Abstract: An integrated hydraulic valve actuator for use in a camless internal combustion engine. The valve actuator includes a separate bolt-on housing defining a through opening receiving a cylindrical liner. The liner internally defines an internal cylinder providing a riding surface, which coaxially surrounds an outer surface of a tubular boost piston. The boost piston defines an inner cylinder, which provides a riding surface for a drive piston fitted within the inner cylinder of the boost piston. The pistons are axially reciprocable within the liner cylinder. A piston position sensor extends radially into the housing and engages a cam on the drive piston to relay the position of the drive piston to a controller. The actuator is preassembled and the housing is attached to an engine cylinder head or cylinder head supply manifold to operate an associated exhaust or intake valve.

Abstract: The reflector for a light of higher power has a base body made of glass or glass ceramic and a protective jacket provided on the outer surface of the base body. The base body is formed with a receptacle for a light source, especially a gas discharge lamp, and an interior mirror surface for reflecting light. The protective jacket includes a mat or is a mat-shaped body, i.e. a woven or knit textile fabric of natural or synthetic material. Preferably it is a glass-fiber-reinforced mat. In addition to preventing splinters from flying around, the protective jacket advantageously also provides temperature equalization throughout the reflector. It also helps to prevent scattered light. The protective mat or jacket may be attached to the base body with an adhesive, such as a water glass.

Abstract: Method and system provide a variable delay between the external trigger pulse for a laser system and the light pulse such that the total delay is controlled. The method and system utilize a digital time measuring circuit which measure a time interval which corresponds to a time between the generation of the trigger pulse and generation or a laser light pulse. Based on the measurement by the digital time measuring circuit a processor controls a delay circuit which thereby controls the time between the trigger pulse and the generation of the laser light pulse.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of investigating by mass spectrometry the genetic material deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) replicated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), for the identification of known mutations and polymorphisms; it particularly relates to the analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) by matrix assisted laser desorption and ionization (MALDI). The invention consists of using a set of nucleoside triphosphates for the selective PCR replication of the DNA in which one or more of the nucleoside triphosphates have been made much heavier by attaching a chemical group, but in such a way that the replication is not disturbed by the polymerase. In this way a single nucleotide polymorphism in DNA pieces with a length of about 40 to 50 bases can very easily be made visible by mass spectrometry without any further manipulation.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of a mass-spectrometric analysis of known mutation sites in the genome, such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), using the method of restricted primer extension. The invention consists of the use of primers with a photocleavable linker. The linker creates a gap in a DNA strand which is almost the same size as a natural DNA building block (nucleoside). The linker forms a bridge over a base pair without inhibiting hybridization or enzymatic extension. However, the linker allows the primers to be cleaved after extension in order to obtain short DNA fragments which can be more easily detected on the mass spectrometer.