Abstract: The present invention relates to modular apparatuses for manipulation of animals and to methods of manipulating animals with the modular apparatuses of the invention. A modular apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention comprises: (a) a main support fixed to a stationary point, (b) a number of arms, each of said arms comprising a proximal end and a distal end, each changeable arm having a longitudinal axis extending between the proximal and distal ends, wherein said proximal end is pivotally mounted to the main support for rotation thereof about a first pivot axis substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal axis, and (c) one or more end of arm changeable tools, wherein said one or more end of arm changeable tools are pivotally coupled to the distal ends of each arm for rotation thereof about a second pivot axis, wherein the second pivot axis is substantially parallel to the first pivot axis.

Abstract: The present invention is a detection device, system and/or method for locating the position of at least an object present in space, such as the position of a teat of an animal. The device may include an array of sensors. Each sensor in the array may incorporate a transmitter-receiver pair. The transmitter and receiver within each pair may be disposed at an angle, to detect an object in space, through the use of signals. Embodiments of the present invention may include one or more detection devices and may be utilized to detect one or more objects present invention space. The device of the present invention may be used in a system for milking dairy animals.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatuses for implementing shared-license management are provided. Shared-license management may be performed by receiving from a remote client a license request to run a process of a shared-license application; adding the process to a queue maintained for processes waiting for license grants; and reserving at least one license instance for the received license request, the at least one license instance comprising a quantum of CPU time for running the process.

Abstract: It is described a method for spatially characterizing a device positioned within an object, e.g. a patient's body, under examination that e.g. allows a clinician to easily assess the deployment state and position of the device. The method comprises the steps of acquiring (26) a set of images of the device, reconstructing (28) a three-dimensional model of the device from the set of images, comparing (30) the model of the device with an ideal model of the device in a predetermined deployment state inside the object and displaying (36) the model of the device on a display unit. For optical indication deviation areas of the deployed device relative to an ideal model of the deployed device can be determined and color-coded depending on the strength of deviation.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for client-side compositing of video streams. The method includes receiving, by the video display device, a multiplexed data stream from a remote video server. The multiplexed data stream includes substreams, where the substreams includes a descriptor substream, at least one media substream, and a compositing-instruction substream. The method further includes demultiplexing, by the video display device, the multiplexed data stream into the substreams according to the descriptor substream and displaying, by the video display device, the at least one media substream on a display screen according to the compositing-instruction substream, where the compositing-instruction substream includes instructions on a composition of the at least one media substream.

Abstract: An intelligent network jack configured for connection to a communication network includes a housing, an input connector, an output connector adapted for coupling to the communication network, processing circuitry arranged within the housing and operative to perform a test for connectivity between the network jack and the communication network, and a display for presenting a result of the connectivity test in a user-perceptible manner. In one embodiment, the network jack comprises an in-wall network jack configured for installation with the housing primarily on one side of a wall and with at least the input connector and display accessible on an opposite side of the wall. In another embodiment, the network jack comprises an adaptor network jack with the output connector configured for insertion into an input connector of an existing conventional in-wall network jack.

Abstract: A word-separation control capability is provided herein. An apparatus having a word-separation control capability includes a processor configured for controlling a length of separation between adjacent words of audio during playout of the audio. The processor is configured for analyzing a locator analysis region of buffered audio for identifying boundaries between adjacent words of the buffered audio, and, for each identified boundary between adjacent words, associating a boundary marker with the identified boundary. The locator analysis region of the buffered audio may be analyzed using syntactic and/or non-syntactic speech recognition capabilities. The boundary markers may all have the same thickness, or the thickness of the boundary markers may vary based on the length of separation between the adjacent words of the respective boundaries. The boundary markers are associated with the buffered audio for use in controlling the word-separation during the playout of the audio.

Abstract: A wireless mobile personal computer is provided for enabling a customer to generate a restaurant order on the wireless mobile personal computer. The wireless mobile personal computer includes a restaurant order generating application configured to generate restaurant item selecting interface screens for generating the restaurant order comprising at least one restaurant item, to generate a machine-readable representation of the generated restaurant order, a processor for executing the restaurant order generating application, a memory for storing the restaurant order generating application and selectable restaurant items, and a display for displaying the restaurant item selecting interface screens, and the at least one restaurant item.

Abstract: An exemplary method of communicating includes receiving an electronic mail communication at a message server. The communication has an embedded script that indicates at least one characteristic of at least one intended recipient of the communication. A determination is made whether the embedded script corresponds to an identifier of at least one potential candidate recipient from at least one database provided by at least one facilitator that is independent of the message server. At least an indication of the identifier is forwarded to the database facilitator(s). An indication of identified candidate recipients corresponding to the identifier is received from the facilitator(s). An address list is automatically developed based on the identified recipients.

Abstract: A high-speed Ethernet using Thin SONET technology as the physical layer carrier makes use the large embedded base of SONET equipment, and is a step forward in integrating WANs, MANs and LANs. The HS Ethernet also takes advantage or current SONET functionality, such as framing, scrambling, integrity, etc. FEC fields are provided in the TOH for achieving a high level of error correction. The HS Ethernet frame comprises a length-type field generated at the PCS sublayer and a HEC field generated at the PMA layer. The frames are routed within a network using the source address, the destination address and a label.

Abstract: A method for purifying extracted crude d-tetrandrine by dissolving the crude d-tetrandrine powder in ethanol, treating the solution with a decolorizing agent, filtering, reducing the filtered solution under heat and vacuum, cooling the solution, filtering it and drying the filtered cake to yield substantially pure d-tetrandrine.

Abstract: A system and method for achieving oscilloscope functionality over a network. In one embodiment, the system includes: (1) a core having a local memory and configured to gather samples of an external signal based on a schedule at a specified sampling rate, write the samples into the local memory and transmit the samples over the network, and (2) a viewer couplable to the core over a network and configured to receive the samples over the network and display a waveform based on the samples.

Abstract: System including image projector and video camera. System further includes signal processor configured to be in communication with image projector and video camera, and with a video monitor. Image projector is configured for receiving and projecting first image onto surface of an object. Video camera is configured for capturing second image including first image as projected onto object. System is configured for transmitting second image for display by video monitor. Method that includes providing image projector and video camera. Method further includes providing signal processor configured to be in communication with image projector, video camera, and a video monitor. Method also includes causing image projector to receive and to project first image onto surface of an object, causing video camera to capture second image including first image as projected onto object, and causing system to transmit second image for display by video monitor.

Abstract: It is described a method for determining an optimal trajectory (25) for 3-dimensional rotational X-ray coronary angiography for a C-arm X-ray system. The C-arm X-ray system has at least two degrees of freedom. They are defined by a rotational movement of the C-arm (11) expressed in a left/right coronary artery oblique angle, and a roll motion of the C-arm (11) expressed in a caudal/cranial angle. The method performs the following steps in a sequence. Firstly, a generation of a 3-dimensional representation of a centre-line of a body vessel in a region of interest is performed. Secondly, at least one optimal view map is generated. Finally, an optimal trajectory (25) for the X-ray system within the optimal view map is determined, wherein an optimal trajectory (25) is at least determined by movements of the C-arm within its two degrees of freedom allowing image projections with minimal foreshortening and/or overlap while minimizing an exposure to X-rays.

Abstract: A virtual personal computer is implemented in a communication system comprising a plurality of central offices each of which communicates with a plurality of client devices over a corresponding access network. A given one of the central offices comprises at least one compute server and at least one storage server. The virtual personal computer is configured by allocating physical processing resources of the compute server and physical storage resources of the storage server to that virtual personal computer. User access is provided to the virtual personal computer via one of the client devices. The virtual personal computer can be dynamically reconfigured by altering the allocation of at least one of the physical processing resources and the physical storage resources to the given virtual personal computer responsive to particular applications selected by the user to run on the given virtual personal computer.

Abstract: Links to references cited in a given electronic document are automatically generated in conjunction with processing of the electronic document. In one aspect, which may be implemented at least in part in an otherwise conventional electronic document reader or an associated preprocessor, a reference citation is detected in a first electronic document, the reference citation is processed to determine a link that provides access to a second electronic document identified by the reference citation, and the link and at least a portion of the first electronic document are displayed to a user. The link may be determined by providing one or more designated portions of the reference citation to a search engine and processing results provided by the search engine to determine the link. For example, a search query may be formulated based on the detected reference citation and the search query provided to the search engine.

Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to a system and method for presenting restaurant items for ordering through a customer ordering kiosk, comprising the steps of displaying a list of restaurant items within an ordering interface screen, receiving a selection signal indicating one or more of the restaurant items has been selected, displaying one or more of the selected restaurant items within an order cart interface screen and receiving a selection signal indicating a selector box corresponding to the ingredient option has been selected. Each of the selected restaurant items includes at least one selector box representing an ingredient option for the selected restaurant item that the customer can interact with to customize the amount of that ingredient on the selected restaurant item. If the customer elects to remove an ingredient from the restaurant item, the selected ingredient option is highlighted to indicate that it is omitted from the restaurant item.

Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to a system and method for presenting restaurant items for ordering through a customer ordering kiosk, comprising the steps of displaying a list of restaurant item selectors within an ordering interface screen, receiving a selection signal indicating that one of the restaurant items has been selected. displaying one or more of the selected restaurant items within an order cart interface screen, wherein each of the selected restaurant items includes a selector box representing dietary options for the selected restaurant items. A dietary option is a predetermined set of ingredients associated and in accordance with a known set of preferences or nutritional restrictions.

Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to a system and method for presenting restaurant items for ordering through a customer ordering kiosk, comprising the steps of displaying a first restaurant item image within a first area of a first ordering interface screen, displaying a second restaurant item image within a second area of the first ordering interface screen and displaying a first restaurant item selector for selecting the first restaurant item, wherein at least a portion of the first restaurant item selector is positioned within the first area of the first ordering interface screen. The first and second restaurant item images represent first and second restaurant items that can be ordered respectively using the customer ordering kiosk.

Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to a system and method for efficiently facilitating the selection and purchase of a restaurant item using a customer ordering kiosk comprising displaying a set of restaurant items available for purchase on a first ordering interface screen, receiving a triggering signal, displaying an overlay interface screen and preventing the first ordering interface screen from receiving any input from a customer while the overlay interface screen is displayed. The triggering signal can represent that a restaurant item has been selected, customization of a restaurant item has been completed, the customer has finished selecting restaurant items or a predetermined amount of time has passed without any input signals being received by the kiosk. Additionally, the overlay interface screen can facilitate meal creation, restaurant item customization, payment and kiosk system timeout.