Abstract:
The present invention relates to surface-patterned microgels to which molecular beacon probes are immobilized. The immobilized molecular beacon probes exhibit both low non-specific background and high specific fluorescence. Also disclosed are related arrays, related detection methods, and preparation methods.
Abstract:
A method and apparatus for the transparent, non-disruptable transfer of data, particularly multimedia data, through any packet-based network, such as an ATM network is provided. The method of the present invention includes the step of setting a primary path and a secondary path between nodes of a network, or of a network domain. Accordingly, when a switch or node establishes a Virtual Path (VP) to another switch with specified effective bandwith, it also has an alternate VP that is available, although no bandwidth is actually used. The method of the present invention further includes the step of optimizing the available capacity of the system through management actions. For handling congestion and resource failures, the total effective bandwidth on each physical link is categorized in terms of idle capacity (unused or available), used capacity (for existing VPs), and spare capacity. When a resource failure occurs, the idle capacity is used for real-time switching of the VP and service is not disrupted. This is accomplished by an alarm indication management cell which is delivered when a resource problem is encountered. This management cell sets forth the secondary path and the bandwidth associated therewith. On the other hand, if idle capacity does not exist, the spare capacity is used, while the bandwidth for all other VPs is reconfigured using virtual bandwidth optimization. Therefore, service disruption does not occur. In a wireless, mobile network, the present invention monitors node movement and takes management actions on the basis of such node movement to prevent service disruption.
Abstract:
A method and apparatus for stabilizing glow plasma discharges by suppressing the transition from glow-to-arc includes a perforated dielectric plate having an upper surface and a lower surface and a plurality of holes extending therethrough. The perforated dielectric plate is positioned over the cathode. Each of the holes acts as a separate active current limiting micro-channel that prevents the overall current density from increasing above the threshold for the glow-to-arc transition. This allows for a stable glow discharge to be maintained for a wide range of operating pressures (up to atmospheric pressures) and in a wide range of electric fields include DC and RF fields of varying strength.
Abstract:
The described invention provides an ex vivo dynamic multiple myeloma (MM) cancer niche contained in a microfluidic device. The dynamic MM cancer niche includes (a) a three-dimensional tissue construct containing a dynamic ex vivo bone marrow (BM) niche, which contains a mineralized bone-like tissue containing viable osteoblasts self-organized into cohesive multiple cell layers and an extracellular matrix secreted by the viable adherent osteoblasts; and a microenvironment dynamically perfused by nutrients and dissolved gas molecules; and (b) human myeloma cells seeded from a biospecimen composition comprising mononuclear cells and the multiple myeloma cells. The human myeloma cells are in contact with osteoblasts of the BM niche, and the viability of the human myeloma cells is maintained by the MM cancer niche.
Abstract:
An apparatus is disclosed for permitting a mobile terminal having multiple, heterogeneous network connections (e.g., multiple wired or wireless transceivers of various types) to set up and maintain virtual connections over multiple networks to either the same or to multiple destinations. The mobile terminal can "load-share" traffic, i.e., it can distribute segments of traffic over a full set of heterogeneous networks, significantly improving the reliability and availability of communications. In a first embodiment, a mobile terminal is configured with multiple radio frequency (RF) transceivers. Operating system software is provided for dynamically establishing and maintaining traffic flow for user applications over multiple communications paths, and for automatically adapting to variations in the networking environment, application traffic flow requirements, end user preferences, or mobility. In a second embodiment, a software-defined radio is used to implement the physical layer protocols for each desired network, eliminating the need for multiple transceivers.
Abstract:
A device (10) which employs an acoustic signal having one or more frequencies for penetrating into ground, water, or sediments and vibrating a compliant buried object (8) is provided. When these acoustic signals encounter an acoustically compliant object (8) such as a mine, the acoustic signals vibrate the compliant object (8), leading to a vibration of the compliant object (8) against the boundaries of the surrounding medium such as ground sediment, creating a nonlinear distortion of the probing signal including the generation of harmonics and acoustic waves with combination frequencies (nonlinear signals). These nonlinear vibrating signals are received from the surface by a sensor (20). The amplitude of the measured nonlinear signals indicates the presence of an acoustically compliant object (8) such as a mine. The present invention also relates to a method and apparatus which emits an electromagnetic RF probing signal and acoustic or vibration signal (modulating signal), detects the reflected electromagnetic signal from the buried object (8), and processes the received signal, identifying the modulation caused by vibration.
Abstract:
A method is provided for recovery of lost cells in a telecommunications infrastructure such as an ATM network wherein an error recovery scheme is incorporated into the network infrastructure to allow recovery of cells along the network.