Abstract: An electrical pickup for use with a stringed musical instrument is disclosed, as well as a stringed musical instrument employing such a pickup. The pickup is formed of a plurality of magnetoresistive elements, whose electrical resistance decreases as the magnitude of a surrounding magnetic field increases. A first pair of the magnetoresistive elements form two opposite legs of a Wheatstone bridge, and a second pair forms the remaining legs. The magnetoresistive elements forming the two pairs are electrically opposite one another, but are physically located side by side. The first pair is located on a first side of the vibrating string, and the second pair is located on the other side. A magnetic field is established which interacts with the magnetoresistive elements. The pickup is positioned so that the vibration of the string causes perturbations in the magnetic field, which in turn alter the resistance of the magnetoresistive elements.

Abstract: A multimode optical fiber for UV light transmission, able to be sterilized with gamma radiation, has a core including undoped synthetic silica, a cladding including fluorine doped synthetic silica, a hydrogen content higher than 5.times.10.sup.19 molecules/cm.sup.3 and a metal coating that retards diffusion of hydrogen outwardly from the fiber, the metal being selected from aluminum, copper, zinc, tin, silver and gold. The metal coating has a high diffusion coefficient below 150.degree. and a low diffusion coefficient at a hydrogen loading temperature above 250.degree. C. The optical fiber may have a high-OH content of 50 to 1500 ppm and a low-OH content below 50 ppm after treatment. The optical fiber may also or alternatively have a low-OH content below 50 ppm, and preferably below 5 ppm, before treatment. A gamma radiation sterilized multimode fiber bundle may include a plurality of such optical fibers. A gamma radiation sterilized catheter may include at least one optical fiber or a fiber bundle.

Abstract: There is provided an aerodynamic stabilizer assembly adapted to be mounted in the rear portion of the roof of a motor vehicle. The assembly includes a framework having a front edge and partitioned to define separate openings. A pair of elongated air deflection panels each sized to cover one of the framework openings and each air deflection panel being pivotedly mounted to the framework along a longitudinal axis at the front edge of the assembly framework and being pivotable between a lowered passive position and a raised active position. The assembly framework also includes a restraint for limiting the upward rotational movement of the rear edge of each of the panels beyond the raised active position. There is also provided a deflection plate mounted along the left side of the assembly framework and a rear air deflector located on and adjacent to the rear window and extending from the roof to the rear deck.

Abstract: A system including a process for enhancing detection of a pacing artifact in a patient having artificially paced myocardial contractions. The detection is accomplished by sensing seven EKG leads. Each lead provides a view of the heart from a different angle. The process relies on differentially amplifying the sensed pulses separately and passing the pulses through a filter. An algorithm is utilized to detect the noise level and the pacing artifact amplitude, and automatically select a proper trigger level. False pacing artifacts are eliminated by use of the software qualification. The principal is that if the hardware differentiator produces a signal due to noise or a pacing artifact, an interrupt is generated.

Abstract: There is provided an aerodynamic stabilizer assembly adapted to be mounted in the rear portion of the roof of a motor vehicle. The assembly includes a framework having a front edge and partitioned to define separate openings. A pair of elongated air deflection panels each sized to cover one of the framework openings and each air deflection panel being pivotedly mounted to the framework along a longitudinal axis at the front edge of the assembly framework and being pivotable between a lowered passive position and a raised active position. There are springs arranged on each longitudinal axis for biasing each air deflection panel in the passive position. The assembly framework also includes cables means for limiting the upward rotational movement of the rear edge of each of the panels beyond the raised active position.

Abstract: A projection lens assembly (10) projects onto a display screen (38) electrons emitted from an output side (86) of an electron multiplier such as, for example, a microchannel plate (70). The projection lens assembly includes a dome-shaped mesh element (16) that is concave as viewed from the display screen. The mesh element is positioned between the microchannel plate and a filter element (20) having a beam-limiting aperture (22). The mesh element is of an aspherical shape that allows the projection lens assembly to project the electrons toward the display screen with substantially no spherical aberration, thereby forming near the beam-limiting aperture an electron beam crossover of small diameter. The beam-limiting aperture is formed with a relatively small diameter that allows the filter element to block electrons of energies outside a preselected range of energy values, thereby reducing chromatic aberration in the image formed on the display screen.

Abstract: A large scale integrated circuit device is disclosed that can be used as a component in a variable bandwidth branch exchange system or for other applications utilizing programmable network switching. The device contains a plurality of duplex per line switches (PLS). Each PLS interfaces between serial signal streams which may operate at various rates. Date transfers are programmable to occur at variable times with reference to the information highway timing and are programmable in length. The device may be controlled and monitored by an external device, and can optionally transfer control and status information between an external control device and one or more station devices.

Abstract: The present invention provides a communications system that improves upon the availability of communications paths between devices and simplifies the connectivity requirements to communicate data and control information to and from a remote station. System nodes are provided which are disposed along a time multiplex network signal stream. The nodes serve to interface remote stations to the network signal stream and may also switch information to different stations connected to the same node. The nodes are operative to allocate a variable bandwidth of the network signal stream for data communications between devices connected to different nodes. The nodes include switching devices that may be configured to accommodate stations that operate at different speeds. Allocation of bandwidth may be dynamically varied such that system resources are not unnecessarily diverted. Control of bandwidth allocation and internal switching within the node is accomplished via control information communicated to and from the node.

Abstract: A large scale integrated circuit device is disclosed that can be used as a component in a variable bandwidth branch exchange system or for other applications utilizing programmable serial data rate conversion. The device can be a serial information interface between a system node and the voice and data channels in a telset or other similar data communications device. The device may be controlled and monitored by an external device such as a microprocessor, and can transfer control and status information between the external control device and the system node.

Abstract: A communications switching system is provided for transferring information between a plurality of node information highways (66,68) and between node information highways (66,68) and station ports (284,286), the system (221) comprising a plurality of switches (243) each switch having a station to highway section (244) and a highway to station section (246), each section (244,246) being in electrical communication with a station port (284,286) and with a plurality of node information highways (272,274). The station to highway section (244) and highway to station section (246) are each independently and dynamically configurable to communicate a selected bandwidth of information between the station ports and a selected node information highway. Each section (244,246) further being operative to serially integrate control information into the data stream communicated to the station port, and to derive control information from the serial signal stream received from the station port.

Abstract: A variable bandwidth branch exchange system is disclosed for interfacing a network ring to a plurality of peripheral loops, each of the peripheral loops being connected to one or more local stations and to a node on the network ring. Time bit slots on the network ring signal stream are assigned, on a dynamic basis, for communication between local stations. The network ring signal stream is diverted to the peripheral loop by the node when the bit slots assigned to the local station connected to that loop become accessible at the node, thereby placing the peripheral loop in the network ring signal stream. Bit slot bandwidth is variable in accordance with the requirements of a particular local station. Voice, data, and image communications are supported. The modular nature of the system permits the implementation of multiple rings for wide area networking.

Abstract: 1.