All The Claims

1. A cord seal for use in a niche that houses an underwater light, the niche including a threaded hub, the underwater light connected to a power cord and a grounding wire, the cord seal comprising:
a main seal including a cord receiving passage for the power cord and a wire receiving passage for the grounding wire, the cord receiving passage including a split;
a seal support positioned adjacent to the main seal; and
a seal cap positioned adjacent to the seal support, the seal cap being threaded into the threaded hub and securing the main seal and the seal support entirely within the threaded hub, the seal cap deforming the main seal to provide a water-tight seal around the power cord and the grounding wire within the threaded hub.
2. The cord seal of claim 1 wherein the split spans from one side of the main seal to an opposite side of the main seal.
3. The cord seal of claim 1 wherein the split begins at an edge of the cord receiving passage and ends at an outer circumferential edge of the main seal.
4. The cord seal of claim 1 wherein the main seal is circular in shape.
5. The cord seal of claim 1 wherein the main seal is constructed of deformable rubber.
6. A niche assembly for use in a wall that houses an underwater light, the underwater light connected to a power cord and a grounding wire, the niche assembly comprising:
a niche adapted to be positioned in the wall, the niche including an interior, an exterior, and a threaded hub;
a main seal positioned entirely within the threaded hub,
the main seal including a cord receiving passage for the power cord and a wire receiving passage for the grounding wire,
the cord receiving passage including a split,
the power cord being routed from the exterior of the niche, through the main seal, and into the interior of the niche by spreading apart the split in the cord receiving passage;

a seal support positioned adjacent to the main seal; and
a seal cap positioned adjacent to the seal support, the seal cap securing the main seal and the seal support entirely within the threaded hub, the seal cap deforming the main seal to provide a water-tight seal around the power cord and the grounding wire within the threaded hub.
7. The cord seal of claim 6 wherein the split spans from one side of the main seal to an opposite side of the main seal.
8. The cord seal of claim 6 wherein the split begins at an edge of the cord receiving passage and ends at an outer circumferential edge of the main seal.
9. The cord seal of claim 6 wherein the main seal is circular in shape.
10. The cord seal of claim 6 wherein the main seal is constructed of deformable rubber.
11. A method of sealing a power cord extending through a niche that houses an underwater light, the method comprising:
spreading apart a main seal at a split;
inserting the power cord through the split into a cord receiving passage of the main seal;
inserting the main seal into a threaded hub of the niche;
positioning a seal support adjacent to the main seal;
positioning a seal cap adjacent to the seal support; and
rotating the seal cap into the threaded hub in order to secure the main seal and the seal support entirely within the threaded hub.
12. The method of claim 11 and further comprising tightening the seal cap within the threaded hub to deform the main seal in order to prevent water from flowing into the cord receiving passage.
13. The method of claim 11 and further comprising deforming the main seal in order to seal the split of the cord receiving passage around the power cord.
14. The method of claim 1 and further comprising inserting a grounding wire into a wire receiving passage of the main seal.
15. The method of claim 14 and further comprising pulling the grounding wire through the niche and connecting the grounding wire to a bonding lug inside the niche.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A method of performing cryptographic operations on data packets in a Virtual Private Network (VPN) gateway having an Internet Key Exchange (IKE) process comprising:
receiving data packets from an external source;
routing the packets to a datapath having an IPSec component;
extracting a security parameter index from the packet;
searching a local cache in the IPSec component of the datapath for security associations for the data packet;
searching a security policy and security association cache for security associations for the data packet; and
performing cryptographic operations on the data packet using the security associations,
wherein the cryptographic operations are not performed in the IKE process.
2. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:
extracting the security parameter index from a header of the data packet.
3. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:
populating the security policy and security association cache in IKE with security association data negotiated by IKE during an IKE Phase 2 stage.
4. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:
updating the local cache with security association data when there is a miss in the local cache and a hit in the security policy and security association cache for security association data.
5. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:
determining whether a data packet is an IPSec data packet or a non-IPSec data packet.
6. A method as recited in claim 5 further comprising:
hashing the packet header to obtain a security parameter index if the packet is a non-IPSec data packet.
7. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising routing the data packet to a datapath in the gateway.
8. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said searching of a security policy and security association cache is performed if there is a miss in searching of the local cache in the IPSec component of the datapath.
9. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein a subsequent data packet received by the gateway having a second security parameter index that is the same as the security parameter index of the first received data packet obtains security association data from the local cache and that is the same as security association data for the first received data packet.

1. A deformation and weather resistant, noise attenuating fencing assembly comprising:
a series of hollow rectangular posts, each of said posts formed of a polyester cloth veiled fiberglass reinforced resin, said posts having a pair of spaced apart load bearing walls defining an exterior surface, an interior surface, a first open end and a second open end;
a first metallic clip having a substantially planar surface including two integrally formed arms biased toward each other and extending on each side of said planar surface, whereby said each biased arm is inserted into said first open ends of two adjacent posts causing them to frictionally engage said interior surface of said load bearing walls of said posts, forcing them toward each other;
a second metallic clip having a substantially planar surface including two integrally formed arms biased toward each other and extending on each side of said planar surface, whereby said each biased arm is inserted into said second open ends of two adjacent posts causing them to frictionally engage said interior surface of said load bearing walls of each of said posts, forcing them toward each other;
a structure reinforcing cap, constructed and arranged for attachment within said first open end having said first clip inserted therein, whereby said attachment causes said structure reinforcing cap to frictionally engage said interior surface of said post and substantially preclude movement of said exterior surface; and
at least one retention means constructed and arranged for retaining said cap within said post;
whereby said joined posts provide a fencing assembly having substantially no space between them for enhanced sound attenuation and privacy and each said post capable of having a weight up to 18 times the weight of said post attached to thereto.
2. The fencing assembly of claim 1 wherein said cap provides closure to said first open end and prevents water ingress therein.
3. The fencing assembly of claim 1 wherein said at least one retention means include a plurality of fasteners for simultaneously engaging said cap and said load bearing walls whereby removal of said cap is prevented.
4. The fencing assembly of claim 1 wherein said post includes at least one additive to provide resistance to ultraviolet radiation.
5. The fencing assembly of claim 1 wherein said cap includes at least one additive to provide resistance to ultraviolet radiation.
6. The fencing assembly of claim 1, wherein said resin is an isophthalic polyester resin comprising a UV inhibitor and at least 50% glass by weight.
7. The fencing assembly of claim 7, wherein said isophthalic polyester resin comprises from about 56.5% to about 61% glass by weight.
8. A process for providing a deformation and weather resistant, noise attenuating fencing comprising:
providing a plurality of hollow rectangular posts, each formed of a polyester cloth veiled fiberglass reinforced resin, each said post having a pair of spaced apart load bearing walls defining an exterior surface, an interior surface, a first open end and a second open end;
inserting a first clip having a substantially planar surface including two integrally formed arms biased toward each other and extending on each side of said planar surface, whereby said each biased arm is inserted into said first open ends of two adjacent posts causing them to frictionally engage said interior surface of said load bearing walls of said posts, forcing said posts toward each other;
inserting a second clip having a substantially planar surface including two integrally formed arms biased toward each other and extending on each side of said planar surface, whereby said each biased arm is inserted into said second open ends of said two adjacent posts causing them to frictionally engage said interior surface of said load bearing walls of said posts, forcing them toward each other, wherein said adjacent posts are securely joined together after insertion of said first and second clips;
attaching a structure reinforcing cap, constructed and arranged for insertion within said first open end having said first clip inserted therein, whereby said insertion causes said structure reinforcing cap to frictionally engage said interior surface of said post and substantially prevents movement of said exterior surface and at least one retention means constructed and arranged for retaining said cap within said member; and
directly implanting said joined posts within the ground to a depth of between about 30\u2033 and 36\u2033;
whereby said joined posts provide a fencing assembly having substantially no space between them for enhanced sound attenuation and privacy and each said post capable of having a weight up to 18 times the weight of said post attached to thereto.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A method for analysis of the extent of conscious awareness andor likelihood of recovery of a patient comprising:
applying to the patient a sensory stimulus sequence generated by a stimulator;
while applying the stimulus sequence, carrying out an EEG or MEG on the patient to record waveform signals from an array of sensors on, in, or near the head of the patient;
using software provided in a processor to process the waveform signals in order to locate waveform peaks, identify the evoked responses contained in the waveform and obtain quantitative measures of these evoked responses;
and using the software to generate and communicate scores based on the quantitative measures that are indicative of the extent of conscious awareness andor likelihood of recovery of the patient.
2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the stimulus sequence is a compressed stimulus sequence that elicits a plurality of evoked responses in a time less than 5 minutes.
3. The method according to claim 1 wherein the stimulus sequence is automated and only requires user input related to patient-identifying information.
4. The method according to claim 1 wherein data processing by the software is automated with no user input required.
5. The method according to claim 1 wherein the software carries out waveform peak detection, the evoked responses identification, and quantitative measurement of the evoked responses of interest automatically with no input from the user.
6. The method according to claim 1 wherein the quantitative measures of the patient’s evoked responses are automatically compared to normative values from a database.
7. The method according to claim 6 wherein including entering demographic information to improve the specificity of the normative database comparison.
8. The method according to claim 1 wherein the patient’s results, comprised of evoked response features and scores, are compared to one or more of the patient’s own results from previous assessments.
9. (canceled)
10. The method according to claim 1 wherein the sensory stimulus sequence elicits evoked responses related to a plurality of brain functions.
11. The method according to claim 10 wherein the brain functions are comprised of sensory processing, perceptual processing, attentionalerting mechanisms, memory retrieval, and language processing.
12. The method according to claim 10 wherein the brain functions are selected from the group consisting of: sensory processing, perceptual processing, attentionalerting mechanisms, memory retrieval, and language processing.
13. The method according to claim 12 wherein the evoked responses related to sensory processing are comprised of obligatory sensory evoked responses.
14. The method according to claim 12 wherein the evoked responses related to perceptual processing are comprised of evoked responses that signal the detection of changes in the stimulus sequence.
15. The method according to claim 12 wherein the evoked responses related to attentionalerting mechanisms are comprised of evoked responses that signal attention switching and memory allocation to the presented stimulus.
16. The method according to claim 12 wherein the evoked responses related to memory retrieval are comprised of evoked responses that signal memory-based detection of salient stimulus features.
17. The method according to claim 12 wherein the evoked responses related to language processing are comprised of evoked responses that signal detection that a verbal stimulus violates linguistic expectancies.
18-33. (canceled)
34. The method according to claim 1 wherein the software generates scores comprising a diagnostic score, a reliability score, a validity score, and a prognostic score.
35. The method according to claim 34 wherein points in the diagnostic score are allotted based on evoked responses related to a plurality of brain functions.
36. The method according to claim 34 wherein points in the diagnostic score are allotted based on the statistical assessment of differences between quantitative measures of the patient’s evoked responses and normative values from a database.
37. (canceled)
38. The method according to any claim 34 wherein points in the prognostic score are allotted based on the statistical relationships between averaged waveform features and historical outcomes of patients diagnosed with the same condition.