Abstract: Vaccines that elicit broadly protective anti-influenza antibodies. Some vaccines comprise nanoparticles that display HA trimers from influenza virus on their surface. The nanoparticles are fusion proteins comprising a monomeric subunit (e.g., ferritin) joined to the stem region of an influenza HA protein. The fusion proteins self-assemble to form the HA-displaying nanoparticles. The vaccines comprise only the stem region of an influenza HA protein joined to a trimerization domain. Also provided are fusion proteins, and nucleic acid molecules encoding such proteins, and assays using nanoparticles of the invention to detect anti-influenza antibodies.

Abstract: Preparing a document for transmission over a network in a manner that increases the security of URLs included in the document. A server accesses a document that contains a number of URLs. For one or more of those URLs, the server calculates a digital signature that is unique to the intended recipient client, or unique to the user of the client. The server then modifies each of those URLs by including the digital signature in the URL. The document with the modified URLs in then transmitted over the network to the client. Thus, even if a sensitive URL is discovered, that modified URL is unique to the client only or to the user of the client only. Therefore, the damage that may be caused by an unauthorized user is limited to just that client or user.

Abstract: Methods, systems and computer program products for tracking a client's usage of one or more services provided by one or more servers. A client generates and sends one or more metering packets to a census service. Each metering packet includes a time element indicating the client's usage of the one or more services. The time element may include a charged time portion and a free time portion. An authentication element may be included with each metering packet so that the census service can determine whether or not a given metering packet is genuine. A login service communicates to the client whether or not usage should be tracked and indicates a time interval to expire between subsequent metering packets. A session identifier in each metering packet allows multiple sessions to be tracked simultaneously. Upon receiving metering packets, the census service discards redundant metering packets and updates a usage database accordingly.

Abstract: A lightweight row transfer protocol is described that can be easily handled by thin clients, such as JAVA™ applications using CORBA. The lightweight row transfer protocol serves to reduce bandwidth requirements by applying compression techniques to reduce the number of column lengths in a “result set” of rows that are transmitted from one computer to another.

Abstract: Replication for front office automation involves the use of snapshots that are instantiated on laptops, in which refreshing the snapshots is driven from a master site with a high-performance protocol. All of the necessary snapshot metadata for performing the snapshot refreshes is stored at the master site, so that the laptop only needs to send a single refresh request. In response to the refresh request, the master site reconciles the differences between the master tables and the laptop's snapshots and transmits the differences to the laptop, reducing the necessary network traffic for updating a snapshot to a single round trip.

Abstract: Methods, systems and computer program products for tracking a client's usage of one or more services provided by one or more servers. A client generates and sends one or more metering packets to a census service. Each metering packet includes a time element indicating the client's usage of the one or more services. The time element may include a charged time portion and a free time portion. An authentication element may be included with each metering packet so that the census service can determine whether or not a given metering packet is genuine. A login service communicates to the client whether or not usage should be tracked and indicates a time interval to expire between subsequent metering packets. A session identifier in each metering packet allows multiple sessions to be tracked simultaneously. Upon receiving metering packets, the census service discards redundant metering packets and updates a usage database accordingly.

Abstract: Replication for front office automation involves the use of snapshots that are instantiated on laptops, in which refreshing the snapshots is driven from a master site with a high-performance protocol. All of the necessary snapshot metadata for performing the snapshot refreshes is stored at the master site, so that the laptop only needs to send a single refresh request. In response to the refresh request, the master site reconciles the differences between the master tables and the laptop's snapshots and transmits the differences to the laptop, reducing the necessary network traffic for updating a snapshot to a single round trip.

Abstract: Preparing a document for transmission over a network in a manner that increases the security of URLs included in the document. A server accesses a document that contains a number of URLs. For one or more of those URLs, the server calculates a digital signature that is unique to the intended recipient client, or unique to the user of the client. The server then modifies each of those URLs by including the digital signature in the URL. The document with the modified URLs in then transmitted over the network to the client. Thus, even if a sensitive URL is discovered, that modified URL is unique to the client only or to the user of the client only. Therefore, the damage that may be caused by an unauthorized user is limited to just that client or user.

Abstract: A drain plug sensor for determining whether a drain plug is inserted into a drain hole of a watercraft is provided. In a preferred embodiment, a reed switch for sensing a magnetic field is threadably mated with a receiver at one end thereof. The receiver and reed switch are emplaced into the drain hole. The drain plug, which is capable of being inserted into another end of the receiver, is formed together with a samarium cobalt magnet such that a magnetic field is created and emanated therefrom. In this manner, whenever the drain plug is inserted into the receiver, the reed switch detects the presence of the magnetic field. Conversely, whenever the drain plug is not inserted into the drain hole, no magnetic field is detected. Regardless of whether the drain plug is inserted into the drain hole, an indication is supplied to a user to alert the user as to whether the drain hole is operational.

Abstract: A radiation curable oligomer which cures to provide a combination of improved elongation and tensile strength is constituted by a selected hydroxy functional polyester having its active hydrogen atoms end-capped by reaction with ethylenically unsaturated monoisocyanate. This polyester is the reaction product of one mole of tris (2-hydroxyethyl) isocyanurate with three moles of saturated dicarboxylic acid and three moles of diol, these proportions being variable within the limits of .+-.20%, the polyester reaction product having an acid value of less than 20, preferably less than 5, and providing hydroxyl-terminated branches having an average length corresponding to a calculated molecular weight of 100-1500.

Abstract: A process for the production of nuclear chlorinated alkylbenzenes comprises reacting an alkylbenzene with chlorine in the presence of a catalyst system comprising a Lewis acid catalyst and a thianthrene co-catalyst. The nuclear chlorinated alkylbenzene products prepared in this manner are characterized by a substantially reduced ratio of orthochloro to parachloro isomer.

Abstract: A process for the production of nuclear chlorinated alkylbenzenes comprises reacting, in the liquid phase, an alkylbenzene with chlorine in the presence of a Lewis acid catalyst and a co-catalyst comprising a thianthrene compound or mixture of thianthrene compounds characterized by the formula: ##STR1## where each n is 0 to 1, and each x is hydrogen or an electron-withdrawing substituent with the proviso that at least one x is an electron withdrawing substituent. The monochlorinated alkylbenzene products prepared in this manner are characterized by a desirably low ratio of ortho to para isomer.

Abstract: A process for the chlorination of toluene comprises reacting toluene with chlorine in the presence of a catalyst system comprising a Lewis acid catalyst and a co-catalyst selected from the group consisting of diphenyl selenide and aluminum selenide. The monochlorotoluene product obtained is characterized by a substantially reduced ratio of orthochlorotoluene to parachlorotoluene.

Abstract: Thianthrene in monochlorotoluene, is reacted with excess chlorine in the presence of a Lewis acid catalyst, to yield a mixture of chlorothianthrenes, the major component of which is 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorothianthrene. Recrystallization of the chlorothianthrene mixture from a suitable solvent, such as tetrahydrofuran yields 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorothianthrene of greater than 90 percent purity.