Abstract: This disclosure pertains to a sweetener containing a high intensity sweetener and a taste modifying composition. In another aspect of the invention is a sweetener containing a high intensity sweetener, a taste modifying composition and a bulking material. Also disclosed are methods of making a sweetener of the present invention and methods of using the sweetener.

Abstract: Creatinine, creatinine precursors or the pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof are activated to function as an antibacterial agent which has broad spectrum activity and is beneficially used in a variety of applications, such as antimicrobial wound dressings, compositions for topical delivery of the antibacterial agent and for preventing and/or inhibiting the occurrence or spread of bacterial infection, as well as the growth of odor-causing bacteria, to name a few.

Abstract: A child bath seat, adapted for use with a bathtub, includes a seat body that includes both a seat and a retaining structure extending above the seat for laterally retaining a child seated in the seat body. The seat also includes a bracing structure that holds the seat body in an upright position. The bracing structure has a first end attached to the seat body, and a second end, defining a recess, for receiving an upper edge of a side of the bathtub. The seat also includes a foot structure attached to the bracing structure and capable of being placed in contact with a predominantly horizontal surface outside the bathtub. The child bath seat can be adjustable to accommodate varying bathtub side widths and varying bathtub depths and can be suspended above or a portion of the bath seat can rest on the bottom surface of the bathtub.

Abstract: A guard and associated method for rain gutters includes a cap or deflector extending over a gutter of the type having a trough-shaped interior, a rear wall extending along a roof fascia, and a front lip with a channel and an end flange. A mounting bracket has a rear portion abutting the rear wall of the gutter, an upper portion supporting the deflector, and a front portion with a hook-shaped nose. The mounting bracket nose is configured for insertion under the end flange of the gutter, such that the mounting bracket is rotated rearwardly along a generally vertical arc about the nose toward the rear wall of the gutter, and shifted laterally into a skewed orientation within the gutter interior.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for the detection of early renal disease in animals. The method includes the steps of (a) obtaining a sample from an animal to be tested and (b) determining the amount of albumin in the sample. An amount of albumin in the range of from 10 ?g/ml to about 300 ?g/ml indicates the presence of early renal disease. The present invention also provides antibodies to canine, feline and equine albumin which can be used to detect the presence of early renal disease.

Abstract: A guard and associated method for rain gutters includes a cap or deflector extending over a gutter of the type having a trough-shaped interior, a rear wall extending along a roof fascia, and a front lip with a channel and an end flange. A mounting bracket has a rear portion abutting the rear wall of the gutter, an upper portion supporting the deflector, and a front portion with a hook-shaped nose. The mounting bracket nose is configured for insertion under the end flange of the gutter, such that the mounting bracket is rotated rearwardly along a generally vertical arc about the nose toward the rear wall of the gutter, and shifted laterally into a skewed orientation within the gutter interior.

Abstract: A guard and associated method for rain gutters includes a cap or deflector extending over a gutter of the type having a trough-shaped interior, a rear wall extending along a roof fascia, and a front lip with a channel and an end flange. A mounting bracket has a rear portion abutting the rear wall of the gutter, an upper portion supporting the deflector, and a front portion with a hook-shaped nose. The mounting bracket nose is configured for insertion under the end flange of the gutter, such that the mounting bracket is rotated rearwardly along a generally vertical arc about the nose toward the rear wall of the gutter, and shifted laterally into a skewed orientation within the gutter interior.

Abstract: A guard and associated method for rain gutters includes a cap or deflector extending over a gutter of the type having a trough-shaped interior, a rear wall extending along a roof fascia, and a front lip with a channel and an end flange. A mounting bracket has a rear portion abutting the rear wall of the gutter, an upper portion supporting the deflector, and a front portion with a hook-shaped nose. The mounting bracket nose is configured for insertion under the end flange of the gutter, such that the mounting bracket is rotated rearwardly along a generally vertical arc about the nose toward the rear wall of the gutter, and shifted laterally into a skewed orientation within the gutter interior.

Abstract: A child bath seat, adapted for use with a bathtub, includes a seat body that includes both a seat and a retaining structure extending above the seat for laterally retaining a child seated in the seat body. The seat also includes a bracing structure that holds the seat body in an upright position. The bracing structure has a first end attached to the seat body, and a second end, defining a recess, for receiving an upper edge of a side of the bathtub. The seat also includes a foot structure attached to the bracing structure and capable of being placed in contact with a predominantly horizontal surface outside the bathtub. The child bath seat can be adjustable to accommodate varying bathtub side widths and varying bathtub depths and can be suspended above or a portion of the bath seat can rest on the bottom surface of the bathtub.

Abstract: The full face flexible oxygen mask for use with flight helmets includes an elastic face seal with an oronasal cone that seals around the nose and mouth of the wearer, and flexible sealing flaps along the perimeter of the face seal to adapt the face piece of the mask to seal against the surface of a flight helmet. The mask face piece has two large sealing surfaces or channels down each side of the mask that overlap and flex to adapt to seal to a variety of flight helmets. The top of the face seal has an inner and outer flap that work together to seal the exposed face visible between the sides of the flight helmet.

Abstract: A mask and harness system for use in providing breathing oxygen and protection from pollutants for the eyes and respiratory system as might be encountered in high altitude aviation environments. In one preferred embodiment, the mask system has a face seal, a soft flexible lens, a pneumatically-actuated harness, and a regulator with microphone to control the flow of oxygen and to facilitate communications in aircraft flight decks and other aircraft compartments. The system is designed for required five-second donning with one hand and because of the flexible lens, is capable of storage in the relatively preferred on crowded flight decks. It is connected to an oxygen source and, optionally, with aircraft communications. The regulator controls the flow rate of oxygen to the wearer based on altitude and physiological requirements. The regulator includes a valve for purging the condensation-prone moist gases from the lens area and provides positive pressure in the mask.

Abstract: A child bath seat, adapted for use with a bathtub, includes a seat body that includes both a seat and a retaining structure extending above the seat for laterally retaining a child seated in the seat body. The seat also includes a bracing structure that holds the seat body in an upright position. The bracing structure has a first end attached to the seat body, and a second end, defining a recess, for receiving an upper edge of a side of the bathtub. The seat also includes a foot structure attached to the bracing structure and capable of being placed in contact with a predominantly horizontal surface outside the bathtub. The child bath seat can be adjustable to accommodate varying bathtub side widths and varying bathtub depths and can be suspended above or a portion of the bath seat can rest on the bottom surface of the bathtub.

Abstract: A microprocessor for predicting a target address of a return instruction is disclosed. The microprocessor includes a BTAC and a return stack that each makes a prediction of the target address. Typically the return stack is more accurate. However, if the return stack mispredicts, update logic sets an override flag associated with the return instruction in the BTAC. The next time the return instruction is encountered, if the override flag is set, branch control logic branches the microprocessor to the BTAC prediction. Otherwise, the microprocessor branches to the return stack prediction. If the BTAC mispredicts, then the update logic clears the override flag. In one embodiment, the return stack predicts in response to decode of the return instruction. In another embodiment, the return stack predicts in response to the BTAC predicting the return instruction is present in an instruction cache line. Another embodiment includes a second, BTAC-based return stack.

Abstract: The auxiliary breathing flow channel apparatus for an oxygen mask for pilots and crew of an airplane includes a flow control device with closed and open positions to regulate flow through an auxiliary channel. A pressure sensor such as an aneroid capsule automatically closes the auxiliary channel upon a decrease in cabin pressure. A handle also allows a user to manually move the flow regulating means to a closed position.

Abstract: A microprocessor for predicting return instruction target addresses is disclosed. A branch target address cache stores a plurality of target address predictions and a corresponding plurality of override indicators for a corresponding plurality of return instructions, and provides a prediction of the target address of the return instruction from the target address predictions and provides a corresponding override indicator from the override indicators. Each has a true value when the return stack has mispredicted the target address of the corresponding return instruction for a most recent execution of the return instruction. A return stack also provides a prediction of the target address of the return instruction. Branch control logic causes the microprocessor to branch to the prediction of the target address provided by the BTAC, and not to the prediction of the target address provided by the return stack, when the override indicator is a true value.

Abstract: An apparatus for avoiding a deadlock condition in a microprocessor with a speculative branch target address cache (BTAC) that predicts a target address of a branch instruction contained in a cache line output by an instruction cache in response to a fetch address is disclosed. The BTAC incorrectly predicts the branch instruction is wholly contained in the cache line; consequently, the microprocessor fetches from the target address without fetching the next sequential cache line containing the rest of the instruction. An instruction formatter detects the instruction is only partially contained in the cache line and waits for the next cache line. However, the formatter receives no more cache lines because the target address misses in the cache and the missing cache line is not fetched from memory because the processor does not generate speculative instruction fetches. To avoid deadlocking, the apparatus invalidates the BTAC target address and retries.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for the detection of early renal disease in animals. The method includes the steps of (a) obtaining a sample from an animal to be tested and (b) determining the amount of albumin in the sample. An amount of albumin in the range of from 10 ?g/ml to about 300 ?g/ml indicates the presence of early renal disease. The present invention also provides antibodies to canine, feline and equine albumin which can be used to detect the presence of early renal disease.

Abstract: A microprocessor with a write queue for a branch target address cache (BTAC) is disclosed. The BTAC is read in parallel with an instruction cache in order to predict a target address of a branch instruction in the accessed cache line. In one embodiment, the BTAC is single-ported; hence, the single port must be shared for reading and writing. When the BTAC needs updating, such as when a branch target address is resolved, the microprocessor stores the branch target address and related information in the write queue. Thus, the write queue potentially enables updating of the BTAC to be delayed until the BTAC is not being read, such as when the instruction cache is idle, a misprediction by the BTAC is being corrected, or a prediction by the BTAC is being overridden. If the write queue becomes full, then it updates the BTAC anyway.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, equipment asset information associated with a plurality of equipment assets is stored at a central appraisal controller. A first equipment asset appraiser, of a plurality of equipment asset appraisers, may be associated with equipment asset information for the first equipment appraiser's subset of the equipment assets. Similarly, a first equipment asset party, of a plurality of equipment asset parties, may be associated with equipment asset information for the first equipment party's subset of the equipment assets.

Abstract: An instruction buffering apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus includes an early queue and a late queue. The early queue receives an instruction generated during a first clock cycle. The late queue receives information related to the instruction during a second clock cycle subsequent to the first clock cycle. The early queue receives load/shift control signals for loading/shifting the early queue. Registers receive the early queue load/shift signals and provide delayed versions of the signals to the late queue for controlling loading/shifting the related information in the late queue. The late queue is configured such that when the apparatus is empty, the related information may be provided during the second clock cycle, i.e., in the same clock cycle that its related instruction is provided from the early queue.