Abstract: A pump apparatus has a rotor shaft, a pump impeller connected to the rotor shaft, at least one axial bearing which rotatably supports the rotor shaft at a side facing the pump impeller, a magnetic pump stator, a magnetic pump rotor which is connected to the rotor shaft, a containment can which extends between the stator and the rotor, and at least one central support element which is mounted in the region of the pump impeller. The pump apparatus has an elastomer disk which is arranged between the support element and the axial bearing. The stator and the rotor are arranged with an axial offset with respect to each other. The stator and the rotor are provided as a result of the axial offset to produce an axial force F in the direction of the elastomer disk.

Abstract: An improved vascular access dilator apparatus consisting of a wire, a blade with a locking safety mechanism, and straight but malleable dilator with a smooth surface having a lumen just large enough for the wire to slide easily in and out. The safety sheath covers the blade once an incision in the dermis is made, thereby protecting both the patient and caregiver.

Abstract: An improved vascular access dilator apparatus consisting of a wire, a blade with a locking safety mechanism, and a malleable, tapered dilator having a lumen just large enough to accommodate said wire sliding easily in and out. The tapering of said dilator being accomplished by and improved by the joining of straight dilator segments (that decrease in diameter in the direction of the tip of the dilator) by angled segments located between each straight segment. In one embodiment, A safety sheath covers the blade once an incision in the dermis is made, thereby protecting both the patient and caregiver.

Abstract: An improved vascular access dilator apparatus consisting of a wire, a blade with a locking safety mechanism, and straight but malleable dilator with a smooth surface having a lumen just large enough for the wire to slide easily in and out. The safety sheath covers the blade once an incision in the dermis is made, thereby protecting both the patient and caregiver.

Abstract: An approach for defining user interface components within a building control or automation system. The user interface definition may be rendered on a remote display device. The rendering may be accomplished through a making of a set of object types which represent the components of the user interface. The approach or mechanism should have no dependency on either the hardware/software platform of the building control or automation system or the hardware/software platform of the remote display device.

Abstract: An energy management and control system that may manage versioning firmware for devices. The system may be structured in a hierarchy of enterprise, site and field levels, with one or more computing platforms at the various levels. An enterprise supervisor may detect and obtain new version firmware for the devices at the field level. The new version firmware may be transferred from the supervisor to one or more site controllers. The one or more site controllers may transfer the new version firmware to eligible field devices. The devices may report to their respective site controllers a status of a transfer of the new version hardware. The site controllers may report to the supervisor the status of the transfer. Detection of new version firmware may be automatic. Transfer of the new version firmware to virtually all of the eligible devices may be automatic.

Abstract: An energy management and control system that may manage versioning firmware for devices. The system may be structured in a hierarchy of enterprise, site and field levels, with one or more computing platforms at the various levels. An enterprise supervisor may detect and obtain new version firmware for the devices at the field level. The new version firmware may be transferred from the supervisor to one or more site controllers. The one or more site controllers may transfer the new version firmware to eligible field devices. The devices may report to their respective site controllers a status of a transfer of the new version hardware. The site controllers may report to the supervisor the status of the transfer. Detection of new version firmware may be automatic. Transfer of the new version firmware to virtually all of the eligible devices may be automatic.

Abstract: A system for obtaining energy data from a large number of sites. Each of the sites may generally have one meter. A meter manager may be designed to receive energy data from virtually all of the meters at the sites. The energy data may be collected at intervals, and go to a supervisory system. Energy data may be stored and sent to a meter server in the event of a communication loss. The energy data from the large number of sites may be received in a seamless manner at a certain frequency and be aggregated. The meter manager may provide an interface for integration with the meters. The energy data may be provided to a building automation supervisor. The data may be stored in a history database of the supervisor. The present system may be designed to facilitate effecting an adjustment of energy usage relative to a demand response situation.

Abstract: An approach for managing distribution of automated demand response events in a multi-site enterprise. Event distribution may be controlled by an auto demand response gateway. At an enterprise level, the gateway may be implemented as a supervisor service and configured to connect with an auto demand response system. At a site level, event distribution may be managed in several ways. One is that the auto demand response service may be configured to utilize a gateway connection. The auto demand response service's client settings may be modified to select the site's energy management and command system supervisor as a host station. Another way of managing event distribution may incorporate adding auto demand response gateway functionality to the auto demand response service. When the gateway functionality is enabled, the auto demand response service may route events to other energy management and command system site controllers within a facility.

Abstract: An energy management and control system that may manage versioning firmware for devices. The system may be structured in a hierarchy of enterprise, site and field levels, with one or more computing platforms at the various levels. An enterprise supervisor may detect and obtain new version firmware for the devices at the field level. The new version firmware may be transferred from the supervisor to one or more site controllers. The one or more site controllers may transfer the new version firmware to eligible field devices. The devices may report to their respective site controllers a status of a transfer of the new version hardware. The site controllers may report to the supervisor the status of the transfer. Detection of new version firmware may be automatic. Transfer of the new version firmware to virtually all of the eligible devices may be automatic.

Abstract: An approach for management and monitoring of auto demand response in a multi-site enterprise. It may provide awareness of upcoming demand response events, monitoring actual responses to demand response events, analysis of energy management and command system performance, an ability to opt-out of a demand response event, and management and control of the demand response strategy. At the enterprise level, an auto demand response supervisor may add management and monitoring functionality. Added capabilities may incorporate message exchanging with the site-level auto demand response service, support for user interfaces that allow event monitoring and enable management actions such as opting-out of an event. At the site level, functionality may be an extension to the auto demand response service.

Abstract: An approach for normalizing automated demand response events in energy management and control systems. The normalizing may be of events having disparate communication protocols and data formats. There may be a processing engine for each unique protocol or data format. When event data are received, they may be normalized into a standard format which can be utilized by an energy management and control system to initiate a pre-programmed demand response strategy. In other words, using an auto demand response service with its normalized event information, standard response strategies may be developed. The auto demand response service and standard strategies may then be deployed across an entire multi-site enterprise regardless of the auto demand response service provider servicing a particular site. There appears no need to modify the demand response strategy because the auto demand response service may handle a transformation of the auto demand response system's event data.

Abstract: A system for constructing embedded display content and navigation where a computing platform is based on one technology and the embedded display content is based on another technology. For instance, the one technology may be NiagaraAX and the other technology may be non-Niagara. The system may, for instance, leverage NiagaraAX Workbench tooling to generate displays rendered in heterogeneous technologies, i.e., non-Niagara, to extend the range and application of user interfaces for Niagara-based technologies.

Abstract: An approach for making shifted schedules from a regular or master schedule of a building automation system. Shifted schedules may be obtained by applying shifts to the scheduled-on and scheduled-off periods of the days in the master schedule. One set of shifts may apply uniformly to all days of the week or several sets of different shifts may apply to various days of the week. Special events with certain scheduled-on and scheduled-off periods and assigned to particular days may override the regular scheduled-on and scheduled-off periods of those days. The shifted schedules may also contain special events with their periods shifted. The master schedule may govern the regular operating hours of a building and the shifted schedules may control, for example, HVAC equipment in particular zones, certain employee areas, parking lot lights, and so on. Changes to the master schedule may be applied as updates to the shifted schedules.

Abstract: An approach for managing distribution of automated demand response events in a multi-site enterprise. Event distribution may be controlled by an auto demand response gateway. At an enterprise level, the gateway may be implemented as a supervisor service and configured to connect with an auto demand response system. At a site level, event distribution may be managed in several ways. One is that the auto demand response service may be configured to utilize a gateway connection. The auto demand response service's client settings may be modified to select the site's energy management and command system supervisor as a host station. Another way of managing event distribution may incorporate adding auto demand response gateway functionality to the auto demand response service. When the gateway functionality is enabled, the auto demand response service may route events to other energy management and command system site controllers within a facility.

Abstract: An approach for normalizing automated demand response events in energy management and control systems. The normalizing may be of events having disparate communication protocols and data formats. There may be a processing engine for each unique protocol or data format. When event data are received, they may be normalized into a standard format which can be utilized by an energy management and control system to initiate a pre-programmed demand response strategy. In other words, using an auto demand response service with its normalized event information, standard response strategies may be developed. The auto demand response service and standard strategies may then be deployed across an entire multi-site enterprise regardless of the auto demand response service provider servicing a particular site. There appears no need to modify the demand response strategy because the auto demand response service may handle a transformation of the auto demand response system's event data.

Abstract: An approach for management and monitoring of auto demand response in a multi-site enterprise. It may provide awareness of upcoming demand response events, monitoring actual responses to demand response events, analysis of energy management and command system performance, an ability to opt-out of a demand response event, and management and control of the demand response strategy. At the enterprise level, an auto demand response supervisor may add management and monitoring functionality. Added capabilities may incorporate message exchanging with the site-level auto demand response service, support for user interfaces that allow event monitoring and enable management actions such as opting-out of an event. At the site level, functionality may be an extension to the auto demand response service.

Abstract: An approach for making shifted schedules from a regular or master schedule of a building automation system. Shifted schedules may be obtained by applying shifts to the scheduled-on and scheduled-off periods of the days in the master schedule. One set of shifts may apply uniformly to all days of the week or several sets of different shifts may apply to various days of the week. Special events with certain scheduled-on and scheduled-off periods and assigned to particular days may override the regular scheduled-on and scheduled-off periods of those days. The shifted schedules may also contain special events with their periods shifted. The master schedule may govern the regular operating hours of a building and the shifted schedules may control, for example, HVAC equipment in particular zones, certain employee areas, parking lot lights, and so on. Changes to the master schedule may be applied as updates to the shifted schedules.

Abstract: The present invention encompasses monoclonal and chimeric antibodies that bind to lipoteichoic acid of Gram positive bacteria. The antibodies also bind to whole bacteria and enhance phagocytosis and killing of the bacteria in vitro and enhance protection from lethal infection in vivo. The mouse monoclonal antibody has been humanized and the resulting chimeric antibody provides a previously unknown means to diagnose, prevent and/or treat infections caused by gram positive bacteria bearing lipoteichoic acid. This invention also encompasses a peptide mimic of the lipoteichoic acid epitope binding site defined by the monoclonal antibody. This epitope or epitope peptide mimic identifies other antibodies that may bind to the lipoteichoic acid epitope. Moreover, the epitope or epitope peptide mimic provides a valuable substrate for the generation of vaccines or other therapeutics.