The disclosed device enables the recording of television broadcasts which are preprogrammed in a memory. The presence of data lines of the television signal in combination with the presence of a color television signal is checked. When the data lines stop, the video recorder is switched on in real time by a clock time signal.

A watch case back opener is provided having a base. A vise is rotatably mounted on the base for securing a watch case to the base. The vise includes a first jaw and a second jaw movable between an open and closed position. Holes are formed in the jaw. They are adapted to receive a plurality of posts to secure a plurality of different sized and shaped watch cases to the vise. An opener unit including an opening blade is mounted on the base for separating a watch case back from the watch case by twisting the lever relative to the base and then lifting the blade relative to the base.

A radio paging selective receiver determines that a received message is unread based on the time difference between the message reception time and the current time being larger that some predetermined value of time, and the paging selective receiver provides an indication of the unread message by displaying the reception time of the unread message in a second fashion which is visibly different from a first fashion normally used to display the current time.

A first circuit having a first coil electrically charges a second circuit having a second coil through electromagnetic coupling of the two coils. When data signals are to be transferred between the first and second circuits, signal transfer is started only after the second circuit has been charged for a predetermined period of time. The position relationship between the coils is also detected, and a charging/transfer selector changes a duty ratio between charge transfer and data transfer in accordance with the detected result. The charge is transferred in an intermittent manner, and the charging rate is adjusted according to the difference between the voltage of a secondary battery observed during a charging phase and the voltage of the secondary battery observed a certain time after interruption of the charging phase, or vice versa.

A tunable resonator is provided that has a high Q for each resonate frequency. The tunable resonator is a MEMs tunable resonator wherein the tuner is affected by moving a moveable mass, associated with the resonating portion of the resonator, form a first position to a second position such that the moveable mass is held in the first position or second position by a detent rather than a constant electromagnet magnetic or electrostatic force applied thereon.

A method, a system and a computer program product for enhancing a cache back invalidation policy by utilizing least recently used (LRU) bits and presence bits in selecting cache-lines for eviction. A cache back invalidation (CBI) utility evicts cache-lines by using presence bits to avoid replacing a cache-line in a lower level cache that is also present in a higher level cache. Furthermore, the CBI utility selects the cache-line for eviction from an LRU group. The CBI utility ensures that dormant cache-lines in the higher level caches do not retain corresponding presence bits set in the lower level caches by unsetting the presence bits in the lower level cache when a line is replaced in the higher level cache. Additionally, when a processor core becomes idle, the CBI utility invalidates the corresponding higher level cache by unsetting the corresponding presence bits in the lower level cache.

An optical backup apparatus is provided and includes an optical storage device, an interface module to connect with at least one type of external storage medium, and a control unit to back up data from the external storage medium to the optical storage device in response to an external remote control operation.

Methods and apparatuses for implementing a system cache with quota-based control. Quotas may be assigned on a group ID basis to each group ID that is assigned to use the system cache. The quota does not reserve space in the system cache, but rather the quota may be used within any way within the system cache. The quota may prevent a given group ID from consuming more than a desired amount of the system cache. Once a group ID's quota has been reached, no additional allocation will be permitted for that group ID. The total amount of allocated quota for all group IDs can exceed the size of system cache, such that the system cache can be oversubscribed. The sticky state can be used to prioritize data retention within the system cache when oversubscription is being used.

Bio-based terephthalic acid (bio-TPA), bio-based dimethyl terephthalate (bio-DMT), and bio-based polyesters, which are produced from a biomass containing a terpene or terpenoid, such as limonene are described, as well as the process of making these products. The bio-based polyesters include poly(alkylene terephthalate)s such as bio-based poly(ethylene terephthalate) (bio-PET), bio-based poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (bio-PTT), bio-based poly(butylene terephthalate) (bio-PBT), and bio-based poly(cyclohexylene dimethyl terephthalate) (bio-PCT).

A carbonylation process for making acetic acid using a metallic co-catalyst composition, effective as a rhodium stabilizer and/or rate promoter, at molar ratios of metal/rhodium of about 0.5 to 40. The process includes reacting methanol with carbon monoxide in the presence of a rhodium-based catalytic metal complex with about 1 to 20 weight percent methyl iodide, less than about 8 weight % water and about 0.5 to about 30 weight percent methyl acetate. The crude acetic acid is flashed and further purified.

An α-amylase from Bacillus subtilis (AmyE) produces significant amounts of glucose from various carbohydrate substrates, including vegetable starch, maltoheptaose, and maltotriose. Among other things, this advantageous property allows AmyE or variants thereof to be used in a saccharification reaction having a reduced or eliminated requirement for glucoamylase. The reduction or elimination of the glucoamylase requirement significantly improves the efficiency of the production of ethanol or high fructose corn syrup, for example.

The present invention generally relates to systems and methods for monitoring and/or providing feedback for drugs or other pharmaceuticals taken by a subject. In one aspect, the present invention is directed to devices and methods for determining a species within the skin of a subject; and producing feedback to a subject based on the determination of the species. The feedback may be, for example, visual, audible, tactile, a change in temperature, etc. In some cases, information regarding the determination of the species may be transmitted to another entity, e.g., a health care provider, a computer, a relative, etc., which may then provide feedback to the subject in some fashion. In some cases, the feedback may be directly indicative of the species, e.g., whether the species is present, the concentration of the species, whether a by-product of a reaction involving the species is present, whether a compound affected by the species is present, etc. However, the feedback may also be indirect in some embodiments. For example, the subject may be presented with an external reward, e.g., based on the determination of the species within the skin. For instance, a reward such as cash, coupons, songs, discounts, personal items, etc., may be offered based on the level of compliance of the subject. Still other aspects of the invention are generally directed to kits involving such devices (with or without the drug to be monitored), methods of promoting such systems, or the like.

A peak-relevant value device acquires a peak-relevant value (for example, the peak value of an R wave (R peak value)) every cycle from an electrocardiogram acquired. The frequencies of the peak-relevant value acquired as time-series data and the magnitudes for the respective frequencies are analyzed. A peak-relevant value LF calculating device calculates an LF component (peak-relevant value LF component) from the frequency component of the peak-relevant value. An interval acquiring device acquires the interval between characteristic points of the electrocardiographic complex from the electrocardiogram acquired and the frequencies of the feature point interval acquired as time-series data to acquire the magnitudes of the respective frequency component are analyzed. An interval HF calculating device calculates the HF component from the frequency components of the feature point interval acquired and pain is judged on the basis of the variations of the peak-relevant value LF components and the interval HF components.

The present invention relates to the discovery of new class of hydrolysable amino acid derivatives and absorbable polyester amides, polyamides, polyepoxides, polyureas and polyurethanes prepared therefrom. The resultant absorbable polymers are useful for drug delivery, tissue engineering, tissue adhesives, adhesion prevention, bone wax formulations, medical device coatings, stents, stent coatings, highly porous foams, reticulated foams, wound care, cardiovascular applications, orthopedic devices, surface modifying agents and other implantable medical devices. In addition, these absorbable polymers should have a controlled degradation profile.

A novel phenylcarbamate compound and a pharmaceutical composition containing the same are provided. More specifically, a novel phenylcarbamate compound, a composition for muscle relaxation containing the phenylcarbamate compound as an active ingredient, and a method of muscle relaxation comprising administering a therapeutically effective amount of the phenylcarbamate compound, are provided.

A method for inhibiting the crystal growth rate of an amide compound present in a molten polyolefin-based resin and a method for producing a polyolefin-based resin molded article are provided. A phenol compound is incorporated into an amide compound-containing polyolefin-based resin such that a weight ratio, amide compound:phenol compound, is 60:40 to 10:90.

A phenyl alkyl carbamate derivative compound and a pharmaceutical composition containing the compound are provided. More specifically, the phenyl alkyl carbamate derivative compound and a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, a composition for muscle relaxation containing the phenyl alkyl carbamate derivative compounds and/or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof as an active ingredient, and a method of muscle relaxation comprising administering a pharmaceutically effective amount of the phenyl alkyl carbamate derivative compound and/or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof to a subject in need of to a subject in need of, are provided.

The present invention relates to norbornene-ester-based derivatives, to a method for preparing same, and to the uses thereof. This compound may be used as a plasticizer which can replace a phthalate-based plasticizer.

The present disclosure discloses a silicon-sulfur polymer, a solid electrolyte comprising the silicon-sulfur polymer, and a corresponding solid-state lithium-ion battery. The silicon-sulfur polymer of the present disclosure is a polymer compound comprising both an inorganic backbone-chain structure and an organic side-chain structure, and has the characteristics of both the organic polymer and the inorganic polymer as well as many unique properties. Therefore, the solid electrolyte formed by the silicon-sulfur polymer and the solid-state lithium-ion battery thereof have many good characteristics including a good lithium-ion-conduction capability, better thermal endurance, a wider range of operating temperatures, and better thermostability.

A combination of a substrate selected from silicon, silicon carbide or a metal and a grapheme precursor having the following properties: (a) an aromatic structure that forms the basis of the graphene structure, said aromatic structure being selected from the group consisting of: benzene, naphthalene, pyrene, anthracene, chrysene, coronene, and phenanthrene, or a cyclic or acyclic structures which can be converted to aromatic structures and (b) functional groups that can react with each other to form additional aromatic structures.

A method for forming a cobalt-containing thin film by a vapor deposition process is provided. The method comprises using at least one precursor corresponding in structure to Formula (I); wherein R1 and R2 are independently C2-C8-alkyl; x is zero, 1 or 2; and y is zero or 1; wherein both x and y can not be zero simultaneously.

There is intended to provide the novel compounds which generate a base easily when irradiated with long wavelength light (active energy rays), a photobase generator containing the compounds and a photobase generation method, and the present invention relates to the compounds represented by the general formula [1], a photobase generator containing the compounds and a photobase generation method: (wherein, Ar represents any of groups with specific structures selected from the group consisting of an anthracenyl group, an anthraquinonyl group and a pyrenyl group; R1 and R2 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a linear, branched or cyclic alkyl group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms, or represent ones which can form an alicyclic ring containing nitrogen atom(s) or an aromatic ring containing nitrogen atom(s) together with a nitrogen atom to which they are bound, which the rings having 3 to 8 carbon atoms which may have a substituent, R3 and R4 each independently represent a hydrogen atom, a linear, branched or acyclic alkyl group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms).

Aqueous glyphosate formulations comprising a surfactant derived from metathesized natural oil feedstocks are disclosed. The formulations comprise a glyphosate salt, water, and a surfactant derived from a metathesis-derived C10-C17 monounsaturated acid, octadecene-1,18-dioic acid, or their ester derivatives. The surfactant is selected from C10 or C12 amine oxides, C10 or C12 quats, C10, C12, or C16 amidoamines, C10 or C12 amidoamine oxides, C10 imidazoline quats, C10 or C12 amidoamine quats, C10, C12, or C16 betaines, C16 amidoamine betaines, C18 diamidoamines, C18 diamidoamine oxides, C18 diamidoamine diquats, C18 diamidoamine oxide quats, C18 diamidoamine oxide betaines, Cis diamidoamine monobetaines, C18 diamidoamine monobetaine quats, C18 ester amidoamine quats, and amidoamines and their oxidized or quaternized derivatives made from self- or cross-metathesized palm or soybean oil. The surfactants noted above impart substantial stability to highly concentrated glyphosate formulations at, above, and below room temperature and perform as well or better than commercial alternatives.

Compositions and methods, including novel homogeneous microparticulate suspensions, are described for treating natural surfaces that contain bacterial biofilm, including unexpected synergy or enhancing effects between bismuth-thiol (BT) compounds and certain antibiotics, to provide formulations including antiseptic formulations. Previously unpredicted antibacterial properties and anti-biofilm properties of disclosed BT compounds and BT compound-plus-antibiotic combinations are also described, including preferential efficacies of certain such compositions for treating certain gram-positive bacterial infections, and distinct preferential efficacies of certain such compositions for treating certain gram-negative bacterial infections.

An inhibitor for tobacco axillary bud growth, the inhibitor containing one or more cell division inhibitors selected from pyridine-based compounds and benzamide-based compounds. This inhibitor may further include an aliphatic alcohol having 6 to 20 carbon atoms in combination with the one or more cell division inhibitors.

The present invention relates to a model based positioning system that includes a positioning device having at least one transmitter configured to be in a tracking environment, e.g. inserted into a body, a receiver having a plurality of receiver elements arranged outside the tracking environment, a control unit configured to measure amplitude and/or phase information of a signal transmitted from the at least one transmitter and received at each receiving element, and a memory unit M for storing a model for each receiving element. The control unit is also configured to estimate the position P of the positioning device by comparing the model for each receiving element with the measured received signal for each receiving element.

A battery degradation determination device includes a fitting module configured to fit AC impedance measurement data into an equivalent circuit model including at least one circuit block in which a resistance and a constant phase element are connected in parallel, and to obtain circuit constants in the equivalent circuit model, a P-value saving module configured to save P values being index of the constant phase element obtained by fitting AC impedance measurement data of a reference battery to the equivalent circuit model, and a degradation determination module configured to perform degradation determination for a battery as a determination target based on circuit constants obtained by fitting AC impedance measurement data of the battery as a determination target to the equivalent circuit model with the use of the P values as fixed values, with reference to correlations between degrees of battery degradation and the circuit constants in the equivalent circuit model.

An asset health monitoring system (AHMS) can assign a confidence indicator to some or all the services of a computing service provider. In response to drops in the confidence indicators, the AHMS can automatically initiate testing of services and/or computing assets associated with the services in order to raise confidence that a particular service and its computing assets will perform correctly. Further, the AHMS can automatically initiate remediation procedures for the particular service and/or specific computing assets that fail the confidence testing. By automatically triggering testing and/or remediation procedures, the AHMS can increase reliability of the computing service provider by preemptively identifying problems.

The present invention relates to a polymerization-curable composition for the preparation of biodegradable, biocompatible, cross-linked polymers on the basis of polyvinyl alcohol comprising: 5 to 100% by weight of (a) vinyl ester monomer(s) of one of the general formulas (I) to (III): wherein X is oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen, or phosphorus; n is 1 to 1000, at least 20% of the n being ≧2; the R1 are selected from hydrogen; straight, branched or cyclic, saturated or unsaturated, n-valent hydrocarbon groups having 1 to 30 carbon atoms, which optionally have heteroatoms and are optionally substituted with one or more substituents selected from —OH, —COON, —CN, —CHO, and ═O, and n-valent radicals of biodegradable, biocompatible oligomers and polymers; m is an integer from 1 to 5; the R2 are selected from hydrogen, —OH, ═O, and the options listed for R1; and the R3 are selected from hydrogen, —OH, and the options listed for R1; 0 to 50% by weight of ethylenically unsaturated co-monomers; 0 to 10% by weight of (a) polymerization initiator(s); and 0 to 95% by weight of solvent(s).

The present invention relates to the use of polymeric photoinitiators based on polyalkyletherurethane backbones in the production of hydrophilic gels, in particular hydrogels. The invention relates to methods for manufacturing hydrophilic gels using said polymeric photoinitiators, and the hydrophilic gels thus obtained.

The invention relates to a dental material which comprises a polymerizable bisphosphonic acid of Formula I: The invention also relates to the use of a polymerizable bisphosphonic acid of Formula I for the preparation of a dental material and in particular for the preparation of an adhesive, cement or composite.

The present invention provides a method and apparatus to identify at least one component from a plurality of components in a fluid mixture, the apparatus including a first input channel into which a first flow containing a plurality of components is introduced; a plurality of buffer input channels, into which additional flows of buffer solution are introduced, disposed on either side of the first input channel; wherein the first flow and the additional flows have a flow direction along a length of the apparatus; a detector apparatus which detects and identifies selected components of the plurality of components; a laser which emits a laser beam which damages or kills selected components of the plurality of components; and at least one channel disposed at the another end of the apparatus which is adapted to receive the first flow and the additional flows after operation of the laser on the selected components.

A centrifuge includes a rotor configured to receive sample containers; a drive shaft operatively coupled to the rotor; and a motor. The motor includes a housing; a plurality of substantially parallel fins integral with the housing, each fin having a free end spaced from the housing, wherein the free ends of the plurality of fins are disposed in a common cylindrical plane; and a plurality of substantially parallel grooves, each groove disposed between a pair of adjacent fins and having a groove depth defined by a distance between the common cylindrical plane and the housing. Wherein the plurality of grooves includes a first multitude of grooves having a common groove depth and a second multitude of grooves having a groove depth that is not the same as the common groove depth, wherein the first and second multitude of grooves are interleaved.

An apparatus and method to identify at least one component from a plurality of components in a fluid mixture, includes a first input channel containing the fluid mixture of components; at least one buffer input channel, into which at least one additional flow of buffer solution is introduced; a plurality of regions disposed at the other end of the apparatus, which are adapted to receive outputs of at least one selected component of the plurality of components, the selected component which is selectively removed from the first flow to one of the regions; a waste channel through which unselected components are removed from the first flow; a plurality of pumps connected to at least one reservoir, to control flow rates of the first flow and the additional flow(s); and a computer which controls a selection of one of the plurality of components from the fluid mixture.

The present invention provides heat-sensitive coating compositions, which comprise a color developer of formula (1) or mixtures thereof wherein R1 can be hydrogen, C1-20-alkyl, C3-8-cycloalkyl, C2-10-alkenyl, aryl or SO3H, and R2 and R3 can be the same or different and can be hydrogen, halogen, C1-20-alkyl, C3-8-cyclo-alkyl, C2-10-alkenyl, aryl, OR6, NR7R8, SR9, SO3H or COOR10 and R4 and R5 can be the same or different, and can be hydrogen, halogen, C1-20-alkyl, C3-8-cyclo-alkyl, C2-10-alkenyl, aryl, OR6, NR7R8 or SR9, R6, R7, R8, R9 and R10 can be the same or different and can be hydrogen, C1-30-alkyl, C3-8-cycloalkyl, C2-10-alkenyl or aryl, wherein C1-20-alkyl can be unsubstituted or substituted with one or more C3-8-cycloalkyl, C2-10-alkenyl, phenyl, halogen, OR11, NR12R13, SR14, SO3H or COOR15, and aryl can be unsubstituted or substituted with one or more halogen, C1-10-alkyl, halogenated C1-10-alkyl, C3-8-cycloalkyl C2-10-alkenyl, phenyl, OR11, NR12R13, SR14, SO3H or COOR15, wherein R11, R12, R13, R14 and R15 can be the same or different and can be hydrogen, C1-10-alkyl, C3-8-cycloalkyl or C2-10-alkenyl, a process for the preparation of these compositions, a process of coating substrates with these compositions, substrates coated with these compositions, a process for preparing marked substrates using these compositions, marked substrates obtainable by the latter process, and certain color developers.

A vinyl chloride-based resin latex which froths little when unreacted monomer remaining in the latex are recovered under heat and reduced-pressure conditions, and a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet which has satisfactory water resistance, does not yellow during storage, and gives images having excellent durability and light resistance. The invention provides a vinyl chloride-based resin latex contains a copolymer containing a vinyl chloride and an epoxy-group-containing vinyl or contains vinyl chloride, an epoxy-group-containing vinyl, and a carboxylic acid vinyl ester, wherein a content of the epoxy-group-containing vinyl is 0.1% by weight or more but less than 3% by weight, and wherein the latex contains no surfactant, and has a solid concentration of 25% by weight or more; a process for producing the latex; and a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet obtained using the latex.

The invention relates to a catalyst and process for making syngas mixtures including hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The process comprises contacting a gaseous feed mixture containing carbon dioxide and hydrogen with the catalyst, where the catalyst comprises Mn oxide and an auxiliary metal oxide selected from the group consisting of La, Ca, K, W, Cu, Al and mixtures or combinations thereof. The process enables hydrogenation of carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide with high selectivity, and good catalyst stability over time and under variations in processing conditions. The process can be applied separately, but can also be integrated with other processes, both up-stream and/or down-stream including methane reforming or other synthesis processes for making products like alkanes, aldehydes, or alcohols.

Methods are provided herein for: calculating cell growth rates in various environments and genetic backgrounds; calculating the order of substrate utilization from a defined growth medium; calculating metabolic flux reorganization in various environments and at various growth rates; and calculating the maximum metabolic rate and optimal metabolite concentrations and enzyme activities by applying a computational optimization method to a kinetic model of a metabolic pathway. The optimization methods use intracellular molecular crowding parameters and/or well as kinetic rates to assist in modeling metabolic activity.

A proposed feature vector for a first deign is received and an existing feature vector for an existing design is retrieved for a given task. The proposed design is evaluated against the existing design using task-based scores associated with each design and based on their performances for the given task.

A method is disclosed for curing ink printed images on golf balls by printing an image onto a golf ball and exposing the printed image to infrared radiation, then exposing the printed image to ultraviolet radiation.

An intracorporeal autonomous active medical device having a capsule body and a base. The capsule body includes a body portion and a lid portion, and the capsule body contains therein electronic circuitry containing the active elements of the autonomous medical device, and a power supply. The capsule body also includes a fastening system on an exterior surface of the capsule body that is configured to correspond with a fastening mechanism on the base configured to be anchored to a tissue wall. The fastening mechanism provides selective engagement between the capsule body and the base.

The portable, wearable, proximal Alzheimer's disease treatment invention is based upon creating an RF field of particular frequencies and intensities that are applied to the patient's head. To accomplish the aforementioned disease treatment functionality, a system was invented comprising a network of antennas connected to an RF generator via a feedline connector. The invention also provides methods for using measurements to monitor and manage the effectiveness of an ongoing disease treatment regimen, and databases which contain information about measurements, variables, and their relationships to clinical outcome.

Cells that are in the process division are vulnerable to damage by AC electric fields that have specific frequency and field strength characteristics. The selective destruction of rapidly dividing cells can therefore be accomplished by imposing an AC electric field in a target region for extended periods of time at particular frequencies with particular filed strengths. Some of the cells that divide while the field is applied will be damaged, but the cells that do not divide will not be harmed. This selectively damages rapidly dividing cells like bacteria, but does not harm normal cells that are not dividing. Since the vulnerability of the dividing cells is strongly related to the alignment between the long axis of the dividing cells and the lines of force of the electric field, improved results can be obtained when the field is sequentially imposed in different directions.

A hermetic terminal for an active implantable medical device (AIMD), includes an RF distance telemetry pin antenna, a capacitor conductively coupled between the antenna and a ground for the AIMD, and an inductor electrically disposed in parallel with the capacitor and conductively coupled between the antenna and a ground for the AIMD. The capacitor and the inductor form a band pass filter for attenuating electromagnetic signals through the antenna except at a selected frequency band. Values of capacitance and inductance are selected such that the band pass filter is resonant at the selected frequency band. In an alternative form, the band pass filter is coupled in series with the telemetry pin antenna for attenuating MRI signals of a selected frequency band.

A liquefier assembly for use in an extrusion-based additive manufacturing system, the liquefier assembly comprising a downstream portion having a first average inner cross-sectional area, and an upstream having a second average inner cross-sectional area that is less than the first inner cross-sectional area, the upstream portion defining a shoulder configured to restrict movement of a melt meniscus of a consumable material.

A method for manufacturing a ceramic honeycomb structure includes kneading titania particles, alumina particles and a binder ingredient such that raw material paste including the titania particles, alumina particles and binder ingredient is prepared, forming a body made of the raw material paste and having a honeycomb structure such that the body has the honeycomb structure having multiple through-holes extending in the longitudinal direction of the body and multiple partition portions formed between the through-holes, applying sealant composition including aluminum hydroxide particles, talc particles, kaolin particles, water and organic binder to either end of each through-hole of the body in the longitudinal direction such that the honeycomb structure of the body has each through-hole sealed at one end, and sintering the body made of the raw material paste and having the honeycomb structure sealed by the sealant composition such that a ceramic body having the honeycomb structure is formed.

Integrated polymeric-ceramic membrane-based oxy-fuel combustor. The combustor includes a polymer membrane structure for receiving air at an input and for delivering oxygen-enriched air at an outlet. An oxygen transport reactor including a ceramic ion transport membrane receives the oxygen-enriched air from the polymer membrane structure to generate oxygen for combustion with a fuel introduced into the oxygen transport reactor.

A pedal mechanism for a bass drum, including a pivoted primary platform connected to a beater ball so that, when the primary platform is depressed, the beater ball moves to contact a drum; and a resiliently mounted secondary platform in operative contact with the primary platform, the arrangement being such that, in use, the toe of the drummer depresses the primary platform directly and the heel of the drummer depresses the primary platform through the secondary platform.

A variable control device accessory for a music synthesizer having a horizontally disposed keyboard. The device is positioned in front of the keyboard. It has a plurality of movable bars, at least of one of which is capable of being pivotally and slidably moved by the wrist of a player while all the others are only slidable. The bars modulate selected light beams focussed on light responsive mechanisms to produce variably dependent analog signals as inputs to the music synthesizer.

Described is a bass drum foot pedal having a variable drive lever linkage with variable arc ratios connecting the foot pedal to a beater bracket. The beater bracket is formed with a mounting surface that tips a beater shaft forward to create a forward beater angle that maximizes the beater impact against a bass drum.