Abstract: An ostomy device includes an inflatable member and a tubing. The inflatable member defines a hole extending therethrough. The inflatable member is configured to extend about a portion of an intestine proximate a stoma. In an operative configuration, the inflatable member movable between a deflated configuration, in which the stoma is maintained in an open position, and an inflated configuration, in which the inflatable member expands to decrease a size of the hole such and close the stoma. The tubing extends from a first end connected to the inflatable member to a second end. A channel of the tubing is in communication with an interior of the inflatable member such that inflation fluid is configured to flow through the tubing to move the inflatable member between the deflated and inflated configurations.

Abstract: A device includes including an elongated hollow member with a window for receiving tissue in an interior of the hollow member; a rigid member slidably coupled to the hollow member; and an actuation mechanism configured to move the rigid member longitudinally along a longitudinal axis through at least part of the window. When a ligation band is adjacent to the window and the rigid member is moved relative to the hollow member, the rigid member deforms the ligation band from an open position into a closed position around tissue received in the window.

Abstract: A device includes an elongated hollow member with a window for receiving tissue in an interior of the hollow member; a rigid member slidably coupled to the hollow member; and an actuation mechanism configured to move the rigid member longitudinally along a longitudinal axis through at least part of the window. When a ligation band is adjacent to the window and the rigid member is moved relative to the hollow member, the rigid member deforms the ligation band from an open position into a closed position around tissue received in the window.

Abstract: A method that facilitates identification of features in a scene enables enhanced detail to be displayed. One embodiment incorporates a multi-grid Gibbs-based algorithm to partition sets of endmembers of an image into smaller sets upon which spatial consistency is imposed. At each site within an imaged scene, not necessarily a site entirely within one of the small sets, the parameters of a linear mixture model are estimated based on the small set of endmembers in the partition associated with that site. An, enhanced spectral mixing process (SMP) is then computed. One embodiment employs a simulated annealing method of partitioning hyperspectral imagery, initialized by a supervised classification method to provide spatially smooth class labeling for terrain mapping applications. One estimate of the model is a Gibbs distribution defined over a symmetric spatial neighborhood system that is based on an energy function characterizing spectral disparities in both Euclidean distance and spectral angle.

Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for containing a microorganism culture in an active exponential growth and delivering a supply of microorganisms to an environment containing wastes for bio-augmenting the biodegradation of the wastes. The apparatus comprises a bioreactor and an operably connected controller. The bioreactor has a bioreactor chamber for containing a supply of microorganisms, a second chamber for containing a supply of water and inorganic nutrients, and a third chamber for containing a supply of organic nutrients. The bioreactor is operably connected to the controller in which a first pump is operably connected in fluid communication between the bioreactor chamber and the second chamber and third chamber, and a second pump is operably connected in fluid communication between the bioreactor chamber and the environment containing wastes to be biodegraded.

Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for containing a microorganism culture in an active exponential growth and delivering a supply of microorganisms to an environment containing wastes for bio-augmenting the biodegradation of the wastes. The apparatus comprises a bioreactor and an operably connected controller. The bioreactor has a bioreactor chamber for containing a supply of microorganisms, a second chamber for containing a supply of water and inorganic nutrients, and a third chamber for containing a supply of organic nutrients. The bioreactor is operably connected to the controller in which a first pump is operably connected in fluid communication between the bioreactor chamber and the second chamber and third chamber, and a second pump is operably connected in fluid communication between the bioreactor chamber and the environment containing wastes to be biodegraded.