Rimouski, Bas-St-Laurent, Québec

Introduction of spectrum-sharing in 5G and subsequent generation networks demand base-station(s) with the capability to characterize the wideband spectrum spanned over licensed, shared and unlicensed non-contiguous frequency bands. Spectrum characterization involves the identification of vacant bands along with center frequency and parameters (energy, modulation, etc.) of occupied bands. Such characterization at Nyquist sampling is area and power-hungry due to the need for high-speed digitization. Though sub-Nyquist sampling (SNS) offers an excellent alternative when the spectrum is sparse, it suffers from poor performance at low signal to noise ratio (SNR) and demands careful design and integration of digital reconstruction, tunable channelizer and characterization algorithms. In this paper, we propose a novel deep-learning framework via a single unified pipeline to accomplish two tasks: 1)~Reconstruct the signal directly from sub-Nyquist samples, and 2)~Wideband spectrum characterization. The proposed approach eliminates the need for complex signal conditioning between reconstruction and characterization and does not need complex tunable channelizers. We extensively compare the performance of our framework for a wide range of modulation schemes, SNR and channel conditions. We show that the proposed framework outperforms existing SNS based approaches and characterization performance approaches to Nyquist sampling-based framework with an increase in SNR. Easy to design and integrate along with a single unified deep learning framework make the proposed architecture a good candidate for reconfigurable platforms.

The central importance of large scale eigenvalue problems in scientific computation necessitates the development of massively parallel algorithms for their solution. Recent advances in dense numerical linear algebra have enabled the routine treatment of eigenvalue problems with dimensions on the order of hundreds of thousands on the world's largest supercomputers. In cases where dense treatments are not feasible, Krylov subspace methods offer an attractive alternative due to the fact that they do not require storage of the problem matrices. However, demonstration of scalability of either of these classes of eigenvalue algorithms on computing architectures capable of expressing massive parallelism is non-trivial due to communication requirements and serial bottlenecks, respectively. In this work, we introduce the SISLICE method: a parallel shift-invert algorithm for the solution of the symmetric self-consistent field (SCF) eigenvalue problem. The SISLICE method drastically reduces the communication requirement of current parallel shift-invert eigenvalue algorithms through various shift selection and migration techniques based on density of states estimation and k-means clustering, respectively. This work demonstrates the robustness and parallel performance of the SISLICE method on a representative set of SCF eigenvalue problems and outlines research directions which will be explored in future work.

Breadcrumbs are a subtle element of a website that helps improve usability and navigation. They’re a utility that often receives little acknowledgment; however, breadcrumbs can have a large impact and provide a plethora of benefits, such as lowering bounce rate, increasing conversions, and improving user satisfaction.   Imagine you’re in a regular grocery store, except […]

The post 5 Best Practices for Breadcrumb Navigation  appeared first on WebFX Blog.

By The New York Times The New York Times Company As President Donald Trump presses for states to reopen their economies, his administration is privately projecting a steady rise in the number of cases and deaths from the coronavirus over the next several weeks, reaching about 3,000 daily deaths June 1, according to an internal document obtained by The New York Times, nearly double from the current level of about 1,750.…

ON INLANDER.COM NATION: Even as U.S. President Donald Trump urges states to reopen their economies, his own administration projects that the death toll from COVID-19 will spike to 3,000 people per day.…

By Michael Crowley The New York Times Company…

By Michael D. Shear and Sarah Mervosh WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday openly encouraged right-wing protests of social distancing restrictions in states with stay-at-home orders, a day after announcing guidelines for how the nation’s governors should carry out an orderly reopening of their communities on their own timetables.…

A system and method is described for use with a data grid cluster, which uses cluster quorum to prevent split brain scenario. The data grid cluster includes a plurality of cluster nodes, each of which runs a cluster service. Each cluster service collects and maintains statistics regarding communication flow between its cluster node and the other cluster nodes in the data grid cluster. The statistics are used to determine a status associated with other cluster nodes in the data grid cluster whenever a disconnect event happens. The data grid cluster is associated with a quorum policy, which is defined in a cache configuration file, and which specifies a time period that a cluster node will wait before making a decision on whether or not to evict one or more cluster nodes from the data grid cluster.

A carrier composition for filling a tooth root canal, comprising a cross-linkable material.

A method for accurately determining the shape of currents in a current spectrum for a circuit design is provided. The method includes determining timing and power consumption characteristics. In one embodiment, timing characteristics are provided through a electronic design automation tool. The timing characteristics yield a current pulse time width. In another embodiment, power consumption characteristics are provided by an EDA tool. The power consumption characteristics yield a current pulse amplitude. The shape of the current pulse is obtained by incrementally processing a power analyzer tool over relatively small time increments over one or more clock cycles while capturing the switching nodes of a simulation of the circuit design for each time increment. In one embodiment, the time increments are one nanosecond or less.

A method is disclosed for generating a mass spectrum, e.g. for Fourier transform mass spectrometry, having improved resolving power. The method includes steps of acquiring a plurality of mass spectra from a mass spectrometer using image current detection determining the centroids of at least some of the peaks which have a sufficient signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio so that the variation of the centroid of each such peak from the plurality of mass spectra is significantly lower than the full-width at half-maximum, dM, of the peak in the m/z domain; and generating a histogram of the centroids determined from the plurality of acquired mass spectra thereby forming a composite mass spectrum. The resultant composite mass spectrum comprises peaks having full-width at half-maximum, dMC, significantly narrower than the peak width, dM, of the corresponding peaks in the plurality of acquired mass spectra.

A separator method and apparatus that includes a rotatable drum defining an annular passageway therein, a plurality of blades coupled to the rotatable drum and located in the annular passageway, each of the plurality of blades including a leading section, a trailing section, a concave surface, and a convex surface, the concave and convex surfaces extending from the leading section to the trailing section, each of the plurality of blades disposed circumferentially adjacent to at least another one of the plurality of blades so as to define blade flowpaths therebetween, and a housing at least partially surrounding the rotatable drum and defining a fluid collection chamber fluidly communicating with the annular passageway.

A pair of soft tissue instruments which provide a combination edge profile allowing a single tool to break up fibrous adhesions and massage damaged tissues in order to restore healthy function to muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves that have been affected by inflammation, injuries or various traumas. The combination edge profile is formed by a double wide radius following the full thickness of the tool similarly as a spherically blunted tangent ogive, including a nose radius covering around 90 degrees of the curved edge; the double specific radius sharpness angle varying from 1 degree near the full tool thickness of the instrument up to around 50 degrees as an average, but reaching around 90 degrees just when it reaches the much smaller tip edge radius.

For reading the frets of a stringed electronic musical instrument, a plurality of resistance wire strings are secured to a nut end and a bridge of the instrument, with the strings superposing in parallel relationship over a plurality of conducting frets mounted on a fingerboard on the instrument. The voltages produced by depressing the strings to the conducting frets, after being inverted and linearized, are quantized to levels representative of the particular frets to obviate the effects of contact resistance, and decision voltage levels are selected so as to account for such contact resistance. To enable the signals to be fed as conventional information through a MIDI channel to a synthesizer for generating frequencies corresponding to the signals, an analog to digital converter is used. The different components, as well as the digitized linearized signals, are selectively controlled and fed, respectively, to a microprocessor.

An improved drum pedal for use with an acoustic or electronic bass drum has sprocket wheel 78 mounted for rotation on the toe end of a foot pedal 16. A rotational torque applied to a sprocket 72 attached to a crossarm 22 and in turn to a mallet head 28 causes mallet head 28 to swing through an arc 3 toward the drum head. Sprocket 72 and sprocket wheel 78 are connected by chain 76 in a compound pulley system wherein chain 76 is attached at one end to sprocket 72 and is wrapped around and under sprocket wheel 78 to be fixed at its other end at mounting bar 80, so that a downward motion of foot pedal 16 and sprocket wheel 78 through arc 2 moves sprocket 72 and mallet head 28 through arc 3, which motion is twice the magnitude in distance and velocity as that of sprocket wheel 78.

An electronic musical instrument having a number of keys, having tone generators capable of simultaneous tone production, the tone generators being smaller in number than the number of keys. The instrument forms an operation for synthesizing a desired waveform, the operation for synthesizing a desired waveform being performed in a repeating cyclic order with an operation cycle and in which the waveform is transferred to the tone generators and read out therefrom at a rate in accordance with the note of a key being depressed to obtain a desired musical waveform. The device includes a number-of-depressed keys detecting device which counts the number of keys which are actuating the tone generator upon depression. A cycle altering device is provided for changing the operation cycle, as a whole, on the basis of the number of depressed keys, counted by the number-of-depressed keys detecting device. The construction allows for a waveform of a smooth temporal variation to be produced.

The invention concerns an action (1, 2) for a wind instrument, comprising keys (6) pivoted turnably relative to the body (3) of the instrument, holes (5) in the body being openable and closable with said keys according to the player's operation for producing notes of different pitch. A key action of this kind is found e.g. on the flute and on other woodwinds. As taught by the invention, the action comprises keys (6) which have been provided with magnets (12) so that the magnet returns the key that has turned into its initial position when the player ceases to press the key or the touch acting thereon. The keys (6) may be open keys which stay open by effect of mutually repulsing magnets (12) and close when pressed by the player against the repulsion of the magnets, or closed keys which are kept closed by mutually attracting magnets and open when pressed against the attraction of the magnets by the player, by touches connected with the keys.

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 tuning apparatus for a keyboard musical instrument, having a load applicator for applying a load of a predetermined value to a string set up in place, a calculating device for calculating a deviation between a displacement value of the string produced when the load is applied to the string and a preset value of displacement predetermined to give a required frequency of vibration, and a rotating device for turning a tuning pin until the deviation calculated by the calculating device is reduced to zero.

Root and type of a chord are discriminated at discriminators in accordance with the operation status on a fingerboard. The chord is designated according to a simplified fingering rule predetermined on the fingerboard so as to designate the chord. An automatic accompaniment or a manual play is performed according to the discriminated chord obtained at chord discriminating device.

In an electronic musical instrument of the waveshape memory type including at least one waveshape memory for storing and reproducing sample values of a musical sound wave to be generated, the waveshape memory stores the sample values of the complete waveshape of a musical tone with a shaped envelope.

A rotary valve assembly incorporated in a brass instrument for changing a pitch of a tone comprises a rotary valve housed in a valve casing having two groups of aeroports, and the rotary valve is provided with two air passages, one of which interconnects the aeroports in the first group and the other of which interconnects one aeroport of the first group and one aeroport of the second group, so that various arrangements are possible for the aeroports.

External sound signal coupled through a MIC IN terminal is fed through an operating switch panel section to an A/D converter for conversion to a digital signal. The digital signal is stored in a record memory through a waveform R/W controller under the control of a CPU. The digital signal stored in the record memory is read out from the CPU according to control data stored in a work memory to be fed to an external sound system for sounding.

A rotary valve for brass wind instruments with improved lubricating and durability properties is provided. The valve body 2 or both the valve body 2 and casing 1 of the rotary valve comprise(s) a machinable ceramic-resin composite material. The rotary valve can be readily produced by a method which comprises impregnating a machinable ceramic article containing substantially continuous micropores with a liquid resin material and hardening the resin material; machine-processing the resulting machinable ceramic-resin composite article into a shape of the valve body or shapes of the valve body and casing; and assembling the valve body into a rotary valve having the valve body 2 of the composite material rotatably contained in the casing 1 of the composite material or a metal material.

The inventive system comprising a memory for storing the ADSR data, a clock controller for selecting the clock pulses, a counter for counting the output of the clock controller, a data switching means for buffering the output data of the memory, a holding means for holding the output of the data switching means, a comparator for comparing the output of the memory with the output of the holding means, and main controller. The main controller inputs a control signal to control the data access time in the memory and the outputs of the switching means and holding means. According to the present invention, the release data are outputted immediately after the putting off of the keyboard signal to produce more accurate ADSR data.

In an electronic musical instrument of the waveshape memory type including at least one waveshape memory for storing and reproducing sample values of a musical sound wave to be generated, the waveshape memory stores the sample values of the complete waveshape of a musical tone with a shaped envelope.

A microphone holder for mounting a microphone on a drum includes a vertical plate having an inner side surface which is adapted to face the drum, and a microphone connecting device, a clip member, and a positioning plate connected fixedly to the vertical plate. The microphone connecting device is adapted to hold the microphone thereon. The clip member clamps a vertical bolt that interconnects a drum body and a drum skin frame. The positioning plate is disposed above the clip member, and has a horizontal top plate section with a bottom surface that is adapted to abut against an upper end of the vertical bolt, and two vertical side plate sections which extend respectively and integrally from two opposite sides of the top plate section, and which are adapted to flank a projection on the drum skin frame through which the vertical bolt extends so as to prevent rotation of the clip member on the vertical bolt.

Support devices for a woodwind musical instrument, and methods for making such support devices. A support device includes a strap for hanging from the neck of the user. Attached to the strap is a brace shaped to receive the instrument. This way the instrument is suspended from the neck of the user. Preferably the brace is such that the strap is attached so that no portion of the strap contacts the instrument, when it is so supported.

An electronic synthesized steelpan drum resembling a conventional steelpan drum and featuring the same shallow cylindrical shape with a sunken concave playing surface. The steelpan drum includes a central processor chip and associated memory chips for providing a variety of synthesized steelpan and a full range of musical, orchestral, and symphonic instrumental sounds, including tenor, double-seconds, guitar, cello, quadraphonic, tenor-bass, and bass steel drums. The concave playing surface is comprised of a series of rubber striking pad areas, which can be arranged in a conventional or other unique pattern typical of a tenor pan. The striking pad areas will be played with a pair of pansticks. Attached under each pad is a pressure sensor, which will detect the amount of force applied when a pannist strikes a pad and provide a signal to the central processor for controlling the synthesized sound. The steelpan has various control functions including speakers, volume control, function selection buttons, and a control display panel.

A pedal assembly for a bass drum or high hat cymbals. A flat base plate has a resilient pedal board clamped to it with the pedal board inclined to receive a foot. A beater stick is connected with the toe end of the pedal board by a linkage that drives the beater stick against a bass drum when the pedal is depressed. The resiliency of the pedal board returns it to its normal position when foot pressure is withdrawn. The material of which the pedal board is constructed has a modulus of elasticity between about one million and about six million. A striker pad limits the depression of the pedal board to limit the force that the beater stick can apply to the drum.

A portable electronic musical device has a keyboard disposed in a housing connected to a strap and a support plate connected thereto for suspension of housing by strap on shoulders of a person while housing is simultaneously supported on waist of person to allow person to easily move from one geographical position to another while playing instrument. Housing is pivotally connected to support plate by at least one member defining an axis around which housing is rotatable to playing of instrument and to facilitate viewing of hands of person and keys of keyboard while user is playing instrument. To further facilitate playing of instrument and visibility of hands and keys housing is curved with keyboard generally aligned therewith.

For use with a percussion instrument, the combination comprises a clamp base to support the percussion instrument, a clamp jaw, adjustable connector structure connecting the jaw to the base for displacing the jaw toward and away from the base, and clamping structure carried on at least one of the jaw and the base to be clamped against a support member in response to relative clamping displacement of the jaw and base, whereby adjustment of the structure accommodates to clamping of different size support members by clamping structure.

A tuning device includes a pitch extraction device with which the pitch of an input signal is extracted and a deviation detection device with which the deviation of the pitch that has been extracted by the pitch extraction device from a standard pitch is detected. The deviation that has been detected by the deviation detection device is displayed by an indicator of a mechanical meter. The tuning device also includes an ultrasonic motor that drives the indicator. A controller drives the ultrasonic motor in conformance with the deviation that has been detected by the deviation detection device. The controller, by driving the indicator using the ultrasonic motor, arranges the indicator in the standard position in those cases where the deviation that has been detected by the deviation detection device is zero, and moves the indicator up to a position in the positive direction that corresponds to the deviation in those cases where the deviation is a positive value and moves the indicator up to a position in the negative direction that corresponds to the deviation in those cases where the deviation is a negative value.

Wind instrument includes a tubular body having a plurality of tone holes, and a plurality of keys capable of opening and closing the tone holes. Via a retaining member, detector units are provided within the tubular body in corresponding relation to the keys, and each of the detector units is generally opposed to the back surface of the corresponding key. Each of the detector units detects a relative distance to the back surface and outputs an electrical signal, on the basis of which an opening/closing state of the key can be detected. The retaining member, accommodated in the tubular body, positions and retains each of the detector units in such a manner that the keys and tubular body and the individual detector units are kept in non-contacting relation to each other.

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.

A rigid plectrum (1) for stringed instruments, of the type having a spearhead shape with a pointed front part (2) and a broadened rear part (3) in which, at the lateral walls (4) and (5) forming the pointed part, a first facet (4a) and a second facet (5a) are made, covering the entire thickness of the respective lateral wall; the facets being set at an angle α to the thickness of the respective lateral wall, each facet starting on one face of the plectrum which is opposite the face from which the other facet starts, and finishing on the other face of the plectrum; the facets also being set at an angle β to the face of the plectrum, from the rear part to the front part.

A tremolo device for a stringed instrument is described in which a base plate is configured for surface mounting to a body of the instrument. A pivot plate is pivotally coupled to the base plate along an edge of the pivot plate. Each string is associated with a string seat. The string is threaded through the string seat receiving a terminal end of the string. The string seat includes a keyed portion that slidably attaches the string seat to the pivot plate in a keyed slot provided in a bottom surface of the pivot plate. A spring disposed between the base plate and the pivot plate maintains the pivot plate in a first position relative to the base plate until a user provides an action to pivot the pivot plate relative to said base plate. The spring returns the pivot plate to the first position when the user action is terminated.

The invention relates to an apparatus for mounting a percussion instrument onto a stand. The apparatus comprises a support portion and a retaining portion, the support portion comprising a support member arranged for attachment to the stand and including a shaft, the retaining portion comprising a gripping member having a pair of elements spaced apart from each other and one or more spreader means arranged to urge the spaced apart elements away from each other, wherein the support and retaining portions are adapted to mount the percussion instrument therebetween, the shaft engageable with the retaining portion, the elements of the gripping member normally biased to a first position that is capable of retaining the shaft between the elements in a locked position in the said retaining portion, the elements movable to a second position in which the retaining portion can be received on or removed from the first position on the shaft, the elements movable from the first position to the second position by activation of the or each spreader means.

Implants, tools and methods for performing unilateral posterior lumbar interbody fusion are provided. An interbody implant includes a body having a top and bottom surface extending along a length thereof; and first and second side surfaces extending between the top and bottom surfaces on opposite sides of the body. The height of the first side surface is greater than the height of the second side surface.

A method of controlling an operation of a robotically-controlled surgical instrument can include receiving a first input signal at a controller indicative of a user's readiness to actuate the surgical instrument to perform a surgical procedure, outputting an output signal from the controller to provide feedback to the user in response to the received first input signal, receiving a second input signal at the controller confirming the user's readiness to actuate the surgical instrument, outputting an actuation signal from the controller in response to receiving the second input signal, and actuating the surgical instrument to perform the surgical procedure based on the actuation signal.

The invention relates to improved variants of the anti-serum albumin immunoglobulin single variable domain DOM7h-11, as well as ligands and drug conjugates comprising such variants, compositions, nucleic acids, vectors and hosts.

A retractable pen includes a cartridge partially received in a recess of a cap such that a first end of the cartridge is fixedly attached to the cap. An elongate barrel includes first and second open ends and a through channel fluidly interconnecting the first and second open ends. A portion of the barrel is snugly and threadedly received in the recess such that the cartridge is received in and extends through the through channel, and the barrel and the cap are rotatingly movable relative to each other via the threaded engagement between an extended position in which the second end of the cartridge extends through and out of the second open end of the barrel, and a retracted position in which the second end of the cartridge is disposed within the barrel.

An eraser assembly having at least one eraser, an eraser holder having a first rim including at least one notch, the eraser being disposed in the eraser holder and an eraser cap having at least one tab extending therefrom. The tab of the eraser cap engages the notch of the eraser holder, thereby securing the cap to the eraser holder and enclosing the eraser.

A writing instrument includes a body extending between a rear end and a front end of the body which has an opening, the body defining an inner volume; a writing member mounted inside the body and including a tip which protrudes from the front of the body; a protective element including a guide portion sliding along the body and a protective end which extends the guide portion and has an opening to allow the tip to pass through, the protective element being movable between a tip protection position and a retracted position for writing; an elastic return element coupled with the guide portion in order to bias the protective element towards the protection position; and a system for locking the retracted position.

An ultrasonic surgical instrument comprises a reusable housing including an internal transducer and an internal end effector rotation assembly. An exemplary rotation assembly is a ratchet and pawl assembly, which allows the transducer to rotate in a first direction but not in a second, opposite direction. The end effector, including an integral torque wrench, is attached to the transducer to form a single unit that is rotatable relative to the housing. The transducer attaches to a stationary cable via slip rings. The cable communicates with a generator, which provides electrical power to the transducer. The transducer converts the electrical power into ultrasonic vibrational energy, which is transmitted to the end effector.

An instrument for delivering a suture transfascially may include a handle, a shaft extending from the handle, and at least one needle that is moveable to an extended position beyond the end of the shaft. A suture may be delivered transfascially with the instrument. The instrument may include a suture catch associated with each needle for retaining and releasing a suture segment. A shield may be provided to shield the sharp end of each needle when it is moved to the extended position. A method of delivering a transfascial suture may include inserting an instrument into an abdominal cavity and deploying, from within the abdominal cavity, each needle through a soft tissue repair patch and then through at least part of the abdominal wall. A suture or suture segment may be advanced across the fascia with the at least one needle.

An intervertebral fusion cage that is adapted to contain an inserter within its inner volume during insertion of the cage.

Various embodiments of intervertebral implants, anchoring devices for intervertebral implants, and implantation instrumentation are provided, along with various embodiments of methods for using one or more of the devices. Some embodiments of an anchoring device have a body comprising at least one curve and a rigid plate elongated along a longitudinal axis so that its front end enters at least one vertebra while its rear end remains in the passage of an implant. In some embodiments, the plate comprises at least one longitudinal slot separating at least one posterior portion of the plate into two branches, with at least one branch comprising at least one withdrawal stop configured to retain the device in the implant.