Abstract: A method of forming an article comprises forming a feed material around one or more shapeholders and sintering the feed material and the one or more shapeholders to form a sintered article comprising the one or more shapeholders in a base material. The sintered article is exposed to a solvent to remove the one or more shapeholders from the base material. Additional methods are disclosed, as well as articles including one or more microchannels exhibiting a diameter of from about 5 ?m to about 10 mm.

Abstract: A speakerphone system (50, 70) implements automatic gain control (AGC) when it is in a talk mode. While in the talk mode, the speakerphone system (50, 70) applies a gain factor determined by conventional AGC techniques. The inverse of this gain factor is applied to the received signal to avoid the need to adapt the coefficients of an echo canceller, such as an acoustic echo canceller (AEC) (25), as the volume level changes. The speakerphone system (50, 70) determines whether it is in the talk, double-talk, or listen mode by adaptively changing energy thresholds which define these modes, in dependence on the distribution of ratios of the transmitted energy to received energy. The speakerphone system (50, 70) also varies a loop gain in dependence on the separation between the distribution of energy ratios in the talk mode and in the receive mode. This automatic loop gain adjustment ensures loop stability.

Abstract: The present invention provides a composition for absorbing ethylene and other unsaturated compounds. The composition comprises electron-deficient dienes or trienes incorporated in an ethylene-permeable substrate. In a preferred form the composition comprises tetrazine dicarboxyoctyl ester in an ethylene-permeable, hydrophobic polymeric substrate. In a preferred form the composition is cast as a thin film suitable for wrapping and/or packaging. The present invention also provides a method of retarding the ripening or senescence of fruit and other plant material comprising confining the fruit or plant material in an ambient atmosphere subject to the ethylene-absorbing action of a composition comprising an electron-deficient diene or triene incorporated in an ethylene-permeable substrate.