Abstract: A beverage brewing device includes a lower container for receiving and heating water, a connected upper container for receiving beverage, and a piston-cylinder assembly for receiving grounds, captured within the lower container. The piston-cylinder assembly includes a cylinder, a piston movable in the cylinder, a conical diffuser fixedly attached to the piston, and a freely movable mass disposed between the piston and the conical diffuser. The piston and the conical diffuser define an expansion chamber therebetween. The chamber is formed between a diffuser plate forming the top of the piston and an inner conical surface of the diffuser, which defines an orifice functioning as a nozzle. The diffuser plate has a plurality of holes, on which the grounds are placed. The mass is seated at a valve seat at the entrance of the expansion chamber to operatively block the flow of fluid through the nozzle when the pressure of the fluid is insufficient to displace the weight of the mass.

Abstract: An automated information search, retrieval and reporting system, and more particularly, a system designed for the historical backtesting of financial market positions, for example, the simulation of the execution of derivative trading strategies. A user accesses data in a market information database via user interface by submitting queries in a near natural language format that define a desired derivative trading strategy with respect to one or more tradable securities. Historical daily price information about securities and derivatives are gathered and combined in a single location. Derivative relative data is created from the historical information and stored as a continuous historical series, wherein the derivative relative data is derived from each derivative's relative position to the underlying instrument with respect to price and date information.