Abstract: An iontophoresis method for delivenng an active substance or drug to a target tissue which includes the step of sandwiching the target tissue between a donor electrode and receptor electrode which are each electrically connnected to a power source wherein a current path between the donor electrode and the receptor electrode is maintained at a minimum value to enhance delivery of the active substance to the target tissue.

Abstract: An advanced software package for cost accounting and analysis, management reporting, performance assessment and decision support tool is described. The IN$ITE.TM. software package collects, organizes, manages and consolidates financial data and permits the standardized evaluation and comparison of different educational institutions. The software package implements the Finance Analysis Model For Education as a relational database for the efficient and cost-effective management of educational institutions.Financial data is organized into three dimensions: Functions, Programs and Locations. IN$ITE has five Functions which are subdivided into 15 Subfunctions and further divided into 32 Detail Functions, each of which provides greater clarity of fund use. The Program Dimension of IN$ITE permits the identification and determination of the costs of various special programs within the school system.

Abstract: A food article washer includes a container for containing food articles and a cleaning liquid used for cleaning the food articles. A basket is provided within the container for holding the food articles contained within the container. A vibration device imparts vibrations to the cleaning liquid contained within the container, without coming into physical contact with the food articles. The vibrations break driving the liquid into the food articles.

Abstract: A vaso-active agent is administered in combination with a therapeutic agent which is useful in treatment of tissue of the body which is located below the stratum corneum or the outermost layer of the epidermis, wherein the vaso-active agent may be administered by a local, topical or transdermal route to a particular site and the therapeutic agent may be administered in a similar manner in combination with the vaso-active agent or may be administered separately, wherein the vaso-active agent and the therapeutic agent for topical and/or transdermal administration may be provided in the form of a composition so as to increase local perfusion and/or concentration of the therapeutic agent at or adjacent an administration site of the vaso-active agent.

Abstract: The alloy of the invention provides a low coefficient of thermal expansion alloy having a CTE of about 4.9.times.10.sup.-6 m/m/.degree.C. or less at 204.degree. C. and a relatively high strength. The alloy contains about 40.5 to about 48 nickel, about 2 to about 3.7 niobium, about 0.75 to about 2 titanium, about 0 to about 1 aluminum, about 3.7 or less total niobium plus tantalum and a balance of iron and incidental impurities. Alloys of the invention may be aged to a Rockwell C hardness of at least about 30.

Abstract: Structures, and methods of fabrication thereof, are described wherein between an electrically conducting region and a ceramic region there is an interface region which has a thermal coefficient of expansion which is intermediate between the thermal coefficient of expansion of the conducting region and the ceramic region. This interface region substantially avoids separation of the adhesion of the conducting region from the ceramic region and avoids the creation of voids therebetween. The interface region is preferably a mixture of metal particles and ceramic material. The interface region is created by sintering alternately in oxidizing and reducing atmospheres which results in metal particles being disposed away from the metal body about the periphery of the metal body within the ceramic material.

Abstract: A prompt-providing adaptive speech tutor toy, is characterized by a programmed sequence of prompts in standard speech evoking a user's voice response of a word or phrase. Initially, a vocalized password provides a wake-up call during sleep mode to activate a start sequencer. This turns on the system. The user selects a category. A sequence of prompts and responses follows. Each response is accepted by a user input transducer, electronically treated to eliminate environmental noise and to put the response in a digitized form for computer evaluation. Computer evaluation follows. Frequency domain information from the user pattern is compared against frequency domain information from a standard pattern. Time domain information from the user pattern is compared against time domain information from a standard pattern. The comparisons are concatenated into a comparison score and this is checked against a threshold.

Abstract: This speech training system enables students to rapidly acquire and perfect their pronunciation of English phrases by speaking along with videos presenting English phrases accompanied by conventionally-spelled English text and characters representing the correct mouth positions. Students learn the mouth positions, then listen to a phrase, speak it simultaneously following the mouth position characters, and read the text. Students of this method can compare their mouth movements to a model of standard pronunciation visually and auditorily. Students of English thus have a more reliable audiovisual means of learning and practicing correct English pronunciation.

Abstract: An improved brake clip tool includes a handle with a shaft projecting therefrom and a slot at the end of the shaft for cooperation with the head of a clip retaining pin. A rotatable collar or tip is provided at the end of the shaft for engaging the spring clip of the brake shoe assembly so that the retaining pin can be rotated relative thereto.

Abstract: A device for supporting an infant's feeding bottle including a bottle holder, a first flexible rod optionally, a second flexible rod, a clamp member and a stand member. The feeding bottle may be selected from a plurality of feeding bottles having a range of different diameters. The device may be used while feeding an infant in a seat placed on a surface. The bottle holder has a flexible member for wrapping around the feeding bottle. The flexible member has VELCRO material, a buckle or the like for securing the feeding bottle to the bottle holder. The first flexible rod is attached to the bottle holder and the stand member. The second flexible rod may be pivotally attached to the first flexible rod. The clamp member is attached to the second flexible rod for clamping to the seat.

Abstract: A communication console station links a plurality of communication resources (101, 103, and 105) for use by an operator. Incoming calls are placed in an incoming-call queue (207), calls on hold are placed in a holding queue (209), and all available communication resources are placed in a resource queue (211) The operator presses a single button (303, 305, or 307) to obtain the top resource from the associated queue (207, 209, or 211), which lists resources according to a predetermined priority.

Abstract: An organization particularly for use in medical environments, wherein an inlet port is operatively coupled with a vacuum canister, wherein the inlet port includes a coupling member mounting a replaceable and removable straining device mounted the coupling member to effect straining of various bodily fluids directed within the container.

Abstract: A layer of zirconium can be used as an adhesion layer between a ceramic or polyimide substrate and subsequently applied metallic layers. Following the zirconium layer, copper can be deposited followed by a reaction barrier layer and a wettable surface layer such as gold. This type of structure can be used for pin bracing, chip joining, and/or wire connections.

Abstract: Acoustic transducers are attached to each of the drill bits which produce electrical output signals in response to the vibrations during the drilling operation. A plurality of output signal includes waveforms having an amplitude and frequency dependent upon the condition of the drill bit and the medium being drilled. The waveforms represent the acoustic signature produced by the drilling operation. A control unit simultaneously compares the acoustic signature of each of the output signals with a reference signal by comparing the waveforms to determine if an improper drill condition exits. When drilling through a multilayered workpiece such as a printed circuit board having layers of different types of materials, the acoustic transducers will produce an output signal having a sequence of waveforms representing the acoustic signatures of the sequence layers. The control unit counts the number of waveform occurrences for each particular type of layer and indicates when a predetermined level is reached.

Abstract: A laser drilling control system utilizing photoacoustic feedback is described. The control system provides an accurate monitoring of the laser drilling of a multilayered printed circuit board thereby allowing uniform drilling through layers of different optical and photoacoustic properties by both analyzing the photoacoustic feedback signals received, and adjusting optimally the laser parameters such as pulse duration, wavelength, energy, pulse repetition rate, and the number of pulses, for each successive layer. The system also provides an end point detection which prevents underdrilling overheating, and overdrilling of underlying layers and associated damages. According to another aspect of this invention, the control system can be used as a sensitive misregistration detector for aligning the laser beam to a selected drill site for subsequent drilling at the selected drill site.

Abstract: Apparatus for quilting layered fabrics by a sewing machine. The fabric and liner are unrolled from parallel fabric and liner shafts onto a winding shaft for the quilted fabric and disposed beneath the carrier arm of the sewing machine carriage. A hand control for free-hand quilting may be extensible from the sewing machine head and retracted during pattern quilting. The sewing machine carriage is mounted on parallel rails extending transversely of the pattern on linear anti-friction bearings. Other parallel rails and anti-friction linear bearings extending longitudinally of the pattern also mount the linear bearings and carriage for movement longitudinally of the fabric to be quilted. A follower depends from the sewing machine carriage to engage and follow the pattern and controls movement of the carriage to conform to the pattern selected for quilting.

Abstract: An organizer device for storage, retrieval and replacement of closely spaced articles of substantially like-shape but of different contents. The device comprises a support frame provided with holding means for supporting the articles in a closely spaced manner. An identification code is associated with holding means to identify the location of the articles. An information storage tray is provided in the support frame and has a plurality of strip-like information carrying members which are displaceably held in sequential order on the tray to retain information identifying each of the articles in relation to the identification code.

Abstract: A cyclic, two-stage process is disclosed for pyrometallurgical recovery of copper as a high-grade matte from molten slag material containing both dissolved and/or entrained copper values. A charge of the copper-bearing slag material is treated in the first stage of the process with a hydrocarbonaceous or hydrogenous reductant in a rotary furnace, such as a top-blown rotary reactor, rotating at at least about 10 rpm, to form a high-grade copper matte phase and a slag phase of reduced copper content. The rotation of the reactor is discontinued and the high-grade copper matte phase separates from the slag phase and is recovered from the reactor. The reactor containing the remaining slag of reduced copper content is again rotated at about 10 rpm, and iron sulfide, e.g. pyrite, is added in the second stage of the process to the slag in the rotating reactor to provide a low-grade matte phase which literally "washes out" most of the remaining copper contained in the slag.