Abstract: A system and method for sending, resolving, and receiving queries for information on the status of network resources. A peer computing system may include one or more resolver nodes on a network for resolving queries for a resource to particular resource instances. The resolver nodes may receive query messages from peer nodes on the network. Each query message may request information about a resource implemented by one or more peer nodes on the network. The query messages may be formatted in accordance with a peer resolver protocol. The resolver node may determine a particular instance of the resource hosted on a particular peer node to receive the query. The resolver node may use a variety of criteria to determine a particular resource instance. The resolver node may forward the query message to the determined resource instance.

Abstract: A bracket and nut assembly including a bracket having a first end and second end. The first end includes a first substantially planar portion spaced apart from and positioned substantially parallel to a second substantially planar portion. A third portion interconnects the first and second portions. A first aperture extends through the first portion and a second aperture extends through the second portion. The first and second apertures are axially aligned with one another. A nut includes a substantially cylindrical hollow body having flats, a first end and a second end. A flange radially extends from the first end. The flange is captured between the first portion and the second portion of the bracket such that the nut is operable to translate and rotate relative to the bracket.

Abstract: A system and method for providing resources to networked devices for participating in a peer-to-peer environment. In one embodiment, a peer computing system on a network may include one or more bootstrap nodes that may provide, to devices coupled to the network, mechanisms for accessing resources for participating in the peer-to-peer environment. The bootstrap nodes may be peer nodes. The resources may give the devices access to services each of which may implement peer-to-peer platform protocols. The devices may be pre-configured to access one or more predefined peer nodes for information on bootstrap nodes. Alternatively, devices may use a bootstrapping mechanism to locate bootstrap nodes on the network.

Abstract: Embodiments of a mechanism for providing results gates to clients in the distributed computing environment to be used by the clients to access results generated by services on behalf of the clients. A client generates a request message for a service. The request message is generated by a client method gate. The service then generates results in response to the message. A results gate is generated for accessing the results. A gate on the client generates the results gate. The results are then accessed through the results gate. The results are structured as an object (e.g. Java object), and the results gate an object proxy for the results object. The results gate is returned to the process as results of the method call made by the process. In one embodiment, the results gate is a method gate and provides a method interface to the results.

Abstract: A system and method for the iterative detection and demodulation of M-ary orthogonal signals (MOK) and signals modulated using Complementary Code Keying (CCK) is described. An important feature of these methods is the good performance of noncoherent detectors in AWGN channels. However, the performance of these detectors in fast fading channels degrades considerably compared to that of coherent detectors. Iterative detection algorithms that significantly improve the performance of the demodulators with minimal additional complexity are presented The methods use soft decoder output feedback and iterative demodulation and decoding to achieve performance close to that of coherent detection. For MOK, significant performance enhancement is possible even without any loss of throughput due to insertion of pilot symbols. For CCK pilot symbols are necessary but the throughput loss remains low.

Abstract: A device for measuring the flux received by a specimen in fire test apparatuses has a copper disk or plate of the same dimensions and the same type of surface coating as a typical material specimen, an embedded heating coil and thermocouple, and an insulated sample holder similar to that used for a specimen. The transient response of the embedded thermocouple is measured for several different levels of imposed incident radiation without electrical heating and for several different known levels of electrical heating without any imposed radiation. The principle of Electrical Substitution Radiometry (ESR) is applied, and the transient responses to incident radiation and electrical heating under identical thermal conditions are compared to determine the amount of incident radiation that is actually absorbed by the device while it is being irradiated. The situations are kept thermally identical, thereby insuring that all effects due to heat losses (e.g. convection, radiation and conduction) are exactly the same.

Abstract: A system and method for providing security for newly spawned spaces in a distributed computing environment. A client may access a first space service. The creation of a second space may be requested, such as by the client sending an appropriate request to an interface of the first space. In one embodiment, the first space and second space may share a common storage model, storage facility, and/or XML schema. The second space may initially be configured to permit access only to the requesting client. In one embodiment, a root authentication token is created for the second space. An authentication service associated with the second space may be initialized, whereby the second space is configured to permit access only to a client holding the root authentication token. The root authentication token may be sent to the requesting client or service. The requesting client may send the root authentication token to a second client.

Abstract: A service discovery protocol may allow clients in a distributed computing environment to search for services. Service providers (or a listener agent) may respond to search requests by publishing or providing corresponding service advertisements or URIs to corresponding service advertisements. When a service provider responds to a discovery search request (either directly or through a listener agent), the provider may choose to publish a protected or an un-protected (complete) advertisement. A protected advertisement may include the set of information necessary to obtain a complete advertisement. Publishing a protected advertisement may force the client to obtain a valid credential from an authentication service before receiving the complete un-protected advertisement from the service provider. A complete un-protected advertisement is needed to create a message endpoint for accessing the service.

Abstract: A database store method and system for a virtual persistent heap may include an Application Programming Interface (API) that provides a mechanism to cache portions of the virtual heap into an in-memory heap for use by an application. The virtual heap may be stored in a persistent store that may include one or more virtual persistent heaps, with one virtual persistent heap for each application running in the virtual machine. Each virtual persistent heap may be subdivided into cache lines. The store API may provide atomicity on the store transaction to substantially guarantee the consistency of the information stored in the database. The database store API provides several calls to manage the virtual persistent heap in the store. The calls may include, but are not limited to: opening the store, closing the store, atomic read transaction, atomic write transaction, and atomic delete transaction.

Abstract: A system and method for spawning new spaces in a distributed computing environment. A client may access a first space service at a first Internet address. The first space service may store one or more service advertisements and/or other content in a first space, and each of the service advertisements may include information which is usable to access and execute a corresponding service. The first space service may include a first XML schema which specifies one or more messages usable to invoke functions of the first space service. The creation of a second space may be requested such as by the client sending an appropriate request to an interface of the first space. The second space may be created to store the results of running a service. In response, a second space service with a second space may be created at a second Internet address. The second space service may include a second schema which includes at least the first schema, and the second schema may include additional functionality as well.

Abstract: Systems and methods for returning results of services within a distributed computing environment are provided. After a client invokes one or more functions of a service, results of the function(s) may be returned to the client in a plurality of ways: for example, in a message, in a space (e.g., a network-addressable storage location), in a space wherein the client is notified via an event, using an advertisement returned in a message, using an advertisement returned in a space, and using an advertisement returned in a space wherein the client is notified via an event. The advertisement may include the information necessary to access and read the results in a storage location such as a space. A schema for the service may specify a plurality of messages which are usable to invoke the function(s) of the service. The messages, results, and advertisements may be expressed in a platform-independent and/or programming-language-independent data representation language such as XML.

Abstract: Embodiments of message gates are described. A message gate is the message endpoint for a client or service in a distributed computing environment. A message gate may provide a secure endpoint that sends and receives type-safe messages. Gates may perform the sending and receiving of messages between clients and services using a protocol specified in a service advertisement. In one embodiment, the messages are eXtensible Markup Language (XML) messages. For a client, a message gate represents the authority to use some or all of a service's capabilities. Each capability may be expressed in terms of a message that may be sent to the service. Creation of a message gate may involve an authentication service that generates an authentication credential, and that may negotiate the desired level of security and the set of messages that may be passed between client and service. A message gate may perform verification of messages against a message schema to ensure that the messages are allowed.

Abstract: A convenient, easily consumed, filled food article can be made. The filled food article comprises a first and a second planar edible layer. The article can be made of a planar food component having a unique texture. The layers are combined and sealed at their periphery forming an interior zone that can contain an appropriate filling. The food can be used for a sweet or savory food suitable for consumption at breakfast, lunch, dinner, as a snack, appetizer or other instance. The planar food component is made using a novel recipe and process that results in a planar bready layer that can be readily and easily joined at the periphery with conventional layers and with similar layers. Once made, the food item is easily baked or reheated subject to microwave energy or other forms of heat or other forms of heating and can be consumed at the user's convenience.

Abstract: A method and test device for differentiating between states of an analyte that can exist in different forms, such as follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). The method or test device uses two contemporaneous assays, the first of which does not differentiate between the two analyte states and the second of which does, and the assay results are compared. A novel pair of anti-FSH monoclonal antibodies that can be used together in a sandwich-format assay to differentiate pre-menopausal and post-menopausal FSH samples is disclosed.

Abstract: A dough that can bake to form a bread product having a homebaked taste, aroma, freshness, attractive browned character and pleasing crispness of a homemade bread. The product can be obtained by baking the dough in a microwave oven without the time, bother and mess of preparing a leavened dough and baking the dough in a thermal or convection oven. The product can include bread products including breads rolls, etc. The invention relates to a crust that can be combined with a topping or filling to form a baked product. Such products include such items as a pizza, meat pie, fruit pie etc. suitable for baking in a microwave oven. The crust has a unique formulation that ensures a high quality product. Further, the unique formulation provides a crust that forms a well-raised, attractive browned crust even in combination with substantial quantities of fillings having large amounts of water and other components.

Abstract: To reduce the whirling air vortices which are normally formed at the disc tip, the outer edge of the disc surface may be gradually thinned down to a sharp tip. An alternative approach, the disc tip is gradually reduced in width and rounded at its outer edge. A flow obstruction may be incorporated in the shroud adjacent the edge of the disc tip. This obstruction may comprise a small substantially rectangular insert extending from the inner edge of the housing. Or, the inner surface of the portion of the housing adjacent the ends of the disc may incorporate grooves therein. These grooves, which are roughly herringbone in shape, and would have their center near either the edge of disc in a single disc environment or mid-way between the disc in a two disc environment.

Abstract: Premium quality parbaked frozen pizza can be made by adding premium rough cut toppings to a premium generally square crust having a rough edge mimicking a hand formed crust. The pizza provides the appearance of being hand made and baked in a brick wood fired oven providing a crispy exterior, a soft interior crust having characteristic toasted color indicia. In use, the pizza is packaged in conventional corrugated forms, outer wrapped and packaged for delivery in retail environments. The product can be removed from its packaging and baked at home, mimicking a product from a restaurant grade preparation.

Abstract: A system and method for searching for Internet-based repositories within a distributed computing environment are provided. A client on a device may interact with a search service on the same or a different device to find spaces (i.e., network-accessible XML object repositories) for storage and/or retrieval of data. The client may send an XML search request to the search service. The search request may include one or more desired characteristics, such as keywords, which are sought of a space. Based upon the search request, the search service may generate search results including locations (e.g., URIs) of one or more resulting spaces. The spaces may include web pages. In generating the search results, the search service may interact with a network-accessible third-party search engine, such as a browser-accessible search engine. The search service may obtain a service advertisement for each of the resulting spaces. Each service advertisement includes information which is usable to access the respective space.

Abstract: A H. pylori thioredoxin protein having a seq ID No. 1 is capable of inhibiting the activation of NF-&kgr;B. The protein may be used in treating inflammation.