Abstract: A system and method for the insertion of additional content to messages sent between mobile communications devices. The system provides for a point system which allows users of the system to accumulate points for additional content sent with text messages. The points may be used for various functions such as purchasing premium services or may be applied towards the user's service charges.

Abstract: A method for encoding a point cloud representing a scene using an encoder including a processor in communication with a memory includes steps of fitting a parameterized surface onto the point cloud having input points representing locations in a three-dimensional space, generating model parameters from the parameterized surface, computing corresponding points from the parameterized surface, wherein the corresponding points correspond to the input points, computing residual data based on the corresponding points and the input points of the point cloud, compressing the model parameters and residual data to yield coded model parameters and coded residual data, respectively, and producing a bit-stream from the coded model parameters of the parameterized surface and the coded residual data.

Abstract: A disposable skin-worn device for the transdermal delivery at least one dose of charged therapeutic substances, including granisetron, by iontophoresis, the device comprising a donor reservoir containing an amount of a therapeutic substance to be delivered transdermally by iontophoresis, a counter reservoir, a source of electric power connected in a circuit between the donor reservoir and the counter reservoir and a control system for controlling current flow in the circuit to enable at least one dose of the therapeutic substance to be delivered transdermally by iontophoresis and wherein the control system includes a control element selected from the group consisting of a sensor activated by an external signal and a switch.

Abstract: A method compresses a point cloud composed of a plurality of points in a three-dimensional (3D) space by first acquiring the point cloud with a sensor, wherein each point is associated with a 3D coordinate and at least one attribute. The point cloud is partitioned into an array of 3D blocks of elements, wherein some of the elements in the 3D blocks have missing points. For each 3D block, attribute values for the 3D block are predicted based on the attribute values of neighboring 3D blocks, resulting in a 3D residual block. A 3D transform is applied to each 3D residual block using locations of occupied elements to produce transform coefficients, wherein the transform coefficients have a magnitude and sign. The transform coefficients are entropy encoded according the magnitudes and sign bits to produce a bitstream.

Abstract: A system and method for the insertion of additional content to messages sent between mobile communications devices. The system provides for a point system which allows users of the system to accumulate points for additional content sent with text messages. The points may be used for various functions such as purchasing premium services or may be applied towards the user's service charges.

Abstract: An integrated iontophoresis skin-worn patch and method for delivering a therapeutically effective amount of a corticosteroid drug compound in a systemically-safe and skin-safe manner for site-specific treatment of inflammation pain is disclosed.

Abstract: The present invention relates to compositions and methods for treating autoimmune diseases by administering to a subject a CTLA4 molecule that block endogenous B7 molecules from binding their ligands.

Abstract: A device is disclosed that includes an interface member including a material and a manipulandum movable in a degree of freedom. The manipulandum is able to penetrate the material. A sensor is configured to output a position signal based on the position of the manipulandum. An actuator is configured to output haptic feedback by applying a compressive force to the material based on the position signal. In other embodiments, a method is disclosed that includes receiving a position signal associated with a position of a manipulandum, where at least a portion of the manipulandum penetrates the interface material. Haptic feedback is output by varying a density of the interface material based on the position signal.

Abstract: In a decoder, a desired image is estimated by first retrieving coding modes from an encoded side information image. For each bitplane in the encoded side information image, syndrome bits or parity bits are decoded to obtain an estimated bitplane of quantized transform coefficients of the desired image. A quantization and a transform are applied to a prediction residual obtained using the coding modes, wherein the decoding uses the quantized transform coefficients of the encoded side information image, and is based on previously decoded bitplanes in a causal neighborhood. The estimated bitplanes of quantized transform coefficients of the desired image are combined to produce combined bitplanes. Then, an inverse quantization, an inverse transform and a prediction based on the coding modes are applied to the combined bitplanes to recover the estimate of the desired image.

Abstract: The present invention relates to compositions and methods for treating autoimmune diseases, such as scleroderma, by administering to a subject a CTLA4 molecule that block endogenous B7 molecules from binding their ligands.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media can acquire a topic for which associated content is to be provided. A set of content items that are associated with the topic can be identified. The set of content items can be ranked based, at least in part, on time data associated with the set of content items. A subset of content items can be selected out of the set of content items. In some instances, the subset of content items can be selected to include an amount of highest ranked content items. The subset of content items can be provided in real-time.

Abstract: A covering for delivering a substance or material to a surgical site is provided. The covering, with substance provided therein, may be referred to as a delivery system. Generally, the covering may be a single or multi-compartment structure capable of at least partially retaining a substance provided therein until the covering is placed at a surgical site. Upon placement, the covering may facilitate transfer of the substance or surrounding materials. For example, the substance may be released (actively or passively) to the surgical site. The covering may participate in, control, or otherwise adjust the release of the substance. In various embodiments, the covering may be formed of a collagen material and is suitable for a variety of procedure specific uses.

Abstract: Blocks in pixel images are template matched to select candidate blocks and weights according to a structural similarity and a perceptual distortion of the blocks. The perceptual distortion is a function of a just-noticeable-distortion (JND). A filter outputs a prediction residual between the block and the candidate blocks. The prediction residual is transformed and quantized to produce a quantized prediction residual using the JND. The matching and quantizing is optimized jointly using the perceptual distortion. Then, the quantized prediction residual and the weights are entropy encoded into a bit-stream for later decoding.

Abstract: A method decodes a picture in a form of a bitstream, wherein the picture includes components, by first receiving the bitstream in a decoder. The decoder includes an intra boundary filtering process. A flag is decoded from the bitstream. Then, the intra boundary filtering process is applied, according to the flag.

Abstract: A covering for delivering a substance or material to a surgical site is provided. The covering, with substance provided therein, may be referred to as a delivery system. Generally, the covering may be a single or multi-compartment structure capable of at least partially retaining a substance provided therein until the covering is placed at a surgical site. Upon placement, the covering may facilitate transfer of the substance or surrounding materials. For example, the substance may be released (actively or passively) to the surgical site. The covering may participate in, control, or otherwise adjust the release of the substance. In various embodiments, the covering is suitable for a variety of procedure specific uses. Implantation tools may be provided for placing the covering at a surgical site. Kits may be provided including variously sized or shaped coverings and one or more tools for use in placing the covering.

Abstract: A system and method for the insertion of additional content to messages sent between mobile communications devices. The system provides for a point system which allows users of the system to accumulate points for additional content sent with text messages. The points may be used for various functions such as purchasing premium services or may be applied towards the user's service charges.

Abstract: A communications system including a plurality of mobile user computing devices, and a service provider subsystem for enabling communications between any of the mobile user computing devices and enterprise network systems. The service provider subsystem has a plurality of clusters strategically distributed across at least one geographical region and interconnected by a global services bus. Each of the clusters includes a plurality of nodes interconnected to a distributed memory storage bus. Each of the nodes includes a service manager module for monitoring services available to the node, a service access point module for enabling communications between the node and enterprise network systems, a client access point module for enabling communications between the node and at least one of the mobile user computing devices, and a message control point module for managing communications between the client access point module and the service access point module.

Abstract: A method decodes blocks in pictures of a video in an encoded bitstream by storing previously decoded blocks in a buffer. The previously decoded blocks are displaced less than a predetermined range relative to a current block being decoded. Cached blocks are maintained in a cache. The cached blocks include a set of best matching previously decoded blocks that are displaced greater than the predetermined range relative to the current block. The bitstream is parsed to obtain a prediction indicator that determines whether the current block is predicted from the previously decoded blocks in the buffer or the cached blocks in the cache. Based on the prediction indicator, a prediction residual block is generated, and in a summation process, the prediction residual block is added to a reconstructed residual block to form a decoded block as output.

Abstract: A method for decoding a bitstream, including compressed pictures of a video, wherein each picture includes one or more slices, wherein each slice includes one or more blocks of pixels, and each pixel has a value corresponding to a color, for each slice, first obtains a reduced number of colors corresponding to the slice, wherein each color is represented as a color triplet and the reduced number of colors is less than or equal to a number of colors in the slice. Then, for each block, a prediction mode is determined, wherein an independent uniform prediction mode is included in a candidate set of prediction modes. For each block, a predictor block is generated, wherein all values of the predictor block have a uniform value according to a color index when the prediction mode is set as the independent uniform prediction mode. Lastly, the predictor block is added to a reconstructed residue block to form a decoded block as output.

Abstract: Systems and methods for simulating a medical procedure are disclosed. For example, one described system for simulating a medical procedure includes a physics module configured to model at least one physical property of a user-defined organic object associated with a patient; a display module configured to cause a display of the user-defined organic object; a script module configured to execute a user-defined medical procedure script; a simulation module in communication with the physics module, the display module, and the script module, the simulation module configured to execute a simulation of the medical procedure based at least in part on the user-defined model of the organic object and the user-defined medical procedure script.