support. One or more ground force sensors are designed to sense ground force exerted on each of the leg braces. The system also includes a controller for receiving sensed signals from said one or more ground force sensors, with an algorithm for identifying a stance from the sensed signals and, based on the identified stance, actuating the motorized joints to perform an action relating to a mode of locomotion selected from a set of predefined actions corresponding to the identified stance.

Abstract: A receiver front end includes a plurality of in-phase and quadrature phase receive processing blocks operable at first and second frequency bands and further includes a plurality of filtering and amplification blocks disposed within a corresponding ingoing signal path, a plurality of received signal strength indicator (RSSI) blocks coupled to receive an ingoing analog signal from a corresponding plurality of nodes disposed throughout the ingoing signal path, each of the plurality of RSSI blocks producing a signal strength indication, and wherein a baseband processor is operable to receive a selected signal strength indication and to produce at least one gain setting to at least one amplification block within the in-phase or quadrature phase receive processing blocks. In operation, the baseband processor receives a signal strength indication from each RSSI block to determine a total amount of gain and appropriate gain distribution within the receive signal path.

Abstract: A method of selecting a profile of a digital communication line includes determining a first throughput value of the digital communication line, the first throughput value associated with a first profile and determined based at least in part on a count of code violations. The method includes determining a second throughput value of the digital communication line that is associated with a second profile, the second throughput value determined based on the count of code violations. The method includes identifying a selected profile that has a greater corresponding throughput value. The first throughput value is greater than the second throughput value when the count of code violations is less than a threshold and the first throughput value is smaller than the second throughput value when the count of code violations is greater than the threshold.

Abstract: A wireless user equipment device transmits a control channel and a data channel. Each of the control channel and the data channel include a plurality of time slots. The control channel is configured to transmit control information and includes both transmission time slots and non-transmission time slots. The data channel is configured to transmit data packets. The device further includes a processor configured to schedule at least one data packet for transmission in at least one data channel time slot that is concurrent to at least one control channel transmission time slot, and a transmission module configured to transmit the at least one data packet in the at least one data channel time slot that is concurrent to the at least one control channel transmission time slot.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a computer implemented method and apparatus for flexibly recognizing meaningful data items within an arbitrary user utterance. According to one example embodiment of the invention, a set of one or more key phrases and a set of one or more filler phrases are defined, probabilities are assigned to the key phrases and/or the filler phrases, and the user utterances is evaluated against the set of key phrases and the set of filler phrases using the probabilities.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for improving search results is provided. The method works by delineating sections of a document that are not relevant to the main content. The document content is subjected to ranking analysis in entirety. In response to a query results are recalled omitting terms included in the no-recall sections. Terms in the no-recall sections are not used in titles and abstracts of the results. The results are ordered at least in part by the rankings attributed to the identified no-recall sections.

Abstract: Disclosed is a process for producing lactide-based copolymers and the copolymers produced by this process. Disclosed copolymers are formed in one embodiment through the copolymerization of a lactide monomer with a fluorinated diol, for example a perfluorinated polyether monomer, oligomer or copolymer. The disclosed materials may display improved mechanical characteristics, hydrolytic characteristics, and thermal characteristics as compared to previously known lactide-based materials.

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for detecting web pages with duplicate content. In one embodiment, a set of shingles is computed for each page of a group of pages. An aggregate set of shingles is determined based on the sets of shingles computed for the group of pages. A first subset from the aggregate set of shingles is determined by selecting, from the aggregate set, shingles whose frequencies in the aggregate set exceed a specified threshold. A modified set of shingles is generated for each page of the group of pages by removing, from the set of shingles for that page, any shingle included in the first subset. One or more duplicate pages in the group of pages are determined based at least in part on the modified sets of shingles generated for the group of pages.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods of performing interference mitigation in a communication network. The interference mitigation can include a controller sending a message to a first access point instructing the first access point to measure at least one signal transmitted by a first wireless terminal communicating a signal having known characteristics; the controller receiving from the first access point signal measurement information; and the controller communicating at least some of the signal measurement information received from the first access point to a second access point.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods for power control for mitigation or control of interference in a wireless communications environment. Power control techniques can consider the effectiveness of interference cancellation before making power control determinations. For example, where interference with a base station from an interfering wireless terminal is being canceled such that the effects of that interference are not adversely affecting operations of the base station, the offending terminal can be left unchanged, or its transmit power can be increased. On the other hand, where the interference cancellation operation is not able to cancel the effects of the interfering signal sufficiently, the operation can lower the uplink transmit power of the offending signal so as to not cause interference to the other base station.