All The Claims

1. A non-toxic, environmentally benign artificial snow comprising fine fragments of a material extruded from a mixture comprising:
starch 80% to 90% by volume;
polyvinyl alcohol 10% to 15% by volume;
talc 0% to 2\xbd% by volume;
hydrogenated soy flakes 0% to 2\xbd% by volume; and
colorant 0% to 5% by volume.
2. Artificial snow according to claim 1 comprising a colorant.
3. Artificial snow according to claim 2 wherein the colorant is a food coloring.
4. Artificial snow according to claim 2 wherein the artificial snow is one of pink, red, green, blue and yellow in color.
5. Artificial snow according to claim 1 having a water saturation in the range of 5% to 15%.
6. Artificial snow according to claim 1 having water saturation of up to 13%.
7. A method for making artificial snow comprising:
extruding a mixture comprising starch, polyvinyl alcohol and talc to yield an extruded product;
smashing the extruded product into fragments; and
sorting the fragments by size.
8. A method according to claim 7 wherein the mixture comprises hydrogenated soy flakes.
9. A method according to claim 7 wherein the extruded mixture has a water saturation in the range of 5% to 15%.
10. A method according to claim 7 wherein the extruded mixture has a water saturation of up to 13%.
11. A method according to claim 7 comprising packing the fragments in an anti-static package.
12. A method according to claim 11 wherein the anti-static package comprises a bag having an outer layer, an inner layer and an electrically-conductive anti-static layer between the inner and outer layers.
13. A method according to claim 7 comprising, after smashing the extruded product into fragments, sorting the fragments by size.
14. A method according to claim 7 comprising, after smashing the extruded product into fragments, urging the fragments in a flow of air to pass through a curved section of a channel wherein the channel has a fine screen on an outside periphery of the curved section.

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 polymer electrolyte composite film, which contains a block copolymer comprising:
a hydrophilic block and a hydrophobic block; and
a solid acid,
wherein the polymer electrolyte composite film has a microphase separation structure comprising:
a hydrophilic domain formed from the hydrophilic block, and
a hydrophobic domain formed from the hydrophobic block, and

wherein the solid acid is localized in the hydrophilic domain.
2. The polymer electrolyte composite film according to claim 1, wherein the hydrophilic block comprises an ion conductive component and the hydrophobic block comprises an ion non-conductive component.
3. The polymer electrolyte composite film according to claim 1, wherein the microphase separation structure is a structure in which a continuous phase comprising the hydrophilic domain is present in a matrix comprising the hydrophobic domain.
4. The polymer electrolyte composite film according to claim 1, wherein the solid acid is a heteropolyacid.
5. A membrane-electrode assembly, which comprises the polymer electrolyte composite film according to claim 1.
6. A fuel cell, which comprises the polymer electrolyte composite film according to claim 1.
7. A process for producing a polymer electrolyte composite film, the process comprising the steps of:
applying to a substrate surface a solution, which contains a block copolymer comprising a hydrophilic block and a hydrophobic block, a solid acid, and a solvent; and
evaporating the solvent contained in the solution applied to the substrate surface.

1. A bicycle pedal with automatic engagement and disengagement, comprising a body rotatably mounted on a pedal axle with, on one side at least, a rotary hoop and a non-rotary hoop, each hoop having two branches connected by a crossmember, the rotary and non-rotary hoops being disposed, respectively, on opposite ones of a front and a rear of the body, the rotary hoop being mounted to rotate about a geometrical axis (X1-X1) parallel to an axis (X-X) of the pedal and being spring-loaded toward the non-rotary hoop by spring, means, the space between the hoops being adapted to receive and to clamp a cleat fixed to the bottom of a cycling shoe; the spring means of the rotary hoop being situated, in a direction orthogonal to the branches of the rotary hoop, outside the space between the respective branches wherein the pedal body is provided with exterior arms spaced from interior arms to form yokes provided with facing orifices in which are engaged and supported at each of their ends two coaxial individual axles respectively associated with each branch, the individual axles composing an articulation axle of the rotary hoop, and wherein the individual axles are at a distance from each other in the central area, and the interior arms are spaced apart from each other, so as to leave free the central portion of the pedal, wherein:
both sides of said pedal include the rotary and non-rotary hoops in a symmetrical manner with respect to the geometrical rotation axis (X-X) of the pedal,
the rotary hoop comprises a metal wire and the spring-loading means are constituted by turns of a winding of the wire of the rotary hoop at the ends of the branches, the turns being situated totally outside the space between the branches and having the articulation axle of the rotary hoop pass through them, and
the non-rotary hoop comprises a metal wire including, at each free end of its branches, a loop through which passes the articulation axle of the symmetrically mounted rotary hoop, each loop being situated in a plane substantially orthogonal to that defined by the crossmember of the non-rotary hoop and each respective branch and situated inside turns of the rotary hoop on opposite sides of the pedal.
2. The pedal claimed in claim 1, wherein the interior arms on the side opposite the rotary hoop are extended and join at a wall to form an avoidance boss against which the symmetrically mounted non-rotary hoop bears.
3. The pedal claimed in claim 1, wherein the rotary hoop is situated in front of the pedal, in the direction of movement of the bicycle.
4. The pedal claimed in claim 1, wherein the non-rotary hoop is retained in a fixed position by complementary stops provided on the pedal body, and the non-rotary hoop, on the side opposite the stops, bears against an avoidance boss provided on the pedal body.
5. The pedal claimed in claim 1, wherein the pedal body is produced in plastic material and is provided, for the rotary hoop, with stops constituted by a plane wall area parallel to the pedal axle.
6. The pedal claimed in claim 5, wherein the branches of the rotary hoop designed to come into contact with the stops provided on the pedal hod are overmolded with a plastic material in order to increase the areas of contact between the body and the branches of the rotary hoop.

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 creating an assured execution environment for at least one computer program executable on a computer system comprising:
converting the executable into a computer program targeted for the computer system; and
providing the environment in which the program can be accessed on the computer system.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the converting comprises scrambling the executable.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the scrambling comprises applying a software encryption scheme to the executable.
4. The method of claim 2 wherein the scrambling comprises applying a hardware-assisted encryption scheme to the executable.
5. The method of claim 2 wherein the scrambling comprises applying a hardware encryption scheme to the executable.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the converting comprises attaching filesystem metadata to the executable.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the providing comprises executing the program on the computer system only if the program complies with a policy.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein the executing comprises, if the program is scrambled and includes filesystem metadata, descrambling the program in accordance with the policy.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the descrambling comprises:
verifying the integrity of the program with respect to the computer system;
if the integrity of the program with respect to the computer system is verified, descrambling the program; and
if the program is descrambled, running the program on the computer system.
10. The method of claim 7 wherein the executing comprises, if the program is not scrambled and includes filesystem metadata, running the program on the computer system in accordance with the policy.
11. The method of claim 7 wherein the executing comprises, if the program is not scrambled and does not include filesystem metadata, denying the execution of the program on the computer system in accordance with the policy.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein the providing comprises preventing malicious code from executing on the computer system before the environment is loaded on the computer system.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein the preventing comprises denying a HKLM registry hive modification request on the computer system.
14. The method of claim 12 wherein the preventing comprises denying a write to a SystemLibraryExtensions folder on the computer system.
15. The method of claim 1 wherein the providing comprises reading the program from the computer system only if the program complies with a policy.
16. The method of claim 1 wherein the providing comprises writing to the program on the computer system only if the program complies with a policy.
17. A system of creating an assured execution environment for at least one computer program executable on a computer system comprising:
a converting module configured to convert the executable into a computer program targeted for the computer system; and
a providing module configured to provide the environment in which the program can be accessed on the computer system.
18. The system of claim 17 wherein the converting module comprises a scrambling module configured to scramble the executable.
19. The system of claim 18 wherein the scrambling module comprises an applying module configured to apply a software encryption scheme to the executable.
20. The system of claim 18 wherein the scrambling module comprises an applying module configured to apply a hardware-assisted encryption scheme to the executable.
21. The system of claim 18 wherein the scrambling module comprises an applying module configured to apply a hardware encryption scheme to the executable.
22. The system of claim 17 wherein the converting module comprises an attaching module configured to attach filesystem metadata to the executable.
23. The system of claim 17 wherein the providing module comprises an executing module configured to execute the program on the computer system only if the program complies with a policy.
24. The system of claim 23 wherein the executing module comprises a descrambling module configured, if the program is scrambled and includes filesystem metadata, to descramble the program in accordance with the policy.
25. The system of claim 24 wherein the descrambling module comprises:
a verifying module configured to verify the integrity of the program with respect to the computer system;
a descrambling module configured, if the integrity of the program with respect to the computer system is verified, to descramble the program; and
a running module configured, if the program is descrambled, to run the program on the computer system.
26. The system of claim 23 wherein the executing module comprises a running module configured, if the program is not scrambled and includes filesystem metadata, to run the program on the computer system in accordance with the policy.
27. The system of claim 23 wherein the executing module comprises a denying module configured, if the program is not scrambled and does not include filesystem metadata, to deny the execution of the program on the computer system in accordance with the policy.
28. The system of claim 17 wherein the providing module comprises a preventing module configured to prevent malicious code from executing on the computer system before the environment is loaded on the computer system.
29. The system of claim 28 wherein the preventing module comprises a denying module configured to deny a HKLM registry hive modification request on the computer system.
30. The system of claim 28 wherein the preventing module comprises a denying module configured to deny a write to a SystemLibraryExtensions folder on the computer system.
31. The system of claim 17 wherein the providing module comprises a reading module configured to read the program from the computer system only if the program complies with a policy.
32. The system of claim 17 wherein the providing module comprises a writing module configured to write to the program on the computer system only if the program complies with a policy.
33. A computer program product usable with a programmable computer having readable program code embodied therein of creating an assured execution environment for at least one computer program executable on a computer system, the computer program product comprising:
computer readable code for converting the executable into a computer program targeted for the computer system; and
computer readable code for providing the environment in which the program can be accessed on the computer system.
34. A method of providing a service to create an assured execution environment for at least one computer program executable on a computer system, the method comprising:
converting the executable into a computer program targeted for the computer system; and
providing the environment in which the program can be accessed on the computer system.