Abstract: A cassette for collecting a tissue sample. The cassette includes a housing configured to be removably coupled with a manifold receiver of a medical fluid collection system. The housing defines a first void space, a second void space, and an outlet opening. A catch tray is removably positionable within the first void space and includes a screen defining porous features for collecting the tissue sample. A filter element separate from the catch tray is disposed within the second void space. The housing may include a cap portion defining the first void space, and a shell portion coupled to the cap portion and defining the second void space. The cassette may be simultaneously operable in a tissue collection mode in which fluid is suctioned across the catch tray to collect the tissue sample, and a bypass mode in which the fluid is not suctioned across the catch tray.

Abstract: Electronic earplugs, methods of enhancing and/or attenuating sound using electronic earplugs, and kits including electronic earplugs are provided. Certain electronic earplugs provided can deliver sound to a user's ear canal at levels below, equal to, and/or above ambient sound levels for specified ambient sound level ranges. Certain electronic earplugs provided can be switched between first and second settings with different sound level delivery settings. Certain electronic earplugs provided can be coupled with or integrated into two-way communication devices. Certain of such two-way communication devices can use induction to receive and transmit audio signals. Certain electronic earplugs provided can include a receive coil configured to allow remote radio signals to be received. Certain electronic earplugs provided can block at least about 35 dB of ambient sound when fully inserted into a user's ear canal.

Abstract: Inductively coupled battery charging systems and methods are provided. Transmit circuitry can include a transmit coil operatively part of a transmit resonant circuit exhibiting resonance at a transmit resonant frequency and an unloaded Q value of at least about 20. Transmit coil can generate a magnetic field at about the transmit resonant frequency. Rechargeable battery assembly can include a receive coil configured to receive inductively coupled current, and circuitry configured to rectify the current and communicate charging power to a storage cell. Receive coil can be part of a receive resonant circuit that exhibits resonance at about the transmit resonant frequency. Transmit circuitry can be configured to regulate alternating current produced in the transmit coil based on current flowing in the transmit resonant circuit and/or maintain the magnetic field at about the transmit resonant frequency by maintaining about a ninety degree phase shift between a square wave input and output.

Abstract: Inductively coupled battery charging systems and methods are provided. Transmit circuitry can include a transmit coil operatively part of a transmit resonant circuit that exhibits resonance at a transmit resonant frequency and an unloaded Q value of at least about 20. Transmit coil can generate a magnetic field at about the transmit resonant frequency. Rechargeable battery assembly can include a receive coil configured to receive inductively coupled current, and circuitry configured to rectify the current and communicate charging power to a storage cell. Receive coil can be part of a receive resonant circuit that exhibits resonance at about the transmit resonant frequency. Transmit circuitry can be configured to detect the rechargeable battery assembly by monitoring a load on the transmit coil.

Abstract: Inductively coupled battery charging systems and methods are provided. Transmit circuitry can include a transmit coil operatively part of a transmit resonant circuit that exhibits resonance at a transmit resonant frequency and an unloaded Q value of at least about 20. Transmit coil can generate a magnetic field at about the transmit resonant frequency. Rechargeable battery assembly can include a receive coil configured to receive inductively coupled current, and circuitry configured to rectify the current and communicate charging power to a storage cell. Receive coil can be part of a receive resonant circuit that exhibits resonance at about the transmit resonant frequency and an unloaded Q value of at least about 10. Transmit circuitry can include multiple transmit coils and can selectively discontinue production of alternating current in the coils generating fields that are not most strongly coupled to the receive coil.

Abstract: Systems and methods for maintaining a drive signal to a resonant circuit at a resonant frequency are provided. A system for maintaining a drive signal to a resonant circuit at a resonant frequency can include: an oscillator configured to provide an output to a phase comparator and a drive circuit, the drive circuit configured to provide a drive signal to a resonant circuit; a phase detector configured to receive a filtered version of the drive signal from the resonant circuit and provide a phase-indicating signal to the phase comparator; and the phase comparator, wherein the phase comparator is configured to provide a signal based on the phase difference between the oscillator output and the phase-indicating signal, wherein the signal from the phase comparator is used to control the frequency of the oscillator such that the phase difference converges to a fixed value.

Abstract: A method of increasing a realized portion of a plurality of monetary payments includes: creating a deferred income account; identifying a payout amount; receiving into the deferred income account a deferred portion of a first one of the plurality of monetary payments; after receiving the deferred portion of the first one of the plurality of monetary payments, optionally deducting an expense amount from the deferred income account; after receiving the deferred portion of the first one of the plurality of monetary payments, providing a first portion of the deferred income account for obtaining the payout amount; and repeating the receiving and deducting steps for subsequent ones of the plurality of monetary payments. After an occurrence of a qualifying event, the payout amount and a balance of the deferred income account are distributed to one or more qualifying recipients.

Abstract: Electronic earplugs, methods of enhancing and/or attenuating sound using electronic earplugs, and kits including electronic earplugs are provided. Certain electronic earplugs provided can deliver sound to a user's ear canal at levels below, equal to, and/or above ambient sound levels for specified ambient sound level ranges. Certain electronic earplugs provided can be switched between first and second settings with different sound level delivery settings. Certain electronic earplugs provided can be coupled with or integrated into two-way communication devices. Certain of such two-way communication devices can use induction to receive and transmit audio signals. Certain electronic earplugs provided can include a receive coil configured to allow remote radio signals to be received. Certain electronic earplugs provided can block at least about 35 dB of ambient sound when fully inserted into a user's ear canal.

Abstract: CRF receptor agonists, especially CRF receptor-1 agonists such as CRF, urocortin, sauvagine or urotensin 1, can be used for the prevention or inhibition of neuronal cell death in a mammal suffering from or susceptible to chronic neurodegenerative disease (e.g. Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or Huntington's disease), traumatic (mechanical) neuronal injury, epilepsy-associated neuronal loss, paralysis, or spinal chord injury. CRF receptor-1 agonists can also be administered to aid the prevention or inhibition of neuronal cell death in a mammal suffering from or suceptible to cerebral ischaemia (stroke). Also, where neuronal cell death is potentiated by inhibition or suppression of the PI 3-kinase signalling pathway, a treatment comprises administering to the mammal an effective amount of a CRF receptor agonist.

Abstract: Described is a technology by which a circuit, such as one incorporated into a USB-like cable, couples a client computing device to a server computing device. The circuit outputs identification information to each computing device to indicate that the circuit corresponds to a type of hardware device, (e.g., a CD-ROM player) and an attribute (e.g., a migration cable). The circuit then allows the communication of data between the first computing device and the second computing device. For example, the server recognizes the migration cable attribute and can emulate the CD-ROM device recognized by the client, whereby the server may provide data including software code to the client computing device by emulating the CD-ROM device. Via the software code, the client computing device is bootstrapped to recognize that it is connected to the server instead of the hardware device. Data may then be migrated from the client to the server.

Abstract: A portion of chip die real estate is allocated to blocks of programmable logic (PL) fabric. These blocks can be used to load special purpose processors which operate in concert with the general purpose processors (GPPs). These processors, implemented in PL, may integrate with a PC system architecture. Blocks of PL are integrated with fixed blocks of logic interfaces connecting, for example, to a system's front side bus. This facilitates configuration of the PL as coprocessors or other devices that may operate as peers to GPPs in the system. Moreover, blocks of PL may be integrated with fixed logic interfaces to existing IO buses within a system architecture. This facilitates configuration of the PL as soft devices, which may appear to the system as physical devices connected to the system. These soft devices can be handled like physical devices connected to the same or similar IO buses.

Abstract: A method and system for buffering power for rotating media devices. A power management circuit includes a power augmentation circuit and a power storage device. The power augmentation circuit is arranged to sense when the storage device motor is accelerating and to supply additional power to the storage device motor in response thereto. The power storage device is arranged to store the additional power. The power storage device may be trickle charged from the system power supply and may also be charged as power is recaptured from the storage device motor as it decelerates.

Abstract: Described is a system and system by which application programs provide data to auxiliary display device (that is associated with a main computer system) for display, including at times when the main computer system is powered down. The cache maintains the user data in association with structured navigational information, to allow navigation within the data via the structure. When online, the main computer system prepares the data cache from program data in combination with navigational information, and transfers the cache to an offline medium such as auxiliary storage in firmware. The cache may be arranged as a tree structure, such that navigation commands result in output according to data in the tree. Other events such as time-based events can change the auxiliary device output.

Abstract: A method of increasing a realized portion of a plurality of monetary payments includes: creating a deferred income account; identifying a payout amount; receiving into the deferred income account a deferred portion of a first one of the plurality of monetary payments; after receiving the deferred portion of the first one of the plurality of monetary payments, optionally deducting an expense amount from the deferred income account; after receiving the deferred portion of the first one of the plurality of monetary payments, providing a first portion of the deferred income account for obtaining the payout amount; and repeating the receiving and deducting steps for subsequent ones of the plurality of monetary payments. After an occurrence of a qualifying event, the payout amount and a balance of the deferred income account are distributed to one or more qualifying recipients.

Abstract: A method of increasing a realized portion of a plurality of monetary payments includes: creating a deferred income account; identifying a payout amount; receiving into the deferred income account a deferred portion of a first one of the plurality of monetary payments; after receiving the deferred portion of the first one of the plurality of monetary payments, optionally deducting an expense amount from the deferred income account; after receiving the deferred portion of the first one of the plurality of monetary payments, providing a first portion of the deferred income account for obtaining the payout amount; and repeating the receiving and deducting steps for subsequent ones of the plurality of monetary payments. After an occurrence of a qualifying event, the payout amount and a balance of the deferred income account are distributed to one or more qualifying recipients.

Abstract: CRF receptor agonists, especially CRF receptor-1 agonists such as CRF, urocortin, sauvagine or urotensin 1, can be used for the prevention or inhibition of neuronal cell death in a mammal suffering from or susceptible to chronic neurodegenerative disease (e.g. Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or Huntington's disease), traumatic (mechanical) neuronal injury, epilepsy-associated neuronal loss, paralysis, or spinal chord injury. CRF receptor-1 agonists can also be administered to aid the prevention or inhibition of neuronal cell death in a mammal suffering from or susceptible to cerebral ischaemia (stroke). Also, where neuronal cell death is potentiated by inhibition or suppression of the PI 3-kinase signalling pathway, a treatment comprises administering to the mammal an effective amount of a CRF receptor agonist.

Abstract: The present invention refers to pharmaceutical compositions containing monosialoganglioside GM1 or a derivative thereof, namely, the inner ester AGF2 and the methyl ester AGF4, suitable for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. A further object of the present invention is a therapy for Parkinson's disease based on the associated administration of the aforesaid compounds and, in addition, the N-dichloroacetyl lyso GM1 (LIGA 20) with known pharmaceuticals active in the aforesaid treatment, in particular with L-dopa and/or BDNF.

Abstract: A wrist watch is disclosed having a cigarette lighter incorporated along one side edge of the watch case; the cigarette lighter including an opening containing a lighter-fluid soaked cotton wad and a removable pin fitted with a likewise cotton wad, and steel material on the tip of the pin for being scratched on a flint surface on the outer side of the lighter.