Abstract: A direct-drive brushless DC motorization apparatus comprises an outer rotor with poles constructed with segments of permanent magnet material alternatively magnetized north and south. The outer rotor is adapted to be part of a wheel and rotating with the wheel about an axis thereof. A stator core of ferromagnetic material is spaced inwardly of said rotor to define a clearance gap with the rotor such that the rotor is rotatable about the stator core. The stator core has forty-two slots and defines teeth therebetween. A three-phase winding with coils of insulated wire is wound around the teeth of the stator core. The three-phase winding is divided in two sets of consecutive teeth for each of the three phases, with each of the two sets of a same phase being diametrically opposed in the stator core.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide a renderer-agnostic method for representing materials independently from an underlying rendering engine. Advantageously, materials libraries may be extended with new materials for rendering with an existing rendering engine and implementation. Also, new rendering engines and implementations may be added for existing materials. Thus, at run-time, rather than limiting the rendering to being performed on a pre-determined rendering engine, the rendering application may efficiently and conveniently manage rendering a graphics scene on a plurality of rendering engines or implementations.

Abstract: A method for the purification of a metal selected from the group consisting of aluminum and aluminum alloys, wherein said metal is in a liquid phase and is contacted with a salt flux consisting of a selected tertiary mixture of NaCl, KCl, and MgCl2.

Abstract: A method for the purification of a metal selected from the group consisting of aluminum and aluminum alloys, wherein the metal is in a liquid phase and is contacted with a salt flux consisting of a binary mixture of NaCl and MgCl2. Preferably, more than 22% by weight of the binary mixture consists of NaCl.

Abstract: A method for projecting a data set from a first object to a second object includes the steps of defining one or more sub-objects, wherein each sub-object represents a portion of the second object, associating the first object with a first sub-object, expanding a projection cage to substantially encompass both the first sub-object and the first object, and transferring the data set from the first object to the first sub-object using the projection cage. The disclosed method advantageously allows the first sub-object to be defined in a way that avoids undesirable cage intersections, thereby enabling the data set from the first object to be transferred without tedious manual manipulations of the projection cage.

Abstract: A method for the purification of a metal selected from the group consisting of aluminum and aluminum alloys, wherein said metal is in a liquid phase and is contacted with a salt flux consisting of a binary mixture of NaCl and MgCl2. Preferably, more than 22% by weight of the binary mixture consists of NaCl.

Abstract: There is provided methods for the prevention of dopaminergic cell death for neuroprotection and the prevention or slow down of progression of Parkinson's disease. Particularly, the invention relates to methods for protecting and/or preventing dopaminergic cell death by the administration of a compound or agent inhibiting the translocation of Nur77 to the cytosol of dopaminergic cells. The invention also relates to methods for identifying such compounds or agents.

Abstract: A method and system is disclosed for determining a property of an object by measuring ultrasonic attenuation. With the proposed method, a measured ultrasonic interaction signal of the object is compared with a reference signal produced using the same generation and detection setup, but using a reference part. The reference ultrasonic signal has low attenuation, and exhibits equivalent diffraction properties as the object, with respect to a broadband ultrasonic pulse. The difference is attributable to the attenuation of the object. The attenuation as a function of frequency, the attenuation spectrum, is fitted to a model to obtain a parameter useful for identifying one of the many properties of an object that varies with ultrasonic attenuation.

Abstract: A method for projecting a data set from a first object to a second object includes the steps of defining one or more sub-objects, wherein each sub-object represents a portion of the second object, associating the first object with a first sub-object, expanding a projection cage to substantially encompass both the first sub-object and the first object, and transferring the data set from the first object to the first sub-object using the projection cage. The disclosed method advantageously allows the first sub-object to be defined in a way that avoids undesirable cage intersections, thereby enabling the data set from the first object to be transferred without tedious manual manipulations of the projection cage.

Abstract: A method for constructing mapping coordinates for a high-resolution graphics model includes the steps of expanding a projection cage to substantially encompass both a low-resolution graphics model and the high-resolution graphics model, and defining a volume that extends from a polygon of the projection cage through a corresponding polygon of the low-resolution graphics model. The method also includes the steps of determining points within an area on a surface of the high-resolution graphics model defined by an intersection of the volume and the high-resolution model, and, for each point where the corresponding polygon is the closest polygon of the low-resolution graphics model to the point, projecting the point to the corresponding polygon to define a projection point on the corresponding polygon.

Abstract: A method for distributing photons among light sources when rendering an image of a scene using photon mapping includes the steps of computing a total energy for the scene, where the scene includes a plurality of light sources, and computing an average energy of the light sources. The method also includes the steps of comparing, for each of the light sources, the actual energy of the light source to an average energy of the light source and distributing photons to each of the light sources based on the comparison.

Abstract: A method and system is disclosed for determining a property of an object by measuring ultrasonic attenuation. With the proposed method, a measured ultrasonic interaction signal of the object is compared with a reference signal produced using the same generation and detection setup, but using a reference part. The reference ultrasonic signal has low attenuation, and exhibits equivalent diffraction properties as the object, with respect to a broadband ultrasonic pulse. The difference is attributable to the attenuation of the object. The attenuation as a function of frequency, the attenuation spectrum, is fitted to a model to obtain a parameter useful for identifying one of the many properties of an object that varies with ultrasonic attenuation.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for evaluating the physical properties of a sample, for example, the grain size in a polycrystalline material. An ultrasound field is generated in a local region of the sample with a non-contact source, such as a pulsed laser, such that the generated ultrasound diffuses away from said local region. After waiting until the generated ultrasound field has reached a diffusion regime, the resulting ultrasound field is measured with a non-contact detector. Parameters are adjusted in a mathematical model describing the predicted behaviour of the ultrasound field in the diffusion regime to fit the detected ultrasound field to the mathematical model. In this way, parameters dependent on the physical properties of the sample, such as the diffusion coefficient and absorption coefficient, can be derived. The grain size, for example, can be estimated from these parameters preferably by calibrating the diffusion coefficient to grain size.

Abstract: An ultrasonic apparatus and method based on location of resonance frequencies is provided for determining unknown parameters in a multilayer structure, such as thickness, elastic properties of individual layers, or bonding strength between layers. Predicted resonance frequencies are obtained from the roots of a characteristic equation describing the multilayer structure. The predicted resonance frequencies are compared using a best-fit technique with the measured resonance frequencies to obtain the desired parameter. The method is of particular interest when ultrasound is generated by a laser and detected by either a contact ultrasonic transducer or a laser interferometer.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for evaluating the physical properties of a sample, for example, the grain size in a polycrystalline material. An ultrasound field is generated in a local region of the sample with a non-contact source, such as a pulsed laser, such that the generated ultrasound diffuses away from said local region. After waiting until the generated ultrasound field has reached a diffusion regime, the resulting ultrasound field is measured with a non-contact detector. Parameters are adjusted in a mathematical model describing the predicted behavior of the ultrasound field in the diffusion regime to fit the detected ultrasound field to the mathematical model. In this way, parameters dependent on the physical properties of the sample, such as the diffusion coefficient and absorption coefficient, can be derived. The grain size, for example, can be estimated from these parameters preferably by calibrating the diffusion coefficient to grain size.

Abstract: A method and system is provided for enhanced ultrasonic detection and imaging of small defects inside or at the surface of an object. The Synthetic Aperture Focusing Technique (SAFT) has been used to improve the detectability and to enhance images in conventional ultrasonics and this method has recently been adapted to laser-ultrasonics. In the present invention, an improved version of the frequency-domain SAFT (F-SAFT) based on the angular spectrum approach is described. The method proposed includes temporal deconvolution of the waveform data to enhance both axial and lateral resolutions, control of the aperture and of the frequency bandwidth to improve signal-to-noise ratio, as well as spatial interpolation of the subsurface images. All the above operations are well adapted to the frequency domain calculations and embedded in the F-SAFT data processing. The aperture control and the spatial interpolation allow also a reduction of sampling requirements to further decrease both inspection and processing times.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for detecting shear resonances includes structure and steps for applying a radiation pulse from a pulsed source of radiation to an object to generate elastic waves therein, optically detecting the elastic waves generated in the object, and analyzing the elastic waves optically detected in the object. These shear resonances, alone or in combination with other information, may be used in the present invention to improve thickness measurement accuracy and to determine geometrical, microstructural, and physical properties of the object. At least one shear resonance in the object is detected with the elastic waves optically detected in the object. Preferably, laser-ultrasound spectroscopy is utilized to detect the shear resonances.

Abstract: An ultrasonic interferometry technique for composite structures such as metal/polymer/metal structures exhibits high sensitivity to interfacial properties, even at usual ultrasonic wavelengths. A model for the ultrasonic response of multilayered media accounts for viscoelasticity. Results of numerical calculations point out scaling features for interfacial properties in terms of specific stiffness S. A method is provided for characterizing the interfacial adhesion in a multilayer composite in terms of the parameter S. The multilayer composite is ultrasonically irradiated with a pulsed signal to obtain a signal characteristic of the interfacial adhesion between the multilayers. A model is provided of the multilayer composite that includes at least two additional layers which model the behaviour of the interface between the composite layers.