Abstract: A reactor for carrying out a three-phase reaction of a liquid phase, a gaseous phase, and a catalyst over a fixed catalyst bed is disclosed. The liquid and gaseous phases are passed through the reactor via a mixing and distribution device positioned over the fixed catalyst bed. The mixing and distribution device includes a trough distributor for the liquid phase, having trough-shaped channels, outlet tubes in the trough-shaped channels for the liquid phase, a distributor plate below the trough distributor, and vertical nozzles, having one or more openings for the gaseous phase and one or more openings, arranged below the openings for the gaseous phase. For entry of the liquid phase, the nozzles are installed so that, at a predetermined liquid feed rate, the surface of the liquid on the distributor plate is below the openings for the gaseous phase and above the openings for the liquid phase.

Abstract: A method of predicting the behavior of software agents in a simulated environment involves modeling a plurality of software agents representing entities to be analyzed, which may be human beings. Using a set of parameters that governs the behavior of the agents, the internal state of at least one of the agents is estimated by its behavior in the simulation, including its movement within the environment. This facilitates a prediction of the likely future behavior of the agent based solely upon its internal state; that is, without recourse to any intentional agent communications. In the preferred embodiment the simulated environment is based upon a digital pheromone infrastructure. The simulation integrates knowledge of threat regions, a cognitive analysis of the agent's beliefs, desires, and intentions, a model of the agent's emotional disposition and state, and the dynamics of interactions with the environment.

Abstract: A data analysis system with dynamic information extraction and self-organizing evidence construction finds numerous applications in information gathering and analysis, including the extraction of targeted information from voluminous textual resources. One disclosed method involves matching text with a concept map to identify evidence relations, and organizing the evidence relations into one or more evidence structures that represent the ways in which the concept map is instantiated in the evidence relations. The text may be contained in one or more documents in electronic form, and the documents may be indexed on a paragraph level of granularity. The evidence relations may self-organize into the evidence structures, with feedback provided to the user to guide the identification of evidence relations and their self-organization into evidence structures.