Abstract: The present invention relates to a vertebral implant, in particular for corpectomy, to a device for attaching a vertebral implant and to implantation instrumentation, the implant including at least one first body (2) and at least one second body (3) each having at least one face having shapes and dimensions mating those of at least one face of another body (3, 2) and forming mutual fitting means, in order to allow assembling of said bodies (2, 3) by sliding along a sliding axis and, on the other hand, at least one locking means (4) retained in at least one of the bodies (2, 3) and at least one abutment portion of which is laid out for passing from a so-called open position, allowing sliding for the assembling of said bodies (2, 3), to a so-called closed position, locking said bodies (2, 3) assembled together by the contact between at least said abutment portion and at least one abutment (42, 43) of at least one of said bodies (2, 3), said abutment (42, 43) being oriented not parallel to the sliding axis and s

Abstract: This disclosure provides various vertebral implants, devices for attaching a vertebral implant and implantation instrumentations. In some embodiments, the implant includes a first body and a second body, each having a face with shapes and dimensions mating that of the other body and forming mutual fitting means, thus allowing assembly of the bodies by sliding along a sliding axis. In some embodiments, a locking means is retained in one of the bodies and an abutment portion may move from an open position allowing sliding for the assembling of the bodies to a closed position locking the bodies in assembly by the contact between the abutment portion, by contact with an abutment of the other body, the abutment being oriented angularly to the sliding axis and the abutment portion passing from the open position to the closed position elastically by flexure or torsion.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a vertebral implant, in particular for corpectomy, to a device for attaching a vertebral implant and to implantation instrumentation, the implant including at least one first body (2) and at least one second body (3) each having at least one face having shapes and dimensions mating those of at least one face of another body (3, 2) and forming mutual fitting means, in order to allow assembling of said bodies (2, 3) by sliding along a sliding axis and, on the other hand, at least one locking means (4) retained in at least one of the bodies (2, 3) and at least one abutment portion of which is laid out for passing from a so-called open position, allowing sliding for the assembling of said bodies (2, 3), to a so-called closed position, locking said bodies (2, 3) assembled together by the contact between at least said abutment portion and at least one abutment (42, 43) of at least one of said bodies (2, 3), said abutment (42, 43) being oriented not parallel to the sliding axis and s

Abstract: This disclosure provides various vertebral implants, devices for attaching a vertebral implant and implantation instrumentations. In some embodiments, the implant includes a first body and a second body, each having a face with shapes and dimensions mating that of the other body and forming mutual fitting means, thus allowing assembly of the bodies by sliding along a sliding axis. In some embodiments, a locking means is retained in one of the bodies and an abutment portion may move from an open position allowing sliding for the assembling of the bodies to a closed position locking the bodies in assembly by the contact between the abutment portion, by contact with an abutment of the other body, the abutment being oriented angularly to the sliding axis and the abutment portion passing from the open position to the closed position elastically by flexure or torsion.

Abstract: The present invention provides systems and methods for visually communicating the meaning of information to the hearing impaired by associating written or spoken language to sign language animations. Such systems comprise associating textual or audio symbols with known sign language symbols. New sign language symbols can also be generated in response to information which does not have a known sign language symbol. The information can be treated as elements which can be weighted according to each element's contribution to the overall meaning of the information sought to be communicated. Such systems can graphically display representations of both known and new sign language symbols to a hearing impaired person.

Abstract: A system and method for information searching comprising determination of, in fine granularity, a Community of Interest (COI), further data mining in search results, using at least one of COI and expert preferences to identify important knowledge, formulation and manipulation of results, and summarization of search results into a document like entity with dynamic attributes described. More particularly, the invention relates to a system and method for providing interactive dialogue and iterative search functions to find information on a large network of servers such as the world wide web.

Abstract: A new encoder is provided which operates on a database of n-dimensional signal vectors where such signal vectors are restricted to being non-negative. In the establishment of a codebook for this encoder, p signal vectors (of dimension n) are placed in an n.times.p matrix X, and an approximate factorization: X.apprxeq.WV is constructed, where W and V are matrices whose entries are non-negative. Each column of the n.times.r matrix W is characterized as a "feature", such features having been "learned" from the database of n-dimensional signal vectors.

Abstract: An accurate and simplified method of non-destructively measuring the zero-dispersion wavelength along the length of a single-mode fiber is disclosed. The method includes the steps of measuring the FWM intensity of the optical fiber at a plurality of wavelengths, plotting the measured FWM intensity at each of the plurality of wavelengths to obtain a curve representative of the FWM intensity of each of the plurality of wavelength, and performing a non-linear inversion on the curve to obtain the zero-dispersion wavelength along the length of the fiber.