Abstract: The container includes a body portion, an upper end portion, and a cap portion. The body portion, the end portion and the cap portion may be molded as one piece. The cap portion may be attached to the body portion with a hinge. The body portion may have a side wall which allows the user to squeeze the side wall and dispense the product which is stored within the container. The container may include a valve. The valve may include an opening which allows the contents to be dispensed. The valve may be attached using a retention feature, a retaining ring, an adhesive and/or fusion. The retaining ring may engage the retention feature. After the valve is assembled to the container, the container is filled with a product and the lower end portion may be closed by using a heat seal.

Abstract: The container (100) includes a body portion (102), an upper end portion (104), and a cap portion (106). The body portion, the end portion and the cap portion may be molded as one piece. The cap portion (106) may be attached to the body portion with a hinge (108). The body portion may have a side wall which allows the user to squeeze the side wall and dispense the product which is stored within the container (100). The container may include a valve. The valve may include an opening which allows the contents to be dispensed. The valve may be attached using a retention feature, a retaining ring, an adhesive and/or fusion. The retaining ring may engage the retention feature. After the valve is assembled to the container (100), the container is filled with a product and the lower end portion may be closed by using a heat seal.

Abstract: The container (100) includes a body portion (102), an upper end portion (104), and a cap portion (106). The body portion, the end portion and the cap portion may be molded as one piece. The cap portion (106) may be attached to the body portion with a hinge (108). The body portion may have a side wall which allows the user to squeeze the side wall and dispense the product which is stored within the container (100). The container may include a valve. The valve may include an opening which allows the contents to be dispensed. The valve may be attached using a retention feature, a retaining ring, an adhesive and/or fusion. The retaining ring may engage the retention feature. After the valve is assembled to the container (100), the container is filled with a product and the lower end portion may be closed by using a heat seal.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for distributed temperature sensing (DTS) along a single mode or multimode optical waveguide or fiber include a calibration of initial Brillouin-based DTS measurements using Raman-based DTS measurements to enable accurate subsequent Brillouin-based DTS measurements. Such calibration may occur while the fiber is deployed in the environment in which temperature is to be sensed and thereby corrects influences on Brillouin scattered light from stress or strain along the fiber. Further, calibration may utilize one or more discrete temperature sensors to correct errors in one or both of the Brillouin-based DTS measurements and the Raman-based DTS measurements.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for distributed temperature sensing (DTS) along a single mode or multimode optical waveguide or fiber include a calibration of initial Brillouin-based DTS measurements using Raman-based DTS measurements to enable accurate subsequent Brillouin-based DTS measurements. Such calibration may occur while the fiber is deployed in the environment in which temperature is to be sensed and thereby corrects influences on Brillouin scattered light from stress or strain along the fiber. Further, calibration may utilize one or more discrete temperature sensors to correct errors in one or both of the Brillouin-based DTS measurements and the Raman-based DTS measurements.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for reducing organic waste. The apparatus comprises a conveyor to move waste to a first chamber for weighing waste and purging oxygen, a second chamber for treating, sterilizing and reducing waste by reverse polymerization, and a third chamber for cooling reduced and sterilized waste.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for sterilizing and/or dehydrating organic materials. The apparatus comprises a microwave chamber, at least one microwave generator for irradiating material within the drum, and a vacuum system coupled to the microwave chamber to evacuate the microwave chamber to a desired pressure below atmospheric pressure. In one embodiment the microwave chamber contains a microwave-permeable rotatable drum having an access opening and a helical vane disposed along an inner wall of the drum, the vane being oriented so that when the drum is rotating in a loading direction the material is tossed and driven away from the access opening, and upon a reversal of the rotation of the drum to an unloading direction, the material is driven toward the access opening to be discharged from the drum.

Abstract: The present invention provides a system that utilizes microwave heating to sterilize contaminated effluent. The system sterilizes the contaminated effluent by heating it to a minimum temperature for a minimum duration under pressure, and then discharging it to a sanitary drain as sterilized effluent. The process maximizes energy efficiency by using a heat exchanger to raise the temperature of the contaminated effluent with heat drawn from the sterilized effluent of the previous batch. All solids and particles originally present in the contaminated effluent pass through the system and are discharged as part of the sterilized effluent.

Abstract: There is provided an apparatus (2) for the reduction of organic waste (4) in which the apparatus (2) comprises a conveyor (32, 40, 128) to move the waste (4) within the apparatus (2). There is also provided a first chamber (10) comprising weighing means to determine a weight of the waste and purging means to purge the apparatus of oxygen. A second chamber (12) comprises reduction means to treat, sterilize and reduce the waste for a first period of time and a third chamber comprises cooling means to cool the reduced and sterilized waste for a second period of time. There is also provided sealing means (18, 34, 36) to seal each of the first (10), second (12) and third (14) chambers from the other chambers and from exterior of the apparatus when in use.

Abstract: A fiber optic cable includes a core and a surrounding protective layer. The core includes an inner tube having one or more optical fibers contained therein, and the surrounding protective layer includes an outer tube received over the inner tube, and a layer of buffer material positioned between the outer tube and the inner tube. The buffer material maintains the inner tube generally centrally located within the outer tube and providing a mechanical link between the inner tube and the outer tube to prevent relative movement therebetween. The inner tube may be coated with a low hydrogen permeability material to minimize the entrance of hydrogen into the inner tube. The low hydrogen permeability material may be coated with a protective layer of hard, scratch resistant material to protect the integrity of the low hydrogen permeability material.

Abstract: A fiber optic cable includes a core and a surrounding protective layer. The core includes an inner tube having one or more optical fibers contained therein, and the surrounding protective layer includes an outer tube received over the inner tube, and a layer of buffer material positioned between the outer tube and the inner tube. The buffer material maintains the inner tube generally centrally located within the outer tube and providing a mechanical link between the inner tube and the outer tube to prevent relative movement therebetween. The inner tube may be coated with a low hydrogen permeability material to minimize the entrance of hydrogen into the inner tube. The low hydrogen permeability material may be coated with a protective layer of hard, scratch resistant material to protect the integrity of the low hydrogen permeability material.

Abstract: A fiber optic cable includes a core and a surrounding protective layer. The core includes an inner tube having one or more optical fibers contained therein, and the surrounding protective layer includes an outer tube received over the inner tube, and a layer of buffer material positioned between the outer tube and the inner tube. The buffer material maintains the inner tube generally centrally located within the outer tube and providing a mechanical link between the inner tube and the outer tube to prevent relative movement therebetween. The inner tube may be coated with a low hydrogen permeability material to minimize the entrance of hydrogen into the inner tube. The low hydrogen permeability material may be coated with a protective layer of hard, scratch resistant material to protect the integrity of the low hydrogen permeability material.

Abstract: A fiber optic cable includes a core and a surrounding protective layer. The core includes an inner tube having one or more optical fibers contained therein, and the surrounding protective layer includes an outer tube received over the inner tube, and a layer of buffer material positioned between the outer tube and the inner tube. The buffer material maintains the inner tube generally centrally located within the outer tube and providing a mechanical link between the inner tube and the outer tube to prevent relative movement therebetween. The inner tube may be coated with a low hydrogen permeability material to minimize the entrance of hydrogen into the inner tube. The low hydrogen permeability material may be coated with a protective layer of hard, scratch resistant material to protect the integrity of the low hydrogen permeability material.

Abstract: A system for detecting and imaging gamma radiation emitted by a contaminated area includes a plurality of collimators spaced a distance apart from each other. The collimators have a plurality of holes therethrough and the holes of one collimator are aligned with the holes in another collimator for forming a plurality of hole alignments which permit gamma rays to pass through the collimators. A scintillator and operatively connected avalanche photodiode are provided with each aligned hole of the collimators for determining the position of the gamma ray which passes through the collimators. A video camera records a visual image of the contaminated area and a monitor displays the video image along with location and size information provided by the avalanche photodiodes.

Abstract: Improved fiber optics pressure sensor transducers utilizing fiber optics in an interferometer sensing element. Included is a bellows-type pressure-to-movement converter that translates sensed pressure into linear displacement. That displacement is mechanically coupled to, and thereby varies the length of one leg of a fiber optics interferometer as a function of pressure. A temperature compensator is attached to the sensing or reference optical fiber of the interferometer. The temperature compensator causes corrective changes in the length of that optical fiber to which it is attached, thereby compensating for opposing temperature effects on other parts of the interferometer. Threaded studs attached to flexible stress reducers which are in turn coupled to optical fiber grippers provide means for adjusting interferometer optical fiber pre-tension and rotation to optimize polarization.

Abstract: An attachment structure is described that provides means for holding and for applying tensile force to an optical fiber clamped therein. Attachment to an optical fiber is accomplished by stripping the buffer layer(s) from a portion of the fiber and casting a thermosetting polymer encapsulating and compressing member thereon at elevated temperature so that, at lower than the polymer curing temperature, the cast polymer encapsulating member is in compression on the bared fiber and on a short portion of its adjacent buffer layer(s). A tension wire which provides a means for applying external force to the optical fiber has one end inserted axially in the mold for incorporation into the cast encapsulating member. The wire is also placed under compression at temperatures below that of the curing temperature of the polymer. To maintain compression over temperature elevated temperatures, a restrictive cylindrical coil spring is directly engaged around the encapsulating member.