Abstract:
An active pixel CMOS image sensor implements full frame digital correlated double sampling (CDS) with global shutter where all the pixels in the image sensor are reset at substantially the same time and all the pixels in the image sensor integrate incident light at substantially the same time and for substantially the same time duration and correlated double sampling cancellation is performed in the digital domain. In one embodiment, the image sensing device includes an array of light sensing elements, a timing and control circuit and analog-to-digital converters. The timing and control circuit is operative to reset the light sensing elements in the array and to control the array of light sensing elements to integrate incident light. The pixel reset values are cancelled from the corresponding light dependent pixel values for each of the light sensing elements to generate correlated double sampling (CDS) corrected digital output pixel values.
Abstract:
The present invention relates to the discovery that specific human taste receptors in the T2R taste receptor family respond to particular bitter compounds present in, e.g., coffee. Also, the invention relates to the discovery of specific compounds and compositions containing that function as bitter taste blockers and the use thereof as bitter taste blockers or flavor modulators in, e.g., coffee and coffee flavored foods, beverages and medicaments. Also, the present invention relates to the discovery of a compound that antagonizes numerous different human T2Rs and the use thereof in assays and as a bitter taste blocker in compositions for ingestion by humans and animals.
Abstract:
The invention relates to methods for stimulating fast axonal transport in polyglutamine expansion diseases and treating polyglutamine expansion diseases by inhibiting SAPK-dependent phosphorylation of kinesin. The present invention also provides methods for identifying agents which inhibit the phosphorylation of the kinesin, as well as methods for monitoring treatment of a polyglutamine expansion disease based on the phosphorylation of serine 176 of kinesin-1A or kinesin-1C, or serine 175 of kinesin-1B.
Abstract:
A multi-node video server system in accordance with the invention comprises disk storage associated with a first node which stores at least a portion of a video presentation in the form of plural data blocks, each data block comprising a viewing time segment of the presentation. RAM buffer in a second node receives and stores data blocks of the video presentation from the disk storage in the first node, upon an initial request by a first viewing terminal to view a portion of the video presentation. A communication module in the second node outputs the data blocks, as an isochronous data stream, to requesting terminals. A host controller is coupled to the video server nodes and receives requests from viewing terminals for the video presentation. The host controller causes the communication module in the second node to connect to a viewing terminal which renders the initial request. Additional viewing terminals requesting the same video presentation are also connected to the same communication module if their requests are received within a time period from the initial request that does not exceed a sum of viewing time segments represented by data blocks stored in the RAM buffer. In this manner, both the first requester and subsequent requesting viewing terminals are enabled to receive the audiovisual presentation directly from the same buffer without requiring additional disk accesses for the subsequent viewers. Avoidance of additional internal video server communications is thus achieved.
Abstract:
An apparatus for dynamically allocating memory includes a processor, a free buffer pool memory and a control memory which stores control block data structures. The control block data structures enable a segmentation of the free buffer pool memory into a series of free buffer pools, each free buffer pool comprising plural identical size buffers, each succeeding free buffer pool including a larger buffer size than a preceding free buffer pool. A selection size parameter for a given free buffer pool is a value that is larger than the buffer size comprising the given free buffer pool, but less than a next larger buffer size in the next of the series of free buffer pools. A memory allocation procedure responds to a request from an executing procedure for allocation of buffer space by: (i) allocating a buffer from a free buffer pool memory whose associated selection size parameter is a next larger value than the buffer space that was requested; (ii) determining a difference between the allocated buffer size and the requested buffer space to find an unfulfilled amount of the requested buffer space; (iii) allocating a buffer from a free buffer pool memory whose selection size parameter is a next larger value, among selection size parameters, than the unfulfilled amount; and (iv) repeating ii and iii until the memory allocation procedure determines that there is no unfulfilled amount of the requested buffer space. The apparatus further includes "quickcell" memory which is allocated without use of control block data structures.
Abstract:
A system for managing data storage devices of a data storage subsystem. A data storage system includes a controller coupled to multiple data storage devices. In response to a request, the controller allocates the devices' storage space into a number of storage partitions or "virtual devices." The request specifies the size and function mode for each storage partition. Each storage partition, having the requested size, is operated according to its requested function mode. This involves mapping access commands, which specify virtual addresses, to the proper physical addresses of the appropriate data storage devices.
Abstract:
Predictive failure analysis of a storage subsystem is efficiently conducted and data quickly recovered from a failed Read operation. This may be implemented in a storage system including a host coupled to a supervising processor that couples to a parity-equipped RAID storage subsystem having multiple HDAs each including an HDA controller and at least one storage medium. In one embodiment, when an HDA experiences an error during a Read attempt, the HDA transmits a recovery alert signal to the supervising processor; then, the processor and HDA begin remote and local recovery processes in parallel. The first process to complete provides the data to the host, and the second process is aborted. In another embodiment, an HDA's PFA operations are restricted to idle times of the HDA. A different embodiment limits HDA performance of PFA to times when the processor is conducting data reconstruction. Another embodiment monitors HDA errors at the supervisory processor level, initiating an HDA's PFA operations when errors at that HDA have a certain characteristic, such as a predetermined frequency of occurrence.
Abstract:
A method and means are disclosed in a Log Structure Array (LSA) storage subsystem for managing said subsystem without a need for an access to a complete LSA directory in a RAM. This object is achieved by maintaining (1) a subset of the LSA directory (referred to as LSA sub-directory) in a RAM where the LSA sub-directory comprises the logical track address of a predetermined number of most recently accessed logical tracks; (2) a journal of changes to the LSA directory which is maintained on a different power boundary than the LSA directory power boundary; and, (3) an array of bit maps, one bit map per segment which is used for fast garbage collection thus eliminating the need for having an access to a complete LSA directory in a RAM during garbage collection.