Abstract: A caster wheel suspension assembly for a wheelchair or the like includes a housing with a clevis portion and a tubular portion; a fork member pivotably mounted in the clevis portion of the housing, the fork member having a pair of fork arms extending from the housing, each of the fork arms terminating in a lower end, the fork member having an upper portion formed as a clevis tang disposed in the clevis portion of the housing; a damping element in the tubular portion of the housing; and a compression adjustment element connected to the clevis pin and extending axially through the damping element. The compression adjustment element is configured to apply an adjustable compressive force to the damping element, and it is further configured to be moved axially within the tubular portion of the housing for adjustment of the compressive force applied to the damping element.

Abstract: A caster wheel suspension assembly for a wheelchair or the like includes a housing with a clevis portion and a tubular portion; a fork member pivotably mounted in the clevis portion of the housing, the fork member having a pair of fork arms extending from the housing, each of the fork arms terminating in a lower end, the fork member having an upper portion formed as a clevis tang disposed in the clevis portion of the housing; a damping element in the tubular portion of the housing; and a compression adjustment element connected to the clevis pin and extending axially through the damping element. The compression adjustment element is configured to apply an adjustable compressive force to the damping element, and it is further configured to be moved axially within the tubular portion of the housing for adjustment of the compressive force applied to the damping element.

Abstract: An arc welding apparatus is disclosed in one form including a conductor tube defining an internal passageway and a distal end portion. The internal passageway has an internal profile proximate the distal end portion. The apparatus further includes an alignment device comprising an exterior profile and an internal passage. The exterior profile is configured for mechanical attachment to the internal profile of the conductor tube. The apparatus also includes a conduit liner disposed in the internal passageway of the conductor tube and the internal passage of the alignment device.

Abstract: A computer implemented method, a computer program product and a data processing system for executing an application written in a dynamic language are provided. An execution point of the application is loaded. A list of classes associated with the execution point is generated. The loading of each class in the list of classes is simulated. New execution points and new classes accessible from each execution point within each class in the list of classes are identified by recursively parsing instructions associated with each execution point. The list is modified to include the identified new execution points and new classes. Responsive to a determination that new execution points and new classes have been identified, the steps of identifying new execution points and new classes and modifying the list is repeated. The list is saved.

Abstract: There is provided a computer implemented method for determining the efficiency of a runtime compiler. A set of execution times representing the time taken for program code to perform a set task after two or more runtime compilations is recorded. A first metric as the difference between the first execution time and the last execution time of the set of execution times, a second metric as the average throughput improvement from the set of execution times, and a third metric as the time taken for the compiler to achieve the maximum throughput from the set of execution times is calculated. Finally, an efficiency metric is calculated using the first, second and third metrics to determine the efficiency of the compiler.

Abstract: A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer program product for copy-on-write optimization of immutable objects. An immutable object is marked as read-only to form a read-only object. The read-only object is formed to delay copying of the immutable object until a runtime determination is made that a write to the immutable object will be made. In response to an attempt to write to the read-only object, an internal value of the read-only object is copied to read-and-write storage using runtime information to form a writable copy of the read-only object. A set of references for the read-only object is updated to point to the writable copy of the read-only object. Delaying copying of the immutable object optimizes a copy-on-write of the immutable object.

Abstract: A method, computer program product, and data processing system for substituting a candidate instruction in application code being loaded during load time. Responsive to identifying the candidate instruction, a determination is made whether a hardware facility of the data processing system is present to execute the candidate instruction. If the hardware facility is absent from the data processing system, the candidate instruction is substituted with a second set of instructions.

Abstract: A method, computer program product, and data processing system for substituting a candidate instruction in application code being loaded during load time. Responsive to identifying the candidate instruction, a determination is made whether a hardware facility of the data processing system is present to execute the candidate instruction. If the hardware facility is absent from the data processing system, the candidate instruction is substituted with a second set of instructions.

Abstract: A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer usable program product for system management. The process schedules a set of application tasks to form a schedule of tasks in response to receiving the set of application tasks from a registration module. The process then performs a feasibility analysis on the schedule of tasks to identify periods of decreased system activity. Thereafter, the process schedules a set of system management tasks during the periods of decreased system activity to form a prioritized schedule of tasks.

Abstract: The invention provides polylactic acid (PLA) films substantially free of plasticizers and methods of manufacturing same by blown film process are provided. PLA films are environmentally degradable and have applications in, at least, packaging and labeling.

Abstract: There is provided a computer implemented method for determining the efficiency of a runtime compiler. A set of execution times representing the time taken for program code to perform a set task after two or more runtime compilations is recorded. A first metric as the difference between the first execution time and the last execution time of the set of execution times, a second metric as the average throughput improvement from the set of execution times, and a third metric as the time taken for the compiler to achieve the maximum throughput from the set of execution times is calculated. Finally, an efficiency metric is calculated using the first, second and third metrics to determine the efficiency of the compiler.

Abstract: A method, computer program product, and data processing system for substituting a candidate instruction in application code being loaded during load time. Responsive to identifying the candidate instruction, a determination is made whether a hardware facility of the data processing system is present to execute the candidate instruction. If the hardware facility is absent from the data processing system, the candidate instruction is substituted with a second set of instructions.

Abstract: The invention provides polylactic acid (PLA) films substantially free of plasticizers and methods of manufacturing same by blown film process are provided. PLA films are environmentally degradable and have applications in, at least, packaging and labeling.

Abstract: The invention provides polylactic acid (PLA) films substantially free of plasticizers and methods of manufacturing same by blown film process are provided. PLA films are environmentally degradable and have applications in, at least, packaging and labeling.

Abstract: A system and method for reorganizing source code using frequency based instruction loop replication are provided. Code is reorganized based on the frequency of execution of blocks of the code so as to favor frequently executed blocks of code over rarely executed code with regard to subsequent optimizations. Frequently executed blocks of instructions are maintained within loop/switch statements and rarely executed blocks of instructions are removed from the loop/switch statements. The rarely executed blocks of instructions may be replicated after the loop/switch statement with a reference back to the loop/switch statement. In this way, when subsequent loop/switch statement optimizations are applied, the frequently executed blocks of instructions within the loop are more likely to benefit from such optimizations since the negative influence of the rarely executed blocks of instructions has been removed.