Abstract: A significant weather advisory system for an aircraft is disclosed. The system is configured to identify, from strategic weather data, current significant weather events from weather impacted areas projected to be intersected by a geographical corridor around a projected flight path and projected to occur during determined time intervals during which the airborne vehicle is expected to pass through the weather impacted areas; compare the current significant weather events to previously identified significant weather events and detect significant changes between the current significant weather events and the previously identified significant weather events; and generate a notification for display to the flight crew via an onboard notification system that identifies the detected significant change when a significant change is detected.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for prompting a pilot of an aircraft of reporting waypoint tasks. The method comprises retrieving compulsory reporting waypoints that are located along a stored planned flightpath for the aircraft. Pre-defined waypoint tasks are also retrieved for each compulsory reporting waypoint. The location of the aircraft is tracked along the planned flightpath and an alert for the pilot as the aircraft reaches each compulsory reporting waypoint. The alert prompts the pilot of the waypoint tasks by displaying the alert on a visual display device located on-board the aircraft.

Abstract: A significant weather advisory system for an aircraft is disclosed. The system is configured to identify, from strategic weather data, current significant weather events from weather impacted areas projected to be intersected by a geographical corridor around a projected flight path and projected to occur during determined time intervals during which the airborne vehicle is expected to pass through the weather impacted areas; compare the current significant weather events to previously identified significant weather events and detect significant changes between the current significant weather events and the previously identified significant weather events; and generate a notification for display to the flight crew via an onboard notification system that identifies the detected significant change when a significant change is detected.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for prompting a pilot of an aircraft of reporting waypoint tasks. The method comprises retrieving compulsory reporting waypoints that are located along a stored planned flightpath for the aircraft. Pre-defined waypoint tasks are also retrieved for each compulsory reporting waypoint. The location of the aircraft is tracked along the planned flightpath and an alert for the pilot as the aircraft reaches each compulsory reporting waypoint. The alert prompts the pilot of the waypoint tasks by displaying the alert on a visual display device located on-board the aircraft.

Abstract: Disclosed and claimed herein are novel thallium-sensitive assays for identifying modulators of ion channels, channel-linked receptors or ion transporters. Further described are novel chloride-free buffers and low chloride cell growth media.

Abstract: An auxiliary air foil device for mounting on a vehicle is disclosed. The air foil device includes an enclosure comprising a base plate, a plurality of side walls, and an air foil panel. The air foil panel is pivotable between an open position and a closed position. In the closed position, the outside air flow will be substantially isolated from the volume within the enclosure. The open position provides access from outside of the enclosure to a volume within the enclosure. An actuator interconnects the underside of the air foil panel with the interior side of the base plate and allows for selective moving of the air foil panel between the open and closed positions. The actuator is pivotably connected to the base plate and the air foil panel, such that as the actuator changes length the rotational position of the air foil panel with respect to the base plate is also changed.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for forwarding multicast data packets in a meshed topology network. A packet forwarding device receives a multicast data packet at an ingress port of the packet forwarding device, determines if the multicast data packet has been previously received, and if so, discards the multicast data packet. Otherwise, the packet forwarding device determines the appropriate ports of the packet forwarding device out which the multicast data packet is to be forwarded according to a packet forwarding control protocol and forwards the multicast data packet out the appropriate ports.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for adjusting an embedded portion of a television signal. The embedded portion is adjusted such that a downstream receiver effects no change on a displayed video upon decoding the adjusted embedded portion.

Abstract: An active air foil system for deflecting, capturing and or ducting the air passing over the surface of a moving automobile. The active air foil system includes: (a) a foil panel having two or more bracket hinges attached to a mounting base on the leading or trailing end and two brackets attached to an extension lever assembly, which is connected more or less midway of the panel. (b) an actuating device that provides the force that will present the foil panel to the air stream passing over the vehicle. (c) an extension lever assembly being designed in such a way that it will adjust the width of itself to the shape of the area that it is being mounted to and also moving along lever guides (d) lever guides that provide a bracing point for the extension lever assembly when the foil panel is opened and closed (e) foil panel hinges that provide a pivoting point for the foil panel when it is opened and closed (f) foil mounts that will allow the smooth transition of the foil panel to its open and closed position.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for routing packets within a computer network uses linear optimization techniques to distribute the packet traffic over all potential links between a source and a destination node within the network. Network traffic is allocated to links coupled to a source node in a manner that is proportional to the bandwidth of links across complete paths which are fed from such links coupled to the source node. A set of metrics, in the form of complex numbers, is determined for a predetermined set of links within the network. The metrics are arranged as a matrix, and a linear optimization operation is performed using the matrix to determine percentage traffic distribution over links coupling the source node and the destination node in the network. Routing tables are then established to route traffic within the network according to the percentage values resulting from the linear optimization operation.

Abstract: A system and method for reducing the impact of high latency links for interactive applications is described. In one embodiment, a user, connected to the Internet by a satellite network, requests a web page from an origin server. The origin server generates an index page associated with the requested web page and passes that index page to an gateway PEP (performance enhancing proxy), which parses the index page to identify the objects identified therein. Next, the gateway PEP generates the requests to prefetch those identified objects and passes those requests to the origin server. These objects are then retrieved and pushed to the user. To avoid repetitive requests, the fetch requests normally generated by a web browser are blocked by a client PEP.

Abstract: A system and method for reducing the impact of high latency links for interactive applications is described. In one embodiment, a list identifying locally stored data, which correspond to a data page, is received. Additionally, an index page corresponding to the data page is received. This index page can include a list of data objects included in the web page. Next, a determination is made as to which data objects included in the index page are subject to a prefetch, and a corresponding prefetch request is generated.

Abstract: An apparatus for classifying a packet within a data stream in a network includes a state machine into which certain functionality has been hardwired. Specifically, the state machine defines in hardware a predetermined number of states and a predetermined number of transitions between these states. The state machine outputs a state value which is indicative of the classification of a package. A programmable memory is coupled to the state machine, and stores transition parameters for each transition of the set of transitions, thus allowing the hardwired states and transitions to be programmable.

Abstract: An improved track and vehicle system are provided for model electric vehicles. The track system includes a number of interconnectable panels having alternate portions of negative and positive polarity conductor strips defined on a top surface thereof. The conductive strips are separated by non-conductive portions. Each of the panels includes electrical and mechanical interlocking devices carried on each side thereof so that any one panel can have additional panels connected on each of its sides. The vehicles include a unique arrangement of contacts carried on a linkage underneath of the vehicle to ensure that the vehicle remains at all times in contact with the conductors, regardless of the direction of movement of the vehicle from the surface of the panels.

Abstract: A metal detector has multiple transmit and receive coils for producing multiple detection fields. In one embodiment, a transmit coil is combined with two receive coils in a configuration that enables the detector to generate two detection fields, one being substantially narrower than the other. The transmit coil is inductively balanced with the receive coils such that the transmit coil induces minimum signals in each of the two receive coils. A metal target lying within a detection field changes the coupling between transit and receive coils and produces signals in the receive coils. The received signals are utilized to identify the target's presence within one or both of the detection fields. The use of two detection fields, substantially different in size, enables the metal detector to search over a broad area for object detection and then narrow the search to more precisely locate the detected object.

Abstract: An improved track and vehicle system are provided for model electric vehicles. The track system includes a number of interconnectable panels having alternate portions of negative and positive polarity conductor strips defined on a top surface thereof. The conductive strips are separated by non-conductive portions. Each of the panels includes electrical and mechanical interlocking devices carried on each side thereof so that any one panel can have additional panels connected on each of its sides. The vehicles include a unique arrangement of contacts carried on a linkage underneath of the vehicle to ensure that the vehicle remains at all times in contact with the conductors, regardless of the direction of movement of the vehicle from the surface of the panels.

Abstract: A metal detector utilizes digital signal processing and a microprocessor to process buffers of information which is received at a periodic rate. Both high and low gain phase quadrature and in-phase signals are provided via a multiplexer to an analog-to-digital converter from a first receive antenna. A second receive antenna provides phase quadrature and in-phase signals also through the multiplexer to the analog-to-digital converter. The received signals are averaged, decimated and low pass filtered to eliminate noise and reduce the quantity of data which must be processed. A threshold (triggering) processing operation is performed to determine whether a valid target signal is present in the data. If not, no further processing is performed. The in-phase and quadrature components are processed using Fourier transforms to select a frequency band which includes the energy for the target signal. The energy in this frequency band is utilized to determine the identification of the target.

Abstract: A metal detector utilizes digital signal processing and a microprocessor to process buffers of information which is received at a periodic ram. Both high and low gain phase quadrature and in-phase signals are provided via a multiplexer to an analog-to-digital converter from a first receive antenna. A second receive antenna provides phase quadrature and in-phase signals also through the multiplexer to the analog-to-digital converter. The received signals are averaged, decimated and low pass filtered to eliminate noise and reduce the quantity of data which must be processed. A threshold (triggering) processing operation is performed to determine whether a valid target signal is present in the dam. If not, no further processing is performed. The in-phase and quadrature components are processed using Fourier transforms to select a frequency band which includes the energy for the target signal. The energy in this frequency band is utilized to determine the identification of the target.