Abstract: The disclosed personal assistive lift device is a self-operated device intended to a help a moderately disabled, yet still ambulatory, person regain a standing position after a fall. The disclosed personal assistive lift device includes a main leg and two support legs pivotably connected together, a seat movably affixed to the main leg, a handlebar positioned on a top portion of the main leg, and a module containing a gearmotor configured to move the seat along the main leg. A major advantage of the disclosed device is to allow the user to safely expand the range of activities and locations, whether indoor or outdoor, that the user can access.

Abstract: A plasma generator includes a cylindrical containment housing, an anode in a confinement space within the containment housing and a cathode within the anode. The cylindrical containment housing includes an open end and a closed end. A base forms the closed end. That base includes a first gas inlet and a first gas outlet.

Abstract: The disclosed personal assistive lift device is a self-operated device intended to a help a moderately disabled, yet still ambulatory, person regain a standing position after a fall. The disclosed personal assistive lift device includes a main leg and two support legs pivotably connected together, a seat movably affixed to the main leg, a handlebar positioned on a top portion of the main leg, and a module containing a gearmotor configured to move the seat along the main leg. A major advantage of the disclosed device is to allow the user to safely expand the range of activities and locations, whether indoor or outdoor, that the user can access.

Abstract: Lignin-containing fibrous materials, in particular paper and card, are treated with whiteness stabilizers for the purpose of reducing light-induced yellowing. The whiteness stabilizer are (i) thiols with at least one additional hydrophilic group from the series consisting of OH, NH2, NHR1m NR1R2, COOH, SO3H and PO3H2 and an amino acid/peptide structure (ii) thiols with a CC double bond (iii) or heteroaromatic thiols and (iv), heteroaromatic disulfides or polysulfides. HALS light stabilizers and/or UV stabilizers are advantageously additionally employed. The stability is increased further by a TiO2-containing coat on the fibrous material. Stabilzer compositions and fibrous material stabilized according to the invention, containing a whiteness stabilizer of group (i) to (iv) are also disclosed.

Abstract: In a process for extruding or injection moulding starch-containing composition, a substantially transparent product is produced by providing that the starch used contains less than 8% by weight of water, that the water content of the starch in the barrel of the extruder or injection moulding machine is controlled so as to be within the range of from 5 to 20% by weight (based on the weight of the starch) and that water is removed from the composition immediately before the composition leaves the barrel of the extruder or the injection moulding machine so that the water content of the composition passing through the die and/or entering the mould is less than 3% by weight of the starch.

Abstract: An immune-stimulatory or tumor treatment agent, optionally in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent, comprises extracellular .beta.-glucan produced by Glomerella cingulata CMI CC 330957 or by mutants or variants thereof.

Abstract: A process is described for the production of an aqueous polymer dispersion by polymerization of ethylenically unsaturated compounds by means of free-radical initiators in the presence of starch and/or starch derivatives and optional further conventional adjuvants, and which the dispersions are coagulate-free, have a low viscosity, and a small particle size, said process comprising polymerizing an ethylenically unsaturated diene monomer or mixture of monomers consisting of20 to 100% by weight of a diene,0 to 80% by weight of a vinyl-aromatic monomer,0 to 50% by weight of an ethylenically unsaturated monomerin the presence of an aqueous solution or dispersion of dextrins containing 10 parts to 200 parts by weight dextrins, which are optionally chemically modified, wherein the content of said dextrins having a molecular weight in excess of 5000 is at least 50% by weight and the content of dextrins having a molecular weight in excess of 100,000 is not in excess of 5% by weight of the dextrin component.

Abstract: In a friction bearing system for a rapidly rotating shaft of an apparatus for measuring the optical absorption of a sample under analysis by way of an optical radiation source projecting a beam on the sample, the chopper system for the periodical interruption of the beam includes a rotatably mounted chopper disk provided with light-admitting openings and a controlled-speed drive system, as well as a radiation detector for the light affected by the sample. Both ends of the shaft fixedly joined to the chopper disk are provided with pivots corresponding to bushes, one of which is held by a spider which is affixed to the housing part that holds the other bush. The spider is provided with a bore running at an angle to the shaft, and the longitudinal axis of this bore intersects the axis of rotation of the shaft. A magnet is held for longitudinal displacement in the bore and its field acts upon a ring disposed on the shaft in order to assure the quiet and wear-free spinning of the chopper disk.

Abstract: A special services add-on specifically adapted for use in a dial pulse activated telephone switching office such as a step-by-step office to enable the addition of various modern features thereto, thereby extending the economic life of the office. The add-on is a stored program, processor based system that can be put into service on a line-by-line basis independent of subscriber line assignments. Among the special services provided by the add-on are incoming call alert, call conferencing, call forwarding, tone dialing, abbreviated dialing, instant recall, restricted calling, ringback, delayed ringback and ring disable. Various of the services are remotely controllable by the subscriber by dialing programming instructions to the add-on either from his own or another telephone subset.