Methods and systems for decoding a signal include compensating for impairments in a received signal using at least carrier phase estimation, where residual phase error remains after compensation; calculating symbol log-likelihood ratios (LLRs) for symbols in the compensated signal using Monte Carlo integration; demapping the symbols in the compensated signal using the symbol LLRs and extrinsic information from signal decoding to produce one or more estimated codewords; and decoding each estimated codeword with a decoder that generates a decoded codeword and extrinsic information.

A WDM optical signal is transmitted through a tunable optical filter and is polarization-nulled to find optical signal to noise ratio of individual WDM channels. The polarization nulling can be performed using a heuristic multipoint extrema search method, such as Nelder-Mead method. A plurality of checkpoints can be included in the search to verify the progress and to improve the overall robustness of a real-time polarization nulling.

A noise suppression circuit for a power adapter is disclosed. The noise suppression circuit can reduce or eliminate adapter-induced noise that could interfere with an electronic device powered by the adapter. In one example, the noise suppression circuit can include an active circuit to detect and attenuate or cancel the induced noise. In another example, the noise suppression circuit can include an RLC circuit in parallel with the adapter choke to suppress the induced noise at the operating frequencies of the powered electronic device. In still another example, the noise suppression circuit can include a modified adapter Y capacitor connection so as to bypass the adapter choke, thereby reducing or eliminating the choke's induced noise.

Methods for treating fatty liver disease, e.g., hepatic steatosis, using peptide fragments of the C-terminal end of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), e.g., GLP-1(28-36).

A method includes receiving first information identifying profile information associated with a customer, habit information associated with the customer's television viewing habits, or Internet usage information associated with the customer. The method also includes receiving preference information from the customer, wherein the preference information identifies advertisements or types of advertisements that the customer would like to view or would not like to view. The method further includes identifying advertisements based on the received first information and the received preference information, inserting, by a service provider, the identified advertisements in a television programming data stream and providing the identified advertisements to the customer.

A digital television system is connected to a mobile computing and communication device through an ad hoc communication link. A program broadcasted by the television system includes a plurality frames delivered in a sequential manner. A user can freeze a frame by employing the mobile device. The frame can then be transmitted to the mobile device and be redisplayed on the mobile device. The redisplayed frame includes visible symbols pointing to displayed items associated with advertising messages. The frame can also be stored in a photograph folder for the user to view the frame and associated advertising messages in a later time.

A method and apparatus for extracting advertisement keywords in association with situations of scenes of video include: establishing a knowledge database including a classification hierarchy for classifying situations of scenes of video and an advertisement keyword list, segmenting a video script corresponding to a received video in units of scenes, and determining a situation corresponding to each scene with reference to the knowledge database, and extracting an advertisement keyword corresponding to the situation of a scene of the received video with reference to the knowledge database.

A method for optimized launch of a vehicle is provided wherein a driveline of the vehicle at least includes an engine, an automatic transmission, a system for exhaust gas recirculation, which are controlled by a driveline management system, wherein the management system is able to determine the mass of the vehicle, and whereby a launching gear of the transmission is calculated dependent at least on the determined mass of the vehicle, whereby a launching gear is chosen dependent of the power loss caused by the EGR and wherein the power loss caused by the EGR is determined, the available power to launch the vehicle is determined, and the launching gear is recalculated dependent of the available power, and selecting said recalculated launching gear before launch of the vehicle, launch the vehicle with the recalculated launching gear.

The invention discloses a combined preparation containing IL-10 and rapamycin, able to induce immunosuppression and antigen-specific immune tolerance, and the use thereof in the treatment of diseases involving an excessive, dysfunctional or uncontrolled immune responses mediated by T cells.

A magnetic storage medium is formed of magnetic nanoparticles that are encapsulated within nanotubes (e.g., carbon nanotubes).

A secret stream of bits begins by receiving a public random stream contained in a wireless communication signal at a transmit/receive unit. The public random stream is sampled and specific bits are extracted according to a shared common secret. These extracted bits are used to create a longer secret stream. The shared common secret may be generated using JRNSO techniques, or provided to the transmit/receive units prior to the communication session. Alternatively, one of the transmit/receive unit is assumed to be more powerful than any potential eavesdropper. In this situation, the powerful transmit/receive unit may broadcast and store a public random stream. The weaker transmit/receive unit selects select random bits of the broadcast for creating a key. The weaker transmit/receive unit sends the powerful transmit/receive unit the selected bit numbers, and powerful transmit/receive unit uses the random numbers to produce the key created by the weaker transmit/receive unit.

Methods and apparatuses for presenting targeted advertisements to DVR users are described. After a DVR has finished playing a recorded television program, or in response to other specified events, the DVR presents a screen which comprises a “save or delete” menu. In addition to the “save” and “delete” options, the menu additionally comprises one or more other options. Each of these other options may correspond to a separate promotional item. For example, a user's selection of such an option may cause the DVR to display or play an advertisement on the user's television set. Additionally or alternatively, these other options, when selected by a user, may cause the DVR to display a user interface through which the user can actually purchase a product or service. The product or service advertised or offered may be one that was featured or referenced in the television program that the user was just watching.

A five axis vise includes two separated vise body portions that are supported on a machine tool table or other support that fixes the vise body portions in position. The vise body portions have jaws spaced up from the machine tool table sufficiently to permit machining five surfaces of a work piece held in the jaws. A vise screw is rotatably mounted in one of the vise body portions, and extends to the other vise body portion to actuate a movable jaw on the other vise body portion. The vise screw is threaded into a jaw nut that has a drive surface that engages and drives a driven surface on the movable jaw, with the drive and driven surfaces being inclined relative to the axis of force application to provide a downward force component on the movable jaw as it is tightened. The vise screw is an assembly of a threaded shank or shaft and a hub that is rotatably mounted in one of the body portions, with the threaded shank or shaft being locked in position in the hub.

A work orienting plate or angled vise parallel for use with a machine vise and which angled plate has first, second and third reference edges with the second and third reference edges being spaced apart side edges that are perpendicular to the first edge. Angled work piece support edges join the second and third reference edges, respectively. The angled work piece support edges are at different angles from one another so that a work piece can be supported on any one of the edges relative to a reference surface of a vise on which the work orienting plate is mounted to position the work piece at selected angles for machining angled surfaces.

A driver performance mapping system for a vehicle system is disclosed. The system may include a GPS receiver generating GPS data indicative of a current location of the vehicle. In addition, the system may also have a radar device generating current gap data indicative of a current gap distance from the vehicle to a lead vehicle. Further, the system may include an electronic controller configured to generate learned gap data based on the current gap data and stored gap data, and then assign the learned gap data with the GPS data.

Disclosed are polyvalent macromolecules, compositions comprising the macromolecules, and methods of use. The polyvalent macromolecules have a polymer backbone and pendent groups attached to the polymer backbone. Some or all of the pendent groups have optionally a linker, a surface-seeking group capable of binding strongly to a metal surface, and a spectroscopically detectable chromophore detectable.

A pancreatic disease is tested for with high sensitivity even with simple equipment and a simple procedure. Provided is a method of detecting pancreatic disease including detecting a concentration of S100P in at least one of a pancreatic juice and a body fluid containing pancreatic juice collected from a test subject by immunochromatography. Additionally provided is a pancreas testing kit including an immunochromatography device that holds an anti-S100P antibody and a collection vessel that retains a protease inhibitor that inhibits an activity of a protease contained in the pancreatic juice.

An enhanced negative resistance voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) circuit is provided, in which a parallel connection of a capacitor and a resistor configured to provide frequency-dependent transconductance is present across source nodes of a first pair of field effect transistors in which gate nodes and drain nodes are cross-coupled. The source nodes of the first pair of field effect transistors are electrically shorted to drain nodes of a second pair of field effect transistors of which the gate nodes are electrically shorted to the gate nodes of the first pair of field effect transistors. The parallel connection of the capacitor and the resistor includes a parallel connection of a capacitor and a resistor such that the net transconductance of the first pair of field effect transistors is less at low frequencies where thermal noise and flicker noise are dominant part of the phase noise than at the operational frequency range.

The present invention relates to a composition useful for the diagnosis of diseases associated with aberrant expression of the genes encoding the secreted proteins Futrin 1, 2, 3 and/or 4(=R-Spondin 2, 3, 1 and 4, respectively), e.g. in connection with tumors or diseases of the muscle, kidneys or bones. The present invention also relates to a pharmaceutical composition containing a compound which is capable of modifying (a) the expression of the gene encoding Futrin 1, 2, 3 and/or 4 or (b) the activity of the Futrin 1, 2, 3 and/or 4 protein.

A stylish ready-to-assemble chaise lounge and sofa which may be easily and quickly assembled by a consumer, is provided. The invention is a kit from which either a stylish chaise lounge or a sofa may be easily assembled by a consumer using a single Allen wrench. The kits, both chaise and sofa, comprise a seat base, a long side seatback and a short side seatback, feet, fasteners and cushions. With regard to the chaise, the long and short side chaise seatbacks have rectangular lower portions with upper portions featuring a flowing curved “waterfall” seating surface which improves the comfort of a user leaning back against the seatback.

A print shop consolidation system including a print shop consolidation management system with an application is provided. The application is used to (1) evaluate, with a set of information, an operational capacity of a first print shop to process both a first group of print jobs and a second group of print jobs, (2) evaluate, with the set of information, an operational capacity of the second print shop to process both the first and second groups of print jobs, and (3) use the evaluations of (1) and (2) to consolidate processing of the first and second groups of print jobs at one of first and second print shops.

A method and apparatus for repairing and/or reinforcing a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) jet pump riser pipe. The repair includes attaching two collars to the riser pipe using match drilling to drill holes through the collars and the riser pipe and plugging the holes with expandable plugs. Support columns are attached to the collars. Brace supports are slideably attached to the support columns. Gaps between each brace support and its respective collar are then narrowed as ratchet bolts may apply a force that pulls downward on an upper collar and pulls upward on a lower collar, thereby exerting a compression force on the riser pipe. A clamp assembly may also be located between the two collars that applies a hoop force on the riser pipe.

A system and method for reading a bar code are disclosed which may include transmitting light pulsed at a selected frequency to illuminate the bar code; converting light received at the bar code reader from the bar code into an electrical signal; transmitting the electrical signal through a signal conditioning circuit to filter and amplify the electrical signal, to thereby provide a conditioned electrical signal; sampling the conditioned electrical signal at the selected frequency; removing energy due to light scattering within a housing of the bar code reader from the sampled, conditioned electrical signal; generating one of a logical “1” and a logical “0” output based on a value of the signal generated by the step of removing; and resolving output from the step of generating into data indicative of information on the bar code.

A system and method is provided for estimating the local noise of CT images and denoising the images using a modified non-local means (NLM) algorithm that is adaptive to local variations of noise levels. A strategy for efficiently estimating the local noise of CT images is also described.

A noninvasive, quantitative imaging technique is presented for detecting and diagnosing liver disease, such as cirrhosis. The technique includes: capturing scan data from a subject using computed tomography or another type of imaging method and extracting image data representing the liver from the scan data. Various measures of the liver may be obtained from image data and then used to compute random variables of a statistical model, where the model is predictive of a medical condition of the liver and comprised of random variables that are indicative of at least one of a shape or texture of the liver. Output from the statistical model provides an indication of an undesirable condition of the liver.

A method for selectively applying a reflectance modifying agent (RMA) to an area of skin, the method comprising receiving an image of the area of skin, identifying, using the image, a nominated point within the area of skin, determining an actual reflectance of the nominated point, applying an edge protection technique based on the image to generate one or more outputs, determining a desired reflectance of the nominated point based on the one or more outputs, calculating an amount of RMA to be applied based on the output, and determining whether to apply the RMA to the area of skin based on the amount of RMA.

Various embodiments associated with an at least fourth-order cumulant of a signal are described. The at least fourth-order noise-insensitive cumulant of the signal can be taken and compared against an at least fourth-order noise-insensitive cumulant of known signals. A match can be found between the signal and a known signal and from this match, a demodulation scheme of the signal can be determined. The demodulation scheme can be used to demodulate the signal.

A coupling device for use in a hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) network may be configured to disable an upstream path through it when there is only noise incident on the upstream path, and enable the upstream path through it when a desired transmission from a cable modem downstream of the coupling device is incident on the upstream path. The coupling device may be a trunk amplifier, a distribution amplifier, a splitter, or the like. The coupling device may comprise a single upstream interface coupled to a plurality of downstream interfaces. The enabling and/or disabling may be in response to a signal strength indicated by the SSI being below a threshold and/or in response to one or more control messages indicating whether any downstream cable modem is, or will be, transmitting.

The present invention discloses a filter for removing noise, which includes: a lower magnetic substrate; a coil layer disposed on the lower magnetic substrate and including at least one conductor pattern and an insulating layer covering the conductor pattern; an upper magnetic substrate disposed on the coil layer; and a magnetic permeability enhancing layer disposed on the magnetic substrate with lower magnetic permeability of the lower magnetic substrate and the upper magnetic substrate. According to the present invention, it is possible to implement a filter for removing noise with high performance, characteristics, and reliability by increasing magnetic permeability to improve impedance characteristics and improving an effect of shielding electromagnetic waves such as jamming.

A de-noise circuit and a de-noise method for differential signals and a chip for receiving differential signals are provided. The de-noise circuit includes a filter and a register. Both the filter and the register are disposed in the chip. The chip receives a differential signal through a first input terminal and a second input terminal. The filter is coupled between the first input terminal and the second input terminal of the chip. The filter filters out noises in the differential signal. The filter includes at least one filter unit. Each filter unit has at least one resistance value or at least one capacitance value. The register is coupled to the filter. The register receives and stores a control value. The register controls the resistance value or the capacitance value of at least one of the filter units based on the control value.

Disclosed is a system for transferring electric energy to a vehicle, in particular to a track bound vehicle such as a light rail vehicle. The system includes an electric conductor arrangement for producing an alternating electromagnetic field and for thereby transferring the energy to the vehicle. The electric conductor arrangement includes at least one alternating current line. Each alternating current line carries one phase of an alternating electric current. The conductor arrangement includes a plurality of consecutive segments. The segments extend along the path of travel of the, vehicle. Each segment includes one section of each of the at least one alternating current line.

An animal defensive barrier device comprising a hand-grip portion having end caps; a strap connected to the hand-grip through one of the end caps; a loop portion distal at one end of the hand-grip and a loop portion distal from the first loop end; a plurality of knots between the hand-grip and the distal loop portion; and a plurality of sleeves on the strap between the hand-grip portion and the distal loop portion.

A battery operated hand held device for use in handling or controlling livestock, particularly cattle, swine, sheep and horses. This invention provides a novel alternative to conventional electric livestock prods, which deliver an electric shock to the animal. While operating on the principle of external stimulus to invoke a flight response, this invention relies on vibration and/or sound rather than painful electric shock. This unique mode of action satisfies the needs in the livestock industry for low stress handling equipment and techniques with the welfare of the animal as a priority.

A modulator generates a baseband digital signal from an information-bearing digital signal. The baseband signal has time-varying phase and amplitude defined by a sequence of complex data words, each having an in-phase (I) component and a quadrature (Q) component. A noise-shaping modulator generates a noise-shaped digital signal from the baseband digital signal such that quantization noise in the noise-shaping modulator is attenuated by a spectral null of its noise transfer function. The spectral null is selected by a noise-shaping parameter corresponding to a selected one of a plurality of output frequencies. A signal converter generates an analog signal conveying the information of the information-bearing digital signal on an analog carrier signal having the selected output frequency.

A marine riser includes one or more buoyancy modules running along a length of the marine riser, wherein the one or more buoyancy modules are molded such that an umbilical may be secured along a length of the one or more buoyancy modules.

A tensioning apparatus for applying a substantially constant tension to a workover riser (12) includes a first portion (40) adapted to be coupled to a workover riser, a second portion (44) adapted to be coupled to a marine riser (14) and tensioning means (46) for providing relative movement between the first portion and the second portion to, in use, tension the workover riser.

A method and a device for enabling the use of riserless drilling fluid recovery from a seabed-based borehole (1) which is to be drilled by means of a casing (26), the casing (26) being provided with a drill bit (28) at its lower portion and with an inner wellhead (30) at its upper portion, and there being a conductor casing (6), which has an outer wellhead (8), in the seabed (2), the method including: —providing a suction module (12) with a dividable adapter (16) which fits complementarily in the outer wellhead (8); —drilling a length of the borehole (1) by means of the casing (26) extending through the suction module (12), while, at the same time, drilling fluid is flowing via the suction module (12) from the borehole (1); —subsequently pulling the adapter (16) up from the outer wellhead (8) and dividing the adapter (16); and—lowering the casing (26) with the inner wellhead (30) through the suction module (12) and the adapter (16) to its position in the outer wellhead (8).

The present invention relates to a three dimensionally fiber-reinforced riser and to the unitary or single-step methods of making the same. In one embodiment (a cross bow riser for example), the riser has an interior support with opposed side members and a front brace. The front brace has a depression centrally located therein. Two side ribs are also provided for structural support. Two pockets each optionally having a divider wall defining a top and bottom section are provided for receiving respective top and bottom pieces of a split limb, when a split limb is used. The riser can be made of a composite material having fibers aligned there within in the directions of the highest stresses for enhancing the structural strength of the riser. Other bow parts or components can likewise be made via composite material as well.

An aircraft nacelle including a pipe (32), a peripheral wall (34), a lip (36), and a front frame (38) connecting the peripheral wall (34) and the pipe (32) and forming with the lip (36) a space (50) in which the hot air that is provided for frost treatment can circulate, with the pipe (32) including a coating (44) for the composite material acoustic treatment, is characterized in that the nacelle includes at least one element (52) made of a heat-conducting material inserted between the lip (36) and the pipe (32) ensuring the continuity of the aerodynamic surfaces of the lip (36) and the pipe (32) and the propagation of heat from the space (50) toward the rear of the nacelle, whereby the at least one element (52) includes a coating (54) for acoustic treatment that is made of a heat-resistant material.

A method and apparatus for pyrolytic destruction of polymer products including whole vehicle vulcanised rubber tires is disclosed. The apparatus 111 has a reaction chamber 153 into which a tire can be placed, and immersed for pyrolytic decomposition in a molten alloy of zinc with a minor proportion of aluminium. The apparatus 111 has a heated reservoir 155 in which the alloy is maintained in a molten state, and from where it can be transferred to the reaction chamber 153 to immerse the tire. Fluid hydrocarbon byproducts are drawn off for condensation and recovery, and solid zinc sulphides are also recovered. Where steel belted tires are processed, carbon and steel residues are also recovered.

The disclosure provides a frequency synthesizer. It includes a PFD that generates an up signal and a down signal in response to a reference signal and a feedback signal. A charge pump generates a control voltage in response to the up signal and the down signal. A low pass filter generates a filtered voltage in response to the control voltage. An oscillator circuit generates an output signal in response to the filtered voltage. A feedback divider is coupled between the oscillator circuit and the PFD, and divides the output signal by a first integer divider to generate the feedback signal. A sigma delta modulator (SDM) generates a second integer divider in response to the feedback signal, the reference signal, the output signal and the first integer divider. A digital filter is coupled between the SDM and the feedback divider, and filters quantization noise associated with the SDM.

An apparatus for motion compensated noise reduction for input images is provided. The motion estimation and motion compensation circuit performs a motion estimation operation and a motion compensation operation on a current image and a previous image to obtain a first patch. The block matching operation circuit performs a block matching operation on the current image and the previous image to obtain a second patch. The motion detection circuit performs a motion detection operation on a target patch according to the first patch and the second patch to output a set of third patches. The current image includes the target patch. The noise reduction circuit performs a noise reduction operation on the set of third patches according to a threshold curve, so as to generate the target patch that the noise is reduced. A method for motion compensated noise reduction for input images is also provided.

A gas turbine engine has a fan section including a fan. A turbine section has a first turbine and a second turbine. A gear reduction between the fan and the first turbine includes an epicycle gear train. The gear reduction is configured to receive an input from the first turbine and to turn the fan at a lower speed than the first turbine in operation. The first turbine further includes a number of turbine blades in each of a plurality of rows of the first turbine. The first turbine blades operate at least some of the time at a rotational speed. The number of blades and the rotational speed is such that the following formula holds true for at least one of the blade rows of the first turbine: (number of blades×speed)/60≧5500. A turbine section is also disclosed.

A protective riser guide for scissors is provided in the present disclosure. In certain embodiments, the protective riser guide is integrally formed with an arm of a pair of scissors. In other embodiments, the protective riser guide is removably attached to the exterior surface of a scissor arm. Preferably, the protective riser guide is in the shape of an arc extending away from the interior surface of the arm if the guide is integrally formed with the arm, or from the exterior surface if the guide is removably attached to the exterior surface. Due to the shape and position of the protective riser guide on the arm of a pair of scissors in certain embodiments, the protective riser guide is ergonomic and increases the safety of the operator of the scissors without interfering with the operator's cutting techniques.

A hair clipper has a base structural housing with a blade set operably secured thereto. The blade set has a stationary blade and a reciprocating blade. The base has at least one support for a rotary motor. A flexible motor vibration and noise damper fits over half of the motor, and a motor cover is secured to the base structural housing over the vibration damper. A secondary housing cover is secured to the base structural housing over the motor cover.

A condensate collector system includes a condensate collector box having at least one condensate outlet port, and a condensate trap fluidly connected to the at least one condensate outlet port. The condensate trap is configured and disposed to be selectively positioned in multiple drain orientations relative to the condensate collector box to accommodate multiple installation configurations of the multi-poise gas furnace.

A method and system to detect an improvised explosive device is disclosed. In a particular embodiment, the method includes dispersing a mixture containing a fluorescent material uniformly over a ground cover, illuminating the ground cover with wavelengths of visible light or ultraviolet (UV) light causing the fluorescent material to fluoresce in a visible light spectrum, and detecting where the mixture has been disturbed on the ground cover by visually observing inconsistencies in the fluorescent material on the ground cover that is fluorescing to indicate a location of the improvised explosive device. The method also includes that the mixture is adapted to cling to a person, clothes, or any combination thereof, upon contact.

Towel tags to permit minimizing the use of water and detergent during washing and minimizing wear and tear of towels, the spread of germs and diseases between towel users, and minimizing the use of energy, and saving money. The abstract of the disclosure is submitted herewith as required by 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b). As stated in 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b): A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification must commence on a separate sheet, preferably following the claims, under the heading “Abstract of the Disclosure.” The purpose of the abstract is to enable the Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. Any statements made relating to the abstract are not intended to limit the claims in any manner and should not be interpreted as limiting the claims in any manner.

A display ad system for door handles may include electronics that provide multisensory stimuli. In one embodiment, an end cap includes light and sound triggered by a motion detector. In another embodiment, an end cap includes fan-directed aromas triggered by a motion detector. In a third embodiment, a flexible grid of LED lights backlights the display ad in any time sequence desired, and may be motion-triggered as well. A door handle embodiment may also provide a note board surface as an alternative to showing display ads.

A domestic appliance includes at least one component having a surface that can become laden with organic dirt. The surface includes a photocatalyst and is made from a primary-formed first material in which the photocatalyst is dispersed. A photoradiation source is provided for irradiating the photocatalyst with an activating electromagnetic radiation.