Abstract: An aqueous dispersion comprising: (a) a latex binder, wherein the latex binder comprises: (i) about 1-25% by weight of a monomer having latent crosslinking functionality, (ii) 0.1 to about 15% of an acid functional monomer, (iii) about 1 to about 25% ethylenically functional silica, (iv) and about 35 to 97.9% other monomers; and (b) an aqueous unsaturated silane treated silica dispersion, wherein the unsaturated silane treated silica dispersion comprises colloidal ethylenically unsaturated silica particles having an average particle size less than about 100 nm.

Abstract: An opacifying cluster which may be added to a coating composition to provide a coating composition with low gloss and a high level of opacity. The opacifying cluster can include a polymeric latex binder coalescing cluster components into a generally homogeneous particle. The cluster components may include discrete polymeric particles each defining a closed void volume therein, a plurality of inorganic pigment particles, and a plurality of extender pigment particles. The clusters may also include a porosity of the polymeric latex binder thereof defining a binder void volume. Also provided is a paint product including such a pigment cluster.

Abstract: An opacifying cluster which may be added to a coating composition to provide a coating composition with low gloss and a high level of opacity. The opacifying cluster can include a polymeric latex binder coalescing cluster components into a generally homogeneous particle. The cluster components may include discrete polymeric particles each defining a closed void volume therein, a plurality of inorganic pigment particles, and a plurality of extender pigment particles. The clusters may also include a porosity of the polymeric latex binder thereof defining a binder void volume. Also provided is a paint product including such a pigment cluster.

Abstract: An opacifying cluster which may be added to a coating composition to provide a coating composition with low gloss and a high level of opacity. The opacifying cluster can include a polymeric latex binder coalescing cluster components into a generally homogeneous particle. The cluster components may include discrete polymeric particles each defining a closed void volume therein, a plurality of inorganic pigment particles, and a plurality of extender pigment particles. The clusters may also include a porosity of the polymeric latex binder thereof defining a binder void volume. Also provided is a paint product including such a pigment cluster.

Abstract: An opacifying cluster which may be added to a coating composition to provide a coating composition with low gloss and a high level of opacity. The opacifying cluster can include a polymeric latex binder coalescing cluster components into a generally homogeneous particle. The cluster components may include discrete polymeric particles each defining a closed void volume therein, a plurality of inorganic pigment particles, and a plurality of extender pigment particles. The clusters may also include a porosity of the polymeric latex binder thereof defining a binder void volume. Also provided is a paint product including such a pigment cluster.

Abstract: An opacifying cluster which may be added to a coating composition to provide a coating composition with low gloss and a high level of opacity. The opacifying cluster can include a polymeric latex binder coalescing cluster components into a generally homogeneous particle. The cluster components may include discrete polymeric particles each defining a closed void volume therein, a plurality of inorganic pigment particles, and a plurality of extender pigment particles. The clusters may also include a porosity of the polymeric latex binder thereof defining a binder void volume. Also provided is a paint product including such a pigment cluster.

Abstract: Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to a distributed lock and distributed locking protocol to allow multiple communicating entities to share access to a computing resource. Certain embodiments of the present invention employ a data storage register implemented by the communicating entities to hold a value reflective of a distributed lock state.

Abstract: Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to distributed data-storage systems that provide non-distributed-data-storage-device-like interfaces to host computers that access the distributed data-storage systems. Distributed data-storage systems generally rely on state information used for execution of commands, received from host computers, by component data-storage systems. Command-executing component data-storage systems may access and modify state information shared among many or all of the component data-storage systems. Embodiment methods of the present invention provide methods for partitioning state information within a distributed data-storage system as well as communications protocols and methods for managing shared state information among the component data-storage systems within a distributed data-storage system.

Abstract: A unit of data is read from memory of a replicated cache. The replicated cache comprises a plurality of independent computing devices. Each independent computing device comprises a processor and a portion of the memory. Confirmations are received from at least a majority of the independent computing devices that a flush operation for the unit of data was initiated no later than a time indicated by the timestamp and that a more recent version of the unit of data has not been flushed. The unit of data is provided to storage.

Abstract: Data blocks are read from a distributed cache. The distributed cache comprises m replicated caches, each replicated cache including a plurality of independent computing devices. Each independent computing device of the replicated caches holds a replica of a particular one of the m data blocks in memory. The m data blocks and p parity blocks are stored across m plus p independent computing devices. Each of the m plus p independent computing devices stores a single block selected from the m data blocks and the p parity blocks.

Abstract: A virtual storage system comprises an agent to store a first table to map virtual storage segments to storage locations, and a controller to store a second table and to intermittently cause contents of the first table to be replaced by contents of the second table. During an I/O operation, one of the entries in the first table can be accessed by a host to determine one of the storage locations. Also, a method for performing an I/O operation on a virtual storage segment, defined by first table that maps a storage segment to a first storage location, comprises turning off I/O operations at the first storage location, identifying portions of the virtual storage segment to be effected during a write operation, storing a record of identified portions at a second table not the first table, and writing to portions of the second storage location associated with the identified portions.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention are directed to digitally encoded hierarchical timestamps that are stored in computer readable mediums. The hierarchical timestamps of the present invention include a first field that stores a timestamp value and a second field that stores a processing-level indication that indicates the scope of the timestamp within a hierarchical processing system.

Abstract: A self-polishing anti-fouling marine coating composition that is free of heavy metal biocides. The coating composition comprises a polymer binder comprising a film forming polymer having a hydrolysable functional group on the polymer backbone; and a blend of at least two biocidally active materials, the blend comprising a 2-trihalogenomethyl-3-halogeno-4-cyanopyrrole compound and a second biocidally active material.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for patient monitoring are described. The method and apparatus include gathering data from a patient medical device (104) and providing the data for analysis. Messages may be provided to the patient via a patient terminal (103).

Abstract: A multi-coat system for staining a substrate which system comprises: (a) a first coat comprising a non-aqueous pretreatment composition; and (b) a second coat comprising an aqueous stain composition; wherein the non-aqueous pretreatment composition comprises a carbohydrate-based alkyd having pendent fatty acid residues.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for copying data through a virtualized storage system using distributed table driven (I/O) mapping. In a system having a virtual disk (the “original disk”), a persistent mapping table for this virtual disk exists on a controller, and volatile copies of some or all entries in this mapping table are distributed to one or more more mapping agents. The method of the present invention creates a new virtual disk mapping table that has the exact same entries as the mapping table as the original virtual disk. The new snapshot disk then shares the same storage as the original disk, so it is space efficient. Furthermore, creating new snapshot disk involves only copying the contents of the mapping table, not moving data, so the creation is fast. In order to allow multiple virtual disks to share storage segments, writes to either the original virtual disk or the snapshot copy cannot be seen by the other.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide methods and systems for strong-leader election in a distributed computer system. In certain embodiments of the present invention, nodes employ a distributed consensus service, such as Paxos, to seek election of leader at or near the expiration of each of a set of successive lease periods. A current leader seeks re-election prior to expiration of the current lease, thus favoring continued re-election of the current leader until and unless the current leader fails or surrenders the leadership role.

Abstract: An acrylic polymer having pendant alkoxysilane comprising the free radical reaction product of a polysiloxane, an N-alkylphosphonate N-oxylalkyl ester initiator; and ethylenically unsaturated monomers. The acrylic polymer can be further crosslinked with reactive polysiloxanes.

Abstract: The present invention provides a system and method for creating virtualized storage in a storage area network using distributed table-driven input/output mapping. The present invention distributes the virtualization mapping in multiple parallel, mapping agents that are separate from a controller. This allows the performance-sensitive mapping process to be parallelized and distributed optimally for performance, while the control of the mapping may be located in a controller chosen for optimal cost, management, and other implementation practicalities. The mapping agents store the virtual mapping tables in volatile memory, substantially reducing the cost and complexity of implementing the mapping agents. The controller is responsible for persistent storage of mapping tables, thereby consolidating the costs and management for persistent mapping table storage in a single component.

Abstract: Various method and system embodiments of the present invention are directed to data and data-state-describing data structures employed in storage components of a distributed data-storage system. In one embodiment of the present invention, a hierarchical data structure stores the data state of a component data-storage system of a distributed data-storage system. In another embodiment of the present invention, a data-block address, stored in a computer-readable memory within a component data-storage system of a distributed data-storage system, includes a block identifier and additional data fields that serve to uniquely specify the addressed data block when multiple copies of the data block are stored in the component data-storage system under different redundancy schemes.