Abstract: A heat-shrink tube for an electrical power cable comprises a sleeve having an insulating inner layer, a conductive outer layer and a thermoplastic mid-layer located between the inner and outer layers. The mid-layer is recovered by the application of heat thereto. The insulating inner layer is preferably comprised of an elastomeric material and the thermoplastic mid-layer is rigid and acts to retain the inner layer in a radially expanded state prior to its recovery.

Abstract: The present invention includes a method for producing a liquid inoculant containing a desiccant. The method can improve survival and stability of bacteria in liquid inoculants in pack and on seeds. The method includes providing a liquid inoculant of a bacterium grown to a substantially stationary phase. A desiccant treatment containing a desiccant is added to the liquid inoculant to form a partially desiccated inoculant product. The partially desiccated inoculant product can be packaged and stored. The partially desiccated inoculant product can also be applied to seeds.

Abstract: A speech communication or computing device comprises at least one speech input device for receiving noisy speech uttered by a speaker. A speech processing function comprises a voice recognition function, which comprises a noise reduction function (235) having a Wiener Filter (335) with adjustable filter co-efficients. The speech input device also comprises multiple microphones (142, 144) configured to provide a substantially continuous noise signal to a noise spectrum estimation function (325) of the noise reduction function (235) to provide a substantially continuous estimate of noise. The noise estimate is used to adjust the filter co-efficients of the Wiener Filter (335), thereby removing noise from the noisy speech. A microphone array and a method for speech recognition are also described. By using the noise estimate from, say, a microphone array, the Wiener filter coefficients can be updated substantially continuously, for example, each speech frame.

Abstract: An electro-active actuator having a bender construction comprising layers of electro-active material and electrode layers for activation of the electro-active material, the layers of electro-active material being shaped to extend continuously along at least one curved portion and at least one substantially flat portion arranged with electrical terminals for electrical connection to the electrode layers.

Abstract: An actuator assembly comprises a first member (6a,6b), a second member (4a,4b) and at least one connecting arm (10a,10b) of fixed length connecting the first and second members (6a,6b;4a,4b). The assembly also comprises an actuator (12,14) which is operably engaged with the first member (6a,6b) so as to be capable of applying a rotating force to the first member (6a,6b). In use, rotational movement of the first member (6a,6b) causes relative linear movement of the first and second members (6a,6b;4a,4b) along an axis. The invention also relates to a loudspeaker driver unit and a sensor incorporating the actuator assembly. In the sensor embodiments, the actuator is an electrical transducer.

Abstract: The present invention relates to methods for identifying a hair growth modulating substance, to methods for preparing a pharmaceutical/cosmetic composition for treatment of hair growth disorders, to methods for treating a human being affected by a hair growth disorder, to hair growth modulating substances, to compositions comprising a substance which modulates the activity of SGK3 or causes a modulation of the activity of a SGK3-derived peptide in the above-mentioned “identifying” methods, and to a transgenic non-human sgk3?/? animal for investigating hair growth disorders.

Abstract: A plurality of modems or modem types can run on a host processor, a digital signal processor or both, either concurrently or selectively. Modules of more than one modem program can be swapped in and out of DSP memory space. Common modem code can be run on either a host processor or on a DSP using respective command libraries.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for smooth transitions of background noise as a mobile communication unit roams from a first communication system having a first speech encoder (310) to a second communication system having a second speech encoder (330). As the mobile communication unit roams into the second communication system, the first communication system will transfer the communication signal to the second communication system. Background noise from the first communication system is sampled (320), and as the communication signal is transferred, the noise signal sampled in the first communication system is mixed in a mixer of the second communication system with background noise sampled (340) from the second communication system. As the change in noise progresses, the noise from the first communication system will gradually be decreased and faded out while the noise from the second communication system will be gradually increased to a high power level.

Abstract: A plurality of modems or modem types can run on a host processor, a digital signal processor or both, either concurrently or selectively. Modules of more than one modem program can be swapped in and out of DSP memory space. Common modem code can be run on either a host processor or on a DSP using respective command libraries.

Abstract: A plurality of modems or modem types can run on a host processor, a digital signal processor or both, either concurrently or selectively. Modules of more than one modem program can be swapped in and out of DSP memory space. Common modem code can be run on either a host processor or on a DSP using respective command libraries.

Abstract: In one embodiment, the invention is a 64 bit hardware ID (H/W ID) for tying a software product to a particular computer to prevent software piracy. The 64 bit hardware ID represents ten different components of the user's computer: the CD-ROM device, the disk adapter, the disk device, the display adapter, the first drive serial number, the MAC address, the processor serial number, the processor type, the RAM size in Mb, and the SCSI adapter. Each time the software product is opened, the expanded H/W ID is compared to the hardware on the computer to determine whether a predetermined minimum number of components match. In one embodiment, the expanded H/W ID allows for expansion of the user's computer because so long as the component originally listed in the expanded H/W ID can be found on the computer, then that component matches the expanded H/W ID. Typically, seven out of ten components in the expanded H/W ID must match the computer before the software product will fully operate.

Abstract: A transmitting device (15) for communication over a multiplicity of networks having a communication manager (22) and a mobility manager (20). The mobility manager (20) includes a database (40) having a net table (42) of potential networks and a filter (38). The filter (38) generates a prioritized list of qualifying networks over which a data object is to be transferred. Also described is a method for sifting through and filtering the net table (42) of potential networks and their characteristics. A prioritized list of qualifying networks is generated wherein each qualifying network has a priority. A transmission request is generated based on a combination of the data object and the prioritized list of qualifying networks and is transmitted over the selected qualifying network (26), (28), or (30) having a highest priority.

Abstract: A method, access point device and a perpherical device provide low complexity dynamic persistence for random access in a wireless communication system. The peripheral device includes: A) a block assignment receiver, for receiving a block assignment having a source address which contains a contention address and a persistence level and identifying the contention address and reading the persistence level; B) a random number generator, coupled to the block assignment receiver, for generating a random number based on the persistence level; and C) a persistence based transmitter, coupled to the random number generator, for transmitting a payload burst containing a resource request based on the random number and the persistence level.

Abstract: The invention disclosed is related to a composition for the control of molluscs wherein an effective amount of infective dauer larvae of Phasmarhabditis nematodes which have been cultured with a nematode growth promoting and pathogenicity-inducing bacterium, as well as a carrier or encapsulation agent are provided as the ingredients for the composition. Further, the composition can be used in the form of a water-dispersable powder comprising as the carrier a calcium montmorillonite clay. The nematode concentration in the water-dispersable powder is 0.1.times.10.sup.6 to 2.0.times.10.sup.6 per gram of total composition (wet weight), and preferably from 0.3.times.10.sup.6 to 0.8.times.10.sup.6 per gram of the total composition (wet weight). Further, the nematodes are selected from amongst the species P. neopapillosa or P. hermaphrodita. The growth promoting bacterium is a Moraxella osloensis strain or Pseudomonas fluorescens strain.

Abstract: A local area network hub unit (5) has a plurality of switch units (16,17) connected in a ring. Each switch unit (16,17) may be connected to either an adjacent switch unit or to a group of pins of a connector unit (42). Each group of pins of the connector unit may be connected to respective end stations (8,9). Selected groups of two or more switch units (16,17) are connected to a common connector unit (42). Each group of pins of a connector unit (42) maybe coupled by a common coupling unit (7) to their respective end stations.

Abstract: A make and break inductive connector for transferring electrical energy, e.g. under water, by transformer action comprising two separable body parts (11) having mateable end faces (13). Each part has a cavity (15) extending into it from its end face and a magnetic pot core half (17) housed in the cavity so that the end of the pot core half is flush with the body part end face. Within an annular cavity (23) of each core half there is housed a toroidal electrical winding (25) and potting compound occupies the otherwise free space of the body part cavity, including the cavity in the pot core half, so as to enclose the winding completely and preclude direct contact between the winding and the pot core half.

Abstract: A continuous process for the separation of a mixed xylene isomer feedstock into o - and p - isomer fractions by feeding the mixed xylene isomer feedstock to a fractional distillation column in which a fraction containing a major portion of the o-xylene in the feedstock is removed from the bottom of the column and further fractionated to recover substantially pure o-xylene and a major portion of the p-xylene in the feedstock is removed as an overhead fraction, the p-xylene being removed from the overhead fraction by crystallisation and the mother liquor therefrom being recycled to the feed after contact with an isomerisation catalyst the improvement which comprises contacting the mother liquor remaining after crystallization of p-xylene, together with additional mother liquor, with a substrate active for the selective adsorption of p-xylene and thereafter recovering the adsorbed p-xylene from said substrate, the amount of mother liquor added being substantially equal to the quantity of p-xylene recovered from