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1. Technical Field
This invention is directed to telephone terminals and, more particularly, a telephone terminal configurable for accessing features available on the terminal through an interactive display arrangement.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the advent of numerous features now available at many telephone terminals, displays having selectable menu options are being commonly employed to aid users in accessing the features associated with these options. The display technology employed in most telephone displays today is character-based liquid crystal device (LCD) displays. These displays are configured in various array sizes such as, for example, a 2-line by 10-character LCD display, a 3-line by 12-character LCD display and a 4-line by 12-character LCD display. In order to be aesthetically pleasing when incorporated into a telephone housing, these displays tend to be small, typically on the order of one inch in height. Also, in order to provide a reasonable number of characters for information such as caller-ID information and directory access information, a small font size for the characters is generally used. Thus, the numerous available features unfortunately require large amounts of information to be presented on very small displays.
For optimizing the utilization of space on small displays, some telephone terminals use soft key user interfaces. While soft key approaches can increase the flexibility of managing access to numerous features, they require that a portion of the display be dedicated exclusively to this purpose. For example, many telephone terminals dedicate the bottom row of the display for presentation of label screen prompts which correspond to a set of hard keys. Although these screen prompts do improve somewhat the ease with which one uses the display, such a design constrains the amount of space available for presentation of non-menu items, and also constrains the number of soft key choices which may be shown at any given time. Further, existing terminal screen designs typically constrain the maximum number of characters available for menu labels.
The prior art problems are solved in accordance with the present invention which provides an arrangement for dynamically varying how space on a small display is allocated for presentation of various types of user information. This arrangement is more flexible in organizing and presenting information than existing arrangements.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the arrangement optimizes utilization of space on small displays by dynamically allocating lines on the display for presentation of status or header-type information as well as menu item-type information. The arrangement configures the display such that lines therein are dedicatable in any combination to displaying these two types of information. By way of example, on a terminal with a 4-line display, one line may be dedicated to status information, and three lines to menu items; or alternatively, two lines may be dedicated to status information and two lines also to menu items. Thus, enhanced flexibility and efficiency are provided through use of this arrangement.
This invention and its mode of operation will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description when read with the appended drawings:
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Glucoamylase (1,4-α-D-glucan glucohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.3) is an enzyme which catalyzes the release of D-glucose from the non-reducing ends of starch or related oligo- and polysaccharide molecules. Glucoamylases are produced by several filamentous fungi and yeasts, with those from Aspergillus being commercially most important.
Commercially, the glucoamylase enzyme is used to convert corn starch which is already partially hydrolyzed by an α-amylase to glucose. The glucose is further converted by glucose isomerase to a mixture composed almost equally of glucose and fructose. This mixture, or the mixture further enriched with fructose, is the commonly used high fructose corn syrup commercialized throughout the world. This syrup is the world's largest tonnage product produced by an enzymatic process. The three enzymes involved in the conversion of starch to fructose are among the most important industrial enzymes produced.
One of the main problems that exist with regard to the commercial use of glucoamylase in the production of high fructose corn syrup is the relatively low thermal stability of glucoamylase. Glucoamylase is not as thermally stable as α-amylase or glucose isomerase and it is most active and stable at lower pH's than either α-amylase or glucose isomerase. Accordingly, it must be used in a separate vessel at a lower temperature and pH.
Glucoamylase from Aspergillus niger has a catalytic (aa 1-440) and a starch binding domain (aa 509-616) separated by a long and highly O-glycosylated linker (Svensson et al. (1983), Cardsberg Res. Commun. 48, 529-544, 1983 and (1986), Eur. J. Biochem. 154, 497-502). The catalytic domain (aa 1471) of glucoamylase from A. awamori var. X100 adopt an (α/α)6-fold in which six conserved α→α loop segments connect the outer and inner barrels (Aleshin et al. (1992), J. Biol. Chem. 267, 19291-19298). Crystal structures of glucoamylase in complex with 1-deoxynojirimycin (Harris et al. (1993), Biochemistry, 32, 1618-1626) and the pseudotetrasaccharide inhibitors acarbose and D-gluco-dihydroacarbose (Aleshin et al. (1996), Biochemistry 35, 8319-8328) furthermore are compatible with glutamic acids 179 and 400 acting as general acid and base, respectively. The crucial role of these residues during catalysis have also been studied using protein engineering (Sierks et al. (1990), Protein Engng. 3, 193-198; Frandsen et al. (1994), Biochemistry, 33, 13808-13816). Glucoamylase-carbohydrate interactions at four glycosyl residue binding subsites, −1, +1, +2, and +3 are highlighted in glucoamylase-complex structures (Aleshin et al. (1996), Biochemistry 35, 8319-8328) and residues important for binding and catalysis have been extensively investigated using site-directed mutants coupled with kinetic analysis (Sierks et al. (1989), Protein Engng. 2, 621-625; Sierks et al. (1990), Protein Engng. 3, 193-198; Berland et al. (1995), Biochemistry, 34, 10153-10161; Frandsen et al. (1995), Biochemistry, 34, 10162-10169.
Different substitutions in A. niger glucoamylase to enhance the thermal stability have been described: i) substitution of α-helical glycines: G137A and G139A (Chen et al. (1996), Prot. Engng. 9, 499-505); ii) elimination of the fragile Asp-X peptide bonds, D257E and D293E/Q (Chen et al. (1995), Prot Engng. 8, 575-582); prevention of deamidation in N182 (Chen et al. (1994), Biochem. J. 301, 275-281); iv) engineering of additional disulphide bond, A246C (Fierobe et al. (1996), Biochemistry, 35, 8698-8704; and v) introduction of Pro residues in position A435 and S436 (Li et al. (1997), Protein Engng. 10, 1199-1204. Furthermore Clark Ford presented a paper on Oct. 17, 1997, ENZYME ENGINEERING 14, Beijing/China Oct. 12-17, 97, Abstract number: Abstract book p. 0-61. The abstract suggests mutations in positions G137A, N20C/A27C, and S30P in a (not disclosed) Aspergillus awamori glucoamylase to improve the thermal stability.
Additional information concerning glucoamylase can be found on an Internet homepage, see for example, the webpage located at www.public.jastate.edu/˜pedro/glase/glase.html or the “Glucoamylase WWW page” (Last changed 1998, Oct. 8) by Pedro M. Coutinho discloses information concerning glucoamylases, including glucoamylases derivable from Aspergillus strains. Chemical and site-directed modifications in the Aspergillus niger glucoamylase are listed.
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The dishwasher sprays detergent and washing water to dishes, to wash dishes automatically.
The dishwasher is provided with at least one rack in a tub for placing dishes thereon, a sump for holding washing water, and at least one spray unit for spraying washing water to the dishes.
In the related art dishwasher, the washing water is pumped from the sump to the spray unit, lead to a spray arm along a washing water pipe, and sprayed to the dishes.
The washing water washed the dishes is recovered to the sump, and supplied to the spray unit again for spraying to the dishes.
Such a repetitive use of the washing water leads to increase foreign matters in the washing water, gradually.
According to this, washing performance is impaired, and the foreign matter is liable to block a filter at the sump. If the filter is blocked, an excessive pressure become to exert to the filter, to result in deformation of the filter.
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1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to medical devices and methods of use for treating an internal tissue structure. More particularly, the present invention relates to medical devices, systems, and methods for reducing the size of an internal tissue opening.
2. The Relevant Technology
Physical malformations or defects that are present at birth can be detrimental and even lethal when left uncorrected. A PFO is an example of a cardiac birth defect that can be problematic and even result in death when combined with other factors such as blood clots or other congenital heart defects. A PFO occurs when an opening between the upper two chambers of the heart fail to close after birth.
Some of the problems associated with a PFO can occur when a blood clot travels from the right to the left atria of the heart through the PFO, and lodges in an artery that feeds blood to the brain. A blood clot in the left atrium can be passed through the aorta and travel to the brain or other organs, and cause embolization, stroke, or a heart attack. A PFO can be treated by being closed by a surgical procedure. Additionally, other similar defects (e.g., septal or otherwise) where some tissue needs to be closed in order to function properly can include the general categories of atrial-septal defects (“ASDs”), ventricular-septal defects (“VSD's”) and patent ductus arteriosus (“PDA”), and the like.
FIGS. 1A-1C depict various views of a heart having a PFO. The heart 10 is shown in a cross-section view in FIG. 1A. In a normal heart 10, the right atrium 30 receives systemic venous blood from the superior vena cava 15 and the inferior vena cava 25, and then delivers the blood via the tricuspid valve 35 to the right ventricle 60. However, in the depicted heart 10 a septal defect, which is shown as a PFO 50, is present between right atrium 30 and left atrium 40.
The PFO 50 is depicted as an open flap on the septum between the heart's right atrium 30 and left atrium 40. In a normal heart 10, the left atrium 40 receives oxygenated blood from the lungs via pulmonary artery 75, and then delivers the blood to the left ventricle 80 via the mitral valve 45. In a heart 10 having a PFO 50 some systemic venous blood can also pass from the right atrium 30 through the PFO 50 and mixes with the oxygenated blood in left atrium 40, and then is routed to the body from left ventricle 80 via aorta 85.
During fetal development of the heart 10, the interventricular septum 70 divides the right ventricle 60 and left ventricle 80. In contrast, the atrium is only partially partitioned into right and left chambers during normal fetal development, which results in a foramen ovale fluidly connecting the right and left atrial chambers. As shown in FIG. 1B, when the septum primum 52 incompletely fuses with the septum secundum 54 of the atrial wall, the result can be a tunnel 58 depicted as a PFO 50.
FIG. 1C provides a view of the crescent-shaped, overhanging configuration of the septum secundum 54 from within the right atrium 30 in a heart 10 having a PFO 50. The septum secundum 54 is defined by its inferior aspect 55, corresponding with the solid line in FIG. 1C, and its superior aspect 53 represented by the phantom line, which is its attachment location to the septum primum 52. The septum secundum 54 and septum primum 52 blend together at the ends of the septum secundum 54. The anterior end 56a and posterior end 56p are referred to herein as “merger points” for the septum secundum 54 and septum primum 52. The length of the overhang of the septum secundum 54, which is the distance between superior aspect 53 and inferior aspect 55, increases towards the center portion of the septum secundum as shown.
The tunnel 58 between the right atrium 30 and left atrium 40 is defined by portions of the septum primum 52 and septum secundum 54 between the merger points 56a and 56p which have failed to fuse. The tunnel 58 is often at the apex of the septum secundum 54 as shown. When viewed within right atrium 30, the portion of the septum secundum 54 to the left of tunnel 58, which is referred to herein as the posterior portion 57p of the septum secundum, is longer than the portion of the septum secundum 54 to the right of tunnel 58, which is referred to herein as the anterior portion 57a of the septum secundum 54. In addition to being typically longer, the posterior portion 57p also typically has a more gradual taper than the anterior portion 57a as shown. The anterior pocket 59a is the area defined by the overhang of the anterior portion 57a of the septum secundum 54 and the septum primum 52, and it extends from the anterior merger point 56a toward the tunnel 58. Similarly, the posterior pocket 59p is the area defined by the overhang of the posterior portion 57p of septum secundum 54 and the septum primum 52, and it extends from the posterior merger point 56p toward the tunnel 58.
Conventional treatments for PFO, and other related conditions have generally involved invasive surgery, which also presents a risks to a patient. Although there are some less invasive treatments for PFO, such treatments have been less efficient at closing the PFO opening than techniques involving invasive surgery.
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A mobile terminal is a portable device having at least one of a function for performing voice and video communication, a function for inputting and outputting information, and a function for storing data. Such a mobile terminal has complicated functions such as photographing of photos, capturing of moving images, playback of music files or moving image files, reception of games or broadcasts, or wireless Internet and has been implemented as a multimedia player, as the functions thereof have been diversified.
New attempts have been variously given to the mobile terminal implemented as the multimedia player in hardware or software in order to implement complicated functions. For example, there is a user interface environment for enabling a user to easily and conveniently search for or select a function.
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Composite blocks of adsorptive material are useful as filtration media in the treatment of liquid feed streams such as in water treatment applications, for example. In such applications, composite blocks can include activated carbon particles that are bound together by a polymeric binder material such as one or more polyolefin materials including ultra high molecular weight (UHMW) polyethylene, for example. Composite blocks provide treatment capabilities comparable to and often better than those of a loose bed of carbon particles when used in the removal of organic contaminants from water. Moreover, composite blocks are compact in their construction and can be handled with a reduction in the mess commonly associated with the handling of loose beds of carbon particulate.
Composite blocks may be made for use in any of a variety of filtration applications by including appropriate components in the construction of the block, either in addition to activated carbon or in place of it. Such components can include, for example, ion exchange resin, adsorbent materials; metal ion exchange zeolite sorbents; activated aluminas; silver, zinc and halogen based antimicrobial compounds; acid gas adsorbents; arsenic reduction materials, iodinated resins, textile fibers and the like.
Although composite blocks have been widely applied in a variety of filtration applications, the technology has suffered from long recognized limitations. One such limitation has been in the treatment of filtration feeds having high sediment content. Composite block filtration media that comprise activated carbon have been used for the purification of residential water at the point of entry (POE) to a home, for example. Residential water supplies can have high sediment content, and filtration media comprised of composite block filters (e.g., blocks of activated carbon) have suffered from a low tolerance for such sediment. As a result, composite block filters can completely foul (e.g., become obstructed) within relatively short periods of time following an initial exposure to a high-sediment feed stream containing silt, iron or the like.
A long felt and unmet need has persisted for a composite block construction useful as filtration media which is more resistant to fouling when used in the treatment (e.g., filtration) of feed streams having high sediment content, for methods of making such composite blocks, and for filtration systems comprising such composite blocks.
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(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and a device for synthesizing an electrical and electronic architecture.
More particularly, the invention relates to aircraft, and in particular rotary wing aircraft.
(2) Description of Related Art
In order to make a product that includes electrical and electronic equipment connected together by wired connections, it is necessary to devise the electrical architecture comprising said pieces of equipment and the connections.
It should be observed that the term “equipment” is used to cover any component that sends or receives an electric or electronic signal, i.e. equally well a sensor, a computer, or a battery, for example.
Similarly, the term “wired connections” covers any connection means that serve to pass energy or information, such as an electrical wired connection, or an optical fiber connection, for example.
The drawing up of the electrical and electronic architecture of an aircraft is an important step in the design of the aircraft. The electrical and electronic architecture of a product, and in particular of an aircraft, has a large amount of equipment and thus a large number of wired connections between that equipment. Under such circumstances, it can be understood that each specific architecture stems not only from the various possible positions for each equipment, but also from the interaction between each piece of equipment, while taking account of integration constraints such as safety constraints, environmental constraints, or indeed maintenance constraints, for example.
This complexity explains why it is important to achieve a robust and exhaustive prior definition of the architecture so that the finished product has an architecture that is optimized as a function of predetermined requirements, including, for example: the weight of the components of the harnesses; the centers of gravity of the harnesses; the time required to assemble and to maintain harnesses; and costs which generally decrease with weight and operating time.
Consequently, during the stage of predefining the aircraft, it is difficult to evaluate the characteristics of the future electrical architecture. When designing an aircraft, a manufacturer advantageously investigates various alternative electrical architectures and selects one of them as a function of given requirements. For the selected architecture, it is also advantageous to possess the characteristics of said architecture such as center of gravity, for example, since that has a direct incidence on the operation of the aircraft, or on weight targets to be satisfied for the equipment and the wired connections.
In one technique, an architecture for a future product is extrapolated on the basis of the architecture of an existing product. Although advantageous, that technique does not make it possible to obtain alternative architectures, and thus potentially obtain a final architecture that is optimized.
It should be observed that the technological background includes document US 2007/141899, which makes use of a network made up of equipment of unvarying positions that are interconnected by unvarying pathways along which wired connections pass.
Document FR 2 846 117 seeks to synthesize an architecture of a product part by positioning routing points in a zone.
By way of example, the technological background also includes the following documents: EP 0 696 775; WO 98/31158, US 2004/0098698; U.S. Pat. No. 6,879,941; and US 2009/0063035.
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Iodide-iodine etching solutions have been employed to recover precious metals from ore and scrap materials and have since been employed in the electronic and jewelry making industries in the etching and stripping of precious metals. Use of iodide-iodine solutions avoid toxicity problems associated with the previously used cyanide etching solutions but are considered costly.
Methods to reclaim spent iodide-iodine etching solutions have been developed to decrease the costs associated with their use. U.S. Pat. No. 3,957,505 discloses a process that dissolves and precipitates gold in potassium iodide-iodine using a reducing agent and a buffer. The solution can then be regenerated through the use of an oxidizing agent. U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,700 discloses the use of a hydroidic acid and iodine solution or ammonium iodide and iodine solution for the recovery of precious metals. A reducing agent is added to the solution with a buffer and the precious metal is precipitated from the solution. The spent solution is then treated to either oxidize it to its original state or to precipitate out the elemental iodine which is then used to supply the components for a new etching solution.
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It is known to provide material handling systems that include vacuum cups or the like that are adapted to be engaged with an object, such as a substantially flat object or panel or the like, and to lift and move the object to a desired location. Such vacuum cups or suction cups may be moved into engagement with the object, and a vacuum source may be actuated to create a vacuum between the object and the cup such that the object is retained to the cup as it is transported to the targeted area. An example of such a vacuum cup is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,668, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
As shown in FIGS. 1-4, a typical bellows-type vacuum cup 10 may include a body portion or back panel portion 12 and a bellows-type or pleated skirt or seal 14 extending from body portion 12. The body portion may include a vacuum port or opening or aperture 16 therethrough for receiving or connecting to a vacuum source to draw air out of a cavity 18 defined between the vacuum cup and an object 20. The bellows-type pleated skirt 14 may comprise a flexible, resilient, elastomeric material or the like, and may flex to engage the object 20 and to provide a substantially airtight seal between the vacuum cup 10 and the object 20. The vacuum cup 10 may further include a bushing or fitting or the like 22, such as a threaded brass fitting or bushing, for connection to the vacuum source. Optionally, the bushing or fitting may be adapted or configured to connect to a proximity sensor (not shown), such as to a threaded end of a proximity sensor of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,668. The sensor may detect the presence of an object, such as the object 20 in FIG. 4, that is at or proximate to the sensor. In such an application with an object sensor at the central port or opening of the vacuum cup, the vacuum cup may include a separate vacuum port (such as shown in phantom at 17 in FIGS. 1 and 3) for connection to the vacuum source.
The vacuum source is operable to draw air through the vacuum port and out of the cavity to create a partial vacuum between the vacuum cup and the object. Often, the vacuum source remains operational to maintain the partial vacuum between the object and the vacuum cup to retain the object on the vacuum cup throughout transportation of the object from one location to the other. When the vacuum cup and object arrive at the targeted location, the vacuum cup may be pulled away from the object, while the object is substantially retained in a particular location, such that the object is stripped from the vacuum cup, all while the vacuum source remains operational to create/maintain the vacuum.
For example, vacuum cups often may engage and substantially seal against objects, and may carry the objects to a magnetic belt or conveyor that is positioned above the objects. In such applications, the vacuum cups may lift or raise the object up to the overhead or raised magnetic conveyor and may release the article at the overhead conveyor. Typically, the vacuum cups are pulled upwardly until the panel or object engages the magnetic conveyor. The vacuum cups are then pulled further upwardly (while the panel or object is retained at the magnetic conveyor) to strip or dislodge the cups from the panel or object, whereby the object is retained on the magnetic conveyor via the magnetic attraction between the metallic object and the magnetic conveyor.
The entire process of engaging the object, lifting the object upward to the magnetic conveyor and stripping the cups off of the object at the conveyor is typically performed with the vacuum source activated, such that the vacuum source creates the partial vacuum at the vacuum cup and does not release the vacuum to assist in releasing the cup from the object or panel. The vacuum source may remain operational throughout this process to avoid having to activate and deactivate the vacuum source multiple times while moving multiple objects from one location to the next. However, the pulling of the vacuum cup or cups from the object while the vacuum is applied between the vacuum cup and the object may cause excessive wear to the vacuum cups and, thus, may lead to premature failure of the vacuum cups over time.
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This invention relates to a ferule fixed to the terminal of an optical fiber, and more particularly to a female ferule fixed to the terminal of, preferably, a multi-core optical fiber.
In recent years, a system has been adopted in which a portion of a wire harness is replaced by an optical fiber and for example, the respective nodes are connected to one another through the optical fiber. As such a system, there is a previously known optical module disclosed in e.g. the following Patent Reference 1. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 1 denotes an optical module disclosed in the following Patent Reference 1. The optical module 1 is a “big-table type” module which includes a circuit board 2, a light receiving/emitting portion (light transmitter/receiver) 3 mounted on the circuit board 2, a pair of connectors 4,4 provided at the end of the circuit board 2, and relay optical fibers 5, 5 which optically connect the light receiving/emitting portion 3 and the connectors 4, 4.
At the respective ends of the optical fiber cables 5, 5, ferules 6, 6 (see FIGS. 9A to 9C) are fixed. The ferules 6, 6 are housed within the connectors 4, 4, respectively. The connector 4, 4 is formed in a receptacle shape. An optical connector 7, 7 is connected to such a connector 4, 4 by fitting. The optical connector 7, 7 is formed in a plug shape. The optical connector 7, 7 is provided at the terminal of an optical fiber cable 8, 8. At the terminal of the optical fiber cable 8, 8, a ferule 9, 9 (see FIGS. 9A to 9C) housed in the optical connector 7, 7 is provided.
The ferule 6, 6 of the terminal of the optical fiber cable 5, 5 is formed in the same shape as the ferule 9,9 of the terminal of the optical fiber cable 8, 8. Within the connector 4, 4 and optical connector 7, 7 which are fit to each other, their front end faces are opposite to each other and their optical axes agree with each other.
Now referring to FIGS. 9A to 9C, an explanation will be given of the optical fiber cable 5, 8 and the ferule 6, 9. The optical fiber cable 5, 8 includes an optical fiber 10 composed of a core and a cladding, and a primary sheath 11 and a secondary sheath 12 with which the optical fiber 10 is covered. In order to fix the ferule 6, 9, the terminal of the optical fiber cable 5, 8 is worked so that the primary sheath 11 and secondary sheath 12 are removed and the optical fiber 10 is exposed by a predetermined length.
The ferule 6, 9 is formed in a nearly cylindrical shape composed of a small-diameter portion 13 and a large-diameter portion 14. The ferule 6, 9 is formed to straightly penetrate from its front end face 15 to its read end face 16. The inner diameter of the small-diameter portion 13 is set to agree with the outer diameter of the optical fiber 10. The inner diameter of the large-diameter portion 14 is set to agree with the outer diameter of the primary sheath 11. The end of the secondary sheath 12 is adapted to hit on the rear end 16.
The terminal processing is performed as follows, Epoxy adhesive is applied on the terminal of the optical fiber cable 5, 8. This terminal is internally inserted into the ferule 6, 9. The adhesive is dried. After this fixing, the optical fiber 10 projected from the front end face 15 is cut or ground.
Patent Reference 1: JP-A-2003-149515
In order that the respective front end faces 15 of the ferules 6, 9 are opposite so that their optical axes are not deviated from each other, the inventors of this invention intends to integrally form the cylindrical portion, into which the small-diameter portion 13 of the ferule 9 can be inserted, to the front end face 15 of the ferule B. However, if the cylindrical portion is formed integrally to the front end face 15 of the ferule 6, in the terminal processing, disadvantageously, it becomes very difficult to perform the cutting or grinding of the optical fiber 10 projected from the front end face 15 (As the case may be, the cutting or grinding cannot be done). Further, if shaving refuse internally remains on the cylindrical portion in the cutting or grinding, disadvantageously, this may influence an optical connection portion.
Additionally, in order to obviate the above inconvenience, in removing the primary sheath 11 and secondary sheath 12, it can be proposed to precisely manage the exposed size of the optical fiber 10. However, in order to realize this proposal, may difficulties must be overcome.
Meanwhile, there is a previously known “multi-core optical fiber in which a large number of optical fibers being tied is covered with an outer cladding. This multi-core optical fiber has such a structure that removal of the cladding at the terminal will unbraid the large number of optical fibers. Therefore, if the multi-core optical fiber with such loosening is employed in place of the optical fiber cable 5, the above problem of the ferule in which the cylindrical portion is integrally formed to the front end face will be further complicated.
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This invention relates to the field of integrated electronic circuits of the variety wherein a plurality of different circuit types are received on a semiconductor carrier substrate and interconnected by metal conductors received on the carrier substrate.
Frequently in the design of a complex electronic system, such as a flight control computer or a radar for a modern day aircraft, there is a need to collect a variety of differing types of electronic circuitry into a single system. This need is often combined with the need for circuits that are as small and lightweight as possible and are also free of "pinout" and other conventional circuit interconnection limitations. Frequently, the circuits to be collected into one of these complex systems are of such diversity as being of both the analog and digital signal processing types, functioning with signal levels of differing amplitudes, functioning at significantly different operating speeds or operating frequencies, and in more recent systems, operating via the combination of optically and electrically coded signal types.
Often in such systems, it is therefore common to encounter individual integrated circuit die which are fabricated in accordance with a diversity of different processing technologies including, for example, die materials operating with oppositely charged carrier types, that is, p-type and N-type semiconductor materials, circuits of drastically different active device categorization, MOS and bipolar transistor types, for example, and circuits fabricated according to different design rules, circuits with three micron geometry features, for example, in combination with circuits possessing submicron geometry features.
Clearly, the prospect for combining circuits of this large variety on a single large scale integration wafer by using conventional circuit fabrication techniques are nearly if not totally impossible. Any one of the above cited circuit difference examples would in all reality frustrate even the best of the present day large scale integration circuit design teams in an attempt at single wafer integration.
The well known practice of mounting integrated circuit die in multiply pinned packages which are then soldered or otherwise attached to a printed circuit board has been used as a means to package combinations of diverse circuit die on a common substrate. Circuitry packaged in this manner is severely limited with respect to packaging density due to inductive and capacitive electrical coupling effects--a result of long interconnecting conductors; susceptibility to thermal and physical stressing events; weight penalties and "pinout" limitations.
Workers who have recognized these difficulties have attempted to combine a plurality of different circuit types on a single wafer by extending the concept of an integrated circuit package into the realm of plural diverse circuit die received on a single large wafer. By regarding the wafer as a packaging device and connecting individual die to the package using conventional techniques, these workers arrived at a form of wafer scale integration. A number of problems, including difficulties with the wire bonding used to electrically connect die and wafer, and difficulties in achieving permanent attachment between die and wafer have precluded the achievement of notable success in these efforts. Notwithstanding these difficulties with both the wafer integration and printed circuit approaches, the need for maximum flexibility in combining a variety of circuit types, increases in modern electronic systems, particularly in military and other state of the art systems.
The present invention provides an advancement in the state of this die and wafer combination art, that is the wafer scale integration art, to a level enabling its practical use in even military and other critical circuit applications. By way of incorporating a plurality of improvements in previously attempted die to wafer combinations, the present invention accomplishes these combinations at modest cost and with desirable reliability and manufacturing ease.
The combination of silicon circuit die with a silicon substrate member, notwithstanding the previously encountered practical difficulties, is herein shown to offer desirable real life advantages including minimum size and weight penalties, significant heat conduction away from the die by the silicon or other material of a wafer, ability to control substrate electrical characteristics via substrate doping, substantially identical thermal coefficients of expansion between die and supporting substrate, and the ability to elect employed substrate properties through the selection of optimum Miller index crystal orientation in the substrate.
An arrangement wherein an integrated circuit chip is mounted on a ceramic carrier by embedding or encapsulating the chip in an epoxy resin is shown in the patent of B.M. Hargis, U.S. Pat. No. 3,864,810. The use of solderable connections and several layers of ceramic material, distinguish the present invention from the teachings of the Hargis patent.
Another integrated circuit mounting arrangement wherein the integrated circuit die are enclosed by an epoxy encapsulant is shown in the patent of F.A. Perrino, U.S. Pat. No. 3,868,724. In the Perrino mounting arrangement, sets of leads are formed on a flexible tape carrier with the leads penetrating through holes in the tape and terminating in contacts which are arranged in a pattern corresponding to the contact pattern of the integrated circuit die. A tape carrier distinguishes the present invention from the perrino arrangement.
The patent of Honn et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,342 discloses an integrated circuit chip carrier arrangement in which a carrier and a semiconductor material with similar thermal expansion coefficients are employed. The use of solder technology to interconnect various portions of the Honn et al apparatus distinguishes the present invention from the teachings of Honn et al.
The patent art also indicates that the mounting of integrated circuit die in a receptacle well portion of a semiconductor wafer has been attempted by several workers in the art. Included in these efforts is the work of K. L. Tai which is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 4,670,770. In the Tai invention, the beveled sides of an isotropically etched receptacle well are mated with similarly beveled sides of the integrated circuit die being mounted using metallic conductor members received on both the receptacle well walls and the die surface. Preferably the Tai conductors are of solder wettable material. The use of conductor elements in a die to wafer retention capacity and the use of solder based materials in the Tai invention are distinguished from the arrangements described in the present invention.
A surface mounting arrangement for integrated circuit die is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,030 of J. Reyes. In the Reyes invention, surface mounting of the integrated circuit die is shown together with thick film interconnection and resistor patterns that are disposed on an insulating substrate. The Reyes invention contemplates the use of low pressure chemical vapor deposition for the conductors together with soldering of interconnecting terminals. The Reyes deposited metal is selected from the group of manganese, chromium, cobalt, nickel, molybdenum, tungsten, and alloys of these metals. The die surface mounting, metallic bonding of die to wafer, use of quartz or alumina wafers, and selected conductor materials are all points of contrast between the instant invention and the Reyes patent.
The patent of R. Percival, U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,657 disclosed an integrated circuit interconnecting arrangement which uses an electrically conducting film containing standardized openings and a prearranged raster configuration. Selected portions of the Percival raster are subsequently removed by a laser, for example, in order to achieve a desired circuit configuration. The Percival invention also employs the laser for exposure of a photo sensitive film used in producing the isolated conductive areas of the conductive film in a photo etching process.
An integrated circuit die mounting arrangement of the inverted die and mesa interface type is shown in the patent of A. N. Patraw, U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,870. In the Patraw invention, a mesa interface member is joined to the face of the integrated circuit die and through an internal conductor carrier member. Although the patraw die mounting arrangement considerably shortens the length of the bonding wires that join the integrated circuit chip with electrical conductors residing on the chip carrier, it is notable that such bonding wires are nevertheless a necessary portion of the circuit arrangement.
The patent of D. F. Sullivan, U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,929 concerns a printed circuit board arrangement for circuit mounting in which the conductors are provided with photopolymer formed U-shaped cross sections. The printed circuit board nature of the Sullivan invention and the conductor arrangement espoused by Sullivan readily distinguish the teachings of the Sullivan patent from the present invention.
As is suggested by these patents and the preceding discussion, the electronic art continues to need a more satisfactory wafer scale integration arrangement, an arrangement which especially achieves the ability to receive integrated circuit die of differing process technology as well as different electrical function in a common and small sized physical package that also provides a flexible interconnection arrangement.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radiographic system that radiographs a tomographic image using radiation and a control method of the radiographic system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the medical fields, radiographic systems using radiation such as X-rays are known. A radiographic system includes an X-ray generator including an X-ray source generating X-rays and an X-ray imaging apparatus receiving X-rays and capturing an X-ray image. As an X-ray imaging apparatus, an X-ray image detector using as a detection panel a flat panel detector (FPD) in which pixels accumulating signal charges corresponding to the dose of X-rays are arranged in a matrix shape has been widely spread. The FPD accumulates signal charges in the respective pixels and converts the accumulated signal charges into a voltage signal through the use of a signal processing circuit, whereby an X-ray image representing image information of the subject is detected and is output as digital image data.
A radiographic system is known which detects the dose of X-rays passing through a subject through the use of a dose sensor and performs an automatic exposure control (AEC) of stopping irradiation with X-rays from an X-ray generator when the integrated value of the doses reach a predetermined threshold. In a radiographic system including plural dose detectors, a detection field corresponding to a region (also referred to as “a region of interest (ROI)”) to which attention should be most paid is set for each radiographing site and the irradiation stop of X-rays is determined on the basis of the X-ray dose from the dose sensors in the detection field.
A radiographic system is also known which performs a tomosynthesis imaging of causing an X-ray source to move and irradiate a subject with X-rays from different irradiation angles to perform plural radiographing operations and reconstructing plural images acquired through the radiographing operations to generate a tomographic image in which a desired tomographic plane is emphasized. In the tomosynthesis imaging, the distance traversed by X-rays passing through a subject, that is, the thickness of the subject, varies depending on the irradiation angle of X-rays. Accordingly, when the tomosynthesis imaging is performed with a fixed dose, the density of the detection field of each image differs. Therefore, in radiographic systems described in JP2000-501552T and JP2008-253555A, the variation in thickness of a subject is predicted on the basis of the irradiation angle of X-rays and the subject is irradiated with X-rays of the dose corresponding to the predicted thickness of the subject.
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1. Field of the Art
This invention is an extension of Applicants' prior invention disclosed in the above-referenced patent applications relating to novel anti-IL-6 antibodies, novel therapies and therapeutic protocols utilizing anti-IL-6 antibodies, and pharmaceutical formulations containing anti-IL-6 antibodies. In preferred embodiments, an anti-IL-6 antibody is Ab1, which includes rabbit or humanized forms thereof, as well as heavy chains, light chains, fragments, variants, and CDRs thereof, or an antibody or antibody fragment that specifically binds to the same linear or conformational epitope(s) on an intact human IL-6 polypeptide fragment thereof as Ab1. Preferably, the anti-IL-6 antibody is an IL-6 antagonist. In preferred embodiments, the anti-IL-6 antibody has an in vivo half-life of at least about 25 days, an in vivo effect of raising albumin, has an in vivo effect of lowering C-reactive protein, has an in vivo effect of restoring a normal coagulation profile, possesses a binding affinity (Kd) for IL-6 of less than about 50 picomolar, and/or has a rate of dissociation (Koff) from IL-6 of less than or equal to 10−4 S−1.
The invention also pertains to methods of screening for diseases and disorders associated with IL-6, and methods of preventing or treating diseases or disorders associated with IL-6 by administering said antibody or a fragment or a variant thereof.
In one aspect, this invention pertains to methods of improving survivability or quality of life of a patient in need thereof, comprising administering to the patient an anti-IL-6 antibody, such as Ab1 or a fragment or variant thereof, whereby the patient's C-reactive protein (“CRP”) level is lowered, and/or the patient's albumin level is raised, and optionally monitoring the patient to determine the patient's CRP and/or albumin level.
In another aspect, this invention relates to methods of lowering the C-reactive protein level in a patient in need thereof, comprising administering to the patient an IL-6 antagonist such as Ab1, whereby the patient's CRP level is lowered, and monitoring the patient to assess the CRP level. In another aspect, this invention relates to methods of raising the albumin level in a patient in need thereof, comprising administering to the patient an IL-6 antagonist such as Ab1, whereby the patient's serum albumin level is raised, and monitoring the patient to assess the albumin level.
In another aspect, this invention pertains to methods of preventing or treating cachexia, weakness, fatigue, and/or fever in a patient in need thereof, e.g., a patient showing elevated CRP levels, comprising administering to the patient an anti-IL-6 antibody or antibody fragment or variant thereof, whereby the patient's cachexia, weakness, fatigue, and/or fever is improved or restored to a normal condition, and optionally monitoring the patient to assess cachexia, weakness, fatigue, and/or fever.
In another embodiment, this invention pertains to methods of preventing or treating thrombosis in a patient in a state of hypercoagulation, comprising administering to the patient an anti-IL-6 antibody, such as Ab1 or a fragment or variant thereof, whereby the patient's coagulation profile is improved or restored to a normal condition, and optionally monitoring the patient to assess coagulation profile.
In another aspect the invention provides novel pharmaceutical compositions and their use in novel combination therapies and comprising administration of an anti-IL-6 antibody, such as Ab1 or a fragment or variant thereof, and at least one other therapeutic compound such as a statin, anti-coagulant, anti-emetic, anti-nausea agent, anti-cachexia agent, chemotherapy agent, anti-cytokine agent, etc.
2. Description of Related Art
Weight loss, fatigue, and muscular weakness are very common symptoms of patients with advanced forms of cancer, and these symptoms can worsen as the cancer continues to progress. Fatigue, weight loss and muscular weakness can have significant negative effects on the recovery of patients with advanced forms of cancer, for example by disrupting lifestyles and relationships and affecting the willingness or ability of patients to continue cancer treatments. Known methods of addressing fatigue, weight loss and muscular weakness include regular routines of fitness and exercise, methods of conserving the patient's energy, and treatments that address anemia-induced fatigue and muscular weakness. Nevertheless, there remains a need in the art for methods and/or treatments that improve fatigue, weight loss and muscular weakness in cancer patients.
Thrombosis is a significant cause of mortality in cancer patients. Bick, N Engl J Med 349:109-111 (2003). For example, serious, life-threatening thrombotic events occur in approximately 6% of lung cancer patients. Alguire et al., J Clin Oncol 2004 Vol 22 (July 15th Supplement) No. 14S: 8082. Cancer patients often exhibit hypercoagulation, in which the coagulation system has an increased clotting tendency. Rickles and Edwards, Blood 62:14-31 (1983). Markers of hypercoagulation correlate with poor patient outcome for at least some cancers. Bick, Semin Thromb Hemostat 18:353-372 (1992); Buccheri et al., Cancer 97:3044-3052 (2003); Wojtukiewicz, Blood Coagul Fibrinolysis 3:429-437 (1992). Causes of hypercoagulation include the cancer itself and the cancer treatments (e.g., chemotherapy). Hypercoagulation results in an increased risk of thrombitic events, which can be further exacerbated when patients become bed-ridden. When not contraindicated, anticoagulant therapy has conferred survival benefit in some cancers. Lebeau et al., Cancer 74:38-45 (1994); Chahinian et al., J Clin Oncol 7:993-1002 (1989). However, therapeutic options are often limited because many cancer patients are at an elevated risk of major bleeding, precluding administration of anticoagulants that could otherwise be given prophylactically to reduce the risk of thrombosis. In summary, the available methods for prevention of thrombosis in cancer patients are unsatisfactory, and thus there is a need for new therapies. Such therapies would enhance cancer patient survival and promote better quality of life.
Thrombosis can also be a significant cause of adverse events and mortality in other patient groups, including those with chronic illness or chronic inflammation, surgical patients, bed-ridden individuals, and orthopedic patients. When they are not otherwise contraindicated, preventative methods include calf compression and anticoagulants (e.g. low molecular weight heparin). These preventative methods can reduce—but not eliminate—the risk of thrombosis. Because these preventative methods are not always effective and are contraindicated for some patients, and because anticoagulants can cause potentially lethal side-effects such as major bleeding, there is a need for alternative methods to prevent thrombosis in these patients. Such methods should improve patient outcomes.
Interleukin-6 (hereinafter “IL-6”) (also known as interferon-β2; B-cell differentiation factor; B-cell stimulatory factor-2; hepatocyte stimulatory factor; hybridoma growth factor; and plasmacytoma growth factor) is a multifunctional cytokine involved in numerous biological processes such as the regulation of the acute inflammatory response, the modulation of specific immune responses including B- and T-cell differentiation, bone metabolism, thrombopoiesis, epidermal proliferation, menses, neuronal cell differentiation, neuroprotection, aging, cancer, and the inflammatory reaction occurring in Alzheimer's disease. See A. Papassotiropoulos et al, Neurobiology of Aging, 22:863-871 (2001).
IL-6 is a member of a family of cytokines that promote cellular responses through a receptor complex consisting of at least one subunit of the signal-transducing glycoprotein gp130 and the IL-6 receptor (“IL-6R”) (also known as gp80). The IL-6R may also be present in a soluble form (“sIL-6R”). IL-6 binds to IL-6R, which then dimerizes the signal-transducing receptor gp130. See Jones, S A, J. Immunology, 175:3463-3468 (2005).
In humans, the gene encoding IL-6 is organized in five exons and four introns, and maps to the short arm of chromosome 7 at 7p21. Translation of IL-6 RNA and post-translational processing result in the formation of a 21 to 28 kDa protein with 184 amino acids in its mature form. See A. Papassotiropoulos, et al, Neurobiology of Aging, 22:863-871 (2001).
As set forth in greater detail herein IL-6 is believed to play a role in the development of a multitude of diseases and disorders, including but not limited to fatigue, cachexia, autoimmune diseases, diseases of the skeletal system, cancer, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, asthma, alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis. Due to the perceived involvement of IL-6 in a wide range of diseases and disorders, there remains a need in the art for compositions and methods useful for preventing or treating diseases associated with IL-6, as well as methods of screening to identify patients having diseases or disorders associated with IL-6. Particularly preferred anti-IL-6 compositions are those having minimal or minimizing adverse reactions when administered to the patient. Compositions or methods that reduce or inhibit diseases or disorders associated with IL-6 are beneficial to the patient in need thereof.
The function of IL-6 is not restricted to the immune response as it acts in hematopoiesis, thrombopoiesis, osteoclast formation, elicitation of hepatic acute phase response resulting in the elevation of C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid A (SAA) protein. It is known to be a growth factor for epidermal keratinocytes, renal mesangial cells, myeloma and plasmacytoma cells (Grossman et al., 1989 Prot Natl Acad Sci., 86, (16) 6367-6371; Horii et al., 1989, J Immunol, 143, 12, 3949-3955; Kawano et al., 1988, Nature 332, 6159, 83-85). IL-6 is produced by a wide range of cell types including monocytes/macrophages, fibroblasts, epidermal keratinocytes, vascular endothelial cells, renal messangial cells, glial cells, condrocytes, T and B-cells and some tumour cells (Akira et al, 1990, FASEB J., 4, 11, 2860-2867). Except for tumour cells that constitutively produce IL-6, normal cells do not express IL-6 unless appropriately stimulated.
Elevated IL-6 levels have been observed in many types of cancer, including breast cancer, leukemia, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, lymphoma, lung cancer, renal cell carcinoma, colorectal cancer, and multiple myeloma (e.g., Chopra et al., 2004, MJAFI 60:45-49; Songur et al., 2004, Tumori 90:196-200; Blay et al., 1992, Cancer Research 52:3317-3322; Nikiteas et al., 2005, World J. Gasterenterol. 11:1639-1643; reviewed in Heikkila et al., 2008, Eur J Cancer, 44:937-945). As noted above, IL-6 is known or suspected to play a role in promoting proliferation or survival of at least some types of cancer. Moreover, some of these studies have demonstrated correlation between IL-6 levels and patient oucome. Together, these results suggest the possibility that inhibition of IL-6 can be therapeutically beneficial. Indeed, clinical studies (reviewed in Trikha et al., 2003, Clinical Cancer Research 9:4653-4665) have shown some improvement in patient outcomes due to administration of various anti-IL-6 antibodies, particularly in those cancers in which IL-6 plays a direct role promoting cancer cell proliferation or survival.
As noted above, IL-6 stimulates the hepatic acute phase response, resulting in increased production of CRP and elevated serum CRP levels. For this reason, C-reactive protein (CRP) has been reported to comprise a surrogate marker of IL-6 activity. Thus, elevated IL-6 activity can be detected through measurement of serum CRP. Conversely, effective suppression of IL-6 activity, e.g., through administration of a neutralizing anti-IL-6 antibody, can be detected by the resulting decrease in serum CRP levels.
A recent clinical trial demonstrated that administration of rosuvastatin to apparently healthy individuals having elevated CRP (greater than 2.0 mg/1) reduced their CRP levels by 37% and greatly decreased the incidence of myocardial infarction, stroke, arterial revascularization, hospitalization for unstable angina, or death from cardiovascular causes. Ridker et al., N Engl J Med. 2008 Nov. 9 [Epub ahead of print].
In addition to its direct role in pathogenesis of some cancers and other diseases, chronically elevated IL-6 levels appear to adversely affect patient well-being and quality of life. For example, elevated IL-6 levels have been reported to be associated with cachexia and fever, and reduced serum albumin. Gauldie et al., 1987, PNAS 84:7251-7253; Heinric et al., 1990, 265:621-636; Zamir et al., 1993, Metabolism 42:204-208; Zamir et al., 1992, Arch Surg, 127:170-174. Inhibition of IL-6 by a neutralizing antibody has been reported to ameliorate fever and cachexia in cancer patients, though improvement in these patients' serum albumin level has not been reported (Emille et al., 1994, Blood, 84:2472-2479; Blay et al., 1992, Cancer Research 52:3317-3322; Bataille et al., 1995, Blood, 86: 685-691).
Numerous studies have suggested that CRP is a valuable prognostic factor in cancer patients, with elevated CRP levels predicting poor outcome. See, e.g., Hefler et al, Clin Cancer Res, 2008 Feb. 1; 14(3):710-4; Nagaoka et al, Liver Int, 2007 October; 27(8):1091-7; Heikkila et al, J Epidemiol Community Health, 2007 September; 61(9):824-33, Review; Hara et al, Anticancer Res, 2007 July-August; 27(4C):3001-4; Polterauer et al, Gynecol Oncol, 2007 October; 107(1):114-7, Epub 2007 Jul. 6; Tingstedt et al, Scand J Gastroenterol, 2007 June; 42(6):754-9; Suh et al, Support Care Cancer, 2007 June; 15(6):613-20, Epub 2007 Jan. 18; Gerhardt et al, World J Gastroenterol, 2006 Sep. 14; 12(34):5495-500; McArdle et al, Urol Int, 2006; 77(2):127-9; Guillem et al, Dis Esophagus, 2005; 18(3):146-50; Brown et al, Cancer, 2005 Jan. 15; 103(2):377-82. Decreased serum albumin (hypoalbuminemia) is also associated with increased morbidity and mortality in many critical illnesses, including cancers (e.g., Vigano et al., Arch Intern Med, 2000 Mar. 27; 160(6):861-8; Hauser et al., Support Care Cancer, 2006 October; 14(10):999-1011; Seve et al., Cancer, 2006 Dec. 1; 107(11):2698-705). The apparent link between hypoalbuminemia and poor patient oucome might suggest that restoring albumin levels through direct albumin infusion could promote patient survival, however, albumin infusion alone has not improved survival of patients with advanced cancer (Demirkazik et al., Proc Am Soc Clin Oncol 21: 2002 (abstr 2892)) or other critically ill patients groups (reviewed in Wilkes et al., Ann Intern Med, 2001 Aug. 7; 135(3):149-64).
The Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS) is an inflammation-based prognostic score that combines levels of albumin (<35 mg/L=1 point) and CRP (>10 mg/L=1 point) (Forrest et al., Br J Cancer, 2004 May 4; 90(9):1704-6). Since its introduction in 2004, the Glasgow Prognostic Score has already been shown to have prognostic value as a predictor of mortality in numerous cancers, including gastro-oesophageal cancer, non-small-cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, bronchogenic cancer, and metastatic renal cancer (Forrest et al., Br J Cancer, 2004 May 4; 90(9):1704-6; Sharma et al., Clin Colorectal Cancer, 2008 September; 7(5):331-7; Sharma et al., Eur J Cancer, 2008 January; 44(2):251-6; McMillan et al., Nutr Cancer, 2001; 41(1-2):64-9; McMillan, Proc Nutr Soc, 2008 August; 67(3):257-62; Ramsey et al., Cancer, 2007 Jan. 15; 109(2):205-12). Because the combination of elevated CRP and reduced albumin predicts cancer patient mortality, a treatment that both lowers CRP and raises albumin would suggest a strong possibility of also promoting patient survival.
U.S. patent application publication no. 20080081041 (relating to treatment of cancer using an anti-IL-6 antibody) discloses that since IL-6 is associated with disease activity and since CRP is a surrogate marker of IL-6 activity, sustained suppression of CRP by neutralization of IL-6 by their anti-IL-6 antibody (CNTO 328, Zaki et al., Int J Cancer, 2004 Sep. 10; 111(4):592-5) may be assumed necessary to achieve biological activity. The same patent application indicates that the relationship between IL-6 and CRP in patients with benign and malignant prostate disease was previously examined by McArdle (McArdle et al. 2004 Br J Cancer 91(10):1755-1757). McArdle reportedly found no significant differences between the concentrations of IL-6 and CRP in the patients with benign disease compared with prostate cancer patients, in the cancer patients there was a significant increase in both IL-6 and CRP concentration with increasing tumor grade. The median serum CRP value for the 86 subjects with prostate cancer was 1.8 mg/L. Based thereon the inventors in this patent application postulate a proposed dose and schedule wherein 6 mg/kg of an anti-IL-6 antibody (CNTO 328) is administered every 2 weeks and allege that this is likely to achieve sustained suppression of CRP in subjects with metastatic HRPC.
IL-6 signaling is mediated by the Jak-Tyk family of cytoplasmic tyrosine kinases, including JAK1, JAK2, and JAK3 (reviewed in Murray J Immunol. 2007 Mar. 1; 178(5):2623-9). Sivash et al. report abrogation of IL-6-mediated JAK signalling by the cyclopentenone prostaglandin 15d-PGD2 in oral squamous carcinoma cells. British Journal of Cancer (2004) 91, 1074-1080. These results suggest that inhibitors of JAK1, JAK2, or JAK3 could be employed as antagonists of IL-6.
Ulanova et al. report that inhibition of the nonreceptor protein tyrosine kinase Syk (using siRNA) decreased production of IL-6 by epithelial cells. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2005 March; 288(3):L497-507. These results suggest that an inhibitor of Syk could be employed as an antagonist of IL-6.
Kedar et al. report that treatment with thalidomide significantly reduced serum levels of CRP and IL-6 to normal or near normal levels in a substantial fraction of renal cell carcinoma patients. Int J Cancer. 2004 Jun. 10; 110(2):260-5. These results suggest that thalidomide, and possibly derivatives thereof, such as lenalidomide, may be useful antagonists of IL-6.
In addition, another published patent application, US 20070292420 teaches a Phase I dose escalating study using an anti-IL-6 (cCLB-8) antibody for treating refractory patients with advanced stage multiple myeloma (N=12) and indicate that this study demonstrated that some patients had disease stabilization. The application also reports that after discontinuation of treatment there was acceleration in the increase of M protein levels, suggesting disease re-bound after the withdrawal of therapy. Anti-IL-6 cCLB-8 antibody inhibited free circulating IL-6.
The application also indicates that this antibody trial resulted in no toxicity (except transient thrombocytopenia in two heavily pretreated patients) or allergic reactions were observed and that C-reactive protein (CRP) decreased below detection level in all patients. Their antibody (cCLB-8 antibody) reportedly possessed a circulating half-life of 17.8 days, and that there was no human anti-chimeric antibody (HACA) immune response observed (van Zaanen et al. 1998). They allege that the administration of CNTO 328 did not cause changes in blood pressure, pulse rate, temperature, hemoglobin, liver functions and renal functions. Except for transient thrombocytopenia in two heavily pretreated patients, no toxicity or allergic reactions allegedly were observed, and there was no human anti-chimeric antibody (HACA) immune response observed. Three patients in their study reportedly developed infection-related complications during therapy, however, a possible relation with anti-IL-6 cCLB-8 antibody was concluded by the inventors to be unlikely because infectious complications are reportedly common in end stage multiple myeloma and are a major cause of death. They conclude based on their results that this anti-IL-6 cCLB-8 antibody was safe in multiple myeloma patients.
Certain of the anti-IL-6 antibodies disclosed herein have also been disclosed in the following published and unpublished patent applications, which are co-owned by the assignee of the present application: U.S. 2009/0028784, WO 2008/144763, U.S. Ser. No. 12/391,717 filed Feb. 24, 2009, and U.S. Ser. No. 12/366,567 filed Feb. 5, 2009.
Other anti-IL-6 antibodies have been disclosed in the following U.S. patents and published patent applications: U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,482,436; 7,291,721; 6,121,423; 2008/0075726; 2007/0178098; 2007/0154481; 2006/0257407; and 2006/0188502.
As noted above, elevated IL-6 has been implicated in pathogenesis of cachexia, weakness, fatigue, and fever. Diseases and disorders associated with fatigue include, but are not limited to, general fatigue, exercise-induced fatigue, cancer-related fatigue, inflammatory disease-related fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome. See, for example, Esper D H, et al, The cancer cachexia syndrome: a review of metabolic and clinical manifestations, Nutr Clin Pract., 2005 August; 20 (4):369-76; Vgontzas A N, et al, IL-6 and its circadian secretion in humans, Neuroimmunomodulation, 2005; 12(3):131-40; Robson-Ansley, P J, et al, Acute interleukin-6 administration impairs athletic performance in healthy, trained male runners, Can J Appl Physiol., 2004 August; 29(4):411-8; Shephard R J., Cytokine responses to physical activity, with particular reference to IL-6: sources, actions, and clinical implications, Crit Rev Immunol., 2002; 22(3):165-82; Arnold, M C, et al, Using an interleukin-6 challenge to evaluate neuropsychological performance in chronic fatigue syndrome, Psychol Med., 2002 August; 32(6):1075-89; Kurzrock R., The role of cytokines in cancer-related fatigue, Cancer, 2001 Sep. 15; 92(6 Suppl):1684-8; Nishimoto N, et al, Improvement in Castleman's disease by humanized anti-interleukin-6 receptor antibody therapy, Blood, 2000 Jan. 1; 95 (1):56-61; Vgontzas A N, et al, Circadian interleukin-6 secretion and quantity and depth of sleep, J Clin Endocrinol Metab., 1999 August; 84(8):2603-7; and Spath-Schwalbe E, et al, Acute effects of recombinant human interleukin 6 on endocrine and central nervous sleep functions in healthy men, J Clin Endocrinol Metab., 1998 May; 83(5):1573-9; the disclosures of each of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.
Diseases and disorders associated with cachexia include, but are not limited to, cancer-related cachexia, cardiac-related cachexia, respiratory-related cachexia, renal-related cachexia and age-related cachexia. See, for example, Barton, B E., Interleukin-6 and new strategies for the treatment of cancer, hyperproliferative diseases and paraneoplastic syndromes, Expert Opin Ther Targets, 2005 August; 9(4):737-52; Zaki M H, et al, CNTO 328, a monoclonal antibody to IL-6, inhibits human tumor-induced cachexia in nude mice, Int J Cancer, 2004 Sep. 10; 111(4):592-5; Trikha M, et al, Targeted anti-interleukin-6 monoclonal antibody therapy for cancer: a review of the rationale and clinical evidence, Clin Cancer Res., 2003 Oct. 15; 9(13):4653-65; Lelli G, et al, Treatment of the cancer anorexia-cachexia syndrome: a critical reappraisal, J Chemother., 2003 June; 15(3):220-5; Argiles J M, et al, Cytokines in the pathogenesis of cancer cachexia, Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care, 2003 July; 6(4):401-6; Barton B E., IL-6-like cytokines and cancer cachexia: consequences of chronic inflammation, Immunol Res., 2001; 23(1):41-58; Yamashita J I, et al, Medroxyprogesterone acetate and cancer cachexia: interleukin-6 involvement, Breast Cancer, 2000; 7(2):130-5; Yeh S S, et al, Geriatric cachexia: the role of cytokines, Am J Clin Nutr., 1999 August; 70(2):183-97; Strassmann G, et al, Inhibition of experimental cancer cachexia by anti-cytokine and anti-cytokine-receptor therapy, Cytokines Mol Ther., 1995 June; 1(2):107-13; Fujita J, et al, Anti-interleukin-6 receptor antibody prevents muscle atrophy in colon-26 adenocarcinoma-bearing mice with modulation of lysosomal and ATP-ubiquitin-dependent proteolytic pathways, Int J Cancer, 1996 Nov. 27; 68(5):637-43; Tsujinaka T, et al, Interleukin 6 receptor antibody inhibits muscle atrophy and modulates proteolytic systems in interleukin 6 transgenic mice, J Clin Invest., 1996 Jan. 1; 97(1):244-9; Emilie D, et al, Administration of an anti-interleukin-6 monoclonal antibody to patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and lymphoma: effect on lymphoma growth and on B clinical Symptoms, Blood, 1994 Oct. 15; 84 (8):2472-9; and Strassmann G, et al, Evidence for the involvement of interleukin 6 in experimental cancer cachexia, J Clin Invest., 1992 May; 89(5):1681-4; the disclosures of each of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.
Another cachexia-related disease is failure to thrive, also known as faltering growth, in which a child exhibits a rate of weight gain less than expected. Failure to thrive is typically defined as weight below the third percentile or a decrease in the percentile rank of 2 major growth parameters in a short period. Failure to thrive results from heterogeneous medical and psychosocial causes, and the cause sometimes eludes diagnosis. One recent study (totaling 34 patients) reported a statistically significant elevation in IL-6 levels in patients diagnosed with failure to thrive. Shaoul et al. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr., 2003 October; 37(4):487-91.
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Mammography has long been used to screen for breast cancer and other abnormalities. Traditionally, mammograms have been formed on x-ray film. More recently, flat panel digital imagers have been introduced that acquire a mammogram in digital form, and thereby facilitate analysis and storage of the acquired images, and provide other benefits as well. Further, substantial attention and technological development has been dedicated towards obtaining three-dimensional images of the breast, using methods such as breast tomosynthesis. In contrast to the 2D images generated by legacy mammography systems, breast tomosynthesis systems construct a 3D image volume from a series of 2D projection images, each projection image obtained at a different angular displacement of an x-ray source relative to the image detector as the x-ray source is scanned over the detector. The constructed 3D image volume is typically presented as a plurality of slices of image data, the slices being geometrically reconstructed on planes parallel to the imaging detector. The reconstructed tomosynthesis slices reduce or eliminate the problems caused by tissue overlap and structure noise present in single slice, two-dimensional mammography imaging, by permitting a medical professional (e.g., a radiologist) to scroll through the image slices to view underlying structures.
Tomosynthesis systems have recently been developed for breast cancer screening and diagnosis. In particular, Hologic, Inc. (www.hologic.com), has developed a fused, multimode mammography/tomosynthesis system that acquires one or both types of mammogram and tomosynthesis images, either while the breast remains immobilized or in different compressions of the breast. Other companies have proposed the introduction of systems which are dedicated to tomosynthesis imaging; i.e., which do not include the ability to also acquire a mammogram.
However, systems restricted to tomosynthesis acquisition and image display may present an obstacle to acceptance of the tomosynthesis imaging technology, as medical professionals have grown accustomed to screening and analysis of conventional 2D mammogram images. In particular, mammograms provide good visualization of micro-calcifications, and can offer higher spatial resolution when compared with tomosynthesis images. While tomosynthesis images provided by dedicated breast tomosynthesis systems have other desirable characteristics, e.g., better isolation and visualization of structures in the breast, such systems do not leverage the existing interpretation expertise of medical professionals.
Examples of systems and methods that leverage existing medical expertise in order to facilitate the transition to tomosynthesis technology are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,760,924, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 7,760,924 describes a method of generating a synthesized 2D image, which may be displayed along with tomosynthesis projection or reconstructed images, in order to assist in screening and diagnosis.
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The heart of a computer is an assembly that is referred to as a magnetic disk drive. The magnetic disk drive includes a rotating magnetic disk, write and read heads that are suspended by a suspension arm adjacent to a surface of the rotating magnetic disk and an actuator that swings the suspension arm to place the read and write heads over selected circular tracks on the rotating disk. The read and write heads are directly located on a slider that has an air bearing surface (ABS). The suspension arm biases the slider into contact with the surface of the disk when the disk is not rotating but, when the disk rotates, air is swirled by the rotating disk. When the slider rides on the air bearing, the write and read heads are employed for writing magnetic impressions to and reading magnetic impressions from the rotating disk. The read and write heads are connected to processing circuitry that operates according to a computer program to implement the writing and reading functions.
The write head includes a coil layer embedded in first, second and third insulation layers (insulation stack), the insulation stack being sandwiched between first and second pole piece layers. A gap is formed between the first and second pole piece layers by a gap layer at an air bearing surface (ABS) of the write head and the pole piece layers are connected at a back gap. Current conducted to the coil layer induces a magnetic flux in the pole pieces which causes a magnetic field to fringe out at a write gap at the ABS for the purpose of writing the aforementioned magnetic impressions in tracks on the moving media, such as in circular tracks on the aforementioned rotating disk.
In recent read head designs a spin valve sensor, also referred to as a giant magnetoresistive (GMR) sensor, has been employed for sensing magnetic fields from the rotating magnetic disk. The sensor includes a nonmagnetic conductive layer, hereinafter referred to as a spacer layer, sandwiched between first and second ferromagnetic layers, hereinafter referred to as a pinned layer and a free layer. First and second leads are connected to the spin valve sensor for conducting a sense current therethrough. The magnetization of the pinned layer is pinned perpendicular to the air bearing surface (ABS) and the magnetic moment of the free layer is located parallel to the ABS, but free to rotate in response to external magnetic fields. The magnetization of the pinned layer is typically pinned by exchange coupling with an antiferromagnetic layer.
The thickness of the spacer layer is chosen to be less than the mean free path of conduction electrons through the sensor. With this arrangement, a portion of the conduction electrons is scattered by the interfaces of the spacer layer with each of the pinned and free layers. When the magnetizations of the pinned and free layers are parallel with respect to one another, scattering is minimal and when the magnetizations of the pinned and free layer are antiparallel, scattering is maximized. Changes in scattering alter the resistance of the spin valve sensor in proportion to cos θ, where θ is the angle between the magnetizations of the pinned and free layers. In a read mode the resistance of the spin valve sensor changes proportionally to the magnitudes of the magnetic fields from the rotating disk. When a sense current is conducted through the spin valve sensor, resistance changes cause potential changes that are detected and processed as playback signals.
In the face of the ever increasing demand for improved data rate and data capacity, researchers continually strive to decrease the size and increase the write performance of write elements. One recently constructed write head, termed a bionic head, has been manufactured by Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. The bionic head includes a first pole (P1) that includes a first layer of magnetic material, and a magnetic pedestal (P1 pedestal) formed on that first layer of magnetic material. A thin layer of dielectric material is formed over the top of the P1 pedestal, and the second pole extends over the first pole from the pole tip region to the back gap. The bionic head provides excellent track width control, bit size and magnetic field strength.
Write heads, such as the bionic head described above, have suffered from recession. Recession of the P1 pedestal is a term that refers to the P1 pedestal sinking into the write head (ie. away from the magnetic medium). As can be appreciated, this recession of the pedestal portion of the first pole increases the effective fly height of the write head. As slider fly heights decrease, the effect of this recession becomes a larger percentage of the fly height budget, seriously degrading write performance. To maintain performance standards, manufacturers must specify a maximum allowable level of recession. A head having recession greater than this amount must be scrapped. Currently yield losses due to recession have been as high as 0.5%.
Therefore, there is a strong felt need for a way of reducing recession in the construction of a write head such as a bionic head. Such a means for reducing recession would preferably involve existing manufacturing techniques and materials so as not require significant additional manufacturing expense. Such a method would also preferably not negatively affect other performance parameters such as track width control, write gap thickness, or field strength among others.
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The present invention relates to a high pressure metal vapor discharge lamp, and more particularly to a high pressure sodium vapor discharge lamp with improved starting characteristics.
High pressure sodium vapor discharge lamps generally have a higher efficiency, i.e., a higher lumen output per watt, than high pressure mercury vapor discharge lamps, metal halide discharge lamps or the like. However, sodium vapor lamps require a specially designed ballast for starting and stable operation because a high starting voltage is needed. The expense of the special ballast hinders general use of high pressure sodium vapor discharge lamps.
A high pressure sodium vapor lamp has been developed which has in its outer jacket a discharge tube and a starting device comprising a heating filament and a thermally responsive switch. Such sodium vapor lamps can be started and stably operated with a ballast for a high pressure mercury vapor discharge lamp. In the starting operation, the thermally responsive switch is operated by the heating filament so that the switching voltage of the thermally responsive switch is converted into high voltage pulses by the induction of the choke coil of the ballast, and the high voltage pulses are impressed upon the electrodes of the discharge tube so that the lamp may be started. Accordingly, such a high pressure sodium vapor discharge lamp does not require any special external high voltage pulse generating device so that it can be used in place of a high pressure mercury vapor discharge lamp in lighting devices equipped with conventional mercury vapor lamp ballast while enjoying the advantage that an intensity of illumination may be attained which is twice as bright as that of a high pressure mercury vapor discharge lamp.
However, a high pressure sodium vapor discharge lamp having such a starting device in its outer jacket generates a pulse voltage as high as 4000 volts in the starting operation due to the action of the thermally responsive switch. When such high voltage pulses are generated, there is a possibility that a dielectric breakdown may occur between the choke coils of the ballast, between the socket and the screw base of the sodium vapor discharge lamp or between other points in the lamp circuit. This possibility is especially high in circuits of mercury vapor lamp lighting devices in which the insulation has deteriorated after years of use.
Particularly in a lamp circuit in which a ballast having a short circuit current of 0.9 to 1.7 amperes, such as a ballast for an 80 watt mercury vapor lamp, is used with 70 to 90 watt sodium vapor lamps, the high pressure sodium vapor discharge lamps have small size bases of the E26 or E27 type so that the possibility of dielectric breakdown occurring at the fitting between the base and the socket during a high voltage starting pulse is quite high. Hence, it is necessary to reduce the pulse voltage at the start. However, if the pulse voltage is reduced, the lamp cannot be started smoothly and the desired lamp operation cannot be attained.
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Battery devices, such as rechargeable batteries, battery packs or terminal equipment having permanently installed chargeable battery cells are typically charged with the aid of external charging stations. This includes inter alia utilizing charging methods which use a contactless energy transmission between the charging station and the battery device. In an inductive charging system, for example, energy may be transmitted with the aid of a magnetic field. For this purpose, a transmitter coil housed in a charging station generates an alternating magnetic field which induces an electrical alternating current in a corresponding receiver coil of the battery device. However, an inductive coupling between both devices is required in order for the energy to be effectively delivered from the charging station to the accommodation unit. Thus, the transmitter and the receiver coil, depending on the quality of the inductive coupling, must typically be situated at a relatively small distance of a few millimeters to several centimeters from one another, the inductive coupling capable of being enhanced by a ferromagnetic core in the transmitter and the receiver coil.
In a wireless charging system which operates on the basis of an inductive energy transmission, different problems may arise depending on the configuration. Thus, for example, sufficient detection of a battery pack inserted into the charging station must be ensured, which requires a cyclical “pinging” of the battery device when the charging station is in standby mode. Furthermore, an adequate communication path between the battery pack and the charging station is also necessary in order to be able to determine the point in time when charging or recharging is ended and to communicate the required energy needs. In addition, foreign objects must be clearly and easily detected. Furthermore, a sufficiently robust feedback system for closing the control circuit must also be provided.
Various approaches are already known which provide optical transmission systems for charging systems. The publication DE 29724016 U1, for example, discusses a charging device for a rechargeable battery in which a detection of rechargeable batteries having varying capacitances is implemented with the aid of light barriers. In addition, the charging device includes an IR interface for transmitting information from the rechargeable battery to the charging device.
A charging device for inductively charging a hand-held power tool is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,979 A, in which the hand-held power tool communicates the fully charged state of its internal battery cells to the charging device with the aid of a photodiode.
A charging device for charging rechargeable batteries is also discussed in DE 19955985 A1 U1, the charging device including a light barrier for detecting an inserted rechargeable battery.
A rechargeable battery pack having a coding pin for interrupting a light barrier situated in the charging device is also discussed in DE 202009002787 U1.
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The present disclosure relates to a display control apparatus, a display control method, a program, and an information storage medium.
A technology is known in which a voice message entered from a user is accepted to execute processing in accordance with the information represented by the accepted voice message. In one example of an apparatus based on this technology, information indicative that an option of attention related with information indicative of a voice message to be accepted is identified by highlighting this option is displayed. With this apparatus, upon reception of a voice message indicative of an instruction of execution for example, processing in accordance with an option of attention is executed.
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There are many types of facilities which are adapted to accommodate large numbers of people. As examples, many facilities are used as places of employment, schools and gathering halls (among other functions).
During an emergency the operators of such facilities typically need to either get people out of the facility, or into an appropriate location within the facility. Getting people out of a facility, or to an appropriate location within the facility, can be quite difficult, especially when there is no way of determining the location of each individual that is within the facility.
Many of these types of buildings, factories, schools and institutions are required by local ordinances to have some sort of emergency warning system that alerts people to an emergency situation (e.g., a fire, chemical spill, terrorist attack, tornado or hurricane). The appropriate response to an emergency by the individuals that are within the facility will depend in part on the type of emergency. As examples, people should leave the structure during a fire and move to a basement or interior protective area within the facility during a tornado.
Some facilities have different signals to alert people as to the type of emergency. As examples, a continuous siren may indicate a fire while an intermittent siren may indicate a tornado.
There are facilities that include systems for providing response instructions to individuals in the case of an emergency. These systems typically include written messages and/or videos that the individuals read upon entering the structure. Other systems rely on the performance of “drills” to simulate an appropriate response in an emergency.
One unacceptable situation is where an individual is not provided with any type of emergency response instructions. The individual must either find a way to manage alone, or hopefully find another person who knows an appropriate route to take during a particular type of emergency.
There is a need for a system and method that quickly provide individuals within a facility with appropriate response instructions during an emergency. The system and method should be able to account for the locations of individuals within the facility and the type of emergency.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to methods for the preparation of iron and titanium-containing nanoparticles.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Particles with average sizes of less than about 200 nanometers, that is, nanoparticles, are of interest because their crystalline properties and other nanoscale features can dramatically change the properties of the material. The resulting unique mechanical, magnetic and electrical properties of nano-sized materials cause them to be of great interest.
It is well known in the art to prepare nanoparticles of various compositions by, for instance, mechanical alloying, mechanical grinding and ball milling of large particles until the desired crystal domain size is obtained. These grinding processes are time consuming, energy intensive, and produce a powder with a broad distribution of crystal domain sizes, including particles of larger undesirable sizes. The powder can also contain crystal domains encapsulated by larger particles of unwanted material. Additionally, the grinding materials utilized in the processes can contaminate the nanoparticle product.
A need exists, therefore, for methods of preparing nanoparticles, particularly iron and titanium-containing nanoparticles, which provide for control over the size of the resulting nanoparticles.
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Approximately fifty to seventy percent of all prescription medications in the U.S. are taken incorrectly. The effects of this prescription misuse account for 3.1 million nursing home admissions each year. More patients in the U.S. die each year from medication mismanagement than from AIDS and automobile accidents combined, and it is estimated that 125,000 deaths per year are caused by improper use of prescription drugs.
One of the major problems in taking prescribed daily medications emanates from patients having to take more than one medication in the form of pills or tablets. A principal concern is determining whether all medications are in compliance with the prescribed daily regimen. Many times this concern is compounded by the requirement that portions of the different medications must be taken at different times during the day.
The fear of taking improper dosages of prescribed medication can be particularly acute in the elderly, many of whom have some degree of mental dementia and can easily be confused as to whether they have taken all of their medications at the correct time. Some patients have difficulty sorting out the medications prior to taking them and taking the medication in a timely manner. Providing medications to disabled or incapacitated individuals can also be complicated because one caregiver may oversee the medication of many patients.
One solution to the problem of taking multiple medications is to pre-package the multiple medications so that users can take the pre-packaged medications at a predetermined time. Generally, these methods of pre-packaging medications are targeted to patients that may lack maturity or mental capacity to take the correct medications at the correct time. F or example, young children in a school or campground, and elderly individuals in elder care centers, or nursing homes are target groups for the pre-packaging of medications. Some of the pre-packaged medications are placed in a small plastic bag, which may be easily misplaced. Other pre-packaged medications are placed in sealed cups that are difficult to open.
Although multiple prescription filling systems are available, e.g. the McKesson PACMED system, these systems have limited capabilities. For example, these filling systems fail to assemble a multiple prescription order that can be easily transported and administered. Additionally, these filling systems fail to effectively organize the multiple prescription medications. Furthermore, the filling systems fail to organize the multiple prescription containers. Further still, the filling systems fail to provide a compliance packaging solution.
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On a typical front face a bank card is provided with characters in relief relative to its bearer and his bank and, on the reverse side, a magnetic track carrying information also relative to the bearer and the bank.
The payment slips in question are called bills. In actual fact, the apparatus publishes several examples of the same document collected together in a bundle of sheets or tickets, which is also called bill, and the apparatus itself is often called a billing machine.
Two of the sheets of the bill, one for the purchaser, the other for the vendor, are self-carboned, the third, which is more rigid, being intended for a processing center. The publishing taking place by printing sheets between, on the one hand, a bank card and a plate supporting the card having other characters in relief, defined further on, and, on the other hand, two printing rollers mounted on a carriage driven manually with a reciprocating movement. More exactly, the rollers are mounted on a pivoting stirrup and it is during the carriage return that the sheets are printed.
A bank card on its reverse side bears:
the name of its bearer, PA0 a number, comprising fifteen figures or so, representing the bank identity of the bearer, PA0 expiry date of the validity of the card. PA0 the name and address of the vendor, PA0 a bank identity number of the vendor, PA0 the date of the transaction, PA0 the amount of the transaction, on some publishing apparatus.
The plate of the card support publishing apparatus has, on the side receiving the card, at least three groups of characters:
The first two groups of characters of the plate represent constant data, such as those of a bank card, whereas the last groups of characters of the plate represent variable data concerning the transaction.
The variable data characters are carried respectively by printing wheels, each having a series of ten figures from 0 to 9, the wheels projecting slightly from the plate and being mounted for rotation on the apparatus so as to be able, at the beginning of the day and at each transaction, to select their angular positions and thus the values of variable data such as the date and amount of the transaction.
To be complete, it will be noted that the bill blanks each comprise pre-printed boxes for receiving respectively an operation number, an authorization number, a certificate number and the signature of the buyer.
These publishing apparatus have the advantage of being relatively simple and robust.
However, they have some drawbacks.
The wheels for publishing the date and the amount of the transaction are sometimes difficult to index to the extent that the vendors very often write the amount of the transaction by hand, perhaps also to avoid any ambiguity due to the absence of a stop before the figures of the cents.
Contrary to checks, with which they have something in common, the bills only comprise characters which can be read optically; i.e., typically they do not have CMC7 magnetically readable characters.
The result is that the bank processing of the bills is not easy; it involves acquiring all the characters again. Since the transactions are made without any connection with the processing or authorization center, they carry no guarantee as to their validity, quite apart from the risks of fraud.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for producing a thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer having a flow beginning temperature of 340xc2x0 C. or more.
2. Description of the Related Art
Thermotropic liquid crystalline polymers are widely used as portable and thin electric and electronic parts materials due to excellent melt flowability and heat resistance.
Various methods are known for producing a thermotropic liquid crystalline resin.
For example, JP-A No. 2-69518 discloses a process for producing a whole aromatic polyester, and it is also disclosed that when a pre-polymer is polymerized in solid phase, it is necessary to select treating temperature and temperature raising speed so that particles of the resin are not sintered, and when sintered, polymerization is suppressed and removal of substances having low boiling point becomes insufficient.
Particularly, when producing a thermotropic liquid crystalline resin of high heat resistance having a flow beginning temperature of 340xc2x0 C. or more by solid phase polymerization, it is difficult to effect solid phase polymerization so that particles of the resin are not sintered, and even when sintering of resin particles is few, blistering occurs on the surface of a molded article containing said resin under high temperature for soldering and the like.
An object of the present invention is to provide a process for producing a thermotropic liquid crystalline resin having a flow beginning temperature of 340xc2x0 C. or more which does not cause sintering of resin particles in solid phase polymerization, and scarcely causes a problem of blistering of a molded article containing said resin under high temperature environment.
The present inventors have intensively studied to find a process for producing a thermotropic liquid crystalline resin having a flow beginning temperature of 340xc2x0 C. or more which has no problems as described above, and resultantly found that, a thermotropic liquid crystalline resin having a flow beginning temperature of 340xc2x0 C. or more can be produced without causing problems as described above by controlling the average temperature raising speed of resin temperature (t) in a specific range when raising the resin temperature (t) from (FT0+20)xc2x0 C. to (FT0+50)xc2x0 C. and controlling the flow beginning temperature of a thermotropic liquid crystalline resin at each resin temperature in a specific range, and have completed the present invention.
Namely, the present invention relates to a process for producing a thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer having a flow beginning temperature of 340xc2x0 C. or more comprising raising the temperature of a thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer from 200xc2x0 C. or less to raising end temperature (Axc2x0 C.) of (FT0+50)xc2x0 C. or more in substantially solid phase condition,
wherein the thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer has a flow beginning temperature (FT0) of 200xc2x0 C. or more and 300xc2x0 C. or less, and in a step of raising the resin temperature (t) from (FT0+20)xc2x0 C. to (FT0+50)xc2x0 C. (step (1)), the average raising speed of the resin temperature is from over 0.1xc2x0 C./min. to less than 0.5xc2x0 C./min. and the flow beginning temperature of the thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer at each resin temperature is (txe2x88x9210)xc2x0 C. or more and (t+40)xc2x0 C. or less.
Embodiments of the present invention are described below. In the following descriptions, xe2x80x9cheat resistancexe2x80x9d of a resin means a thermomechanical and chemical heat resistance. As measure of thermomechanical heat resistance, deflection temperature under load is exemplified. As measure of chemical heat resistance, soldering resistance is exemplified. xe2x80x9cProcessabilityxe2x80x9d of a resin means melt flowability of a resin in injection molding mainly.
The thermotropic liquid crystalline resin of the present invention is, for example, a whole aromatic thermotropic liquid crystalline resin such as polyesters or polyesteramides having a whole aromatic skeleton, and there are exemplified
(1) resins having a structural unit derived from at least one aromatic hydroxycarboxylic acids,
(2) resins having a structural unit derived from aromatic dicarboxylic acid and aromatic diol,
(3) resins having a structural unit derived from aromatic hydroxycarboxylic acid, aromatic dicarboxylic acid and aromatic diol,
(4) resins obtained by adding a structural unit derived from aromatic aminocarboxylic acid to (1),
(5) resins obtained by adding a structural unit derived from aminophenols to (2) and (3), and the like, and the thermotropic liquid crystalline resin usually forms an anisotropic melted body at temperatures of 400xc2x0 C. or less.
Examples of the structural unit of the above-mentioned polyesters or polyesteramides having a whole aromatic skeleton include, but not limited to, the following units.
Structural units derived from aromatic hydroxycarboxylic acid:
Structural units derived from aromatic diol:
Structural units derived from aromatic dicarboxylic acid:
Structural units derived from aromatic aminocarboxylic acid:
Structural units derived from aminophenols:
The above-mentioned structural units derived from aromatic hydroxycarboxylic acid, aromatic diol, aromatic dicarboxylic acid, aromatic aminocarboxylic acid and aminophenols may have a substituent such as halogen atom, alkyl group, aryl group and the like on aromatic ring.
Among them, those having a total content of the above-mentioned structural units (I), (II), (III) and (IV) of 95 mol % or more are preferable from the standpoint of balance of heat resistance and processability, and those consisting essentially of the above-mentioned structural units (I), (II), (III) and (IV) are more preferable. Other structural units than (I), (II), (III) and (IV) can be appropriately selected from structural units derived from aromatic hydroxycarboxylic acid, aromatic diol, aromatic dicarboxylic acid, aromatic aminocarboxylic acid and aminophenols.
The molar ratio of (III)/(IV) is preferably from 8 to 50. When a thermotropic liquid crystalline resin having (III)/(IV) of less than 8 is used, it may be difficult to obtain a resin having a flow beginning temperature of 340xc2x0 C. or more without causing fusion of a resin even if polymerization is effected according to the present invention. When (III)/(IV) is over 50, processability may be poor. From the standpoint of balance of sufficient heat resistance and processability, (III)/(IV) is more preferably from 18 to 40, and further preferably from 15 to 30.
The molar ratio of (I)/((I)+(II)+(III)+(IV)) is preferably from 0.4 to 0.7. When (I)/((I)+(II)+(III)+(IV)) is less than 0.4, the heat resistance of the thermotropic liquid crystalline resin may lower. When over 0.7, processability may be poor. From the standpoint of balance of sufficient heat resistance and processability, (I)/((I)+(II)+(III)+(IV)) is further preferably from 0.45 to 0.55.
The molar ratio of (II)/((III)+(IV)) is preferably from 0.9 to 1.1. When (II)/((III)+(IV)) is less than 0.9 or over 1.1, it may be difficult to obtain a resin having a flow beginning temperature of 340xc2x0 C. or more without causing fusion of a resin even if polymerization is effected according to the present invention.
The objective of the present invention is to provide a thermotropic liquid crystalline resin having a flow beginning temperature of 340xc2x0 C. or more. From the standpoint of processability of the resin, the flow beginning temperature is preferably 400xc2x0 C. or less. When higher balance of heat resistance and processability is desired, the flow beginning temperature of the resin is more preferably from 370xc2x0 C. to 390xc2x0 C.
A process for producing a thermotropic liquid crystalline resin having a flow beginning temperature FT0 of 200xc2x0 C. or more and 300xc2x0 C. or less before initiation of temperature raising (hereinafter, this resin is sometimes referred to as pre-polymer) used in the present invention is not particularly restricted. There is exemplified a process in which a hydroxyl group and an amino group of aromatic hydroxycarboxylic acids, aromatic diols, aromatic aminocarboxylic acids or aromatic aminophenols are acylated with an acylating agent such as acetic anhydride and the like, and poly-condensation is effected together with aromatic dicarboxylic acids while distilling off unreacted acylating agents and an acid by-produced. It is preferable that the resulted poly-condensed substance is recovered in melted condition from a reaction vessel, solidified by cooling, then, ground to give a granule of a prepolymer, or solidified by cooling from melted condition into a string which is cut to give a pellet of a prepolymer.
In the present invention, a granule or pellet of a prepolymer has a particle diameter of preferably 10 mm or less, further preferably 5 mm or less. When the particle diameter of a granule or pellet is over 10 mm, it may be insufficient to remove substances having a lower boiling point such as an acid by-produced by poly-condensation when poly-condensation is conducted in solid phase.
An apparatus used in the present invention is not particularly restricted, and generally known heat treatment apparatuses and drying machines can be used. As examples thereof, a compartment oven, rotary kiln, fluidized bed type drier and the like are listed. It is preferable to use them under a nitrogen atmosphere.
The process for producing a thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer of the present invention is a process comprising raising the temperature of a thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer having a flow beginning temperature FT0 of 200xc2x0 C. or more and 300xc2x0 C. or less before initiation of temperature raising, from the temperature raising initiation temperature of 200xc2x0 C. or less to raising end temperature (Axc2x0 C.) of (FT0+50)xc2x0 C. or more in substantially solid phase condition. The characteristics of the present invention is that, in a step of raising the resin temperature (t) from (FT0+20)xc2x0 C. to (FT0+50)xc2x0 C. (step (1)), temperature raising is effected so that the average raising speed of the resin temperature is in the range of from over 0.1xc2x0 C./min. to less than 0.5xc2x0 C./min. and the flow beginning temperature of the thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer at each resin temperature is in the range of from (txe2x88x9240)xc2x0 C. or more to (t+10)xc2x0 C. or less. Preferably, in the step (1), raising speed of the resin temperature is substantially stable.
Here, the flow beginning temperature is a temperature at which when a resin heated at a temperature raising speed of 4xc2x0 C./min. is extruded from a nozzle having a internal diameter of 1 mm and a length of 10 mm under a load of 9.81 MPa, the melt viscosity shows a value of 4800 Paxc2x7s.
When the average temperature raising speed is 0.1xc2x0 C./min. or less, there may occur problems that the flow beginning temperature of a thermotropic liquid crystalline resin does not reach 340xc2x0 C. or more; a longer time is required for sufficiently progressing polymerization and removal of a substance having a lower boiling point; thermal coloring occurs; and the like. When the average temperature raising speed is 0.5xc2x0 C./min. or more, a resin is sintered and grinding into a granule may become difficult, and even if sintering does not occur, problems on physical properties may occur.
The raising end temperature (Axc2x0 C.) is preferably (FT0+100)xc2x0 C. or less, and further preferably (FT0+80)xc2x0 C. or less, for uniform polymerization of a granule or pellet of a resin.
In the step (1), a resin is so heated that the flow beginning temperature (FT) of a thermotropic liquid crystalline resin at each resin temperature (t) is (txe2x88x9210)xc2x0 C. or more and (t+40)xc2x0 C. or less. Even if the average temperature raising speed is in the above-mentioned range, when FT is over (t+40)xc2x0 C., polymerization and removal of a substance having a lower boiling point may become insufficient. When FT is lower than (txe2x88x9210)xc2x0 C., a resin is sintered and grinding into a granule may become difficult, and even if sintering does not occur, problems on physical properties may occur.
For example, a method which satisfies conditions such as the above-mentioned resin temperature and flow beginning temperature includes a method in which a resin having flow beginning temperature of 260xc2x0 C. in which (I): (II): (III): (IV)=500:250:237:13 heated up to 230xc2x0 C. over 70 minutes, subsequently heated up to 330xc2x0 C. over 300 minutes.
Further, it is preferable that the process of the present invention further comprises a step (2) in which the resin temperature is lower to 200xc2x0 C. or less after the resin temperature reaches the raising end temperature (Axc2x0 C.). The average temperature lowering speed is not particularly restricted, and preferably 0.5xc2x0 C./min. or more when the temperature is 200xc2x0 C. or less.
Further, it is preferable that the process of the present invention further comprises a step (3) in which thermal treatment is conducted for 1 hour or more at a resin temperature within Axc2x0 C.xc2x110xc2x0 C. and a variation of a resin temperature within xc2x10.1xc2x0 C./min. after the resin temperature reaches the raising end temperature (Axc2x0 C.).
By adding the step (3), the molecular weight distribution becomes narrower and polymerization and removal of a substance having a lower boiling point can be attained sufficiently, by uniform polymerization of a granule or pellet of a resin.
Furthermore, it is preferable that the process of the present invention further comprises a step (4) in which the resin temperature is raised from any temperature of not more than 200xc2x0 C. and less than (FT0xe2x88x9240)xc2x0 C. to any temperature of (FT0xe2x88x9240)xc2x0 C. or more and (FT0+20)xc2x0 C. or less at an average temperature raising speed of 0.5xc2x0 C./min. or more, before the step (1). By adding the step (4), the treating time can be shortened. Particularly, when raising of the resin temperature is initiated from normal temperature (around 20xc2x0 C.), and the like, it is more preferable to conduct temperature raising at a rate in the range from 3xc2x0 C./min. to 10xc2x0 C./min. for the purpose of shortening of the treating time, and the like.
When raising temperature at an average temperature raising speed of 0.5xc2x0 C./min. or more up to temperature over (FT0+20)xc2x0 C., a resin is sintered and grinding into a granule may become difficult. When temperature is lower than (FT0xe2x88x9240)xc2x0 C., the heat treatment time may become longer. In the step (4), it is more preferable that temperature raising is effected at substantially constant speed.
As a method of introducing a resin into the step (4), the following methods are listed.
(a) A method in which a resin leveled on a tray is introduced into a compartment type oven, then, heated at a temperature raising speed of 0.5xc2x0 C./min. or more up to a temperature of not more than (FT0+20)xc2x0 C.
(b) A method in which a resin is introduced into a rotary kiln pre-heated to a temperature of not more than the flow beginning temperature (FT0+20)xc2x0 C. of the resin.
(c) A method in which a resin is continuously introduced into a fluidized bed type drier having a resin introduction port controlled at a temperature of not more than the flow beginning temperature (FT0+20)xc2x0 C. of the resin.
(d) A method in which a resin is introduced into a tunnel type conveyor furnace having temperature distribution, having a resin introduction port controlled at a temperature of not more than the flow beginning temperature (FT0+20)xc2x0 C. of the resin.
In the present invention, a metal oxide, organic metal salt, organic base compound and the like may be used as a polymerization catalyst. Examples thereof include, but are not limited to, oxides, acetates, oxalates and the like of germanium, tin, titanium, antimony, cobalt, manganese and the like.
In the present invention, an antioxidant, thermal decomposition-preventing agent, hydrolysis-preventing agent, ultraviolet absorber, flame retardant and the like can be added to a pre-polymer in an amount which does not deteriorate the object of the present invention and which does not exert a reverse influence on physical properties.
The thermotropic liquid crystalline resin composition of the present invention is obtained by compounding 10 to 100 parts by weight of an inorganic substance per 100 parts by weight of a thermotropic liquid crystalline resin according to the present invention.
As the inorganic substance to be compounded according to the object, general inorganic fibers such as glass fiber, carbon fiber, metal fiber, alumina fiber, boron fiber, titanic acid fiber, asbestos and the like; powder substances such as calcium carbonate, alumina, aluminum hydroxide, kaolin, talc, clay, mica, glass flake, glass bead, quartz sand, silica sand, wollastonite, dolomite, various metal powders, carbon black, graphite, barium sulfate, potassium titanate, calcined gypsum and the like; granules or plate inorganic compound such as silicon carbide, alumina, boronite light, silicon nitride and the like; whisker and the like are listed. Among them, glass fiber and carbon fiber are preferably used from the standpoints of strength, rigidity and heat resistance of a molded article obtained by molding the composition. A thermotropic liquid crystalline resin into which the above-mentioned inorganic substance is not compounded may not be used for obtaining a molded article having stable form due to excess anisotropy.
In this composition, an antioxidant, thermal decomposition-preventing agent, hydrolysis-preventing agent, ultraviolet absorber, antistatic agent, coloring agent (pigment, dye), surface treating agent, conductor, flame retarder, lubricant, releasing agent, plasticizer, adhesion aid, sticking agent and the like can be added in an amount which does not deteriorate the object of the present invention and which does not exert a reverse influence on physical properties.
Further, a small amount of thermoplastic resin, for example, polyamide, polyester, polyphenylene sulfide, polyether ketone, polycarbonate, polyphenylene ether and modified resins thereof, polysulfone, polyether sulfone, polyether imide and the like, and a small amount of thermosetting resin, for example, a phenol resin, epoxy resin, polyimide resin and the like can also be added alone or in combination thereof.
When the thermotropic liquid crystalline resin composition of the present invention is processed into moldings, the deflection temperature under load of this moldings is preferably 300xc2x0 C. or more.
In the case of use in a coil bobbin which is soldered by direct immersion into a melted solder, supporting members for electric heat bodies and light and heat instruments of high temperature, and the like, the deflection temperature under load is preferably 330xc2x0 C. or more, and more preferably 350xc2x0 C. or more.
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Catheters are commercially available in a wide range of lengths, diameters and tip shapes. Because of this wide variety, different packaging has developed for different catheters. Because the volumes of catheters used in different sizes also varies greatly, the packaging costs for smaller runs of lesser used catheters can be relatively expensive. Many catheters are also packaged in various shaped trays often manufactured from a suitable transparent plastic, such as polyethylene trephthalate, which may include a dye to give the resulting product a pleasing hint of color, such as blue.
As stated, the use of multiple different trays or pouches for longer length catheters with different French diameter sizes has been the standard process in the industry for many years. Either an inner pouch with slat or an inner tray is first loaded and sealed, and then this subassembly is packaged in an outer pouch. The process not only takes time, but also adds cost of tooling and different tray sizes. The end user may have to open multiple pouches (in cases where pouches are used) in order to access all of the internal components. This practice can not only be time consuming but also wasteful.
In an effort to reduce the number of different trays necessary to accommodate a variety of different catheter sizes, U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,121 teaches a universal catheter tray manufactured in a unitary molding to include different recessed channel features to accommodate the catheters in a coiled arrangement.
The present disclosure is directed to solving one or more of the problems set forth above.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to reflector antennas. More particularly, the invention relates to a cost efficient adjustable antenna mount with improved alignment stability.
2. Description of Related Art
Reflector antennas, for example terrestrial microwave reflector antennas, may be highly directional. To maximize electrical performance, the antenna mount of a reflector antenna may be finely adjustable for ease of obtaining a boresight alignment between antenna pairs forming an RF communications link. The antenna mount should maintain the selected alignment despite exposure over time to wind and/or ice loads acting upon the reflector antenna that, depending upon the installation location, may rise to extreme levels during short periods such as storms. As a distance to the target antenna increases, even very small alignment shifts become significant. Should the antenna mount lose the desired boresight alignment, for example due to transient wind and/or ice loads, a significant expense may be incurred to return to a remote location such as atop a radio tower and repeat the alignment procedure.
Antenna mount ease of alignment adjustment and alignment stability characteristics may be improved in a trade-off with manufacturing cost and dimensional characteristics of the resulting antenna mount.
Competition in the antenna mount market has focused attention on improving alignment stability and ease of alignment adjustment while also minimizing overall manufacturing, inventory, distribution, installation and maintenance costs. Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a reflector antenna mount that overcomes deficiencies in the prior art.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an inverse timer for utilization in process line so as to accommodate for the inertial time lag, i.e., the time of response of an instrument to be activated.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a high speed processing line it is of pedestrian occurrence to take cognizance of processing instrumentation which has a time lag (inertial) response, and preactivate the instrument in anticipation of the arrival of the material to be processed. The time required for the material to travel from some point of detection to the instrument is determined; this is commonly referred to as the transport time. The reaction time of the instrument is either known from the manufacturer's specifications or it is determined empirically. The solution then is to activate the instrument .DELTA.T seconds after detection, where .DELTA.T is the difference between the transport time and the reaction time.
The prior art has solved this classic problem using an operational amplifier-integrator arrangement in which there is one potentiometer at the input end which nominally adjusts for the transport time delay, and one potentiometer in the feedback path of the integrator which nominally adjusts for the reaction time. (A third potentiometer independently adjusts for the distance from the point of detection to the instrument to be activated.)
The word nominally is here used advisedly because adjustment of the transport time potentiometer affects the reaction time setting, and conversely, adjustment of the reaction time potentiometer affects the transport time. These two potentiometers must therefore be laboriously adjusted one at a time in the field until the optimum result is empirically and sometimes (in the case of the less experienced operatives) fortuitously obtained.
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Manganese Superoxide Dismutase (MnSOD) is a component of the cellular antioxidant defense mechanism that is necessary for mitochondrial function, cellular energy production and cell viability. Native MnSOD is a mitochondrial protein that is imported from the cytoplasm and localized to the mitochondrial matrix, where it scavenges superoxide free radicals or anions and converts these reactive oxygen species into the benign oxidant, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and oxygen. MnSOD is expressed in all cell types and provides an essential function. MnSOD importance was clearly illustrated in mice neonatal offspring containing a homozygous disruption (knockout) of MnSOD gene. These mice develop multisystem, mitochondrial energy-loss pathologies that include cardiomyopathy, neurological and liver dysfunction and exhibit perinatal lethality.
The multisystem energy-loss phenotype in the MnSOD knockout mouse may be due to an adverse accumulation of superoxide free radicals within the mitochondria upon the onset of an aerobic environment, causing loss of the ATP-synthesizing capacity of mitochondria and either initiating premature cell death by necrosis or initiating the mitochondrial membrane permeability transition, causing release of mitochondrial pro-apoptotic proteins from the mitochondria due to depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane. The homozygous MnSOD knock-out serves as a proof-of-principle for complete loss of MnSOD function. Adverse accumulation of superoxide will result in spontaneous dismutation of superoxide into hydrogen peroxide, which is normally a benign oxidant unless in the presence of a transition metal and initiation of Fenton-type chemistry to generate reactive oxygen species similar to hydroxyl free radicals.
Research has shown that the MnSOD gene can express a splice isoform (isoMnSOD) during stress conditions that expresses a pro-oxidant form instead of the normal antioxidant activity of the normal MnSOD (Anziano, et al., Pediatrics Research, 47; 2000). IsoMnSOD is also described in WO 99/43697. MnSOD alternative splicing is inducible and depends on the deregulation of the normal MnSOD splicing pathway. Alternative splicing of the MnSOD RNA removes coding Exon 3, and fuses in-frame flanking Exons 2 and 4. The isoMnSOD protein is internally deleted for key alpha helical domain that serves in the parent MnSOD as a portal for the selective entry of superoxide anions into the MnSOD metal pocket. IsoMnSOD does not exhibit antioxidant, dismutase activity as the parent MnSOD, but exhibits in vitro a gain-of-function peroxidative activity that generates reactive oxygen free radicals from hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). In vivo, isoMnSOD initiates lipid peroxidation within the mitochondrial membrane and it causes modification of target proteins by oxidative stress markers such as the reactive lipid byproduct, 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE).
In addition, stress from internal factors (e.g. diseases) a cell's and organism's viability can be impaired by outside influences such as, for example, drugs. Although the pharmacological properties of drugs or potential drugs are well understood, companies still spend billions of dollars a year on candidates that fail during preclinical and clinical trials due to unforeseen drug toxicity. Current methods for predicting whether a drug will be toxic in an individual have not been particularly effective because there are few useful markers of drug-induced toxicity that would indicate whether a drug is worthwhile pursuing.
Additionally, there are numerous drugs that are used today whose effectiveness is diminished because of toxicity that is caused by toxicity of the drugs, thereby limiting the useful dosage. Some of the toxicity that is caused by the drugs can be related to mitochondrial damage and, therefore, if the toxic event can be prevented it should enhance the effectiveness of the compounds.
In view of the above evidence, there is a need to identify modulators of isoMnSOD activity so that one can control the effects of isoMnSOD expression. There is also a need to identify compounds that can be used to reduce or prevent drug-induced toxicity. There are further needs for assays and methods that can be used to predict if a composition will cause drug-induced toxicity in an individual or a cell. The present invention helps to fulfill these needs as well as others.
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This invention relates to an electrolyte and more particularly to an electrolyte for use in a battery.
An effective solid electrolyte layer (SEI) must be created at the surface of a graphite negative electrode of a battery in order to keep the electrolyte from decomposing. Various electrolytes comprising certain combinations of salts and solvents produce SEI layers of various qualities. Typical lithium ion batteries use an electrolyte comprising LiPF6 in a carbonate solvent, with 1.2-M LiPF6 in ethylene carbonate (EC):diethyl carbonate (DEC) being typical in the battery industry. EC is solid at room temperature and requires additional processing steps for employing in an electrolyte. Graphite electrodes have a fragile structure and, until the invention of the electrolyte described herein, have required the use of EC for forming the SEI layer without damaging the graphite structure. By contrast, hard carbon negative electrodes are not as easily broken and therefore can use solvents other than EC to form the SEI layer. However, while hard carbon has a higher capacity than graphite, it can absorb a lot of moisture and has a large irreversible capacity, making graphite a much more desirable electrode material than hard carbon. Lithium metal does not require EC to form an SEI layer, but is useful only for a primary battery, not rechargeable. Vinylene carbonate (VC) and vinyl ethylene carbonate (VEC) can aid in creating an SEI layer, but can only be used in quantities up to about 3% because an excess of these solvents creates degradation at the positive electrode; with this small quantity of SEI-forming solvent, only a thin SEI layer is created, with all of the VC or VEC consumed during the first charging cycle; therefore, another SEI-forming component such as EC must be added.
The electrolyte of the present invention comprises a salt or mixture of salts comprising lithium bis(oxalato) borate (LiBOB) in a lactone solvent or mixture of lactone solvents, preferably gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), combined with a low viscosity solvent or mixture of low viscosity solvents, and preferably does not contain a solvent that is solid at room temperature, such as ethylene carbonate (EC). This inventive electrolyte is useful in primary and secondary batteries, and is especially suitable for a lithium ion battery having a graphite negative electrode, forming a functional SEI layer that does not readily decompose.
LiBOB is more soluble in lactone solvents, such as gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), than in commonly used carbonate solvents, such as ethylene carbonate (EC) and propylene carbonate (PC). Using a lactone solvent to dissolve LiBOB electrolyte produces a high salt concentration electrolyte, greatly improving conductivity as compared with using a carbonate solvent.
This electrolyte system has a wide operating temperature range and therefore can be safely used in many applications, including satellites and implantable medical devices. For example, a high temperature sterilization process could not be used for many electrolytes; the salt LiPF6 decomposes at about 80xc2x0 C., and DEC boils at about 126xc2x0 C. By contrast, LiBOB is stable at 300xc2x0 C., and GBL boils at about 206xc2x0 C., making this combination ideal for high temperature sterilization. At the other temperature extreme, EC has poor low temperature performance due to its high freezing point of around 37-39xc2x0 C., making it very viscous at low temperatures, and therefore less desirable for applications in which low temperature operation is important.
Furthermore, in the case of a leak, unlike fluorine-containing salts such as LiPF6, LiBOB does not form HF when mixed with bodily fluid, and is therefore safer than LiPF6. While LiBF4 decomposes at a lower rate than LiPF6 and is therefore slower to form HF, it has lower conductivity than LiPF6 due to its lower dissociation.
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Energy conversion, utilization and access underlie many of the great challenges of our time, including those associated with sustainability, environmental quality, security, and poverty. New applications of emerging technologies are required to respond to these challenges. Biotechnology, one of the most powerful of the emerging technologies, can give rise to important new energy conversion processes. Plant biomass and derivatives thereof are a resource for the biological conversion of energy to forms useful to humanity.
Among forms of plant biomass, lignocellulosic biomass (“biomass”) is particularly well-suited for energy applications because of its large-scale availability, low cost, and environmentally benign production. In particular, many energy production and utilization cycles based on cellulosic biomass have near-zero greenhouse gas emissions on a life-cycle basis. The primary obstacle impeding the more widespread production of energy from biomass feedstocks is the general absence of low-cost technology for overcoming the recalcitrance of biomass materials to conversion into useful products. Lignocellulosic biomass contains carbohydrate fractions (e.g., cellulose and hemicellulose) including pentose sugars (e.g., xylose and arabinose) that can be converted into ethanol or other products such as lactic acid and acetic acid. In order to convert the lignocellulose fractions, the cellulose, hemicellulose, and pentoses must ultimately be converted into monosaccharides; it is this conversion step that has historically been problematic.
Biomass processing schemes involving enzymatic or microbial hydrolysis commonly involve four biologically mediated transformations: (1) the production of saccharolytic enzymes (cellulases and hemicellulases); (2) the hydrolysis of carbohydrate components present in pretreated biomass to sugars; (3) the fermentation of hexose sugars (e.g., glucose, mannose, and galactose); and (4) the fermentation of pentose sugars (e.g., xylose and arabinose). These four transformations occur in a single step in a process configuration called consolidated bioprocessing (CBP), which is distinguished from other less highly integrated configurations in that it does not involve a dedicated process step for cellulase and/or hemicellulase production.
CBP offers the potential for lower cost and higher efficiency than processes featuring dedicated cellulase production. The benefits result in part from avoided capital costs, substrate and other raw materials, and utilities associated with cellulase production. In addition, several factors support the realization of higher rates of hydrolysis, and hence reduced reactor volume and capital investment using CBP, including enzyme-microbe synergy and the use of thermophilic organisms and/or complexed cellulase systems. Moreover, cellulose-adherent cellulolytic microorganisms are likely to compete successfully for products of cellulose hydrolysis with non-adhered microbes, e.g., contaminants. Successful competition of desirable microbes increases the stability of industrial processes based on microbial cellulose utilization. Progress in developing CBP-enabling microorganisms is being made through two strategies: engineering naturally occurring cellulolytic microorganisms to improve product-related properties, such as yield and titer; and engineering non-cellulolytic organisms that exhibit high product yields and titers to express a heterologous cellulase and hemicellulase system enabling cellulose and hemicellulose utilization.
One way to meet the demand for ethanol production is to convert sugars found in biomass, i.e., materials such as agricultural wastes, corn hulls, corncobs, cellulosic materials, and the like to produce ethanol. Efficient biomass conversion in large-scale industrial applications requires a microorganism that is able to tolerate high concentrations of sugar and ethanol, and which is able to ferment more than one sugar simultaneously.
Pentoses appear in great abundance in nature. As much as 40% of a lignocellulosic material can be comprised of pentoses (Ladisch et al., “Process considerations in the enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass.” Enz. Microb. Technol., 5: 82-100. (1983)). By fermentation, pentoses can be converted to ethanol which can be used as a liquid fuel or a chemical feedstock. Although many microorganisms have the ability to ferment simple hexose sugars, the pentose sugars, xylose and arabinose, are among the most difficult sugars in biomass to metabolize. Some microorganisms can ferment pentoses to ethanol and other co-products, and microorganisms with improved ethanol production from pentose sugars have been genetically engineered. However, many of these studies have been conducted in bacteria that are sensitive to low pH and high concentrations of ethanol. Therefore, their use in fermentations is associated with undesired co-product formation, and the level of ethanol they are capable of producing remains low.
Bakers' yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) is the preferred microorganism for the production of ethanol (Hahn-Hägerdal, B., et al., Adv. Biochem. Eng. Biotechnol. 73, 53-84 (2001)). Attributes in favor of this microbe are (i) high productivity at close to theoretical yields (0.51 g ethanol produced/g glucose used), (ii) high osmo- and ethanol tolerance, (iii) natural robustness in industrial processes, also (iv) being generally regarded as safe (GRAS) due to its long association with wine and bread making, and beer brewing. Furthermore, S. cerevisiae exhibits tolerance to inhibitors commonly found in hydrolysates resulting from biomass pretreatment. However, S. cerevisiae does not naturally break down components of cellulose, nor does it efficiently use pentose sugars.
Progress has been made in engineering S. cerevisiae to express heterologous enzymes that enable it to break down cellulose. (See e.g. U.S. application Ser. No. 13/130,549 and PCT/US2011/039192, incorporated herein by reference in their entirety). However, utilization of arabinose for industrial ethanologenic fermentation has not been demonstrated in yeast. In addition, there is a need for an ethanologenic organism capable of efficiently utilizing arabinose and xylose that is also capable of breaking down cellulose. The highest products yields are obtained when all the cellulose and hemicellulose are broken down into monomer sugars and fermented into the desired product.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an ethanologenic organism capable of fermenting pentose sugars in quantities sufficient for commercial applicability. There is also a need to combine efficient pentose utilization with cellulose digestion in order to maximize the efficiency of cellulosic feedstock use and to generate the highest yield of product.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cutting element for a rotary cutting machine comprising a multiplicity of adjacent cutting members each of which is intended, during cutting, to rotate about an upwardly directed respective axis, said cutting element comprising:
an active zone intended to cut plants, and
a connecting zone intended to connect said cutting element to a support of a respective one of said cutting members of said machine.
2. Discussion of the Background
A cutting element such as this is already known to those skilled in the art. Specifically, document WO 99/18769 describes a disk mower equipped with blades each comprising:
a substantially flat first end with a hole for pivotally connecting said blade to a shaft formed at the periphery of the respective disk of the mower,
an also substantially flat second end equipped with two cutting edges, and
a connecting zone connecting the first end and the second end,
the first end and the second end lying in respective planes which are substantially parallel and offset one with respect to the other.
One of the specific features of this known blade lies in the fact that the connecting zone has a substantially chevron-shaped profile, the purpose of which is to increase the bending strength of said blade.
Those skilled in the art know, from experience, that the wear on a cutting element during work causes the cutting edge to shift gradually toward the vertical mid-plane of said cutting element. On this known blade, said gradual shift means that the part of the cutting edge located in the connecting zone moves back up along the slope of the chevron. The part of the cutting edge located at the second end for its part remains in a plane substantially parallel to the ground. In consequence, as soon as wear begins, the cutting height along one and the same blade no longer remains uniform, which results in a quality of work which very quickly deteriorates.
The object of the present invention is to overcome this drawback while allowing the cutting element to retain increased bending strength.
To this end, the cutting element of the present invention which comprises:
a first zone known as the active zone which extends at one end of said cutting element and which is intended to cut plants, and
a second zone known as the connecting zone which extends at the other end of said cutting element and which is intended to connect said cutting element to the support of the respective cutting member,
wherein the connecting zone has, in cross section:
a relatively flat central part,
a first edge inclined toward one side of a plane of extension of said central part, and
a second edge inclined toward the other side of said plane of extension.
This profile with inclined edges gives the cutting element remarkable bending stiffness. The active zone, which is relatively flat, contains the entirety of the cutting edge(s). In spite of the inevitable progression of wear, the cutting height remains substantially uniform across the entire length of the cutting element.
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1. Field of the Inventions
This invention relates to a hinged bezel for a computer system. In one aspect, the invention relates to a hinged bezel for a computer system having a glowing logo therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer systems are general-purpose devices that may be modified to perform particular tasks or functions. Generally, computer systems include a motherboard, a power source, and other components mounted within an enclosure. Such components may include hard disk drives, CD-ROM drives, and the like that, from time to time, are removed from the computer system. In conventional computer systems, an enclosure cover may have to be removed to access components mounted within the enclosure. If the computer system is mounted in a rack, the computer system typically is removed from the rack before the enclosure cover can be removed, often resulting in increased servicing time and difficulty.
As computer systems have become more powerful, user interfaces to these systems have become more sophisticated. One example of this higher level of sophistication is the addition of more and more indicator lights corresponding to various functions performed by the computer system. For example, it is common for a computer system to have indicator lights to indicate a power-on condition, hard disk access, CD-ROM access, and the like. These indicator lights are typically small and difficult to distinguish from one another. For example, each indicator light may have an adjacent icon corresponding to the function being indicated by the indicator light. These icons are often merely small markings that are part of the molded case, panel, bezel, or enclosure and are difficult to see.
It is also useful in the effective marketing and branding of computer systems for the producer""s logo to be easily noticed and recognized by the buying public. Computer system producers have used various coloring schemes to set their logos apart from background enclosures, panels, bezels, and molded cases. For example, a front bezel of a computer system may be a beige color, while the producer""s logo is bright blue in color. As this way of distinguishing brands is common, consumers may not notice one particular logo over another.
In one aspect of the present invention, a bezel assembly for a computer enclosure is provided. The bezel assembly includes a bezel and a hinge capable of hingedly joining the bezel to the computer enclosure.
In another aspect of the present invention, a computer system is provided. The computer system includes an enclosure, a bezel, and a hinge capable of hingedly joining the bezel to the enclosure.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, a method of replacing a first component with a second component in a computer system enclosure having a hinged bezel is provided. The method includes pivoting the hinged bezel away from the computer system enclosure and removing the first component from the computer system enclosure. In one embodiment, the method further includes inserting the second component into the computer system enclosure and pivoting the hinged bezel toward the computer system such that the hinged bezel is adjacent the computer system enclosure.
In a further aspect of the present invention, a method of displaying a glowing logo in a computer system having a hinged bezel is provided. The method includes applying electrical power a light source of the computer system to emit a light and propagating the light through a logo portion in the hinged bezel. In one embodiment, the method further includes changing a color of the light according to a state of the computer system.
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This invention relates to a tape cassette which is most suitable for use in a recording/reproducing apparatus such as a video tape recorder or other information processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a tape cassette which has a front cover rotatably attached in the front of a cassette casing to protect the surface of a magnetic tape and a rear cover pivotally supported by the front cover so as to be moved in cooperation therewith and serving to cover the back of the magnetic tape with the opening and closing operations of the front cover. In this tape cassette, vertically movable plugs are inserted in through holes formed in the cassette casing so that, when the positions of these plugs are changed arbitrarily, an information detecting sensor provided in the video tape recorder is made to detect the positions of the plugs thus changed, thereby making it possible to confirm various cassette information such as the prevention of miserasing.
In this kind of tape cassette, in order to protect a magnetic tape stretched on the front side of the cassette main body, the magnetic tape is held between the front cover and the rear cover provided rotatably and openably in the front of the cassette main body. (See Japanese Utility Model Unexamined publication No. 60-194787, for example.)
A conventional tape cassette of the above-described type will be described below with reference to the drawings. Heretofore, this type of tape cassette has been constructed as shown in FIGS. 1 to 8.
In FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, a tape cassette comprises a front cover 7, an upper half 1 and a lower half 2, in which tape cassette a pair of tape reels 3 (S side) and 4 (T side) on which a magnetic tape 5 is wound are encased. The front cover 7 has a substantially U-shaped form in cross section, and a pair of first fulcrum pins 7b are formed integrally on the insides of right and left lugs 7a extending from opposite ends of the front cover 7 and facing in parallel with each other, the fulcrum pins 7b extending inwardly while being coaxial with each other.
As shown in FIG. 2, the front cover 7 has a pair of brackets 7h formed on the inside of the top and located at positions close to the center thereof. A pair of pin holes 7s are formed in the lower portions of the brackets so as to be substantially coaxial with each other. A pair of support pins 8a provided at right and left opposite ends of a rear cover 8 are to be inserted into the pair of pin holes 7s, respectively, so as to make the rear cover 8 rotatable about the support pins 8a.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the opposite fulcrum pins 7b of the front cover 7 formed as described above are respectively brought into engagement with a pair of pin engaging holes 2i, if which are formed in right and left opposite side walls 2f, 1e of a cassette casing 6. A pair of second pins 8b are formed at right and left opposite ends of the rear cover 8 so as to be integral therewith and substantially coaxial with each other and are brought into engagement with guide grooves 11 for free sliding movement in the vertical direction. It is therefore possible to close/open the front and rear covers substantially simultaneously with respect to the magnetic tape 5 stretched on the front side of the cassette casing 6 with the rotary motion of the front cover.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the front cover 7 is rotatably attached to the cassette casing by bringing the opposite first fulcrum pins 7b thereof into engagement with the pair of pin engaging holes 2i, 1f formed in the right and left side walls 2f, 1e of the casing so that it can rotate in directions a and a' through about 90.degree. between two positions where the cover is opened and closed as shown in FIG. 3, thereby serving to open and close a front opening of the cassette casing. As shown in FIG. 4, there is provided a gap 16 between the inside of one of the end lugs 7a of the front cover 7 and the side wall 2f of the cassette casing which faces on the lug concerned, and the front cover 7 is urged to rotate in the direction of closing the cover by means of a torsion coiled spring 10 fitted on the first fulcrum pin 7b. The torsion coiled spring 10 is engaged at one end 10b thereof with a spring stopper 7e projecting from the inside of one end 7a of the front cover 7 at a position in front of the first fulcrum pin 7b and at the other end 10a thereof with another spring stopper 1d formed integrally with another side wall 1a of the cassette casing located rearwards of the first fulcrum pin 7b.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, following the opening and closing operations of the front cover 7 (bracket portions 7h), the rear cover 8 moves rotatively about the support shafts 8a while other support shafts 8b of the rear cover 8 are fitted and inserted into the guide grooves 11 formed in the lower half 2, and therefore, it is possible to forcibly open and close the cover at the rear of the magnetic tape. Namely, the support shafts 8b serve as the control shafts when the rear cover 8 is opened and closed.
Further, since the rear cover 8 is required to move smoothly when opened and closed, it becomes necessary to provide a proper play (clearance; not shown) between the guide groove 11 of the lower half 2 and the opening and closing control shaft 8b. However, too much play will result in the deterioration of the sealing performance between the rear cover 8 and the front cover 7, thereby to exert bad influence on the information recorded and stored on the magnetic tape due to dust and the like from the outside. Particularly when the cassette is turned upside down, there is a tendency to cause a space between the front cover 7 and the rear cover 8 attributable to the individual weight of the rear cover 8 itself, the size of the space being equivalent to the play.
A biasing coiled spring 12 is supported on the rotation support shaft 8a of the rear cover 8 with one end thereof pressed against the bracket 7h of the front cover 7 and the other end thereof pressed against the vicinity of the rotation control shaft 8b, and a play suitable for smooth rotation is provided between the movement control shaft 8b and the guide groove 11 as described above, and, at the same time, the rear cover 8 is applied with the biasing force to close the cover at all times. With the above construction, even if the tape cassette is used harshly, the sealing performance between the front cover 7 and the rear cover 8 is improved so that the information recorded and stored on the magnetic tape can be protected.
In FIG. 5, in the space of a gap 47 defined by projection 2h at the rear of the first fulcrum pin 7b at one end (lug) 7a of the front cover 7, a locking member 9 is rotatably attached. The locking member 9 is formed integrally with a pivot shaft 9a (second fulcrum) at its top end, a locking pawl 9k at its lower front and a lock releasing protrusion 9h at its rear bottom end. The pivot shaft 9a is brought into engagement with pin engaging holes 2g formed in the cassette casing so that the locking member 9 is made rotatable back and forth. Further, the locking member 9 is urged to rotate forwardly at all times by means of a spring 13. A shown in FIG. 6, in a state where the front cover 7 is closed, the locking pawl 9k of the locking member 9 is brought into engagement with a protrusion 7d, which is formed integrally with the lug 7a of the front cover 7 so as to project inwardly at a lower end position P.sub.2 located in rear of the first fulcrum shaft 7b, from behind and below, thereby locking the front cover in the nearly closed condition.
In FIG. 5, each of the engaging holes with which the first fulcrum pins 7b of the front cover 7 are brought into engagement consists of the substantially semicircular holes 1f and 2i formed in the vertical combining portions of the right and left opposite side walls 1e and 2f of the upper and lower halves 1 and 2. The engaging holes 2g with which the pivot shaft 9a of the locking member 9 is brought into engagement are formed in the substantially U-shaped locking member receiving wall portion provided in rear of the front cover 7 and formed at the upper end of one or both of the side walls of the lower half 2 so as to have a top-opened U-shaped form. By fastening together the upper and lower halves 1 and 2 with screws or the like with both first fulcrum pins 7b of the front cover 8 kept in engagement with the holes consisting of the upper and lower semicircular holes and with the right and left opposite ends of the pivot shaft (second fulcrum) 9a of the locking member 9 kept in engagement with the pin engaging holes, the front cover 7 and the locking member 9 can be rotatably attached separately without any possibility of their coming off.
As the tape cassette having the above construction is loaded into the VTR (not shown), a lock releasing member 14 which can project from the VTR side is made to come in contact with the lock releasing protrusion 9h (9j) of the locking member 9 as shown in FIG. 6, so that the locking member 9 is moved back rotatively about the pivot shaft 9a and the locking pawl 9k is disengaged from the protrusion 7d of the front cover to release the locked condition. Then, a cover opening member (not shown) formed on the VTR side is inserted into a space 16 defined between the front cover 7 and the cassette casing side wall stepped surfaces 1e, 2f so as to push up an end face 7p of the front cover 7 against the biasing torsion coiled spring 10 and, at substantially the same time, the bracket 7h formed integrally with the front cover 7 is rotated about the first fulcrum pin 7b and, further, the pushing force is transmitted to the support pin 8a of the rear cover 8 which is supported by the bracket 7h at all times. In this case, contrary to the cover closing operation, the rotation control pin 8b of the rear cover 8 is moved toward the upper part of the cassette within the guide groove 11 of the lower half 2 against the biasing force of the torsion coiled spring 12, so that the rear cover 8 which has been served to protect the back of the magnetic tape is separated therefrom and the front cover 7 is separated from the surface of the magnetic tape. In this way, the covers are removed to open an opening L, thereby competing the loading of the magnetic tape in the VTR.
Next, description will be given of the construction for the judgement of various types of cassette information such as the prevention of miserasing in this kind of conventional tape cassette, that is, the construction in which the cassette is formed with through holes at plural points thereof and in which vertically movable plugs are disposed in these through holes so that positions of the plugs can be changed as desired, by referring to the drawings.
Referring to FIGS. 9 and 13, the cassette casing 6 consists of the upper and lower halves 1 and 2, and the reels 3 and 4 on which the magnetic tape 5 is wound are rotatably encased in the cassette casing 6. The front cover 7 is rotatably attached to the front end portion of the cassette casing 6, and the rear cover 8 capable of being opened and closed following the rotation of the front cover is further attached thereto. In addition, the cassette casing 6 is formed with three vertical through holes 20' (21', 20") at points located on right and left of the front part thereof and at a point located at the center of the rear part thereof. The through holes 20', 21', 20" formed on the back side of the cassette at the points located on right and left of the front part thereof serve as reference holes for positioning when the cassette casing is to be loaded in the recording/reproducing apparatus such as the video tape recorder. Within these through holes 20' (21'), plugs 28' are inserted respectively, and within through hole 20", plug 28" is inserted.
Referring next to FIGS. 10a and 10b, each plug 28' is formed at tis upper end with a tool insert groove 28b' and at its lower end with a protrusion 28d' which projects in the horizontal direction, and two upper and lower stepped portions 24' and 25' are formed in the through hole at different angular positions. The plug is to be inserted in the through hole while being urged by a spring so as to bring the horizontal protrusion at the lower end of the plug into engagement with either of the two upper and lower stepped portions 24' and 25'. By so doing, the vertical position of the plug in the through hole can be changed.
Referring to FIGS. 13, 10A and 10B, cylindrical projecting portions 18', 18" and 19', 19" are formed in the upper and lower halves 1' and 2', respectively, so as to meet at surface 29' form the through holes 20', 20", the surfaces 24' and 25' for restricting the vertical movement of the plug 28' (slit-like upper and lower positioning portions, the vertical and angular positions of which differ from each other in the through hole), and, further, the positioning and sensor insertion holes 21' when the cassette is to be loaded in the VTR.
The plug 28' is formed in the top end part thereof which a crown portion 28a' and the tool insert groove 28b' which can be handled from the outside by means of a screw-driver 42' or the like, and a coiled spring 40' serving to apply an elastic biasing force is disposed around the cylinder part located between the crown portion 28a' and the lower end protrusion 28d'.
The through hole 20' serves both as the insertion hole through which the crown portion 28a' of the plug is to be moved elastically and as the rotative operation range of the top end of the screw-driver.
Referring to FIGS. 10A to 12B, when it is intended to move within the cassette casing 6 the plug 28' which has the elastic coiled spring 40' disposed between the crown portion 28a' and the lower end protrusion 28d', the tip end of the screw-driver 42' is brought into engagement with the groove 28b' formed in the crown portion 28a' of the plug 28' from the outside so as to press down the plug 28' until the lower end protrusion 28d' of the plug 28' is engaged with and inserted into the insertion groove formed in the upper half 1 and goes downwards in the vertical direction beyond the lower surface of the cassette casing 6 against the elastic soiled spring 40' as shown in FIG. 11. In this state, the plug 28' is rotated about the axis thereof in the direction of R' through 180.degree. so as to fix the position of the lower end protrusion 28d' at the point where either of the slit-like positioning portions 24' and 25' is formed in the cassette casing 6 due to the elastic restoring force of the coiled spring 40'. In this way, the vertical position of the plug 28' can be changed within the through hole 21'.
On the other hand, a position detective sensor pin 41' is formed upright on the VTR apparatus for free vertical movement for transferring a signal to the VTR apparatus according to the vertical position at which the position detective sensor 41' comes in contact with the lower end portrusion 28d' of the plug 28' and, further, with a lower end surface 28e', so as to prevent the re-recording of information or the miserasing of the information recorded already on the magnetic tape.
FIG. 11 shows the operation for moving the plug 28' from the upper position 25' to the lower position 24'. Namely, in the state where the tip end of the screw-driver 42' is brought into engagement with the groove 28b' formed in the crown potion 28a' so as to press down the plug 28' until the lower end protrusion 28d' of the plug 28' is engaged with and inserted into the insertion groove formed in the upper half 1 and goes downwards vertically beyond the lower surface of the cassette casing 6 against the elastic coiled spring 40', the plug 28' is rotated in the direction of R' through 180.degree..
Then, as the plug 28' is moved to the position where the plug lower end portrusion 28d' engages with another vertical groove, the elastic restoring force generated by the coiled spring 40' is transmitted to the plug 28' so that the lower end protrusion 28d' is received in the lower positioning portion 24' as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B. On the other hand, the operation for moving the lower end protrusion 28d' from the lower positioning portion 24' to the upper positioning portion 25' is reverse to the operation described in connection with FIG. 11, that is, in the state where the lower end protrusion 28d' is pressed down until it goes beyond the lower surface of the cassette casing 6 due to the operation performed from above, the plug 28' is rotated in the direction opposite to the direction of R' through 180.degree. so as to make the lower end protrusion 28d' engage with the other vertical groove likewise. As a result, the lower end protrusion is received in the upper positioning portion 25' due to the elastic restoring force generated by the coiled spring 40.
However, the conventional tape cassette of this kind has the following problem. Namely, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, in the conventional tape cassette, it becomes necessary to provide the space 16 and the front cover face 7p for enabling, when the tape cassette is loaded in the VTR, the cover opening member (not shown) formed on the VTR side to open the front cover to the tape cassette after releasing the locked condition by the contact of the locking releasing member 14 with the releasing protrusion 9h (9j) of the locking member as shown in FIG. 6, and hence, it is necessary to provide a gap S between the cassette casing 6 and the front cover 7.
In FIG. 14, the tape cassette (casing 6) which comprises the above-described front cover 7 and the rear cover 8 is provided with the lugs 7a, first stepped surfaces 1e, 2f which are formed in one or both of the side walls of the cassette casing 6 and which have the thickness equal to that of the lug 7a on which the pivot shaft is formed, and tapered second stepped surfaces 1g, 2j which are formed forwardly of the first stepped surfaces 1e, 2f in the cassette casing, so that there can be assured and provided between the front cover lug 7a and the second stepped surfaces 1g, 2j the space 16 through which the front cover opening member formed on the VTR side is made to pass as well as the gap S. On the other hand, the front cover 7 is formed at the lower end thereof with the stepped surface 7p with which the cover opening member is made to come in contact.
As the cassette casing 6 is loaded in the VTR apparatus, the lock releasing member 14 of the VTR is made to come in contact with the lock releasing projection 9h (9j) of the locking member 9 of the tape cassette as shown in FIG. 6, so as to release the lock for preventing the front cover 7 from being opened. Then, as soon as the cassette casing 6 is positioned in the standard position in the VTR in a short time, the front cover opening member (not shown) formed on the VTR side is inserted through the gap S so as to perform the cover opening operation against the biasing torsion provided by biasing torsion coiled spring 10.
In FIG. 14, the front cover opening member formed on the VTR is required to have a proper width from the viewpoint of the strength. Further, in consideration of the scatter in the positional accuracy of attaching, the proper width S of the space 16 becomes necessary. Increase of the width S contributes to the improvement of the chucking reliability of the VTR at the time of opening the cover, but too large a width S interferes with the loading area for tape travelling in the cassette. Accordingly, it is necessary that the width S take a proper value which can satisfy these two conditions.
If an impact load is applied to the corner of the front cover 7 of the above-described tape cassette in the direction of W (when the tape cassette is dropped, for example) as shown in FIG. 14, not only is the lug 7a on which the pivot shaft of the front cover is formed deformed (moved) elastically within the gap S, but also, the corner of the front cover lug 7a is cracked, or the lug 7a is broken at the corner, so that it becomes impossible to open and close the front cover, resulting in the fatal defect of the cassette that the recorded information is lost due to exposure of the surface of the magnetic tape 5 to dust from the outside, fingerprint, moisture, smoke or the like.
Further, if a load is applied to the corner of the front cover 7 in the direction of W so that the lug 7a on which the pivot shaft is formed is deformed elastically within the gap S, if the strength of the corner is high enough to prevent the cracking, the reaction force causes the pivot shaft 7b of the front cover to come off from the cassette casing 6 or to be broken to make it impossible to open and close the front cover itself while the magnetic tape surface is being exposed, resulting in the fatal defect noted above.
Further, if a load is applied to the corner of the front cover in the direction of W so that the lug 7a on which the pivot shaft of the front cover is formed is deformed elastically within the gap S and the front cover corner, the pivot shaft 7b and the engaging holes 1f, 2i of the cassette casing having the impact strength, since the rear cover 8 itself and the movement thereof are held and controlled by a pair of guide shafts 8b between a pair of guide grooves 11 provided in the cassette casing 6 as shown in FIGS. 9 and 14, the impact force is transmitted to the brackets 7h formed on the inside of the front cover 7 for pivotally supporting the rotary shafts 8a of the rear cover, with the result that the brackets 7h are broken so as to cause the rear cover 8 to be disengaged from the tape cassette. If the rear cover 8 is disengaged from the tape cassette, since the tape 5 is damaged and the back of the magnetic tape is exposed, the information recorded and stored is lost as mentioned before, resulting in the fatal defect as well.
The above-described conventional tape cassette further has the following problem. Namely, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, from viewpoint of the design of the convention tape cassette, in order to detect the terminal end of the tape reel, holes 7c and 2c through which the photodetective optical path is made to pass and which are formed in the front cover 7 and the cassette casing 6, must be aligned with each other when the front cover is fully opened. The locking protrusion 7d' formed beforehand integrally on the inside of one or both of the lugs 7a at the opposite side ends of the front cover 7 can be released from the cover closing condition after the front cover 7 is permitted to rotate upwards of the cassette casing at the time when the locking member 9 is temporarily rotated backwards of the cassette casing by an external means such as the releasing member 14 of the VTR, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, that is, at the time of releasing the locked condition. In this case, since the locking member 9 is always urged rotatively toward the front of the cassette (or in the direction of locking the cover) about the pivot shaft 9a by means of the spring 10 (13) or the like, if there is exerted no external constraining force to the biasing force Pb, the locking member 9 is allowed to move easily within the movable range as shown in FIG. 15. In consideration of the cumulative moving backlash of the cassette in the VTR and, further, the cumulative attaching backlash of the lock releasing member 14 and the like, it is easily possible to cause the lock releasing member 14 to strike at the air. As shown in FIG. 15, since the optical path 2c along which a ray of light is made to pass when the cover is opened is covered with the locking pawl 9k of the locking member and the vicinity thereof, it is impossible to detect the terminal end of the tape so as to bring about the malfunction. Further, as shown in FIG. 16, in case that the front cover tends to rotate in the cover closing direction due to the biasing force Pf' with the locking member being rotated forwardly of the cassette due to the biasing force Pb' of the spring 10 or the like, the locking protrusion 7d' formed on the inside of the front cover 7a comes into contact with a surface 9e of the locking member so that the front cover and the locking member are restrained unreasonably so as to be brought to a standstill relative to each other. If they are kept in this state, not only can the tape cassette not be ejected out of the VTR, but also, the VTR or the cassette casing may by damaged if ejection by force is tried. In addition, if the locking member 9 is returned to its regular position unexpectedly, the front cover is rotated in the cover closing direction irrespective of the position of the magnetic tape drawn out, with the result that the magnetic tape is damaged to cause the information recorded and stored thereon to be lost. This is a serious defect that can take place whether the cassette casing exists inside or outside of the VTRs.
In the state shown in FIG. 16, if it is tried to push the front cover by force in the cover closing direction, the abutting force between the front cover and the locking member is increased to damage either member, thereby making it impossible to fulfill the prescribed function.
Moreover, the conventional tape cassette of this kind has the following problem. Namely, as shown in FIG. 17, it is necessary in the first place to insert (or temporarily fit) the plug 28' in the cassette upper half 1. In this case, since the vertical insertion groove with which an upper surface 28c' of the plug lower end protrusion 28d' is brought into engagement is not formed in the through hole 20' of the cylindrical projecting portion 18', the plug 28' itself is inclined in the direction X within the range of the plug receiving portion 20' and, further, pressed down against the biasing force 2' produced by the coiled spring 40' until the lower end protrusion 28d' goes beyond the plug lower positioning portion 24' of the upper half 1, that is, the position of greater displacement. For this reason, the operation is very complicated and requires sufficient experience in practice.
Then, the upper and lower halves are to be coupled together and fastened with screw or the like. By so doing, after the plug 28' is moved vertically and rotated about the axis thereof through about 180.degree., the vertical position of the plug 28' can be changed. However, since the positioning portions 24' and 25' with and by which the plug lower end protrusion 28' is brought into contact and positioned are provided in the upper and lower halves, respectively, with their heights and angular positions being different from each other, the structure of molds becomes complicated and, at the same time, it is difficult to mold these halves, with the result in that the cost is increased and, further, it becomes liable to cause the scattering because the upper and lower positions are constructed by the combination of the upper and lower halves.
In addition, in case of changing the plug itself between the upper and lower positions, since the stroke is so long that the plug lower end protrusion 28d' must be moved down to the lower surface of the cassette casing 6', the elastic reaction force of the spring becomes large naturally with the increase of the stroke, resulting in the operational difficulty as well.
Moreover, since the upper and lower halves are simply joined face to face with each other, if an unexpected high load is applied to the cassette casing 6 due to drop impact or the like, an offset U is caused due to disagreement between the cylindrical projecting portions of the upper and lower halves as shown in FIG. 18, so that the plug 28' assumes an aspect reverse to that assumed when it is temporarily fixed in the upper half. As a result, a spring biasing reaction force is exerted on the plug 28' so that the plug 28' is disengaged upwards from the cassette casing, thereby giving rise to a fatal defect that the prescribed function cannot be fulfilled.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates generally to an improved data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to an apparatus and method for compiler analysis and runtime coherency checking.
2. Background of the Invention
In heterogeneous multi-core systems, reducing hardware complexity and minimizing power consumption are important design considerations. Providing each of the accelerator cores in such systems with its own fast local memory is one means of accomplishing this goal. Typically, such systems will not provide hardware supported coherence between these local memories and the global system memory. When an application (both code and data) fit within the local memory, good performance can be guaranteed. Such a feature is critical for real time applications. The Cell Broadband Engine Architecture (CBEA) is one example of such a heterogeneous multi-core system. The CBEA includes on a chip a PPE core, and 8 SPE cores each with 256 KB fast local memory, as well as a globally coherent direct memory access (DMA) engine for transferring data between local memories and the shared system memory. Scratchpad memory in embedded computing systems is another example of this type of memory hierarchy. This memory design requires careful programming to use the fast local memory efficiently and reduce long latency accesses to the global memory so as to obtain top performance.
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The present invention relates to computer graphics, and more particularly to interactive graphics systems such as home video game platforms. Still more particularly, this invention relates to techniques for generating shadows using full scene shadow mapping in a low cost graphics system, and to use of graphics pipeline texture coordinate generation and/or texture mapping arrangements to generate precision numerical values supporting shadow comparisons and other effects.
Many of us have seen films containing remarkably realistic dinosaurs, aliens, animated toys and other fanciful creatures. Such animations are made possible by computer graphics. Using such techniques, a computer graphics artist can specify how each object should look and how it should change in appearance over time, and a computer then models the objects and displays them on a display such as your television or a computer screen. The computer takes care of performing the many tasks required to make sure that each part of the displayed image is colored and shaped just right based on the position and orientation of each object in a scene, the direction in which light seems to strike each object, the surface texture of each object, and other factors.
Because computer graphics generation is complex, computer-generated three-dimensional graphics just a few years ago were mostly limited to expensive specialized flight simulators, high-end graphics workstations and supercomputers. The public saw some of the images generated by these computer systems in movies and expensive television advertisements, but most of us couldn""t actually interact with the computers doing the graphics generation. All this has changed with the availability of relatively inexpensive 3D graphics platforms such as, for example, the Nintendo 64(copyright) and various 3D graphics cards now available for personal computers. It is now possible to interact with exciting 3D animations and simulations on relatively inexpensive computer graphics systems in your home or office.
Shadows are important for creating realistic images and providing the viewer with visual cues about where objects appear relative to one another. Many different shadowing techniques are known. See, for example, Woo et al., xe2x80x9cA Survey of Shadow Algorithms,xe2x80x9d IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, Volume 10, Number 6, pages 13-32 (November 1990).
A problem graphics system designers confronted in the past was how to draw shadows using low cost graphics systems. One known technique for accomplishing this is called shadow mapping. This technique allows a common z-buffer-based renderer to be used to generate shadows quickly on arbitrary objects. See Williams xe2x80x9cCasting Curved Shadows on Curved Surfaces,xe2x80x9d Computer Graphics (SIGGRAPH ""78 Proceedings), Volume 12, Number 3, pages 270-274 (August 1978). Using this technique, the graphics system renders the scene using the z-buffer algorithm with respect to the position and direction of the light source. For each pixel in the z buffer, the resulting rendered z depth contains the distance to the object that is closest to the light source. This depth map is called a shadow map. The scene is then rendered a second time, but this time with respect to the viewer (camera). As each drawing primitive is being rendered, its location (depth from the light) is compared to the shadow map. If a rendered point is further away from the light source than the value in the shadow map, that point is in shadow and its brightness is attenuated. If the rendered point is closer to the light source than the shadow map value, the point is illuminated by the light and is not in shadow.
One efficient way to implement this shadow mapping technique is by exploiting texture mapping hardware to project the shadow map into the scene. See, e.g., Heidrich et al., xe2x80x9cApplications of Pixel Textures in Visualization and Realistic Image Synthesis,xe2x80x9d Proceedings 1999 Symposium On Interactive 3D Graphics, pages 127-134 (April 1999); Segal et al., xe2x80x9cFast Shadows and Lighting Effects Using Texture Mapping,xe2x80x9d Computer Graphics (SIGGRAPH ""92 Proceedings, Volume 26, Number 2, pages 249-252 (July 1992). Using these techniques, the shadow map can be generated using z buffering (that is, lighting, texturing and the writing of color values into the color buffer can be turned off). Then, the scene is rendered from the viewer using only ambient lighting to resolve visibility. A shadow testing step is then performed to compare the z value in the z buffer with the z value (which is transformed from the coordinate system of the light source into the coordinate system of the viewer) in the shadow map. One technique is to set an additional value in the frame buffer for each pixel based on the result of the shadow comparison at that pixel. The whole scene is then rendered using the entire lighting equationxe2x80x94with the final color of each pixel being the color from the ambient lighting pass plus the color from the full rendering pass multiplied by the additional value in the frame buffer.
An extension of Williams"" shadow mapping technique proposed by Wang et al., xe2x80x9cSecond-Depth Shadow Mappingxe2x80x9d (Department of Computer Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) solves certain self-shadowing problems (where a surface may cast a shadow onto itself due to lack of precision in the shadow comparison) by performing the shadow comparison based on the depth of a second surface defined by a primitive. Wang et al thus suggest using front-faced culling techniques to eliminate the first surface of primitives when generating the shadow map. This prevents limited precision depth comparisons from causing front surfaces to cast shadows upon themselves.
The above-described shadow mapping techniques allow general-purpose graphics hardware to render arbitrary shadows. However, using these techniques, the quality of the shadow produced depends on the resolution (in pixels) of the shadow map, and also on the numerical precision of the z buffer and the depth comparison. See Moller et al., Real-Time Rendering, pages 179-183 (AK Peters Ltd., 1999). Achieving adequate numerical precision for the depth comparison can be a problem for low cost graphics systems such as video game platforms. In full scene shadowing, any object can cast a shadow on any object (including itself). The number of bits of information used to encode the distance value will determine where the near and far planes can be on the projection from the light source, and how much depth complexity can be provided in the rendered shadow map. To find out whether a surface is in shadow or outside of shadow, a depth comparison is performed between the actual distance from the light to the surface being rendered, and the nearest distance from the light (determined by rendering the scene from the light source into the shadow map). The number of bits in this distance value will determine the range that a particular light can cast shadows into the scene. The lower the precision, the less depth complexity that can be provided on the shadows and on the light. Hence, lower precision can limit the number of shadows the light can cast into the scene and how far ranging those shadows can be.
If the graphics pipeline does not provide sufficient numerical precision for shadow mapping effects, higher precision depth values can usually be obtained by having the graphics system host processor perform necessary calculations under software control. However, this places substantial additional loading on the host processor, and may make it difficult or impossible to render full-scene shadows in real time within the context of an interactive animated computer graphics system that allows the user to change the position(s) of one or more objects within the scene at will.
Another way to get around the limited precision problem is to use a form of shadow mapping which does not attempt the shadow depth comparison, but works instead by identifying what is seen by the light. See, e.g., Hourcade et al, xe2x80x9cAlgorithms for Antialiased Cast Shadowsxe2x80x9d, Computers and Graphics, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 259-265 (1985). If an object is seen from the selected viewpoint and the shadow map indicates that the object is also seen by the light, then the object is illuminated. This technique has the advantage of avoiding the shadow depth comparison. However, areas where objects or polygons meet can be problematic. It is possible to resolve such problem areas by using different identifiers for different objectsxe2x80x94although an object with a single identifier can never cast a shadow upon itself using this algorithm.
While much work has been done in the past, further improvements are possible.
The present invention solves the numerical precision problem while providing techniques and arrangements that perform full scene shadow mapping using low cost, limited precision hardware such as that found, for example, in home video game platforms and personal computer graphics accelerators.
One aspect of the invention uses a texture coordinate generator to assist in calculating distance between light position and a primitive surface at a precision that is based on the dynamic depth of the scene. A texture mapper uses the generated texture coordinates to look up a precision distance value from a ramp function stored as a texture. The resulting precision distance value can be compared with the corresponding depth value in the shadow map to determine whether or not the pixel is in shadow.
In one embodiment, the ramp function is stored as a 2-D texture in such a way that certain texels are redundant and not all texels are used. To eliminate lookup errors, redundant texel values are provided where the ramp function crosses texel row/column boundaries.
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Current trends in wireless technology are leading towards a future where virtually any object can be network enabled and Internet Protocol (IP) addressable. The pervasive presence of wireless network, including cellular, Wi-Fi, ZigBee, satellite and Bluetooth network, and the migration to a 128-bit IPv6-based address space provides the tools and resources for the paradigm of the Internet of Things (IoT) to become a reality.
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{
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the operation of transit doors.
2. Description of Related Art
There are several conventional approaches to vehicular door systems (of the type typically used in bus or rail mass-transit systems). Commonly used approaches include the following.
Swing doors: These are simple double panel doors which swing outward.
Slide-glide doors: Alternatively known as “inward retracting” doors, slide-guide doors have a mechanism that rotates the double door panels outward (similarly to the “swing doors”) but simultaneously retract the door panels into the vehicle. The ideal result is that the door panels are seated flat against the entryway perimeter but with the interior surface of the doors exposed rather than the outside surface (allowing handrails and other “interior” hardware to be accessible when the vehicle is stopped and the doors are in the open position, but not exposed on the exterior of the vehicle when the vehicle is in operation).
In each type of door, along each vertical door frame is positioned driven door shafts which through various linkages drive the opening and closing of the adjacent door panels. A number of transit buses have a significant curve back at the top of the front end of the bus such that the upper end of the forward most door panel must also be curved back. In the past, in order to accommodate the curve back of the door, the driven door shaft is comprised of two offset vertical drive shafts 20, 21 joined by an intermediate shaft 23 that has universal joints 24, 25 at each end as shown in FIG. 1. The intermediate shaft 23 has a sliding spline 26 on one end that interfaces a complementary spline on one of the universal joints. This allows the two universal joints to be installed at various distances from each other, thereby accounting for the production tolerances present in the frame of the bus. Arms 27 fixed to the drive shafts 20 operate the door panels to open and close.
There are also situations wherein rectangular doors have two coaxial drive shafts due to the configuration of the walls adjacent the door and/or obstructions between the upper and lower shafts.
Referring to FIG. 2, a rotary actuator 30 drives connecting rods 31, 32 which drive door shaft levers 33, 34 to open and close the doors.
Unfortunately, each universal joint and the spline connection are sources of backlash which must be accounted for in the design of the door. Moreover, each of these elements must be periodically lubricated.
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This invention relates to a method of prestressing at least one of the glass sheets of a sandwich safety glass, said sheets being bent in a bending furnace by the action of gravity, in superimposed relationship on a bending die having a substantially horizontal shaping surface, the die together with the glass sheets in superimposed relationship thereon passing through the furnace and the superimposed glass sheets, after passing through the bending zone in which the sheets are heated to the softening temperature and bent, being taken past a blow system which subjects the bent sheet or sheets to the action of cooling air and which is disposed in the furnace in a temperature zone above the transformation point but below the deformation point of the glass, and apparatus for prestressing at least one of the superimposed sheets of a sandwich safety glass, which are bent simultaneously by the action of gravity in the bending furnace, comprising a substantially horizontal die which travels through the furnace in a direction parallel to the axis of curvature of the sandwich, and which supports the superimposed sheets, a bending furnace zone through which the die travels and in which the superimposed sheets are heated to the softening temperature and bent, and a cooling zone, which follows the bending zone and is disposed in a temperature zone above the transformation point but below the deformation point of the glass, said cooling zone comprising a blow system which subjects the bent sheet or sheets to cooling air, suitable more particularly for performing the above-described process.
In a known process and a known apparatus of the type described hereinbefore (DOS No. 26 50 206), the two superimposed sheets are bent at a temperature above the transformation point and then vertically subjected to cooling air so that only the edge of the sheet is covered by the streams of cooling air, so that compression stresses are produced there. The compression stresses produced at the edge of the sheet with the process and apparatus according to DOS No. 26 40 206 are intended to guarantee clear vision in the stress-free central zone in the event of breakage of the sandwich type safety glass, which is of use more particularly as a windscreen for motor vehicles. However, it has been found, particularly with sandwich type safety glass consisting of individual sheets of different thicknesses, such as are frequently used as motor vehicle windscreens, in which the thinner sheet of the sandwich is disposed on the inside of the motor vehicle, that the safety glass does not have the required resistance to breakage if the central zone, particularly of the thin inner sheet, is not prestressed or toughened but is substantially stress-free, and in addition it does not give a breakage pattern in the form of extensive cracking which is desirable as a compromise between the glass strength requirements, on the one hand, and low risk of injury due to cuts, on the other hand.
DAS No. 10 35 328 discloses a process in which the entire surface of the individual sheets is subjected to cooling air in the bending furnace, so that they are prestressed. However, this process is not suitable for satisfactorily improving the properties of the individual sheets of a safety glass sandwich bent in superimposed relationship on the bending die to give slight prestressing. German patent specification No. 616 445 also describes the prestressing of bent sheets by cooling air nozzles, although here again there is no guarantee of satisfactory slight prestressing of the individual sheets of the sandwich bent in superimposed relationship on a bending die. Other prestressing systems operating with cooling air are described, for example, in DAS No. 10 80 742, German patent specification No. 11 14 993 and DAS No. 20 00 271, but all the processes and apparatus described therein are not specifically suitable for slightly prestressing or toughening at least one of the individual sheets of a safety glass sandwich are bent in superimposed relationship on a bending die.
The object of the present invention is to provide a process and apparatus of the type indicated hereinbefore whereby at least one of the individual sheets of a safety glass sandwich, bent in superimposed relationship on a bending die by gravity, is slightly prestressed. The object of the process and apparatus is to give the slightly prestressed and particularly very thin sheet of the sandwich the properties of high-strength glass.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to heat sinks and more particularly, to a memory module and heat sink arrangement, which uses clamps to secure two sink sinks and a memory module in between the two sink sinks for allow quick dissipation of heat energy from the memory module during the operation of the memory module.
2. Description of the Related Art
Following fast development of computer technology, sophisticated and high operation speed computers have been continuously created. During the operation of a computer, many computer internal electronic devices and memory modules will emit heat. From early PC100 with bandwidth 800 MB/s to the modern DDR500 with bandwidth 4.0 GB/s or the advanced dual-rank design, memory working time-pulse or transmission bandwidth is developing toward a high speed to fit the high speed operation of the processor. During a high speed operation of a memory module, the temperature of the heat energy emitted by the memory module will increase continuously, and an excessive high temperature will affect the performance or normal functioning of the memory module.
In order to dissipate heat from a memory module during its operation, heat sinks may be used. FIG. 6 shows a conventional heat sink and memory module arrangement. According to this arrangement, two heat sinks A are respectively attached to two opposite sides of a memory module D, two heat transfer bonding pads C are respectively sandwiched between the two opposite sides of the memory module D and the two heat sinks A, and two clamps B are respectively clamped on the two heat sinks A to secure the heat sinks A, the heat transfer bonding pads C and the memory module D together. According to this design, the two heat sinks A each have a plurality of hooks A2 and hook holes A3. By engaging the hooks A2 of one of the two heat sinks A into the hook holes A3 of the other of the two heat sinks A, the two heat sinks A are fastened together. Further, each of the two heat sinks A has a plurality of substantially U-shaped locating grooves A4 raised from an outside wall A1 for securing the clamps B. This design of heat sink and memory module arrangement still has drawbacks as follows:
1. The hooks A2 may be forced away from the associating hook holes A3 by an external force accidentally, causing displacement of the two heat sinks A relative to the memory module D.
2. The two heat sinks A are bonded to the two opposite sides of the memory module D by the heat transfer bonding pads C, and the clamps B are engaged in the U-shaped locating grooves A4 on the outside wall A1 of each of the two heat sinks A. When wishing to detach the two heat sinks A from the memory module D, a pry or like tool must be used to damage the U-shaped locating grooves A4 for allowing removal of the clamps B from the heat sinks A so that the two heat sinks A can be further detached from the memory module D.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a memory module and heat sink arrangement that eliminates the aforesaid drawbacks.
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the image processing, and more particularly to the image processing method, the image processing apparatus and the image processing system for compressing color data.
2. Prior Art of the Invention
The color image has a huge size of data regarding colors. When the color data is displayed or transmitted, it is used to apply the method to the compression of the data size that the number of the original color data is approximated with the smaller number of colors.
A method is well known as the compressing; that is to calculate an approximated data by treating respective RGB signals (“R” means “red”, “G” means “green”, and “B” means “blue”) independently, and which is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open publication No. 61-252792, for example. The processing is explained according to FIG. 15. In FIG. 15, every color data of image information per color (the image information classified by colors included in the image data) are inputted into pre-encoder 91a, 91b and 91c, via input device 90a, 90b and 90c. The pre-encoder 91a, 91b and 91c calculate an average of data per color (the intensity of each RBG signal), and then divide a specified block of color image into two regions according to the average. In addition, the pre-encoder 91a, 91b and 91c average each data of picture elements included in the divided regions, and then calculate two representative values. According to the above processing, the block is divided into two regions per color, and two representative values are calculated per color. The combination of three colors of RGB can divide the block into 23 regions, that is to say, 8 regions, and obtain 8 colors representing each region. A post-encoder 92 detects the appearance frequency of 8 representative colors in the block, and then extracts two colors as a representative color. Those two colors are defined as a representative color in the block. Thus obtained two representative colors are inputted into an output device 93.
Besides, another method is also well known; the approximation data can be calculated by analyzing main components of RGB signals, which is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Publication No. 01-264092, for instance. In this method, the colors (main components) representing the specific block are determined according to the correlation of the RGB signals, and according to the main components the block is divided. Therefore, the colors of the block can be approximated with specific number of representative colors.
However, the method disclosed in the Japanese Laid-open Publication No. 61-252792 has a problem that it is easy to generate a difference between the restoration image and the original because each of RGB signals is treated independently and the correlation of colors each other is not taken into consideration at all.
On the other hand, the method in the Japanese Laid-open Publication No. 01-264092 has the following problems. Since the analysis of the main components requires the multidimensional matrix calculation in order to calculate the RGB correlation, the processing volume increases. Along with the increase of the processing volume, the hardware scale such as processing circuits also gets big. Additionally, in case of the software processing with CPU and the like, the method needs much calculation time.
Moreover, in any methods described above, it is not possible to obtain the output data until all processing are completed. Accordingly, it is not possible to correspond to a case of requiring the approximation data immediately.
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Electrical feedthroughs may provide an electrical pathway between an interior of a hermetically-sealed housing of an electronics device to a point outside the housing. For example, implantable medical devices (IMDs), such as implantable stimulation devices, implantable sensing devices, cardiac pacemakers, implantable cardioverter/defibrillators (ICDs) and neuromodulators, may use one or more electrical feedthroughs to make electrical connections between electrical circuitry within the implantable medical device and leads, electrodes, or sensors external to the device within a patient.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a position recognition technique, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for reckoning the position of a moving robot using dead-reckoning and range sensing.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, robots have been developed for use in industry as a part of factory automation or to perform tasks that are repetitive, dangerous, and/or difficult. Robot engineering has been directed to space applications as well as humanized robots for home use. In addition, robots are being installed inside of people to cure ailments that cannot be cured by existing medical devices. Such robot engineering has received much attention as the most advanced field that will substitute for the biotechnology field as the most popular after the information revolution based on the Internet.
An example of a robot for home use includes a cleaning robot, which serves as a leading example of how heavy industry based robot engineering limited to industrial robots is being extended and transformed into light industry based robot engineering.
A cleaning robot generally includes a driving means for movement, a cleaning means for cleaning, and a monitoring means for sensing a front obstacle. The driving means includes a driving motor exerting a driving force, a caterpillar or wheel having a specified diameter, driven by the driving motor, and a driving control circuit controlling driving operation. The cleaning means includes a dust collector collecting dust to remove it, and a dust collecting control circuit controlling the dust collecting action. The monitoring means includes a monitoring camera for capturing a front obstacle, and a transmitter for transmitting an image captured by the monitoring camera to a user.
A conventional cleaning robot 1 of the above-described configurations is moved toward another direction within a limited area 2 if an obstacle appears through the monitoring means, as shown in FIG. 1. Accordingly, there results portions of the area where cleaning may not be performed. Also, a moving path of the cleaning robot 1 is inefficient.
A recent cleaning robot 3, as shown in FIG. 2, reckons its position using a certain means, and reduces cleaning time and energy consumption by moving through an optimal path after identifying a target area 2.
As described above, for a moving robot, such as a cleaning robot, which moves within a certain area, a technique for allowing the moving robot to accurately identify its position (i.e., accurate localization) is required. However, since users often unintentionally move the moving robot (so called “kidnapping”), a method of allowing the moving robot to reset its position is required.
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It is known that a plasma can be ignited by subjecting a gas to a sufficient amount of microwave radiation. Plasma ignition, however, is usually easier at gas pressures substantially less than atmospheric pressure. However, vacuum equipment, which is required to lower the gas pressure, can be expensive, as well as slow and energy-consuming. Moreover, the use of such equipment can limit manufacturing flexibility.
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Increased miniaturization of the circuitry forming a wireless communication device has greatly increased the portability of such a device and has permitted carriage thereof by a user. Carrying devices that enable a user to carry a radiotelephone on a belt or other article of clothing are known in the art. These carrying devices typically include a portion for holding the radiotelephone and a clip portion attached to the carrying portion for attachment to a user's article of clothing. Once the carrying device is clipped to the article of clothing, the radiotelephone remains stationary in its angular orientation, typically vertical. This vertical orientation can cause discomfort when the user sits down. For example, the bottom of the carrying case can cause discomfort to the user's legs or the top of the carrying case or antenna of the radiotelephone can cause discomfort or pain to the user's side or stomach.
Firearm holsters that can be adjusted while worn on a user's article of clothing are known. U.S. Pat. No. 3,915,361 ('361 patent) describes a holster with a case for holding a hand-gun and an adjustable mounting clip for attachment to a belt or waistband of the user's clothing. The mounting clip or paddle is rotatable about its point of attachment to the case. The orientation of the paddle relative to the case can be adjusted to allow the holster to be worn either conventionally or in a cross-draw mode. The rotatable connection includes a metal ratchet wheel that couples to a grooved recess in a bracket that is integrally formed with the paddle. The radius of the ratchet wheel is substantially the same as the radius of the recess. Tightening of a screw against the face of the bracket binds the serrated outer edges of the ratchet wheel and the recess to hold the paddle in a fixed position relative to the case.
When the user desires to change the orientation of the paddle relative to the case, he or she must loosen the screw, rotate the paddle and then tighten the screw to maintain the new orientation of the paddle relative to the case. This process is timely and inconvenient because it requires the user to obtain a screwdriver or other tool before any adjustments can be made. Also, because the paddle is adjusted instead of the case, attachment to the user's belt or clothing can be compromised as the angle of orientation relative to the case increases.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,504,001 describes a swivel connected belt holster wherein the rotatable connection between the belt loop assembly and the holster includes two rigid plates. One of the rigid plates includes a number of bosses in a circular array. The other plate includes the same number of mating recesses in a circular array. When the holster is in use, the bosses of one plate engage mating recesses in the other plate and the plates are held in place by a position locking screw to provide rigid angular positioning of the holster body with respect to the belt loop assembly. As with the invention of the '361 patent, adjustment of the holster with respect to the belt loop assembly requires the timely and inconvenient steps of obtaining a tool, loosening a screw, adjusting the position and tightening a screw.
Accordingly, there is a need for a mountable carrying device for a portable radiotelephone whereby the position of the radiotelephone with respect to the mounting mechanism can be easily adjusted and locked into position without using a tool and while being worn on the user's belt or other article of clothing.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, and particularly to a semiconductor device capable of efficiently releasing the heat generated in operation.
2. Description of the Background Art
In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for rapid operation of integrated circuits (ICs) to process mass information. Accordingly, the number of signal pins provided in ICs is also increased for inputting and outputting predetermined signals. Furthermore, increasing electricity consumption of ICs results in increasing the number of power supply pins for supplying power.
Also, there has been a demand for a package sealing a semiconductor chip that is closer in size to the semiconductor chip so as to achieve mounting at high density.
As a first prior art, as an exemplary semiconductor device including a package which seals a semiconductor chip will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 shows the structure of a fine-pitch ball grid array (referred to as "a fine-pitch BGA" hereinafter). Referring to FIG. 7, a semiconductor chip 102 is die-bonded on one surface of a glass sheet (referred to as a "tape" hereinafter) 106 impregnated with epoxy resin with an adhesion layer interposed therebetween. Formed near a periphery of tape 106 are a plurality of pad electrodes 107, each electrically connected to a predetermined region of semiconductor chip 102 via a gold wire 104.
Formed on another surface of tape 106 are a plurality of solder balls 108 each electrically connected to pad electrode 107 via a predetermined wiring formed at tape 106. Semiconductor chip 102 is sealed on tape 106 by molded resin 110.
Fine-pitch BGA, allowing solder balls as electrode pins to be arranged in an array, is advantageous in forming more pins in a small package.
An another exemplary semiconductor device as a second prior art will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 8 shows the configuration of a chip-scale package (referred to as a CSP hereinafter). Referring to FIG. 8, provided at a surface of semiconductor chip 102 are a plurality of external electrodes 109 each electrically connected to a predetermined region of semiconductor chip 102 via a metal wiring 111 and a pad electrode 107. Semiconductor chip 102 is sealed by molded resin 110.
The CSP, having approximately the same size as semiconductor chip 102, allows more pins to be formed. The CSP also allows mounting at high density since a relatively small area is required for mounting it on a substrate.
In the fine-pitch BGA and CSP described above, however, a relatively large amount of electricity is consumed and the semiconductor chip disadvantageously generates heat. Accordingly, various approaches have been taken for releasing such heat.
As a third prior art, an exemplary semiconductor device effectively releasing such heat will now be described based on a semiconductor device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 7-50368. FIG. 9 is a cross section of the semiconductor device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 7-50368. FIG. 10 is a plan view of the semiconductor device excluding a cap. Referring to FIG. 9, semiconductor chip 120 has a back surface fixed to a package 125 and is sealed in a space formed by a cap 123 and package 125. A gap is formed between an upper surface of semiconductor chip 120 and an inner surface of cap 123.
A power supply on semiconductor chip 120 is supplied from an external circuit via a pin 129, a wiring 127, an electrode for power supply 124, solder 132 and a pad for power supply 122. Signals between the external circuit and semiconductor chip 120 are communicated via a pin 130, a wiring 128, a lead 126, a bonding wire 131 and a bonding pad 121. Pad for power supply 122, formed at a surface of semiconductor chip 120, can be increased in area, as shown in FIG. 10.
In operation, the semiconductor device allows the heat generated at semiconductor chip 120 to be transferred to package 125 via the back surface of semiconductor chip 120 and also to cap 123 via pad for power supply 122, solder 132 and electrode for power supply 124. Thus, both package 125 and cap 123 can release heat, and the heat generated at semiconductor chip 120 can be sufficiently released to the environment.
Furthermore, the provision of electrode for power supply 124 and pad for power supply 122 allows reduction of the power supply to semiconductor chip 120 via bonding pad 121. Accordingly, bonding pad 121 can be used for signal communication between semiconductor chip 120 and the external circuit by the reduction. Thus, more bonding pads 121 can be used for signal communication than conventional.
However, the semiconductor device of the third prior art example described above has the disadvantages described below. Firstly, since the power for semiconductor chip 120 is supplied via electrode for power supply 124, semiconductor chip 120 does not require a bonding pad for power supply and can thus be provided with more bonding pads for signal communication instead. However, since the power is supplied to semiconductor chip 102 via pin 129 provided at package 125, the total number of pins 129 provided at a predetermined region of package 125 does not vary, which makes it difficult to provide any additional pin for signal communication in that region.
Secondly, while the heat transferred to cap 123 is more effectively released to the external when cap 123 and package 125 have larger surface area, it can fail to be sufficiently released with relatively small cap 123 and package 125.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to an oxetane-containing compound, a photoresist composition including the same, a method of preparing patterns using the photoresist composition, and an inkjet print head including polymerization products of the oxetane-containing compound.
2. Description of the Related Art
Photoresists are used in photolithography to form various patterns. A photoresist is a photosensitive resin that is used to obtain images corresponding to exposed patterns depending on changes of solubility of a developing solution due to light exposure. The photoresist can be classified into two types: a positive photoresist and a negative photoresist. In the positive photoresist, a desired pattern is obtained by removing exposed regions during developing since the solubility of the exposed regions of the developing solution increases. In the negative photoresist, a desired pattern is obtained by removing unexposed regions during developing since the solubility of the exposed regions of the developing solution decreases.
The photoresist is mixed with a solvent, etc., and the mixture can be coated on a substrate to prepare a structure having a specific pattern through exposing and developing. For example, a method of preparing a pattern using polycarbomethylsilane derivative as a photoresist is disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 2004-0037858.
Pattern formation technology using a photoresist can be widely applied in many technological fields, for example, in inkjet print head and micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) switch manufacturing.
Inkjet printers are devices to print an image on a printing medium by ejecting droplets of ink from inkjet print heads onto a desired region of the printing medium. Inkjet print heads can be classified into two types depending on the mechanism to eject ink droplets: thermal inkjet print heads and piezoelectric inkjet print heads. Thermal inkjet print heads generate bubbles in the ink by using heat and eject the ink utilizing an expansion force of the bubbles, and the piezoelectric inkjet print heads eject ink using pressure generated by deforming a piezoelectric material. Inkjet print heads include a chamber layer and/or a nozzle layer having suitable patterns to eject ink and that are attached to a substrate to support the chamber layer and the nozzle layer. Further, thermal inkjet print heads need excellent thermal resistance in the chamber layer and/or the nozzle layer.
Meanwhile, MEMS switches are a type of radio frequency (RF) devices that are widely manufactured using MEMS technologies, and various sacrificial layers are needed to manufacture MEMS switches.
Accordingly, there is a need to develop a photoresist composition that is suitable for a variety of devices, such as inkjet print heads or MEMS switches.
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This invention relates generally to providing video information to a plurality of users in a video distribution system.
Current video distribution systems include pay per view systems which are available from cable and satellite television providers. In these systems, a variety of different pay per view movies are offered for viewing at a plurality of different times. The user must either join the video in progress or wait until a preset time when a new video begins. By offering a plurality of different starting times, these systems attempt to provide an approximation of video on demand.
In order to provide the video to a plurality of users at the exact times when they would like to have it, one might expect that a large bandwidth would be necessary. That is, given a large number of viewers, it would seem to be difficult to transmit different videos at a plurality of times given the bandwidth available with existing satellite and cable video distribution systems.
This means that the system users must accommodate their viewing desires to the existing bandwidth limitations of the video distribution system. Where those viewing desires do not correspond with the capabilities of existing systems, potential customers are lost.
Thus, it would desirable to provide a video distribution system which permits video distribution upon demand from the user.
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The invention relates to a device for the treatment of water, in particular an ion exchange device for the treatment of domestic water, with means for the treatment of water, in particular an ion exchanger material with a supply container for providing a regeneration agent solution for the regeneration of the means for water treatment, in particular a brine supply container, as well as with a piston-stroke controlled metering device for the allotting of feed-water into the supply container, wherein the metering device comprises a hollow cylindrical delivery body which contains a piston which is axially displaceable and one axial surface of which faces a pressure area within the cylinder, which can be acted upon with water pressure, preferably of the water to be treated or the water which has already been treated, whereas the piston is forced in the direction of the pressure area on the side axially opposite to the pressurized area by means of a spring element, in particular a helical spring, which is supported by an end-faced inner wall of the cylinder and wherein the water volume which is displaced with a piston stroke can be fed to the supply container.
Such a device is known from DE 26 55 374 A1.
Plants or devices for the treatment of water which require a multitude of valve control processes, are driven in different ways depending on their size. Big plants, which are used for example in the industrial field, are usually equipped with a multitude of magnetic valves and have an electronic system handling the valve control program. Magnetic valves of this type are frequently too expensive for relatively small water treatment devices which are used in domestic water technology--i.e. mainly ion exchangers, however also neutralization, deferrization or demanganization filters etc. are feasible. Thus, one usually goes back to a control camshaft driven by an electromotor (see leaflet "MaBgebend in der Wasseraufbereitung" by the company JUDO Wasseraufbereitung GmbH, 01/1992, page 22) or a control cam plate, as it is known from EP 0 447 350 A2 and respectively a ceramic disc pair, known from EP 0 184 773 A2 which contains the control valves.
The electromotors used in this case, however, are relatively expensive since they have to be very robust. A further problem lies therein, to always position the control camshaft or a further control element correctly via the motor rotation, such that the right valves are opened and respectively closed at the right point in time. This can be realised for example by means of an electronically controlled stepping motor or via a positioning switch. But both possibilities are expensive. As an alternative to the electrical drive of the control elements, a drive by means of water power is possible which is considerably less expensive. For example, from U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,552, a water meter with an impeller as drive for the valve control is known, in which the mechanical control of the valve(s) is performed via the water power by means of pressurized water. A disadvantage is the expensive gear transmission for the water meter which is necessary for this valve control. A further disadvantage is the long reaction time of the water meter caused by the loss of energy due to the drive, which is approximately 150 liters per hour, whereas a conventional water meter without drive function reacts at approximately 30 liters per hour.
A further problem with the known plants for the treatment of water is the exact allotting of the regeneration agent amount. According to EP 0 347 577 B1 the measuring of the regeneration agent is performed for example via a float switch. In a method according to the above-mentioned leaflet of the company JUDO (pages 22 and 23) which is further improved thereto, fresh water is guided via the salt supply, where the fresh water becomes saturated with the regeneration salt and flows via an overflow weir into the brine provision container. Therein, it is presented for regeneration. The regeneration solution continues to flow via this weir until the floating body has reached the upper switching point of the float switch and the latter then closes the fresh water feeding valve. In this manner, a certain regeneration agent volume is metered. This method, however, has two weak points: Firstly, regeneration salt crusts may impair the mobility of the floating body and secondly there are fluctuations in the regeneration agent amount trailing across the weir in dependence upon the surface tension between the weir material and the regeneration fluid.
The two above-mentioned problems have resulted in a series of alternative methods. Thus, DE 26 44 759 A1 describes a simple water softener, in which a piston is moved by the water pressure and valves are opened and respectively closed in certain piston positions. At the same time the volume generated by the piston displacement in the guiding cylinder represents the feeding water volume and thus eventually the volume of the regeneration agent. In this connection the total allotted volume is delivered with one single stroke which necessitates a large cylinder volume.
A similar device, in which not the feeding water, but the regeneration agent directly is metered by the piston stroke, is described in DE 26 52 113 C2. In both cases a feeding with fresh water defined in terms of volume is not provided.
In contrast thereto, the initially cited DE 26 55 374 A1 describes a feeding water dosage controlled by a magnetic valve, wherein the volume control of the feeding water for the brine is performed by means of piston stroke. In the case of the known device, however, no valve control functions are provided, merely the allotting of fresh water into the brine supply container is effected.
All above-mentioned alternative devices and methods have in common that complicated regeneration methods with reduced salting, i.e. brine dilution and rewash function as well as four regenerations each day, as requested by the German Standard DIN 19636, cannot be realised. The cylinder volume, generated by the piston displacement, must also be sufficiently large such that it corresponds to the total volume of regeneration agent. A settable regeneration agent volume is realised in none of the solutions suggested in prior art and would be feasible at best by a further development of the device known from DE 26 55 374 A1, which however does not give any suggestions for a solution of the problem of valve control.
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Air sorting and/or air screening is applied in sorting and screening machines for sorting and/or screening grain, seeds, and similar materials in order to separate from the materials chaff, husks, shells, empty grains and other light materials which are included in the row material but should not be present in the good product. It is of course important to perform this sorting or screening operation as effectively as possible. This requires a strong air flow but on the other hand the air flow cannot be allowed to rise to any high level because the good grains which shall be included in the good product and comprise the heavier particles of the row material, in that case will also be carried away by the air current. Thus, it is a matter of adjusting very accurately the air flow such that at the most single grains only of the good product are carried away by the air current; then, it is pretty sure that there will be obtained an effective separation of the lighter materials which one want to get rid of although it is achieved at the cost of some loss, though a small one, of good product.
The air flow accordingly must be set accurately and carefully, and it may be necessary to adjust from time to time the setting, initially made, when the sorting or screening machine is operating, and it may also be necessary of course to use different settings for different types of material. This means that the machine when operating requires supervision by a skilled person if one does not want to run the risk of too high a loss of good product or, alternatively, will not be satisfied with an inferior sorting or screening result due to an air flow which is too strong or too light, respectively.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a detection method, a detection apparatus, a sample cell for detection and a kit for detection to detect a substance to be detected (a detection target substance) in a sample.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in the field of bio-measurement and the like, a fluorescence detection method is widely used as a highly accurate and easy measurement method. In the fluorescence detection method, a sample that is presumed to contain a detection target substance that outputs fluorescence by being excited by irradiation with light having a specific wavelength is irradiated with excitation light having the specific wavelength. At this time, fluorescence is detected to confirm the presence of the detection target substance. Further, when the detection target substance is not a phosphor (fluorescent substance), a substance that has been labeled with a fluorescent dye and that specifically binds to the detection target substance is placed in contact with the sample. Then, fluorescence from the fluorescent dye is detected in a manner similar to the aforementioned method, thereby confirming the presence of the bond between the detection target substance and the substance that specifically binds to the detection target substance. In other words, presence of the detection target substance is confirmed, and this method is widely used.
In bio-measurement, an assay is performed, for example, by using a sandwich method, a competition method or the like. In the sandwich method, when an antigen, as a detection target substance, contained in a sample needs to be detected, a primary antibody that specifically binds to the detection target substance is immobilized on a substrate (base), and a sample is supplied onto the substrate to make the detection target substance specifically bind to the primary antibody. Further, a secondary antibody to which a fluorescent label has been attached, and that specifically binds to the detection target substance, is added to make the secondary antibody bind to the detection target substance. Accordingly, a so-called sandwich structure of (primary antibody)-(detection target substance)-(secondary antibody) is formed, and fluorescence from the fluorescent label attached to the secondary antibody is detected. In the competition method, a competitive secondary antibody that competes with the detection target substance, and that specifically binds to a primary antibody, and to which a fluorescent label has been attached, binds to the primary antibody in such a manner to compete with the detection target substance. Further, fluorescence from the competitive secondary antibody that has bound to the primary antibody is detected.
When the assay is performed as described above, an evanescent fluorescence method has been proposed. In the evanescent fluorescence method, fluorescence is excited by evanescent light to detect fluorescence only from the secondary antibody that has bound, through the detection target substance, to the primary antibody immobilized on the substrate, or fluorescence only from the competitive secondary antibody that has directly bound to the primary antibody. In the evanescent fluorescence method, fluorescence excited by evanescent waves that extend from the surface of the substrate is detected. The evanescent waves are generated by making excitation light that totally reflects on the surface of the substrate enter the substrate from the back side of the substrate.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-077338 (Patent Literature 1) proposes an evanescent fluorescence method. In the evanescent fluorescence method disclosed in Patent Literature 1, instead of immobilizing the primary antibody on the substrate, a bound product (bound substance) of (primary reaction body)-(detection target substance)-(secondary reaction body) is formed in liquid phase. Further, the bound product is localized in an area to which the evanescent waves extend, and fluorescence from the bound product is detected. Specifically, the primary reaction body that includes a primary antibody and a magnetic material and the secondary reaction body that includes a fluorescent substance and the secondary antibody are bound to the detection target substance to obtain the bound product. The magnetic material contained in the primary reaction body is attracted by a magnet, and the bound product is localized.
Meanwhile, in the evanescent fluorescent method, methods using electric-field enhancement effects by plasmon resonance are proposed to improve the sensitivity of detection in U.S. Pat. No. 6,194,223 (Patent Literature 2), M. M. L. M Vareiro et al., “Surface Plasmon Fluorescence Measurements of Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin: Role of Antibody Orientation in Obtaining Enhanced Sensitivity and Limit of Detection”, Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 77, pp. 2426-2431, 2005 (Non-Patent Literature 1), and the like. In a surface plasmon enhancement fluorescence method, a metal layer is provided on the substrate, and excitation light is caused to enter the interface between the substrate and the metal layer from the back side of the substrate at an angle greater than or equal to a total reflection angle to generate surface plasmon resonance in the metal layer. Further, fluorescent signals are enhanced by the electric field enhancement action of the surface plasmons to improve the S/N (signal to noise) ratio.
Similarly, in the evanescent fluorescence method, a method using electric field enhancement effects by a waveguide mode is proposed in Spring 2007, the Japan Society of Applied Physics, Collection of Presentation Abstracts, No. 3, p. 1378 (Non-Patent Literature 2). In this optical waveguide mode enhanced fluorescence spectroscopy (OWF), a metal layer and an optical waveguide layer including a dielectric and the like are sequentially formed on the substrate. Further, excitation light is caused to enter the substrate from the back side of the substrate at an angle that is greater than or equal to the total reflection angle to induce an optical waveguide mode in the optical waveguide layer by irradiation with the excitation light. Further, fluorescent signals are enhanced by the electric field enhancement effect by the optical waveguide mode.
Further, Specification of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20050053974 (Patent Literature 3) and T. Liebermann and W. Knoll, “Surface-plasmon field-enhanced fluorescence spectroscopy”, Colloids and Surfaces A, Vol. 171, pp. 115-130, 2000 (Non-Patent Literature 3) propose a method for extracting radiation light (SPCE: Surface Plasmon-Coupled Emission) from the prism side. In the method, instead of detecting fluorescence output from a fluorescent label excited in the electric field enhanced by surface plasmons, the fluorescence newly induces surface plasmons in the metal layer, and radiation light by the newly induced plasmons is extracted from the prism side.
As described above, in bio-measurement or the like, various kinds of methods have been proposed as a method for detecting the detection target substance. In the methods, plasmon resonance or an optical waveguide mode is induced by irradiation with excitation light, and a fluorescent label is excited in an electric field enhanced by the plasmon resonance or the optical waveguide mode, and the fluorescence is directly or indirectly detected.
Further, in surface plasmon resonance measurement apparatuses, methods for increasing the concentration of detection target substance in a region on the sensor portion, the region to which evanescent waves extend from the sensor portion, are proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9 (1997)-257702 (Patent Literature 4), Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-085770 (Patent Literature 5), and the like. In Patent Literature 4, Patent Literature 5 and the like, voltage is applied to a sample to attract the detection target substance to the sensor portion, and measurement is performed. In these methods, the pH (potential of hydrogen) of a buffer solution is adjusted to adjust the charge state of a detection target substance, such as protein and nucleic acid. Further, voltage is applied in a state in which the detection target substance is positively or negatively electrified, thereby attracting the detection target substance to the sensor portion.
The method for localizing the detection target substance by application of voltage can achieve a certain effect. Further, Patent Literature 4 describes that in surface plasmon resonance measurement apparatuses, when the detection target substance is attracted to a region within approximately 100 nm from the sensor portion, which the evanescent waves reach, it is possible to reduce the variation in signals.
However, since both of the size and the charge of the detection target substance are small, the attraction effect by application of voltage is weaker than Brown motion of the detection target substance. Therefore, it is difficult to efficiently attract the detection target substance to the surface of the sensor portion. Further, it is necessary to provide a means for applying voltage to the liquid sample. Therefore, there is a problem that the structure of the apparatus becomes complicated.
Further, the electric field enhancement effects by surface plasmon resonance and optical guide mode sharply attenuate as a distance from the surface of the metal layer or the optical waveguide layer increases. Therefore, there is a problem that when the distances from the surface to the fluorescent labels even slightly change, signals from the fluorescent labels become different from each other, and varied. Hence, it is necessary to attract the fluorescent labels within a range of approximately 50 nm from the surface.
For example, FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram illustrating an apparatus for detecting fluorescence by an electric field enhancement effect by surface plasmon resonance. In FIG. 20, the vicinity of a sensor portion of the apparatus is illustrated. A gold film (thin-film, coating or layer) 102 is deposited on a surface of a prism (substrate) 101. Further, primary antibody B1 is immobilized on the gold film 102. When a sandwich assay is performed, fluorescence from a fluorescent label (fluorescent dye molecule f in this case) attached to labeling secondary antibody B2 is detected. The labeling secondary antibody B2 binds to the primary antibody B1 through antigen A. Excitation light is caused to enter the interface between the prism 101 and the gold film 102 at an angle greater than or equal to the total reflection angle to excite surface plasmons on the surface of the gold film 102. Accordingly, the electric field on the surface of the gold film 102 is enhanced. The fluorescent label (fluorescent dye molecule) f is excited in the enhanced electric field, and fluorescence is output. In FIG. 20, the graph shows distance-dependent characteristic of the strength (magnitude) of the electric field, the distance being measured from the surface of the sensor portion (surface of the gold film). As the graph shows, the strength of the electric field sharply decreases as the distance from the surface increases.
At this time, the maximum distance from the surface of the sensor portion to the fluorescent label f of the labeling secondary antibody is approximately 50 nm. When the distance from the surface of the sensor portion is approximately 50 nm, the intensity of fluorescence attenuates by 30% or more. Further, the primary antibody B1 is not always immobilized upright on the surface of the sensor portion, and the primary antibody B1 may fall along the surface by the flow of liquid, a three-dimensional obstacle or the like, and be immobilized in a lying or inclined state. Consequently, the distance from the surface of the fluorescent label f to the surface of the sensor portion is varied, and the intensity of the signal is varied.
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The invention described herein may be manufactured, used and licensed by or for the Government for Government purposes without the payment to us of any royalties thereon,
Technical Field
The present invention provides an aluminumxe2x80x94lithium titanium carbide alloy composite material, and comprises a method of mixing an inxe2x80x94situ aluminum matrix composite and an aluminum lithium alloy via a spray deposition process to obtain an aluminum lithium matrix composite.
For high temperature aerospace applications, Ti alloys are often used to produce structural parts, However the costs have often been the drawback. Finding an alternative has motivated the development of advanced aluminum alloys to satisfy the requirement of Ti alloys.
Among the aluminum systems developed over the decades, the aluminum transitional element family has so far given the most promising properties. With improvement in processing techniques and conditions, these dispersionsxe2x80x94strengthened aluminum alloys exhibit strength up to 600 MPa. 17% elongation and fracture toughness of 25 MPa( at room temperature and retain strength of 300 MPa up to 315 Centigrade.
A new class of elevatedxe2x80x94temperature aluminum based materials is being developed by incorporating the concept of metal matrix compounds (MMC) into designs. It has been shown by introducing the matrix with ceramic particles, the strength of the MMC is increased by as much as 100 MPAs over the monolithic counterpart. Work is continuing on advancing MMCs with the properties of the existing elevatedxe2x80x94temperature materials to produce high strength, better thermomechanical response composites.
This invention provides the processing means by which monostructural requirements are obtained in producing a lighted material with superior ballistic protection compared to that of conventional aluminum armor alloys. Conventional aluminum alloys are a strain hardened material processed through direct chilled casting followed by warm and cold rolling. The ballistic performance of the alloys improves with increasing yield strength. Armor strength is limited by the lack of workability with increasingly hardness.
Aluminum -lithium alloys are developed as a lightweight replacement for conventional high strength aerospace aluminum alloys. Addition of lithium to aluminum lowers the density, and enhances stiffness and strength of the aluminum alloy. Ballistic performance of the aluminumxe2x80x94lithium is limited by delamination and spall due to impurities along highly delineated fibrous grains developed from processing.
The present invention circumvents the aforementioned difficulties via processing. The present method provides for the mixing of an inxe2x80x94situ particulate reinforced aluminum and an aluminumxe2x80x94lithium alloy. The inxe2x80x94situ particulate reinforced aluminum alloy may be process from prolonged precipitation in a heavily alloyed molten aluminum melt or by other proprietary method. The main criteria for the inxe2x80x94situ composite is that it contain thermodynamically stable subxe2x80x94micron reinforcements.
It is an object of the present invention to provide and disclose a light weight, lithium containing aluminum composite having superior ballistic properties.
It is an object of the invention to provide and disclose a light weight lithium aluminum composite having an ultra fine grain size.
It is a further object of the invention to provide and disclose a method for mixing inxe2x80x94situ of the aluminum matrix composite with aluminumxe2x80x94lithium via spray deposition process to obtain an Alxe2x80x94TiC matrix composite
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Semiconductor memory is widely used in various electronic devices such as cellular telephones, digital cameras, personal digital assistants, medical electronics, mobile computing devices, servers, solid state drives, non-mobile computing devices and other devices. Semiconductor memory may comprise non-volatile memory or volatile memory. A non-volatile memory allows information to be stored and retained even when the non-volatile memory is not connected to a source of power (e.g., a battery). Examples of non-volatile memory include flash memory (e.g., NAND-type and NOR-type flash memory).
Memory systems can be used to store data provided by a host device, client, user or other entity. It is important that when data stored in the memory system is read back and reported to the host device, client, user or other entity, the data is reported back accurately.
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Thermoplastic resins such as a polycarbonate resin (PC), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a blend thereof and a mixture obtained by blending one or a plurality of the above resins with other resins bring about thermal decomposition (reduction in molecular weight) when they are heated and molten in various molding processes and lower in mechanical properties. The present invention relates to a resin additive which prevents thermal decomposition thereof and to a resin additive which prevents thermal decomposition and does not reduce the impact strength to a large extent.
Resin materials, particularly respective resins of PC, PBT and PET are heavily reduced in a molecular weight in melting by heating, so that the molecular weights have notably been reduced by heat given in various molding processes and shear stress exerted in kneading. Accordingly, it was difficult to recycle spools and runners produced in molding as well as recycling of the products.
According to researches made by the present inventors, the resins described above could be inhibited from lowering in a molecular weight in heating and melting by adding inorganic particles subjected to surface treatment with catechin to the resins, but there was the problem that the IZOT impact strengths were reduced.
Intensive researches of a resin additive of catechin continued by the present inventors have resulted in finding that thermo-plastic resins can be inhibited from lowering in a molecular weight in heating and melting by adding a resin additive obtained by subjecting inorganic particles to surface treatment with catechin to the above resins.
Further, the present inventors have found that thermo-plastic resins can be inhibited from lowering in a molecular weight in heating and melting and can be decreased in a reduction in an IZOT impact strength by adding to the above resins, a resin additive obtained by subjecting inorganic particles to surface treatment with catechin and further subjecting them to surface treatment with a coupling agent.
In addition thereto, the present inventors have found that thermoplastic resins can be inhibited from lowering in a molecular weight in heating and melting and can be prevented from lowering in an IZOT impact strength by adding to the above resins, a resin additive obtained by subjecting inorganic particles to surface treatment with catechin and further subjecting them to surface treatment with a phenone compound or saccharides, followed by further subjecting them to surface treatment with a coupling agent.
Accordingly, the first object of the present invention is to provide a resin additive which is obtained by subjecting inorganic particles to surface treatment with catechin and which can inhibit a resin from lowering in a molecular weight in heating and melting to prevent the resin from being deteriorated.
The second object of the present invention is to provide a resin additive which is obtained by allowing the surface of inorganic particles to be contacted with a catechin solution to treat them and further treating them with a coupling agent to thereby subject them to multilayer surface treatment and which not only can prevent a resin from lowering in a molecular weight in heating and melting but also can prevent the resin from lowering in an IZOT impact strength.
The third object of the present invention is to provide a resin additive which is obtained by allowing the surface of inorganic particles to be contacted with a catechin solution to treat them and further subjecting them to surface treatment with a phenone compound or saccharides, followed by further subjecting them to surface treatment with a coupling agent to thereby subject them to multilayer surface treatment and which attempts to thermally stabilize the resin by catechin and reduce the impact stress by the phenone compound or saccharides and strengthens the bond of the inorganic particles with the matrix resin to not only prevent the resin from being deteriorated in heating and melting but also prevent the resin from lowering in an IZOT impact strength.
The fourth object of the present invention is to provide a resin additive which not only provides a thermoplastic resin with heat stability in heating and melting the resin but also prevents the resin from lowering in an IZOT impact strength.
Further object of the present invention is to provide a resin additive which not only provides a thermoplastic polycarbonate resin, a thermoplastic polyester resin or a thermoplastic resin comprising these polycarbonate resin and polyester resin with heat stability in heating and melting the resin but also prevents the resin from lowering in an IZOT impact strength.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a resin additive which makes it possible to recycle the product.
Still another object of the present invention shall become more distinct from the following explanations.
It has been found that the preceding objects of the present invention can be achieved by:
1. a resin additive prepared by subjecting inorganic particles to surface treatment with catechin,
2. a resin additive prepared by subjecting inorganic particles to surface treatment with catechin and further subjecting them to surface treatment with a coupling agent,
3. a resin additive prepared by subjecting inorganic particles to surface treatment with catechin and then subjecting them to surface treatment with a phenone compound, followed by further subjecting them to surface treatment with a coupling agent, and
4. a resin additive prepared by subjecting inorganic particles to surface treatment with catechin and then subjecting them to surface treatment with saccharides, followed by further subjecting them to surface treatment with a coupling agent.
The resin additive of the present invention shall be explained below in further details.
The inorganic particles used in the present invention shall not specifically be restricted and may be any inorganic particles as long as they can effectively be used for the objects of the present invention. Specific examples thereof include silica salts such as silica, anhydrous silica, silica gel, talc, clay, mica aluminum silicate and kaolinite, alumina and salts thereof such as aluminates. In addition thereto, inorganic substances staying in a glass state, that is, glass can also be used as an inorganic material in the present invention. Various materials such as oxide glass, particularly silicate glass, powder of glass fiber, glass beads, glass balloon and fly ash can be used. Further, carbon and powder of carbon fiber can also be used as an inorganic particle. Among them, silica powder is produced in nature and therefore is excellent in profitability, so that it is preferably used. The particle size and form of the inorganic particles used shall not specifically be restricted and are suitably selected and used according to the kind and the use purposes thereof.
Next, catechin used in the present invention is a polyhydric phenol compound which is a polyoxy derivative of 3-oxyflavane and contained widely in plants in the natural world. It is said that catechin includes heterogeneous types having various molecular structures, and all ones are natural compounds, so that a lot of catechins having different structures are present. Catechin used in the present invention shall not specifically be restricted and may be any one as long as it is catechin which can effectively be used for the objects of the present invention. Catechin is called astringent juice. At present, catechin is used medically as a carcinostatic substance and industrially as a color fixing agent and a mordant for nylon. Catechin is very soluble in water and lower alcohols and therefore can be used in the form of a solution having a high concentration.
Four kinds of typical catechins are shown by the following formulas (a) to (d), respectively. Further, catechins are compounds contained widely in plants in the natural world as described above, and therefore it is readily presumed that they have partially different chemical structures. In the present invention, such polyhydric phenols shall not be distinguished from catechin and can be used synonymously therewith.
The treatment of the inorganic particles with catechin is carried out by adding the inorganic particles to a solution of catechin and stirring to allow catechin to be adsorbed thereon, followed by filtering and drying the treated inorganic particles. In this case, with respect to the use amount of catechin, the inorganic particles are preferably treated in a solution containing catechin of 0.5 to 6.0% by weight (wt %) based on the inorganic particles to be treated. If the amount of catechin is smaller than 0.5 wt %, a heat stability effect for the resin is not revealed. On the other hand, even if the amount is more than 6.0 wt %, the effect remains unchanged, and therefore it is meaningless to use more amount than that. A solvent used in the treatment with catechin includes water, lower alcohols, tetrahydrofuran, toluene, benzene, acetone, acetonitrile, various ketones and esters. Water and lower alcohols are preferably used. The concentration of the catechin solution used in the present invention shall not specifically be restricted as long as it is not more than the saturated concentration of catechin at a temperature in allowing catechin to be adsorbed on the surface of the inorganic particles, and any concentration can be used. The temperature in allowing catechin to be adsorbed on the inorganic particles shall not specifically be restricted, but it is usually a room temperature. Two or more kinds of catechin can be used. The catechin-treated inorganic particles (abbreviated as particles 1) thus obtained can be used as a resin additive as they are. Further, this is treated with a coupling agent or treated with a phenone compound or saccharides and then further treated with a coupling agent, whereby the resin additive of the present invention can be prepared.
Next, the phenone compound used in the present invention is benzophenone or a derivative thereof and is suitably benzophenone itself. It is a matter of course, however, that the phenone compound may be a derivative of benzophenone such as benzophenone-2-carboxylic acid and benzophenone-4,4-dicarboxylic acid. The phenone compound functions in the same way as that of the coupling agent, and therefore the same amount as that of the coupling agent may be used. The use range thereof is preferably 0.4 to 4.2 wt % based on the catechin-treated inorganic particles. If the amount of the phenone compound is too small, the effect is not revealed. On the other hand, if the amount is too much, it reduces the mechanical strength of the resin by functioning as a plasticizer. Accordingly, both are not preferred.
The treatment of the particles 1 with the phenone compound is carried out by a method in which the phenone compound corresponding to 0.4 to 4.2 wt % of the particles 1 is dissolved in an organic solvent such as toluene and xylene and the particles 1 are added thereto and sufficiently stirred, followed by filtering and drying the treated particles 1 to obtain the phenone compound-treated particles 1 (hereinafter abbreviated as particles 2). In this case, the phenone compound and the particles 1 may be added to the organic solvent in any order. The treating conditions with the phenone compound shall not specifically be restricted, and the treating temperature, the treating time and the kind and the amount of the solvent used are suitably selected according to the kinds and the amounts of the inorganic particles and the phenone compound. Two or more kinds of the phenone compound can be used. The particles 2 thus obtained are further subjected to subsequent treatment with the coupling agent.
The saccharides used in the present invention include monosaccharides, oligosaccharides and polysaccharides, and various saccharides can be used. In particular, glucose, fructose, maltose and sugar are suited. It is a matter of course that polysaccharides such as anthocyanin, anthocyanidin, saponin and derivatives thereof can be used as well. The saccharides function in the same way as that of the coupling agent, and therefore the same amount as that of the coupling agent may be used. The use range thereof is preferably 0.4 to 4.2 wt % based on the inorganic particles treated with catechin. If the amount of the saccharides is too small, the effect is not revealed. On the other hand, if the amount is too much, it reduces the mechanical strength of the resin by functioning as a plasticizer.
The treatment of the particles 1 with the saccharides is carried out by a method in which the saccharides corresponding to 0.4 to 4.2 wt % of the particles 1 to be treated is dissolved in a solvent such as water and the above particles 1 to be treated are added thereto and sufficiently stirred to allow the saccharides to be adsorbed thereon, followed by filtering and drying the treated particles 1 to obtain the saccharides-treated particles 1 (hereinafter abbreviated as particles 3). In this case, the saccharides and the particles 1 may added to the solvent in any order. The treating conditions with the saccharides shall not specifically be restricted, and the treating temperature, the treating time and the kind and the amount of the solvent used are suitably selected according to the kinds and the amounts of the inorganic particles and the saccharides. Two or more kinds of the saccharides can be used. The method for treating with the saccharides shall not be restricted thereto, and any method can be used. The particles 3 thus obtained are further subjected to subsequent treatment with a coupling agent.
Silane base coupling agents are preferably used as the coupling agent used in the present invention. Among them, compounds having a terminal group such as an epoxy group, a vinyl group or an amino group are preferably used. To be specific, these silane base coupling agents include, for example, vinyl triethoxysilane, xcex3-methacryloxypropyl trimethoxysilane, xcex3-glycidoxypropyl trimethoxysilane, xcex3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane and trifluoropropylmethyl dimethoxysilane. The particularly preferred silane base coupling agents include xcex3-methacryloxypropyl trimethoxysilane, xcex3-glycidoxypropyl trimethoxysilane and trifluoropropylmethyl dimethoxysilane. The silane base coupling agent is used in a proportion of 0.4 to 4.2 wt %, preferably 0.8 to 2.5 wt % based on the weight of the inorganic particles treated with catechin. If the surface-treated amount with the coupling agent is small, the effect is not revealed. On the other hand, if the amount is too much, the coupling agent functions as a plasticizer in the resin and reduces the mechanical properties of the resin. Accordingly, both are not preferred.
The treatment of the particles 1, 2 or 3 with the coupling agent can be carried out by various methods, and it can be carried out, for example, by a method in which the coupling agent corresponding to 0.4 to. 4.2 wt % of the particles 1 or the particles 1 used for producing the particles 2 or 3 is dissolved in water or an organic solvent such as toluene and xylene and the particles 1, 2 or 3 to be treated with the coupling agent are added thereto and sufficiently stirred to allow the coupling agent to be adsorbed thereon, followed by filtering and drying the treated particles 1, 2 or 3 to obtain the coupling agent-treated particles 1, 2 or 3 (the resin additive of the present invention). In this case, the coupling agent and the particles 1, 2 or 3 may added to the solvent in any order. The treating conditions with the coupling agent shall not specifically be restricted, and the treating temperature, the treating time and the kind and the amount of the solvent used are suitably selected according to the kinds and the amounts of the inorganic particles and the coupling agent. Two or more kinds of the coupling agents can be used in combination. In addition thereto, a method for treating with the coupling agent includes a method in which the coupling agent or a solution of the coupling agent is sprayed directly on the particles 1, 2 or 3. In this case, it is more effective to leave the particles 1, 2 or 3 subjected to spraying treatment for standing in a closed vessel at a room temperature to about 40xc2x0 C. for several days to about one month after spraying. Further, there can be used, a method in which the particles 1, 2 or 3, the coupling agent and a resin are molten and kneaded at the same time, but the present invention shall not be restricted to these methods, and any methods may be used. With respect to the treating order of the inorganic particles in producing the resin additive of the present invention, treatment with catechine is usually carried out at first, or treatment with the phenone compound or the saccharides is carried out, and treatment with the coupling agent is carried out at last. However, this treating order shall not be restricted thereto, and the treatment may be carried out in any order.
The resin to which the resin additive of the present invention is added shall not specifically be restricted, but polycarbonate resins and thermoplastic polyester resins, particularly polyethylene terephthalate and polybutylene terephthalate are suited. Further, blends thereof and blended resins of one or a combination of a plurality thereof and other resins, for example, PC/ABS, PBT/ABS, PC/PBT, PC/PET and PC/polystyrene are preferably used.
In general, the resin additive of the present invention is added to a resin in a proportion of 0.5 to 3.5 wt % based on the resin.
The inorganic particles subjected to surface treatment with catechin allow the molecules of catechin to stick strongly on the surfaces thereof. On the other hand, when the resin is thermally decomposed, radical molecules are produced, and if the radical molecules can be turned to stable molecules, the resin can be inhibited from being decomposed. Catechin has many hydroxyl groups, and these hydroxyl groups trap radicals produced by decomposition of the resin. However, it is considered that a lot of the hydroxyl groups are present as well on the outside of catechin which sticks firmly on the surface of the inorganic particles, and as a result thereof, it is considered that the inorganic particles subjected only to surface treatment with catechin can inhibit the resin from being decomposed but do not have so much wettability to the matrix resin. This results in preventing the resin from combining firmly with the inorganic particles. Accordingly, the IZOT impact strength results in lowering from the intrinsic value of the resin to a large extent. It is expected that two matters of a stabilization of the resin and an inhibition of a reduction in the IZOT impact strength can be achieved at the same time by allowing the inorganic particles subjected only to surface treatment with catechin or the inorganic particles obtained by further subjecting them to surface treatment with the saccharides or the phenone compound to adhere firmly to the matrix resin with the coupling agent. On the other hand, it is considered that the phenone compound or the saccharides which is present between the catechin layer and the coupling agent layer functions as a so-called cushion which disperses a stress exerted on the resin, whereby an effect to prevent a larger reduction in the IZOT impact strength can be obtained. However, the present invention shall not be restricted by such reason.
The inorganic particles thus obtained subjected only to surface treatment with catechin or the inorganic particles obtained by further subjecting the inorganic particles subjected to surface treatment with catechin or the inorganic particles subjected to surface treatment with catechin and subsequently to surface treatment with the phenone compound or the saccharides to surface treatment with the coupling agent become, as described above, a resin additive which can inhibit a reduction in the molecular weight of the resin or can inhibit not only a reduction in the molecular weight but also a reduction in the IZOT impact strength.
As shown in the following examples and comparative examples, the resin additive of the present invention obtained by subjecting the inorganic particles only to surface treatment with catechin can inhibit a reduction in the molecular weight of the thermoplastic resin in heating and melting. Further, the resin additive obtained by further subjecting the inorganic particles subjected to surface treatment with catechin to surface treatment with the coupling agent, or the resin additive obtained by subjecting the inorganic particles to surface treatment with catechin, then to surface treatment with the phenone compound or the saccharides and subsequently to surface treatment with the coupling agent can inhibit as well the IZOT impact strength. Accordingly, the resin additive of the present invention has the effect that it can inhibit a reduction in the molecular weight of the thermoplastic resin such as PC, PBT, PET and blended resins thereof or not only can inhibit a reduction in the molecular weight in heating and melting but also can decrease a reduction in the IZOT impact strength.
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Electronic plumbing fixture fittings, such as electronic faucets, are well known. Such electronic plumbing fixture fittings are used in residential and commercial applications, such as in kitchens, bathrooms, and various other locations.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a service rack and work table unit, and particularly to a folding rack suited for arrangement within a garage, and the like, for use in servicing such vehicles as garden tractors, and which can be folded against a wall of the garage when not in use in order to free additional space within the structure for other purposes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Motor vehicle service racks, as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 2,576,544, issued Nov. 27, 1951 to R. D. Smith, have long been known and commonly used for lifting a motor vehicle to an elevated position in order to gain access to the undersurface of the vehicle and perform maintenance and repairs thereto. In particular, U.S. Pat. Nos: 1,519,977, issued Dec. 16, 1924 to K. B. Harvey; 1,528,934, issued Mar. 10, 1925 to J. F. McMahon; 1,538,437, issued May 19, 1925 to A. C. Larsen; and 1,968,672, issued July 31, 1934 to J. F. Duby; disclose vehicle work racks, intended for automobiles and motor trucks, which incorporate various associated structure, such as platforms, arranged for facilitating work on a motor vehicle disposed on the rack. These known vehicle work racks, however, are generally large, heavy, and in some cases quite complex in construction. Further, although the ramps associated with the racks for permitting a vehicle to pass onto and off of the rack are generally hinged to the tracks forming the vehicle supporting portion of the rack itself, this hinged construction is only for purposes of adjustment. Accordingly, the known vehicle service racks are generally installed in a permanent manner so as to occupy a rather large amount of available floor space.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,890, issued Feb. 4, 1975 to C. Ruffing, discloses a lift device for small equipment which is employed to elevate snowmobiles, and the like, to a convenient height for servicing and repairing the vehicle, while U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,253, issued Sept. 20, 1971 to D. Wooten, et al, discloses a portable vehicle rack intended for supporting only a single wheel of a vehicle.
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The invention relates generally to systems for managing patient care in a health care facility, and more particularly, to systems for collecting data and controlling the delivery of patient care.
Medical institutions are faced with a competitive environment in which they must constantly maintain or improve profitability and yet simultaneously improve patient care. Several factors contribute to the ever increasing costs of health care, whether it is delivered to the patient in a hospital or out-patient clinic setting. Health care deliverers face increased complexity in the types of treatment and services available, but also must provide these complex treatments and services efficiently, placing a premium on the institution's ability to provide complex treatment while maintaining complete and detailed medical records for each patient.
It is also advantageous to have a care management system that combines all of the various services and units of a health care institution into an interrelated automated system to provide “just-in-time” delivery of therapeutic and other drugs to the patient. Such a system would prevent administering an inappropriate medication to a patient by checking the medication against a database of known allergic reactions and/or side-effects of the drug against the patent's medical history. The interrelated system should also provide doctors, nurses and other care-givers with updated patient information at the bedside, notify the institution's pharmacy when an additional drug is required, or when a scheduled treatment is running behind schedule, and automatically update the institution's accounting database each time a medication or other care is given.
Inaccurate recording of the administration of drugs and usage of supplies involved in a patient's treatment results in decreasing revenues to the institution by failing to fully capture billing opportunities of these actual costs. Inadequate management also results in a failure to provide an accurate report of all costs involved in treating a particular illness.
In many hospitals and clinical laboratories, a bracelet device having a patient's name printed thereon is permanently affixed to a patient upon admittance to the institution in order to identify the patient during his or her entire stay. Despite this safeguard, opportunities arise for patient identification error. For example, when a blood sample is taken from a patient, the blood sample must be identified by manually transcribing the patient's name and other information from the patient's identification bracelet. In transferring the patient's name, a nurse or technician may miscopy the name or may rely on memory or a different data source, rather than actually reading the patient's bracelet.
Moreover, manually transferring other information, such as the parameters for configuring an infusion pump to dispense medication may result in errors that reduce the accuracy and/or effectiveness of drug administration and patient care. This may result in an increased duration of treatment with an attendant increase in costs.
Hospitals and other institutions must continuously strive to provide quality patient care. Medical errors, such as where the wrong patient receives the wrong drug at the wrong time, in the wrong dosage or even where the wrong surgery is performed, are a significant problem for all health care facilities. Many prescription drugs and injections are identified merely by slips of paper on which the patient's name and identification number have been handwritten by a nurse or technician who is to administer the treatment. For a variety of reasons, such as the transfer of patients to different beds and errors in marking the slips of paper, the possibility arises that a patient may be given an incorrect treatment. This results in increased expense for the patient and hospital that could be prevented using an automated system to verify that the patient is receiving the correct care.
Various solutions to these problems have been proposed, such as systems that use bar codes to identify patients and medications, or systems allowing the bedside entry of patient data. While these systems have advanced the art significantly, even more comprehensive systems could prove to be of greater value.
What has been needed, and heretofore unavailable, is an integrated, modular system for tracking and controlling patient care and for integrating the patient care information with other institutional databases to achieve a reliable, efficient, cost-effective delivery of health care to patients. The invention fulfills these needs and others.
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This application claims priority from Japanese patent application Serial No. 2000-282865 filed Sep. 19, 2000, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a paper feeding apparatus, and more particularly, relates to a paper feeding apparatus wherein it is possible to prevent a image reading turbulence in a image reading device or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, for example, in a image reading device, in the case where a lot of scripts are automatically carried and read, there is an automatic paper feeding mechanism (ADF). The automatic paper feeding mechanism comprises a pick mechanism which moves a plurality of sheets of paper mounted on a shooter to a specified preparing position; a separating mechanism which takes in the paper put on the preparing position one by one; and a feed mechanism which has a feed roller and a discharge roller for carrying the paper.
FIG. 8 is an description drawing of a conventional embodiment. In FIG. 8, to the feed mechanism, a feed roller 11 and a discharge roller 23 are provided. Furthermore, a driven roller 24 is provided corresponding to each of the feed roller 11 and the discharge roller 23.
At the feed roller 11, a feed roller gear 36 for driving the feed roller 11 is provided. Furthermore, at the discharge roller 23, a discharge roller gear 40 for driving the discharge roller 23 is provided. Then, the feed roller gear 36 is driven through a train of gears 34, 35 by a motor or the like. Furthermore, the discharge roller gear 40 is driven through a train of gears 37, 38, 39 by a motor or the like.
The paper such as a script is supplied to a reading position from the feed roller 11 and discharged by the discharge roller 23. This discharge roller gear 40 is driven by a train of gears 37, 38, 39 or the like, and therefore, there is a backlash between engaged gears. Because of this backlash, there has been such a case where the discharge roller slips and the paper momentarily stops when the rear end of the paper is separated from a pair of rollers (a feed roller 11 and a driven roller 24) just before the reading position.
This slip is caused by the fact less than 1 greater than in order to prevent a looseness of the paper at the reading position, the discharge roller 23 sends the paper a little faster than the feed roller 11 (the paper is pulled to the discharge roller 23 side), and therefore, a reaction is caused when the rear end of the paper is separated from the pair of rollers just before the reading position and less than 2 greater than the paper is kicked in the discharge direction by the above described pair of rollers when the rear end of the paper is separated from the pair of rollers just before the reading position.
In the case of the above described conventional embodiment, when the rear end of the paper is separated from the pair of rollers just before the reading position, a image turbulence has clearly been shown. Especially, in the case of a color scanner, it has been shown as a color drift, and shown more remarkably.
It is an object of the present invention to solve such conventional problems, and to prevent the image turbulence which is caused when the paper is separated from the feed roller.
A paper feeding apparatus of the present invention comprises a feed roller for supplying the paper to image reading position; and a discharge roller for discharging the paper, and to the above described discharge roller, a load in the rotational direction is provided for preventing the image reading turbulence at the time when the paper is separated from the above described feed roller. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the image turbulence which is caused by the slip of the discharge roller when the paper is separated from the feed roller.
Furthermore, the paper feeding apparatus of the present invention further comprises a discharge roller gear for driving the above described discharge roller; and a train of gears for driving the above described discharge roller gear. The above described load is provided at one of the train of gears for driving the above described discharge roller gear to eliminate the backlash between the above described discharge roller gear and the gear to which the above described load is provided. Therefore, even in the case where a load cannot be applied directly on the discharge roller, it is possible to apply a load on the discharge roller.
Furthermore, in the case of the paper feeding apparatus of the present invention, the above described load is preferably a compression spring that is provided between the discharge roller gear for driving the shaft of the above described discharge roller and the bearing of the above described discharge roller. Accordingly, it is unnecessary to provide a mechanism for eliminating the backlash, and it is possible to easily apply a load to the discharge roller by the compression spring.
Furthermore, in the case of the paper feeding apparatus of the present invention, the above described load is a torsion coil spring which comes into contact with the shaft of the above described discharge roller at the inside diameter. Accordingly, it is unnecessary to provide a mechanism for eliminating the backlash, and it is possible to easily apply a load to the discharge roller by the torsion coil spring.
Furthermore, in the case of the paper feeding apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the above described load is produced by pressing a body with the character of a spring onto the shaft of the above described discharge roller. Accordingly, it is unnecessary to provide a mechanism for eliminating the backlash, and it is possible to easily apply a load to the discharge roller by pressing a body with the character of a spring.
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Computers and computing systems have impacted nearly every aspect of modern living. For instance, computers are generally involved in work, recreation, healthcare, transportation, entertainment, household management, etc.
Normally, a computing system operates using a particular configuration. At a high level, a configuration includes all of the files, directories, dependencies, and/or libraries needed for the computing system to operate in a desired manner. To clarify, the configuration determines how the computing system will function and perform its various operations. As used herein, the terms “system configuration,” “computer configuration,” “server configuration,” and simply “configuration” are interchangeable.
From time to time, the system configuration will be changed. A configuration change may occur, for example, when one or more of the configuration's files, directories, dependencies, and/or libraries are altered such that the configuration has a new “state.” To properly categorize and characterize the distinct states of a configuration, versioning techniques are often used. Versioning relates to the process of 1) assigning version identifiers (i.e. identifiers used to differentiate one version from another), 2) maintaining both configuration history and configuration change history, and 3) performing the processes needed so that a computer system can reliably revert from a later version back to an earlier version (if needed) each time a configuration change is introduced. In particular, configuration versioning allows a computer system to remain backwards compatible with previous versions while, at the same time, allowing dramatically new features and configuration options to be introduced to the computer system.
When a configuration change occurs, the corresponding computer system may perform processes for preserving the computer system's existing configuration version. For instance, the system may require each new configuration change to be transactional. In some instances, version identifiers may also be updated to indicate which version the computer system is configured with.
In addition to modifying a computer's configuration, a computer's functionality can also be enhanced by networking with other computing systems via one or more network connections. By way of example, these network connections allow one computing system to remotely access services and/or other content located at one or more other computing systems. In some instances, these services may be operating in a cloud environment such that these services operate remotely from a computer system that is attempting to utilize that service. As used herein, services that operate in a cloud environment are collectively referred to as “cloud-based services.”
In some instances, a remote service (e.g., a cloud-based service) can be used to facilitate the various configuration changes (e.g., updates, deletions, or additions) to a computing system's configuration. Currently, however, there exists a substantial need in the field to improve the interrelationship between a remote service and a computing system, particularly with regard to configuration changes. As a result, there exists a substantial need in the field to improve how a remote service is used when managing a computing system's configuration.
The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is provided to illustrate only one exemplary technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced.
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1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to loop filters, and more specifically to loop filter for current-controlled-oscillator-based phase locked loop (PLL).
2. Related Art
Current-controlled oscillators are often used in phase-locked loops (PLL). The output frequency of a current-controlled oscillator is determined by the magnitude of a current provided as input to the current-controlled oscillator. For example, when a current-controlled oscillator is implemented as a gated-ring oscillator (GRO), the magnitude of the power-supply current to the inverters in the GRO can be used to set a desired output frequency of the GRO.
A loop filter of a PLL is used to perform low-pass filtering operation of the output of a phase detector used in the PLL. The low-pass filtered output of the loop filter is provided as input to control the frequency generated by the current-controlled oscillator. The design of the loop filter generally needs to support requirements such as small implementation area, low noise contribution, etc.
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One of the most effective and efficient methods of deploying high-speed digital services to business and residential customers is to use one of the many forms of DSL (Digital Subscriber Loop) technologies over copper telephone wires. This approach has become very popular in the last 20 years due to the fact that copper wires are already deployed almost everywhere and are quite easy to access, both at the Central Office (CO) and at the remote cabinet or the customer premises.
However, one of the main limitations of DSL technology is that the data capacity of copper wires decreases significantly as the length of the copper loop increases. Therefore, customers located more than a few kilometers from the Central Office can not be provided with high data speeds over copper wires.
One way to mitigate this issue is to use multiple copper pairs to the same customer location, thereby increasing the total data rate of the resulting multi-pair copper link. This method is typically referred to as “bonding” of copper pairs.
Another method for extending the reach of DSL services is to utilize repeaters. These are devices that are installed in intermediate locations on the copper loop, and contain one or more transceivers that receive and re-transmit the signal from neighboring devices. The resulting repeatered copper link is composed of multiple shorter segments that are connected to each other with repeaters. As a result, the capacity of the original long copper loop is increased to the capacity of the longest of these multiple shorter segments.
Repeaters can also be combined with bonding to further increase the rate and reach of DSL services by using multiple copper pairs, each of which is partitioned into multiple repeatered segments.
The deployment of repeaters faces many operational challenges including, but not limited to, installation procedures, proper electrical grounding and shielding, providing power over the copper wires, and remote troubleshooting and management to avoid the need to dispatch a technician to the field every time there is a problem with one of the multiple repeaters.
However, the main reason why repeaters are not widely used today is their potential for generating significant spectral interference to residential DSL services, which have become ubiquitous in the last decade. Spectral interference between different high-bitrate services in a copper binder is caused by the fact that each copper pair acts as an antenna. The signal transmitted on each copper pair, which is intended for the receiver located at the other end of that copper pair, is also inadvertently picked up by all of the neighboring copper pairs, because those pairs are not individually shielded from each other. This creates the well-known phenomenon of “cross-talk”, aptly named for the effect it caused in the early days of the telephone, when the telephone discussion taking place on one line could sometimes be overheard by the people conversing on a different line.
Due to the physical characteristics of copper pairs, and in particular due to the average length of the twist between the two copper wires making up each pair, the cross-talk coupling between different pairs increases exponentially with the frequency of the transmitted signal. But this cross-talk coupling is only one of the three factors that determine the strength of cross-talk; the other two are the strength of the disturbing transmitter and the sensitivity of the disturbed receiver at any given frequency. For example, if the transmit frequency band of a transmitter is different than the receive frequency band of a neighboring receiver, then there will be almost no cross-talk from that particular transmitter to that particular receiver.
This strong dependence of cross-talk interference on the overlap of transmit and receive frequency bands is one of the main reasons for the proliferation of DMT (Discrete Multi-Tone) technology in devices used for deployment of residential DSL services, such as ADSL, ADSL2, ADSL2+, VDSL, and VDSL2 services. Almost all DMT devices utilize Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), which means that they use different frequency bands for upstream and downstream transmission. Therefore, their upstream transmitters generate very low Near-End Cross-Talk (NEXT) interference to the downstream receivers of neighboring lines, and their downstream transmitters generate very low NEXT interference to the upstream receivers of neighboring lines.
In fact, in the case of FDM DMT services, the only potentially significant cross-talk is Far-End Cross-Talk (FEXT), generated from their upstream or downstream transmitters to the upstream or downstream receivers of neighboring lines. Since FEXT is generated by transmitters that are located at the other end (i.e., the “far end”) of the link, it attenuates as it propagates through the copper wires until it reaches the victim receivers. Therefore, FEXT becomes weaker as the distance between the disturbing transmitter and the victim receiver increases, and thus has a noticeable effect only when that distance is relatively short, typically less than 4-5 Kft (1.2-1.5 km). As a result, in typical deployment scenarios where most loops are longer than 4-5 Kft, FEXT is not a significant source of interference.
Nevertheless, there are two important deployment scenarios where FEXT is the dominant source of interference. The first one is the deployment of very high speed services using VDSL or VDSL2, where the loops are typically shorter than 5 Kft (1.5 km). The second one is the deployment of any FDM DMT service from a remotely-located cabinet, specifically when the cables that go from the cabinet to the customer locations also carry FDM DMT services deployed from the Central Office (CO). In this scenario, the cabinet is located much closer to those customer locations than the CO. Therefore, the downstream transmitters of the cabinet-deployed services are much closer to the downstream receivers of the CO-deployed services than their own transmitters, which are located at the CO much farther up the network. As a result, the downstream FEXT from the cabinet-deployed transmitters is quite strong, as it is attenuated only by a short distance, while the main downstream signal coming from the CO-deployed transmitters is relatively weak, as it attenuated by a much longer distance.
The problem of the strong FEXT generated by cabinet-deployed services to CO-deployed services is often referred to as the “near-far” interference problem, due to the fact that the disturbing cabinet-deployed transmitters are located “near” the victim receivers, while the victim receivers' own transmitters are located “far”, namely at the CO.
The first repeaters used Alternate Mark Inversion (AMI) or High Density Bipolar order 3 (HDB3) line codes to deliver T1 (1.544 Mbps) or E1 (2.048 Mbps) services over longer copper loops. These technologies made very inefficient use of frequency bands, utilizing almost 2 MHz of frequency spectrum to deliver a mere 1.544 or 2.048 Mbps over 2 copper pairs at distances no longer than 1-1.5 km. Later on, symmetric DSL standards such as HDSL (High-speed DSL), HDSL2, HDSL4 and SHDSL (Single-pair High-speed DSL) allowed deployment of the same T1/E1 services over repeatered copper links while making more efficient use of the frequency spectrum and reducing the number of repeater locations and repeatered segments compared with the original AMI/HDB3 methods.
Despite these advancements in repeater technology, the proliferation of residential DSL services resulted in a significant reduction in the deployment of repeaters. The main reason is that repeaters typically generate much stronger cross-talk into residential DSL receivers than non-repeatered services deployed from the Central Office. This is because repeaters are placed much closer to remotely located residential DSL receivers, and therefore they result in the aforementioned near-far interference problem.
Repeaters that utilize single-carrier technologies like HDSL, HDSL2, HDSL4, and SHDSL typically utilize the same frequency band for upstream and downstream transmission, and therefore they create strong FEXT and even stronger NEXT interference to adjacent DSL receivers. As a result, most countries have imposed significant restrictions on the use of repeaters in the outside loop plant. For example, the American National Standards Institute has issued recommendation T1.417, which specifies that repeaters using should only be deployed in North America with bitrate of approximately 768 Kbps per copper pair when used with HDSL4 technology, or approximately 634 Kbps per pair when used with SHDSL technology. This restriction is designed to reduce the frequency band of the disturbing signal to approximately 150 kHz, in order to minimize its overlap with the downstream frequency band of residential DSL services, which typically starts at 140 kHz. Other countries have imposed similar restrictions; for example, several European countries limit the bitrate of repeaters to 1 Mbps per copper pair.
As for FDM DMT repeaters, they have the potential for creating even stronger near-far interference than single-carrier repeaters. This is because most DMT repeaters operate their downstream transmitters in exactly the same higher frequency band used by the downstream receivers of residential DSL services. Since the strength of the cross-talk coupling between different copper pairs increases exponentially with the frequency of the transmitted signal, this means that the FEXT generated by FDM DMT repeaters can cause significant deterioration of the achievable bitrate rates of adjacent CO-deployed FDM DMT receivers. This potential for very strong near-far interference is the main reason why FDM DMT repeaters have not been deployed in any significant numbers thus far.
All these restrictions have severely limited the utility of repeaters for delivery of high-speed data services. For example, consider the problem of wireless backhaul, which involves providing a high-speed communications link between the Central Office and wireless base stations, so that these base stations can effectively provide high-speed data services to wireless subscribers. In the particular case where the required bitrate for the backhaul link is 20 Mbps, and the wireless base station is 10 km away from the Central Office, so that repeaters are required, it would take 26 copper pairs to deliver this service under a restriction of 768 Kbps per pair, and 32 pairs under a restriction of 634 Kbps per pair. Clearly, utilizing that many copper pairs for one 20 Mbps link is impractical and expensive.
Therefore, it would be highly desirable to install and operate repeaters in a way that provides significantly higher bitrates per copper pair and yet does not generate significant levels of spectral interference to residential DSL services.
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Waste heat recovery in various types of combustion engines is a way to improve the overall efficiency of these systems. Waste heat recovery systems range from power plants that have bottoming cycles, to thermoelectric systems that generate electricity. Power plants that have bottoming cycles utilize the excess heat in the low pressure exhaust gases from the primary work generating cycle. Thermoelectric systems utilize similar waste heat sources.
On piston engines, waste heat recovery systems can consist of a closed loop Rankine Cycle. A Rankine Cycle uses the heat from the exhaust to power the cycle. These systems typically have a separate, dedicated, expander that extracts power from the working fluid and is connected to the crankshaft of the engine.
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{
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-transmission/reception antenna device and a multi-transmission/reception method in a multi-user and multi-cell environment for uplink and downlink. In particular, the present invention relates to a multi-transmission/reception antenna device and a multi-transmission/reception method in a multi-user and multi-cell environment that can appropriately select a user using channel response information of a user to be selected in a cell and information of interference signals from adjacent cells.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a wireless communication system that uses a multi-transmission/reception antenna is a communication system that has been developed in order to achieve a large-bit transfer rate in a limited bandwidth. In such a wireless communication system, a multi-antenna is used at a transmission/reception terminal, and an appropriate transceiver structure is adopted accordingly, thereby achieving a high transfer rate. At this time, the transmitting unit multiplies individual items of a signal vector to be transmitted by individual allocated power values, and multiplies the signal vector multiplied by the allocated power values by a weighted matrix of a transmission antenna again. The receiving unit also multiplies the individual items of the transmitted signal vector by an appropriate weighted matrix so as to generate a plurality of subchannels in a space domain. Independent data streams can be transmitted through the individual subchannels.
In a known multi-transmission/reception antenna system, a technology that assumes a one-to-one wireless communication system having a pair of transceivers is applied, leaving presence of other cells generating interference signals out of consideration. In addition, in order to achieve a higher transfer rate, a multi-user multi-transmission/reception antenna system that can obtain advantages of multiplexing of a multi-user environment has been researched for an uplink (K.-N. Lau, “Analytical framework for multiuser uplink MIMO space-time scheduling design with convex utility functions,” IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, vol. 3, no. 5, September 2004) and a downlink (O.-S. Shin, and K. B. Lee, “Antenna-assisted round robin scheduling for MIMO cellular systems,” IEEE Communications Letters, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 109-111, March 2003).
However, a research on an existing multi-user multi-transmission/reception antenna system has a limitation in that a single cell environment is taken into consideration, but an influence by an interference signal from adjacent cells in an actual mobile communication environment is not taken into full consideration.
Meanwhile, unlike the multi-user environment, for a single user environment, a research on an influence of an interference signal from adjacent cells has progressed. Blum has researched downlink performance when a transmission method is determined in consideration of the interference signal from adjacent cells in a multi-cell environment (R. S. Blum, “MIMO capacity with interference,” IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, vol 21, no. 5, pp. 793-801, June 2003). (In this paper, a research has progressed in a multi-link environment, not a multi-cell environment, but, when a cell structure of a cellular system is applied to a multi-link environment, it is regarded as a multi-cell environment.) Further, Dai et al have suggested a receiver system that takes an influence of interference from adjacent cells into consideration in a downlink multi-transmission/reception antenna environment where interference from adjacent cells exist (H. Dai, A. F. Molisch, and H. V. Poor, “Downlink capacity of interference-limited MIMO systems with joint detection, IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, vol. 3, no. 2, March 2004).
However, the researches of Blum and Dai et al assume only downlink case and are limited to the case which assumes single user in each cell. Researches on the influence of an interference signal from adjacent cells for uplink multiuser systems are insufficient.
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{
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Such holders have been used for a long time in many different forms. In this connection, the clamps are, for example, welded or soldered together at the ends. Thermal connecting methods are, however, not particularly suitable as connecting methods for different materials or materials having a surface coating.
United States patent publication 2005/0224677 discloses a holder which, by means of a folding mechanism, engages around one cable or a plurality of cables, and can be closed with a snap connection. However, due to the design for a plurality of cables, this holder is not suitable for securing pipelines against torsion or axial displacement in the event of greater forces.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,403, a holder is shown wherein the two ends thereof are connected to one another by a rivet-like latching pin. The connection is based on the resilience of the elastic detents of the latching pin. After the latching pin is forced into a hole, the elastic detents snap open behind corresponding detent notches and thus an unreleasable connection of the ends of the clamp is formed.
A drawback with this arrangement is that an additional component is required and that such a connection is associated with play. A fixed clamping of the clamp to the pipe is, therefore, only possible for low displacement forces or torques.
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{
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1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a structure for the rear part of a vehicle and particularly relates to a structure in which an upper back front skeleton is disposed along a front edge of an upper back panel.
2. Related Art
In the vehicle body rear structure for a vehicle disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open (JP-A) No. 2009-23367 (patent document 1), a rear package tray (an upper back panel) is disposed between height direction middle portions of right and left side panels that configure right and left sides of a vehicle body. A cross member that extends in the vehicle width direction is disposed on the front edge of the rear package tray. The cross member has an upper cross member and a lower cross member that are joined to one another to form a closed cross section that extends in the vehicle width direction. Furthermore, the right and left ends of the rear package tray and the upper cross member are coupled to the right and left side panels via sheet-like joining members, and the right and left ends of the lower cross member are coupled to the right and left side panels via L-shaped members. Rear wheel wells having shapes that protrude inward in the vehicle width direction are formed under the right and left L-shaped members, and the upper portions of the rear wheel wells and the L-shaped members are coupled to one another by tower members.
In the vehicle body rear structure for a vehicle having the configuration described above, a skeleton (hereinafter called an upper back front skeleton) that has a closed cross-sectional shape and extends in the vehicle width direction is formed by the cross member, the right and left joining members, and the right and left L-shaped members. The upper back front skeleton forms the upper edge of an opening of a trunk pass-through that communicates the cabin and the trunk. Furthermore, retractors (seat belt take-up devices) that take up seat belts for restraining occupants seated in rear seats are housed inside the vehicle width direction ends of the upper back front skeleton—that is, inside the closed cross-sectional space formed by the joining members and the L-shaped members. A similar structure is disclosed in JP-A No. 2003-312544 (patent document 2).
The upper back front skeleton described above greatly contributes to the rigidity (particularly the torsional rigidity) of the vehicle body, so in order to improve the steering stability of the vehicle, it is necessary that the rigidity of the upper back front skeleton be well ensured. However, due to the relationship between the upper back front skeleton and members disposed near the upper back front skeleton and the relationship between the upper back front skeleton and the breadth of the trunk, there are cases where it is difficult to ensure a sufficient area for the closed cross section of the upper back front skeleton. Even in such cases, there is room for improvement in order to ensure the rigidity of the vehicle body.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a green coherent light generating device by means of second harmonic generation (SHG) using a semiconductor laser and KTP crystals, and a method for generating the green coherent light.
2. Description of the Related Art
Green coherent light is used in various fields, for example, optical displays, image related devices, a pump beam of an optical parametric oscillator, and so on. Up to the present, green light is obtained using SHG light of a YAG laser or an Argon laser, and so on. But these lasers need large-scale devices and have the problem that quality of the green light is not good. So a technology to generate coherent green light combining a semiconductor laser and a KTP crystal was developed. (For example, refer to the pages 1192 of the 50th meeting drafts, The Japan Society of Applied Physics and Related Societies (following non-patenting reference 1).)
FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a conventional device (hereinafter referred to as a “conventional device”) that generates coherent green light by combining a semiconductor laser and a KTP crystal. As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional device 1 comprises a semiconductor laser 2 which generates 1080 nm wavelength light, an optical resonator 3 into which the light from a semiconductor laser is injected, and one a-cut KTP crystal 4 provided in the optical path in the optical resonator. Two concave mirrors, for example, 3a and 3b compose the optical resonator (optical cavity) 3, and these mirrors may face each other. In addition, although not illustrated especially, another example of the conventional device is a device using a ring-type optical resonator.
A laser beam which has the wavelength of 1080 nm output from the semiconductor laser 2 is introduced into the optical resonator 3 through mirror 3a. It is built up in the optical resonator, the intensity increases, and the light introduced into the optical resonator generates SHG light by the nonlinear effect in the KTP crystal. In order to generate SHG efficiently at the above-mentioned wavelength, the phase matching called TYPE II is taken, and the ordinary and extraordinary rays are used in the KTP crystal that has refractive-index anisotropy. By the refractive-index anisotropy of the KTP crystal, for example, since horizontal polarization and perpendicular polarization have different refractive indices of the KTP crystal, the ordinary and extraordinary rays will experience a different optical path length within a KTP crystal. Moreover, light with a wavelength of 1080 nm which is confined and built up within the optical resonator generates light with a wavelength of 540 nm as SHG light by the nonlinear effect in the KTP crystal. This SHG light is output from the output mirror of the optical resonator.
As shown in FIG. 1, the refractive index of the polarization of the ordinary ray is no within a KTP crystal, and the optical path length of the ordinary ray within the KTP crystal is no1, provided that the length of the KTP crystal is set to 1. On the other hand, the refractive index of the polarization of the extraordinary ray is ne, and the optical path length of the extraordinary ray within the KTP crystal is ne1.
In order for light to resonate within the optical resonator and to obtain a powerful output, standing waves must be made within the optical resonator. Namely, a powerful output is obtained by a resonance phenomenon when the optical length is the integral multiple of half-wavelength (however, in a ring-type resonator, it resonates at the time of the integral multiple of wavelength.). If the wavelength of the laser beam from a semiconductor laser is set to λ, and the optical path length in the optical resonator which does not have a KTP crystal is set to L, by making m1 and m2 into an integer, the resonance conditions for the horizontal and perpendicular polarizations are respectively m1 λ/2=L+(no−1)1 and m2 λ/2=L+(ne−1)1. Since KTP crystals have refractive-index anisotropy, no differs from ne. Therefore, in order to have fulfilled the above-mentioned resonance conditions, L should be adjusted, and also the refractive index of the KTP crystal needed to be controlled by carefully adjusting the crystal temperature.
FIG. 2 is a graph that shows the relation between the resonator (cavity) length and resonance in the case of changing temperature using the conventional device. FIG. 2 shows that in a certain conventional device, the optical resonator length at which the ordinary ray resonates and the optical resonator length at which the extraordinary ray resonates correspond when the temperature of the crystal is 66.6° C. Therefore, at 66.6° C., if the optical resonator of prescribed length is adopted, a resonance phenomenon will happen. However, if the temperature is far from 66.6° C., the resonator length at which the ordinary ray resonates and the resonator length at which the extraordinary ray resonates do not correspond. A permitted range of the temperature is considered to be about 1/100° C. or less. As shown in FIG. 2, resonance conditions do not meet at 64.6° C. and 68.6° C., which are 2° C. away from optimal temperature 66.6° C. Furthermore, at 62.6° C. and 70.6° C., which are 4° C. away from optimal temperature, since the resonator length at which the ordinary ray resonates and the resonator length at which the extraordinary ray resonates are completely different, the resonance cannot be obtained simultaneously. Therefore, in the conventional device, in case of obtaining resonance simultaneously with the ordinary and extraordinary rays, there was a problem that the temperature of the KTP crystal had to be precisely controlled.
FIG. 3 is a graph that shows the relation between the SHG light output of the laser beam only by the nonlinear crystal without an optical resonator, and the SHG light output of the laser beam by the conventional device having an a-cut KTP crystal in an optical resonator. In FIG. 3, a dotted line is the SHG light output of the laser beam only by the nonlinear crystal, and circles are the SHG light output of the laser beam obtained by placing an a-cut KTP crystal in the optical resonator. As explained previously, if the nonlinear crystal is placed in the optical resonator, only at specific temperatures, resonance phenomena will occur simultaneously with the ordinary and extraordinary rays, powerful SHG light will be obtained, and SHG light output will not be obtained except at the specific temperatures.
FIG. 3 shows that, for example, although the maximum output of the SHG (single path) of an a-cut KTP crystal unit is obtained at about 62° C., even if it is going to obtain green coherent light using a conventional device, the resonance does not occur at 62° C., which is the temperature that gives the maximum output of SHG light. On the other hand, FIG. 3 shows that, since the ordinary and extraordinary rays resonate at about 39° C., about 52° C., and about 67° C., SHG light output is obtained from the optical resonator comprising the above-mentioned a-cut KTP crystal. However, these temperatures differ from the temperature at which the maximum efficiency of the nonlinear crystal itself is acquired (the above-mentioned a-cut KTP crystal is about 62° C.). Therefore, in case of obtaining SHG light using the conventional device, there was a problem that the output of SHG light did not become large efficiently. Moreover, there was also a problem that if the temperature of a crystal was not stabilized within about 1/100° C. or less, stable SHG light output was not obtained.
[Non-patenting reference 1] Page 1192 of the 50th meeting drafts, The Japan Society of Applied Physics and Related Societies
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A conventional processing system may include hardware resources, such as a central processing unit (CPU) and random access memory (RAM), as well as software resources, such as an operating system (OS) and one or more end-user programs or applications. An application is typically developed to run on a particular OS. When a typical conventional computer system is started, it loads the OS before loading the end-user programs or applications. The OS typically serves as an intermediary between software applications and the hardware in a processing system.
In addition to RAM and one or more CPUs, a processing system may include a security coprocessor (SC) such as a trusted platform module (TPM). A TPM is a hardware component that resides within a processing system and provides various facilities and services for enhancing the security of the processing system. For example, a TPM may be implemented as an integrated circuit (IC) or semiconductor chip, and it may be used to protect data and to attest to the configuration of a platform.
A TPM may be implemented in accordance with specifications such as the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) TPM Specification Version 1.2, dated Oct. 2, 2003 (hereinafter the “TPM specification”), which includes parts such as Design Principles, Structures of the TPM, and TPM Commands. The TPM specification is published by the TCG and is available from the Internet.
The sub-components of a TPM may include an execution engine and secure non-volatile (NV) memory or storage. The secure NV memory is used to store sensitive information, such as encryption keys, and the execution engine protects the sensitive information according to the security policies dictated by the TPM's control logic.
In general, a TCG-compliant TPM provides security services such as attesting to the identity and/or integrity of the platform, based on characteristics of the platform. The platform characteristics typically considered by a TPM include hardware components of the platform, such as the processor(s) and chipset, as well as the software residing in the platform, such as the firmware and OS. A TPM may also support auditing and logging of software processes, as well as verification of platform boot integrity, file integrity, and software licensing. It may therefore be said that a TPM provides a root of trust for a platform.
Accordingly, when a processing system such as a server handles requests from other processing systems such as clients, the server may enforce security policies based on TPM-based attestation. For instance, the server may be configured to deny requests from any client system unless those requests are accompanied by valid, TPM-based platform attestation from that client system. When a conventional processing system uses a TPM, however, that processing system may be able to support only one software environment at a time.
Virtualization products provide features for partitioning a processing system into multiple virtual machines (VMs). For instance, virtualization products may partition and manage a processing system's hardware resources in a way that allows multiple OSs to execute on the same machine concurrently. Specifically, each OS may run in a different VM. Each VM may therefore be considered a substantially independent software environment. An OS running in a VM may be referred to as a guest OS. The VMs may be managed by virtualization products such as a virtual machine monitor (VMM) or hypervisor.
As recognized by the present invention, it would be advantageous if a VMM could allow each of the OSs to operate substantially as if that OS were in its own independent physical machine. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/876,994 (“the '994 application”), which is assigned to the same entity as the present application, discusses features to support use of TPMs by VMs. The present application discloses additional features and capabilities relating to TPMs and virtualization.
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The present invention is directed to materials and methods involving extracellular matrix signalling moleculesxe2x80x94polypeptides involved in cellular responses to growth factors. More particularly, the invention is directed to Cyr61-, Fisp12-, and CTGF-related polynucleotides, polypeptides, compositions thereof, methods of purifying these polypeptides, and methods of using these polypeptides.
The growth of mammalian cells is tightly regulated by polypeptide growth factors. In the adult animal, most cells are metabolically active but are quiescent with regard to cell division. Under certain conditions, these cells can be stimulated to reenter the cell cycle and divide. As quiescent cells reenter the active growth and division phases of the cell cycle, a number of specific genes, the immediate early genes, are rapidly activated. Reentry to the active cell cycle is by necessity tightly regulated, since a breakdown of this control can result in uncontrolled growth, frequently recognized as cancer. Controlled reentry of particular cells into the growth phase is essential for such biological processes as angiogenesis (e.g., blood vessel growth and repair), chondrogenesis (e.g., skeletal development and prosthesis integration), oncogenesis (e.g., cancer cell metastasis and tumor neovascularization), and other growth-requiring processes.
Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from the endothelial cells of preexisting blood vessels, is a complex process which involves a changing profile of endothelial cell gene expression, associated with cell migration, proliferation, and differentiation. Angiogenesis begins with localized breakdown of the basement membrane of the parent vessel. In vivo, basement membranes (primarily composed of laminin, collagen type IV, nidogen/entactin, and proteoglycan) support the endothelial cells and provide a barrier separating these cells from the underlying stroma. The basement membrane also affects a variety of biological activities including cell adhesion, migration, and growth during development and differentiation.
Following breakdown of the basement membrane, endothelial cells migrate away from the parent vessel into the interstitial extracellular matrix (ECM), at least partially due to chemoattractant gradients. The migrating endothelial cells form a capillary sprout, which elongates. This elongation is the result of migration and proliferation of cells in the sprout. Cells located in the leading capillary tip migrate toward the angiogenic stimulus, but neither synthesize DNA nor divide. Meanwhile, behind these leading tip cells, other endothelial cells undergo rapid proliferation to ensure an adequate supply of endothelial cells for formation of the new vessel. Capillary sprouts then branch at their tips, the branches anastomose or join with one another to form a lumen, the basement membrane is reconstituted, and a vascular connection is established leading to blood flow.
Alterations in at least three endothelial cell functions occur during angiogenesis: 1) modulations of interactions with the ECM, which require alterations of cell-matrix contacts and the production of matrix-degrading proteolytic enzymes; 2) an initial increase and subsequent decrease in endothelial cell migration, effecting cell translocation towards an angiogenic stimulus; and 3) a transient increase in cell proliferation, providing cells for the growing and elongating vessel, with a subsequent return to the quiescent cell state once the vessel is formed. These three functions are realized by adhesive, chemotactic, and mitogenic interactions or responses, respectively. Therefore, control of angiogenesis requires intervention in three distinct cellular activities: 1) cell adhesion, 2) cell migration, and 3) cell proliferation. Another biological process involving a similar complex array of cellular activities is chondrogenesis.
Chondrogenesis is the cellular process responsible for skeletal organization, including the development of bone and cartilage. Chondrogenesis, like angiogenesis, involves the controlled reentry of quiescent cells into the growth phase of the cell cycle. The growth phase transition is associated with altered cell adhesion characteristics, changed patterns of cell migration, and transiently increased cell proliferation. Chondrogenesis involves the initial development of chondrogenic capacity (i.e., the proto-differentiated state) by primitive undifferentiated mesenchyme cells. This stage involves the production of chondrocyte-specific markers without the ability to produce a typical cartilage ECM. Subsequently, the cells develop the capacity to produce a cartilage-specific ECM as they differentiate into chondrocytes. Langille, Microscop. Res. and Tech. 28:455-469 (1994). Chondrocyte migration, adhesion, and proliferation then contribute to the development of bony, and cartilaginous, skeleton. Abnormal elaboration of the programmed development of cells participating in the process of chondrogenesis results in skeletal defects presenting problems that range from cosmetic concerns to life-threatening disorders.
Like angiogenesis and chondrogenesis, oncogenesis is characterized by changes in cell adhesion, migration, and proliferation. Metastasizing cancer cells exhibit altered adhesion and migration properties. Establishment of tumorous masses requires increased cell proliferation and the elaboration of the cellular properties characteristic of angiogenesis during the neovascularization of tumors.
Abnormal progression of angiogenesis or chondrogenesis, as well as mere progression of oncogenesis, substantially impairs the quality of life for afflicted individuals and adds to modern health care costs. The features common to these complex biological processes, comprising altered cell adhesion, migration, and proliferation, suggest that agents capable of influencing all three of these cellular activities would be effective in screening for, and modulating, the aforementioned complex biological processes. Although the art is aware of agents that influence individual cellular activities, e.g., integrins and selectins (cell adhesion), chemokines (cell migration), and a variety of growth factors or cytokines (cell proliferation), until recently no agent has been identified that exerts an influence over all three cellular activities in humans.
Murine Cyr61 (CYsteine-Rich protein) is a protein expressed in actively growing and dividing cells that may influence each of these three cellular activities. RNase protection analyses have shown that the gene encoding murine Cyr61, murine cyr61, is transcribed in the developing mouse embryo. O""Brien et al., Cell Growth and Diff. 3:645-654 (1992). In situ hybridization analysis showed that expression of cyr61 during mouse embryogenesis is closely correlated with the differentiation of mesenchymal cells, derived from ectoderm and mesoderm, into chondrocytes. In addition, cyr61 is expressed in the vessel walls of the developing circulatory system. These observations indicate that murine cyr61 is expressed during cell proliferation and differentiation, which are characteristics of expression of genes involved in regulatory cascades that control the cell growth cycle.
Further characterization of the Cyr61 polypeptide has been hampered by an inability to purify useful quantities of the protein. Efforts to purify Cyr61 in quantity by overexpression from either eukaryotic or prokaryotic cells typically fail. Yang, University of Illinois at Chicago, Ph.D. Thesis (1993). One problem associated with attempting to obtain useful quantities of Cyr61 is the reduction in mammalian growth rates induced by overexpression of Cyr61. Another problem with Cyr61 purification is that the cysteine-rich polypeptide, when expressed in bacterial cells using recombinant DNA techniques, is often found in insoluble protein masses. Nevertheless. Cyr61 has been characterized as a polypeptide of 349 amino acids, containing 39 cysteine residues, a hydrophobic putative N-terminal signal sequence, and potential N-linked glycosylation sites (Asn28 and Asn225). U.S. Pat. No. 5,408,040 at column 3, lines 41-54, Grotendorst et al., incorporated herein by reference (the ""040 Patent).
Recently, proteins related to Cyr61 have been characterized. For example, a human protein, Connective Tissue Growth Factor (CTGF), has been identified. (See ""040 Patent). CTGF is expressed in actively growing cells such as fibroblasts and endothelial cells (""040 Patent, at column 5, lines 62-64), an expression pattern shared by Cyr61. In terms of function, CTGF has been described as a protein growth factor because its primary biological activity has been alleged to be its mitogenicity (""040 Patent, at column 2, lines 25-27 and 53-55). In addition, CTGF reportedly exhibits chemotactic activity. ""040 Patent, at column 2, lines 56-59. In terms of structure, the polynucleotide sequence encoding CTGF, and the amino acid sequence of CTGF, have been published. ""040 Patent, SEQ ID NO:7 and SEQ ID NO:8, respectively.
Another apparently related protein is the mouse protein Fisp12 (FIbroblast Secreted Protein). Fisp12 has been subjected to amino acid sequence analysis, revealing a primary structure that is rich in cysteines. Ryseck et al., Cell Growth and Diff. 2:225-233 (1991), incorporated herein by reference. The protein also possesses a hydrophobic N-terminal sequence suggestive of the signal sequence characteristic of secreted proteins.
Sequence analyses involving Cyr61, Fisp12, CTGF, and other proteins, have contributed to the identification of a family of cysteine-rich secreted proteins. Members of the family share similar primary structures encoded by genes exhibiting similar sequences. Each of the proteins in this emerging family is further characterized by the presence of a hydrophobic N-terminal signal sequence and 38 cysteine residues in the secreted forms of the proteins. Members of the family identified to date include the aforementioned Cyr61 (human and mouse), Fisp12 (mouse), and CTGF (the human ortholog of Fisp12), as well as CEF10 (chicken), and Nov (avian).
One of several applications for a purified protein able to affect cell adhesion, migration, and proliferation properties involves the development of stable, long term ex vivo hematopoietic stem cell cultures. Patients subjected to high-dose chemotherapy have suppressed hematopoiesis; expansion of stem cells, their maturation into various hematopoietic lineages, and mobilization of mature cells into circulating blood routinely take many weeks to complete. For such patients, and others who need hematopoietic cell transplantation, introduction into those patients of autologous stem cells that have been manipulated and expanded in culture is advantageous. Such hermatopoietic stem cells (HSC) express the CD34 stem cell antigen, but do not express lineage commitment antigens. These cells can eventually give rise to all blood cell lineages (e.g., erythrocytes, lymphocytes, and myelocytes).
Hematopoietic progenitor cells that can initiate and sustain long term cultures (i.e., long term culture system-initiating cells or LTC-IC) represent a primitive population of stem cells. The frequency of LTC-IC has been estimated at only 1-2 per 104 cells in normal human marrow and only about 1 per 50-100 cells in a highly purified CD34+ subpopulation. Thus, it would be useful to have methods and systems for long term cell culture that maintain and expand primitive, pluripotent human HSC to be used for repopulation of the hematopoietic system in vivo.
Cell culture models of hematopoiesis have revealed a multitude of cytokines that appear to play a role in the hematopoietic process, including various colony stimulating factors, interleukins, stem cell factor, and the c-kit ligand. However, in ex vivo cultures, different combinations of these cytokines favor expansion of different sets of committed progenitors. For example, a factor in cord blood plasma enhanced expansion of granulocyte-erythroid-macrophage-megakaryocyte colony forming unit (CFU-GEMM) progenitors, but expansion in these cultures favored the more mature subsets of cells. Therefore, it has been difficult to establish a culture system that mimics in vivo hematopoiesis.
An HSC culture system should maintain and expand a large number of multi- or pluripotent stem cells capable of both long term repopulation and eventual lineage commitment under appropriate induction. However, in most ex vivo culture systems, the fraction of the cell population comprised of LTC-IC decreases steadily with continued culturing, often declining to 20% of their initial level after several weeks, as the culture becomes populated by more mature subsets of hematopoietic progenitor cells that are no longer pluripotent. Moreover, the proliferative capacity exhibited by individual LTC-IC may vary extensively. Thus, a need exists in the art for HSC culture systems comprising biological agents that maintain or promote the pluripotent potential of cells such as LTC-IC cells. In addition to a role in developing ex vivo HSC cultures, biological agents affecting cell adhesion, migration, and proliferation are useful in a variety of other contexts.
Proteins that potentiate the activity of mitogens but have no mitogenic activity themselves may play important roles as signalling molecules in such processes as hematopoiesis. Moreover, these signalling proteins could also serve as probes in the search for additional mitogens, many of which have not been identified or characterized. Several biological factors have been shown to potentiate the mitogenic activity of other factors, without being mitogenic themselves. Some of these potentiators are associated with the cell surface and/or extracellular matrix. Included in this group are a secreted basic Fibroblast Growth Factor-binding protein (bFGF-binding protein), the basal lamina protein perlecan, and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 TAT protein, each protein being able to promote bFGF-induced cell proliferation and angiogenesis. Also included in this group of mitogen potentiators are thrombospondin, capable of activating a latent form of Transforming Growth Factor-xcex2, and an unidentified secreted growth-potentiating factor from vascular smooth muscle cells (Nakano et al., J. Biol. Chem. 270:5702-5705 [1995]), the latter factor being required for efficient activation of Epidermal Growth Factor- or thrombin-induced DNA synthesis. Further, the B cell stimulatory factor-1/interleukin-4, a T cell product with no demonstrable mitogenic activity, is able to 1) enhance the proliferative response of granulocyte-macrophage progenitors to granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, 2) enhance the proliferative response of erythroid progenitors to erythropoietin, and 3) together with erythropoietin, induce colony formation by multipotent progenitor cells. Similarly, interleukin-7 enhanced stem cell factor-induced colony formation by primitive murine bone marrow progenitors, although interleukin-7 had no proliferative effect by itself. In addition, lymphocyte growth enhancing factor (LGEF) was found to enhance mitogen-stimulated human peripheral blood lymphocyte (PBL) or purified T cell proliferation in a dose-dependent fashion. LGEF alone did not stimulate PBL or T cell proliferation.
Therefore, a need continues to exist for biological agents capable of exerting a concerted and coordinated influence on one or more of the particularized functions collectively characterizing such complex biological processes as angiogenesis, chondrogenesis, and oncogenesis. In addition, a need persists in the art for agents contributing to the reproduction of these in vivo processes in an ex vivo environment, e.g., the development of HSC cultures. Further, there continues to be a need for tools to search for the remaining biological components of these complex processes, e.g., mitogen probes, the absence of which impedes efforts to advantageously modulate and thereby control such processes.
The present invention provides extracellular matrix (ECM) signalling molecule-related materials and methods. In particular, the present invention is directed to polynucleotides encoding ECM signalling molecules and fragments or analogs thereof, ECM signalling molecule-related polypeptides and fragments, analogs, and derivatives thereof, methods of producing ECM signalling molecules, and methods of using ECM signalling molecules.
One aspect of the present invention relates to a purified and isolated polypeptide comprising an ECM signalling molecule. The polypeptides according to the invention retain at least one biological activity of an ECM signalling molecule, such as the ability to stimulate cell adhesion, cell migration, or cell proliferation; the ability to modulate angiogenesis, chondrogenesis, or oncogenesis; immunogenicity or the ability to elicit an immune response; and the ability to bind to polypeptides having specific binding sites for ECM signalling molecules, including antibodies and integrins. The polypeptides may be native or recombinant molecules. Further, the invention comprehends full-length ECM signalling molecules, and fragments thereof. In addition, the polypeptides of the invention may be underivatized, or derivatized in conformity with a native or non-native derivatization pattern. The invention further extends to polypeptides having a native or naturally occurring amino acid sequence, and variants (i.e., polypeptides having different amino acid sequences), analogs (i.e., polypeptides having a non-standard amino acid or other structural variation from the conventional set of amino acids) and homologs (i.e., polypeptides sharing a common evolutionary ancestor with another polypeptide) thereof. Polypeptides that are covalently linked to other compounds, such as polyethylene glycol, or other proteins or peptides, i.e. fusion proteins, are contemplated by the invention.
Exemplary ECM signalling molecules include mammalian Cyr61, Fisp12, and CTGF polypeptides. Beyond ECM signalling molecules, the invention includes polypeptides that specifically bind an ECM signalling molecule of the invention, such as the aforementioned antibody products. A wide variety of antibody products fall within the scope of the invention, including polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies, antibody fragments, chimeric antibodies, CDR-grafted antibodies, xe2x80x9chumanizedxe2x80x9d antibodies, and other antibody forms known in the art. Other molecules such as peptides, carbohydrates or lipids designed to bind to an active site of the ECM molecules thereby inhibiting their activities are also contemplated by the invention. However molecules such as peptides that enhance or potentiate the activities of ECM molecule are also within the scope of the invention. The invention further extends to a pharmaceutical composition comprising a biologically effective amount of a polypeptide and a pharmaceutically acceptable adjuvant, diluent or carrier, according to the invention. A xe2x80x9cbiologically effective amountxe2x80x9d of the biomaterial is an amount that is sufficient to result in a detectable response in the biological sample when compared to a control lacking the biomaterial.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a purified and isolated polynucleotide comprising a sequence that encodes a polypeptide of the invention. A polynucleotide according to the invention may be DNA or RNA, single- or double-stranded, and may be may purified and isolated from a native source, or produced using synthetic or recombinant techniques known in the art. The invention also extends to polynucleotides encoding fragments, analogs (i.e., polynucleotides having a non-standard nucleotide), homologs (i.e., polynucleotides having a common evolutionary ancestor with another polynucleotide), variants (i.e., polynucleotides differing in nucleotide sequence), and derivatives (i.e., polynucleotides differing in a structural manner that does not involve the primary nucleotide sequence) of ECM molecules. Vectors comprising a polynucleotide according to the invention are also contemplated. In addition, the invention comprehends host cells transformed or transfected with a polynucleotide or vector of the invention.
Other aspects of the invention relate to methods for making or using the polypeptides and/or polynucleotides of the invention. A method for making a polypeptide according to the invention comprises expressing a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide according to the present invention in a suitable host cell and purifying the polypeptide. Other methods for making a polypeptide of the invention use techniques that are known in the art, such as the isolation and purification of native polypeptides or the use of synthetic techniques for polypeptide production. In particular, a method of purifying an ECM signalling molecule such as human Cyr61 comprises the steps of identifying a source containing human Cyr61, exposing the source to a human Cyr61-specific biomolecule that binds Cyr61 such as an anti-human Cyr61 antibody, and eluting the human Cyr61 from the antibody or other biomolecule, thereby purifying the human Cyr61.
Another aspect of the invention is a method of screening for a modulator of angiogenesis comprising the steps of: (a) contacting a first biological sample capable of undergoing angiogenesis with a biologically effective (i.e., angiogenically effective) amount of an ECM signalling molecule-related biomaterial and a suspected modulator (inhibitor or potentiator); (b) separately contacting a second biological sample with a biologically effective amount of an ECM signalling molecule-related biomaterial, thereby providing a control; (c) measuring the level of angiogenesis resulting from step (a) and from step (b); and (d) comparing the levels of angiogenesis measured in step (c), whereby a modulator of angiogenesis is identified by its ability to alter the level of angiogenesis when compared to the control of step (b). The modulator may be either a potentiator or inhibitor of angiogenesis and the ECM signalling molecule-related biomaterial includes, but is not limited to, Cyr61, and fragments, variants, homologs, analogs, derivatives, and antibodies thereof.
The invention also extends to a method of screening for a modulator of angiogenesis comprising the steps of: (a) preparing a first implant comprising Cyr61 and a second implant comprising Cyr61 and a suspected modulator of Cyr61 angiogenesis; (b) implanting the first implant in a first cornea of a test animal and the second implant in a second cornea of the test animal; (c) measuring the development of blood vessels in the first and second corneas; and (d) comparing the levels of blood vessel development measured in step (c), whereby a modulator of angiogenesis is identified by its ability to alter the level of blood vessel development in the first cornea when compared to the blood vessel development in the second cornea.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a method of screening for a modulator of chondrogenesis comprising the steps of: (a) contacting a first biological sample capable of undergoing chondrogenesis with a biologically effective (e.g. chondrogenically effective) amount of an ECM signalling molecule-related biomaterial and a suspected modulator; (b) separately contacting a second biological sample capable of undergoing chondrogenesis with a biologically effective amount of an ECM signalling molecule-related biomaterial, thereby providing a control; (c) measuring the level of chondrogenesis resulting from step (a) and from step (b); and (d) comparing the levels of chondrogenesis measured in step (c), whereby a modulator of chondrogenesis is identified by its ability to alter the level of chondrogenesis when compared to the control of step (b). The modulator may be either a promoter or an inhibitor of chondrogenesis; the ECM signalling molecules include those defined above and compounds such as mannose-6-phosphate, heparin, and tenascin.
The invention also relates to an in vitro method of screening for a modulator of oncogenesis comprising the steps of: (a) inducing a first tumor and a second tumor; (b) administering a biologically effective amount of an ECM signalling molecule-related biomaterial and a suspected modulator to the first tumor; (c) separately administering a biologically effective amount of an ECM signalling molecule-related biomaterial to the second tumor, thereby providing a control; (d) measuring the level of oncogenesis resulting from step (b) and from step (c); and (e) comparing the levels of oncogenesis measured in step (d), whereby a modulator of oncogenesis is identified by its ability to alter the level of oncogenesis when compared to the control of step (c). Modulators of oncogenesis contemplated by the invention include inhibitors of oncogenesis. Tumors may be induced by a variety of techniques including, but not limited to, the administration of chemicals, e.g., carcinogens, and the implantation of cancer cells. A related aspect of the invention is a method for treating a solid tumor comprising the step of delivering a therapeutically effective amount of a Cyr61 inhibitor to an individual, thereby inhibiting the neovascularization of the tumor. Inhibitors include, but are not limited to, inhibitor peptides such as peptides having the xe2x80x9cRGDxe2x80x9d motif, and cytotoxins, which may be free or attached to molecules such as Cyr61.
Yet another aspect of the invention is directed to a method of screening for a modulator of cell adhesion comprising the steps of: (a) preparing a surface compatible with cell adherence; (b) separately placing first and second biological samples capable of undergoing cell adhesion on the surface; (c) contacting a first biological sample with a suspected modulator and a biologically effective amount of an ECM signalling molecule-related biomaterial selected from the group consisting of a human Cyr61, a human Cyr61 fragment, a human Cyr61 analog, and a human Cyr61 derivative; (d) separately contacting a second biological sample with a biologically effective amount of an ECM signalling molecule-related biomaterial selected from the group consisting of a human Cyr61, a human Cyr61 fragment, a human Cyr61 analog, and a human Cyr61 derivative, thereby providing a control; (e) measuring the level of cell adhesion resulting from step (c) and from step (d); and (f) comparing the levels of cell adhesion measured in step (e), whereby a modulator of cell adhesion is identified by its ability to alter the level of cell adhesion when compared to the control of step (d).
The invention also extends to a method of screening for a modulator of cell migration comprising the steps of: (a) forming a gel matrix comprising Cyr61 and a suspected modulator of cell migration; (b) preparing a control gel matrix comprising Cyr61; (c) seeding endothelial cells capable of undergoing cell migration onto the gel matrix of step (a) and the control gel matrix of step (b); (d) incubating the endothelial cells; (e) measuring the levels of cell migration by inspecting the interior of the gel matrix and the control gel matrix for cells; (f) comparing the levels of cell migration measured in step (e), whereby a modulator of cell migration is identified by its ability to alter the level of cell migration in the gel matrix when compared to the level of cell migration in the control gel matrix. The endothelial cells include, but are not limited to, human cells, e.g., human microvascular endothelial cells. The matrix may be formed from gelling materials such as Matrigel, collagen, or fibrin or combinations thereof.
Another aspect of the invention is directed to an in vitro method of screening for cell migration comprising the steps of: (a) forming a first gelatinized filter and a second gelatinized filter, each filter having two sides; (b) contacting a first side of each the filter with endothelial cells, thereby adhering the cells to each the filter; (c) applying an ECM signalling molecule and a suspected modulator of cell migration to a second side of the first gelatinized filter and an ECM signalling molecule to a second side of the second gelatinized filter; (d) incubating each the filter; (e) detecting cells on the second side of each the filter, and (f) comparing the presence of cells on the second side of the first gelatinized filter with the presence of cells on the second side of the second gelatinized filter, whereby a modulator of cell migration is identified by its ability to alter the level of cell migration measured on the first gelatinized filter when compared to the cell migration measured on the second gelatinized filter. The endothelial cells are defined above. The ECM signalling molecules extend to human Cyr61 and each of the filters may be placed in apparatus such as a Boyden chamber, including modified Boyden chambers.
The invention also embraces an in vivo method of screening for a modulator of cell migration comprising the steps of: (a) removing a first central portion of a first biocompatible sponge and a second central portion of a second biocompatible sponge; (b) applying an ECM signalling molecule and a suspected modulator to the first central portion and an ECM signalling molecule to the second central portion; (c) reassociating the first central portion with said first biocompatible sponge and said second central portion with the second biocompatible sponge; (d) attaching a first filter to a first side of the first biocompatible sponge and a second filter to a second side of the first biocompatible sponge; (e) attaching a third filter to a first side of the second biocompatible sponge and a fourth filter to a second side of the second biocompatible sponge; (f) implanting each of the biocompatible sponges, each biocompatible sponge comprising the central portion and the filters, in a test animal; (e) removing each the sponge following a period of incubation; (f) measuring the cells found within each of the biocompatible sponges; and (g) comparing the presence of cells in the first biocompatible sponge with the presence of cells in the second biocompatible sponge, whereby a modulator of cell migration is identified by its ability to alter the level of cell migration measured using the first biocompatible sponge when compared to the cell migration measured using the second biocompatible sponge. ECM signalling molecules include, but are not limited to, human Cyr61; the ECM signalling molecule may also be associated with Hydron. In addition, the in vivo method of screening for a modulator of cell migration may include the step of providing a radiolabel to the test animal and detecting the radiolabel in one or more of the sponges.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a method for modulating hemostasis comprising the step of administering an ECM signalling molecule in a pharmaceutically acceptable adjuvant, diluent or carrier. Also, the invention extends to a method of inducing wound healing in a tissue comprising the step of contacting a wounded tissue with a biologically effective amount of an ECM signalling molecule, thereby promoting wound healing. The ECM signalling molecule may be provided in the form of an ECM signalling molecule polypeptide or an ECM signalling molecule nucleic acid, e.g., using a gene therapy technique. For example. the nucleic acid may comprise an expression control sequence operably linked to an ECM signalling molecule which is then introduced into the cells of a wounded tissue. The expression of the coding sequence is controlled, e.g., by using a tissue-specific promoter such as the K14 promoter operative in skin tissue to effect the controlled induction of wound healing. The nucleic acid may include a vector such as a Herpesvirus, an Adenovirus, an Adeno-associated Virus, a Cytomegalovirus, a Baculovirus, a retrovirus, and a Vaccinia Virus. Suitable wounded tissues for treatment by this method include, but are not limited to, skin tissue and lung epithelium. A related method comprises administering a biologically effective amount of an ECM signalling molecule, e.g. Cyr61, to an animal to promote organ regeneration. The impaired organ may be the result of trauma, e.g. surgery, or disease. Another method of the invention relates to improving the vascularization of grafts, e.g., skin grafts. Another method of the invention is directed to a process for promoting bone implantation, including bone grafts. The method for promoting bone implantation comprises the step of contacting a bone implant or receptive site with a biologically effective (i.e., chondrogenically effective) amount of an ECM signalling molecule. The contacting step may be effected by applying the ECM signalling molecule to a biocompatible wrap such as a biodegradable gauze and contacting the wrap with a bone implant, thereby promoting bone implantation. The bone implants comprise natural bones and fragments thereof, as well as inanimate natural and synthetic materials that are biocompatible, such as prostheses. In addition to direct application of an ECM signalling molecule to a bone, prosthesis, or receptive site, the invention contemplates the use of matrix materials for controlled release of the ECM signalling molecule, in addition to such application materials as gauzes.
Yet another aspect of the invention relates to a method of screening for a modulator of cell proliferation comprising the steps of: (a) contacting a first biological sample capable of undergoing cell proliferation with a suspected modulator and a biologically effective (i.e., mitogenically effective) amount of an ECM signalling molecule-related biomaterial selected from the group consisting of a human Cyr61, a human Cyr61 fragment, a human Cyr61 analog, and a human Cyr61 derivative; (b) separately contacting a second biological sample capable of undergoing cell proliferation with a biologically effective amount of an ECM signalling molecule-related biomaterial selected from the group consisting of a human Cyr61, a human Cyr61 fragment, a human Cyr61 analog, and a human Cyr61 derivative, thereby providing a control; (c) incubating the first and second biological samples; (d) measuring the level of cell proliferation resulting from step (c); and (e) comparing the levels of cell proliferation measured in step (d), whereby a modulator of cell proliferation is identified by its ability to alter the level of cell adhesion when compared to the control of step (b).
Also comprehended by the invention is a method for expanding a population of undifferentiated hematopoietic stem cells in culture, comprising the steps of: (a) obtaining hermatopoietic stem cells from a donor; and (b) culturing said cells tinder suitable nutrient conditions in the presence of a biologically effective (i.e., hematopoietically effective) amount of Cyr61.
Another method according to the invention is a method of screening for a mitogen comprising the steps of: (a) plating cells capable of undergoing cell proliferation; (b) contacting a first portion of the cells with a solution comprising Cyr61 and a suspected mitogen; (c) contacting a second portion of the cells with a solution comprising Cyr61, thereby providing a control; (c) incubating the cells; (d) detecting the growth of the first portion of cells and the second portion of the cells; and (e) comparing growth of the first and second portions of cells, whereby a mitogen is identified by its ability to induce greater growth in the first portion of cells when compared to the growth of the second portion of cells. The cells include, but are not limited to, endothelial cells and fibroblast cells. Further, the method may involve contacting the cells with a nucleic acid label, e.g., [3H]-thymidine, and detecting the presence of the label in the cells. Another method relates to improving tissue grafting, comprising administering to an animal a quantity of Cyr61 effective in improving the rate of neovascularization of a graft.
Numerous additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following drawing and detailed description.
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1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a light adjusting device and light adjusting method thereof, especially relates to a day/night switchable light adjusting device and light adjusting method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Melatonin is a kind of Hormone that exists in a human body. In the human body, Melatonin is produced by a pineal. Melatonin has great influence on a sleep/awake mode, a day/night adjusting mode or a season adjusting mode of a human. High quantity of Melatonin increases drowsiness, and low quantity of Melatonin influences excitation factor of a people.
The quantity of Melatonin is influenced by various factors. In a physiological cycle, the quantity of Melatonin is different in a day time and a night time. In a day time, the quantity of Melatonin is low. On the contrary, in a night time, the quantity of Melatonin is increased rapidly. Another factor that influences the quantity of Melatonin is related with a wavelength region and intensity of a light. It is known that a cyan region light (550 nm˜540 nm) and a blue region light (480 nm˜500 nm) will decrease the quantity of Melatonin.
However, in a daily life, a lighting device usually utilizes a white light source, which contains various wavelength regions, such as the cyan region light or the blue region light as described above. Therefore, the quantity of Melatonin will be decreased by the white light source. In some situations, reduction of the quantity of Melatonin has bad influence. For example, some night workers should keep awake in the night time. Thus a day/night switchable lighting device is necessary.
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an internal combustion engine in which the compression ratio and valve characteristics are variable.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, various controls for controlling internal combustion engines have been proposed and employed to further improve the engine efficiency. The engine efficiency improves, for example, when the charging efficiency of air-fuel mixtures improves and when the compression ratio at which fuel is burned increases. Thus, it has been proposed to variably control the compression ratio in a combustion chamber, as well as the valve characteristics of the intake and exhaust valves, on the basis of the operation state of the internal combustion engine.
However, as the compression ratio increases as a result of such compression ratio control, the top dead center of the piston approaches the valves. Therefore, in a certain state of the valve characteristics control, the piston and the valves may collide with each other when the piston is at or close to the top dead center. Thus, solutions for preventing such collision between a piston and valves have been sought (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Application Publications No. JP-A-2001-263099 and No. JP-A-2005-83238).
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2001-263099 describes a method for avoiding collision between a valve and a piston, in which, when the compression ratio is made high during the compression ratio control, the timing at which the intake valve is retarded and/or the lift of the intake valve is reduced in order to create a clearance between the intake valve and the piston to prevent collision therebetween. Meanwhile, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2005-83238 describes a method for avoiding collision between a valve and a piston, in which the compression ratio is reduced towards the minimum compression ratio of the variation range of compression ratio in order to increase the distance between the top dead center of the piston and the valve and thereby prevent collision between the valve and the piston.
According to theses methods, however, it is considered that the following problems may occur when the above-stated controls are being implemented to prevent collision between the piston and the valve. Specifically, regarding the former method, when the valve lift of the intake valve is reduced and/or the valve timing of the intake valve is retarded to prevent collision with the piston, the charge efficiency of air-fuel mixture may decrease and thus the engine efficiency. Regarding the latter method, when the compression ratio is reduced towards the minimum compression ratio to prevent collision between the piston and the valve, the temperature of air-fuel mixture may not sufficiently increase, which reduces the fuel economy.
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The present invention generally relates to charged particle beam exposure methods and apparatuses, and more particularly to a charged particle beam exposure method which is suited for realizing a high resolution electron beam exposure at a high throughput, and to a charged particle beam exposure apparatus which employs such a charged particle beam exposure method.
Recently, there is much attention on exposure techniques using a charged particle beam such as an electron beam because of the need to accurately expose extremely fine patterns to meet the increasing integration density of semiconductor integrated circuit devices. In order to realize a high throughput, the charged particle beam is shaped into a beam having an arbitrary cross sectional shape and the shaped beam is irradiated on a wafer. It is desirable that the numerical aperture is large in order to realize a high resolution, and it is desirable that the charged particle beam travels a short distance to the wafer so as to reduce the Coulomb interactions of the charged particle beam. For these reasons, an optical system of the charged particle beam has a short focal distance.
An electron beam exposure apparatus normally uses an electron beam which is shaped to have a rectangular cross section or a cross section having an arbitrary shape, and the shaped electron beam draws the pattern on the wafer. FIG. 1 shows the column structure of an example of a conventional electron beam exposure apparatus.
FIG. 1 shows a cross sectional view of the column structure in a vicinity of the wafer. An electron beam EB travels from the top to bottom along an optical axis O, and is irradiated on a wafer W. An electromagnetic lens is provided to converge the electron beam EB on the wafer surface. The electromagnetic lens includes an electromagnetic lens coil LC which is coupled to an iron yoke IY, and pole pieces PP are coupled to the tip end of the iron yoke IY.
In addition, electromagnetic deflection coils EC and electrostatic deflection electrodes EE are provided to deflect the electron beam EB. In order to shorten the focal distance, the electromagnetic deflection coils EC and the electrostatic deflection electrodes EE are arranged on the inner side of the electromagnetic lens.
In the example shown in FIG. 1, a support part S is arranged on the inner side of the electromagnetic lens, and the electromagnetic deflection coils EC are mounted on this support part S. Further, the electrostatic deflection electrodes EE are arranged on the inner side of the support part S.
The electron beam EB is deflected by the electromagnetic deflection coils EC when deflecting the electron beam EB for a relatively large amount on the order of several mm, for example. On the other hand, the electron beam EB is deflected by the electrostatic deflection electrodes EE when deflecting the electron beam EB at a high speed for a relatively small amount on the order of 100 .mu.m, for example.
In the case of the electron beam exposure which exposes a relatively large area in one exposure, the Coulomb interactions of the charged particles cause problems. The focal distance of the optical system is shortened in order to eliminate the limit of the resolution caused by the Coulomb interactions. However, the deflection efficiency of the deflector deteriorates if the focal distance is shortened. Accordingly, in the electron beam exposure system having the shortened focal distance, a large current must be applied to the electromagnetic deflection coils EC in order to obtain a desired amount of deflection.
FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the electromagnetic deflection coils EC. The electromagnetic deflection coils EC have a saddle shape, and are fixed at mutually confronting positions on the outer periphery of the support part S. The support part S has a cylindrical shape and is made of ceramics or the like.
According to the conventional electron beam exposure apparatus, the electron beam EB is deflected using the electromagnetic deflection coils EC provided in a plurality of stages, and the pattern is drawn on the wafer W by scanning the wafer surface by the deflected electron beam EB. The electromagnetic deflection coils EC are divided into two systems, that is, X and Y systems, depending on the operating direction. The electromagnetic deflection coils EC are coupled in series within each system. The electromagnetic deflection coils EC of the two systems receive driving currents from independent driving circuits.
For example, a current on the order of .+-.2 A is required to deflect the electron beam EB with a deflection efficiency of approximately 2.5 mm/1A in a main deflection region which is 2 mm.times.2 mm. Hence, if each electromagnetic deflection coil EC is formed from a copper wire having a diameter of 0.5 mm, the resistance thereof becomes approximately 1.5 .OMEGA..
In order to avoid the Coulomb interactions of the charged particle beam, it is necessary to shorten the focal distance of the optical system of the charged particle beam. But if the focal distance is shortened. the deflection efficiency deteriorates, and a larger current is required if the same amount of deflection is to be obtained with the shortened focal distance.
In addition, in order to operate the electromagnetic deflection coils EC at a high speed, it is necessary to reduce the inductance, and thus, it is desirable to reduce the area of the electromagnetic deflection coils EC.
On the other hand, heat is locally generated within the column structure if the charged particle beam is processed using the electromagnetic deflection coils EC having the above described arrangement, and such a generation of heat is unavoidable. The generated heat ranges from several W to several tens of W, for example.
When the charged particle beam exposure apparatus of the type described above is used, the deflection position of the charged particle beam and the focal position (or point) of the charged particle beam drift with the operating time of the charged particle beam exposure apparatus. It may be regarded that the following causes the drift of the deflection position and the focal position of the charged particle beam.
(a) Changes in the outputs of an amplifier and a lens power source;
(b) An eddy current flowing to peripheral metal parts due to a change in the magnetic flux generated by the deflection coils;
(c) Charge-up of parts through which the charged article beam passes;
(d) Changes in the position and dimension of the deflection coils with time; and
(e) Changes in the positions and dimensions of the deflection coils themselves, bobbins and other parts due to a temperature change caused by the heat generated from the deflection coils.
The present inventors initially doubted the possibility that the response characteristic of the deflection coil greatly deteriorates with the operating time of the charged particle beam exposure apparatus. However, the output of the amplifier had not changed, and the set time constant remained the same. In addition, the inductance of the deflection coil also remained approximately the same. In other words, even though the deflection magnetic field was set, some factor changed the beam position. But it seemed impossible for the eddy current to change before and after the exposure when the same deflection was made.
Furthermore, the beam position on the optical axis is reproducible for a long time if the charged particle beam is not deflected. For this reason, it seemed impossible for the charge-up to cause the deterioration of the response characteristic of the deflection coil.
The remaining possibility was the changes in the positions and dimensions of the deflection coils themselves, the bobbins and other parts such as the pole pieces due to temperature changes caused by the heat generated from the deflection coils. As described above, the heat of several W to several tens of W may be generated from the electromagnetic deflection coil, and the radiation effect is poor if the electromagnetic deflection coils are arranged in a vacuum surrounding.
In the converging deflection system having the shortened focal distance, the lens magnetic pole becomes small because of the need to make the lens magnetic field strength large and the deflection magnetic field strength large. Consequently, the deflection coils which are provided on the inside must be arranged without a gap within a space which is narrow in both the direction of the optical axis and the radial direction. As a result, the part which holds the deflection coils is made extremely thin, and the heat capacity thereof is reduced to several fractions of that of the conventional case.
In addition, the difference between the radii of the deflection coils in the X and Y systems is small. But although the size of the deflection coil is reduced, the thickness of the wire member is approximately the same as that of the conventional case. For this reason, the thickness of the deflection coil in the direction in which the wire is overlapped is large, and the inner turns of the wire of the deflection coil are covered by the outer turns of the wire.
For this reason, even if the outer side of the deflection coil were air-cooled, the air-cooling effect would greatly differ between the outer turns of the wire and the inner turns of the wire. The inner turns of the wire of the deflection coil virtually cannot be air-cooled directly, and the cooling is in effect made via the thermal conduction of the bobbin. Hence, the cooling effect of the inner turns of the wire of the coil and the cooling effect of the outer turns of the wire of the coil greatly differ.
If the deflection coil were made using a thin wire member in order to improve the air-cooling effect, the amount of heat generated from the deflection coil would increase. As a result, the deflection accuracy of the charged particle beam would further deteriorate due to the thermal expansion of the wire member itself and the thermal expansion of the bobbin on which the deflection coil is attached.
In a case where a copper wire member is used for the deflection coil and the bobbin is made of ceramics, positional errors of 0.34 .mu.m and 0.16 .mu.m may respectively be generated in a main deflection region of 2 mm.times.2 mm when the temperature rises by 10.degree. C., because the coefficient of thermal expansion of the deflection coil is 1.7.times.10 cm.sup.-5 and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the bobbin is 8.times.10 cm.sup.-6 in this case.
The deflection coil and the bobbin are actually attached to each other, and it may be anticipated that the amount of positional error will take a value between 0.34 .mu.m and 0.16 .mu.m. Even if this anticipated value of the positional error were 0.2 .mu.m, the positional error in the main deflection region would be 0.4 .mu.m at the maximum. Such a positional error is too large when forming patterns on the submicron order.
There is yet a bigger problem to be solved. That is, the heat generated from the deflection coil causes the thermal expansion of the wire member itself and the thermal expansion of the bobbin on which the deflection coil is attached. Furthermore, the heat generated from the deflection coil causes thermal expansion of ferrite pole pieces which form a projection lens. These thermal expansions change the deflecting direction and the deflection efficiency of the deflection coil and the lens magnetic field strength, and deteriorate the accuracy of the deflection position. The thermal expansion of the magnetic pole in particular introduces an error in the origin of the deflection coordinate and focal error.
Particularly in the case of an exposure which is made while a stage carrying the wafer continuously moves, an alignment mark on the wafer is detected prior to the exposure and the exposure is started after determining correction coefficients for the exposure. For this reason, the deterioration of the accuracy of the exposure position, the error in the origin of the deflection coordinate and the focal error which occur during the exposure are fatal to the quality of the exposure.
FIG. 3 shows measured results of deviation components of the beam position when the main deflector is caused to generate heat continuously. In FIG. 3, (A) is a graph showing the change of the amount of error of the offset position with time, (B) is a graph showing the change of the positional error in the rotation direction with time, and (C) is a graph showing the change of the positional error in the gain direction with time.
When the main deflector is caused to generated heat continuously, these amounts of errors will change up to large values as indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 3. As may be seen from FIG. 3, these amounts of errors are fatal to the exposure apparatus which exposes patterns on the submicron order.
Accordingly, it is conceivable to cool the electromagnetic deflection coils which form the main deflector, so as to prevent the drift by suppressing the heating. The present inventors actually made electromagnetic deflection coils having a large cooling capacity and studied the results.
The tested electromagnetic deflection coil employed a double-structure bobbin which is made up of an inner bobbin and an outer bobbin to support the electromagnetic deflection coil. The wire member of the electromagnetic deflection coil was wound in the radial direction in one layer and overlapped in the rotating direction in an arcuate manner to form a desired number of coil turns. The electromagnetic deflection coil was then bent along a cylindrical surface in the form of a saddle shape.
In addition, saddle shape coils having different radii of curvatures were made. The coil having the smaller radius of curvature was fixed on the outer circumference of the inner bobbin, and the coil having the larger radius of curvature was fixed on the inner circumference of the outer bobbin. A space was formed between the inner and outer coils so as to form a passage for flowing a coolant in the direction of the optical axis.
The bobbin was formed to a structure which is independent or integral to the plurality of stages of the coils, and was made of a material including quartz as the main component and having a small coefficient of linear expansion. Pure water or He gas was used as the coolant, and the coolant was forcibly circulated.
The electromagnetic deflection coils of the main deflector were cooled efficiently by the above arrangement, so as to reduce the thermal conduction to the parts such as the pole pieces. It was thought that the temperature rise of the structure will be extremely small by the efficient radiation.
The positional changes in the electron beam for the case where the above described electromagnetic deflection coils are used are indicated by solid lines in FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, a curve f1 in (A) shows the amount of error of the offset position as a function of time when cooling was made, a curve f2 in (B) shows the positional error in the rotating direction as a function of time when the cooling was made, and a curve f3 in (C) shows the positional error in the gain direction as a function of time when the cooling was made.
However, as may be seen from FIG. 3, even though the electromagnetic coils were cooled, the changes in the beam position were only reduced to one half of the case where no cooling was made.
For example, the amount of error of the offset position was approximately 0.5 .mu.m after approximately 3 minutes from the start of the exposure when no cooling was made. But even when the cooling was made, the amount of error in the offset position was only reduced to approximately 0.3 .mu.m. The amount of error of the offset position gradually saturated with time, and the amount of error was approximately 0.4 .mu.m after the saturation which was not within a tolerable range.
In addition, compared to the case where no cooling was made, the positional error in the rotating direction was only reduced to approximately one-half even when the cooling was made. The reduction of the positional error in the gain direction by making the cooling was even smaller compared to the case where no cooling was made.
In other words, even though the cooling efficiency improved with respect to the heat generation, it was evident that the cooling was incomplete and that the temperature change in the structure occurred due to the heat generation. It is conceivable to increase the cooling capacity of the coolant so that the amount of heat generated can be neglected, but there is a possibility of introducing mechanical vibration or the like due to the increased flow rate if the flow rate of the coolant is increased. On the other hand, there is a limit to increasing the flow rate of the coolant. It is also conceivable to further reduce the thermal conduction from the electromagnetic deflection coils to the pole pieces and the like, but there is of course a limit to doing this.
The temperature rise of the pole pieces with respect to the generation of heat by the electromagnetic deflection coils was also measured. It was found that the temperature rise is approximately 1.5.degree. C. in 10 minutes when no cooling was made and approximately 0.3.degree. C. in 10 minutes when the cooling was made. The temperature rise saturated in approximately 10 minutes, and the saturation values greatly differ between the case where no cooling is made and the case where the cooling is made. That is, the cooling effect can be seen.
However, the cooling effect is far from sufficient for the purpose of satisfactorily improving the accuracy of the exposure system. The temperature change in the initial stage in particular is not very large, and the cooling effect within the time of approximately 3 minutes from the start of the exposure is not very notable with respect to the drift of the beam position.
In order to obtain the high accuracy required by the semiconductor integrated circuits, the tolerable range of the temperature change of the structure due to the heat generated by the main deflector should be less than 0.1.degree. C. However, the cooling described above cannot realize such a small tolerable range.
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The present invention relates to a magnetic detection apparatus for use in a rotary encoder, a linear encoder, etc.
There has been well known a rotary encoder for detecting a rotation angle of a rotation axis, in which the rotation angle is detected by reading magnetic signals previously recorded in the form of a magnetization pattern having a constant bit length on a magnetic record medium applied on a circular plate or a cylinder coupled with the rotation axis by means of a magnetic sensor including a magnetoresistive (MR) element. However, when the rotation angle of a motor is detected by the conventional rotary encoder, there occurs drawbacks that the S/N ratio of a detection signal supplied from the magnetic sensor is decreased and an erroneous operation is effected due to an external magnetic field, because a large amount of the external magnetic field leaks from a permanent magnet or an armature of the motor.
In order to eliminate the drawbacks mentioned above, there has been proposed, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 162,556/79, an angle detector comprising a magnetic shielding member made of high permeable magnetic material for surrounding a circular plate including a magnetic record medium and coupled with an output axis of the motor, a magnetic sensor arranged opposite to the circular plate and driving circuit and signal processing circuit connected to the sensor. However, it is not possible to shield the angle detector completely from the external magnetic field. Moreover, in order to remove the influence of the external magnetic field, it may be further considered that only the external magnetic field is detected by a separate magnetic sensor and the thus detected signal and the output signal derived from the magnetic recording medium are electrically calculated. However, in this case, since a magnetic-resistance characteristic of the MR element consisting of the magnetic sensor is not linear, the output signal of the separate magnetic sensor due to the external magnetic field does not correspond to a part of the output signal of the other sensor due to the external magnetic field, and thus it is not possible to perform a highly accurate compensation. Moreover, the dynamic range of the MR element could not be used effectively for detecting the magnetic pattern, particularly under the large external magnetic field.
In the rotary encoder mentioned above, it is possible to detect the magnetic signals by a single MR element so as to obtain the displacement amount. However, since the output voltage is small and drifts due to the temperature variation, it is general to derive the output voltage from a circuit wherein more than two MR elements are differentially connected. For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 115,257/79, is disclosed an angle detector wherein two MR elements are arranged by a distance which is an integral number of a pitch of the magnetization pattern on the magnetic recording medium and an output difference therebetween is derived from a differential amplifier. Moreover, an angle detector of this type shown in FIG. 1 is described in a Japanese magazine, "Nikkei Electronics", page 88 published on June 22, 1981. As shown in FIG. 1, two groups of magnetic sensors each having four MR elements A.sub.1 to A.sub.4 and B.sub.1 to B.sub.4 are arranged. Then, MR elements in one group are arranged apart by a half of a pitch P of a magnetization pattern recorded on a magnetic recording medium M, and MR elements in the other group are arranged apart by P/4 with respect to the MR elements in the other group. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the four MR elements of each groups are connected as a bridge circuit, and a difference between output voltages generated at diagonal points of each bridge circuit are derived from respective differential amplifiers DA.sub.1 and DA.sub.2. In this magnetic detector, it is possible to detect not only a displacement amount, but also a displacement direction. Moreover, it is possible to make an output amplitude large and to remove the effect of the drift. However, in the conventional angle detector, it is necessary to arrange more than two MR elements apart from each other in a displacement direction D, i.e. in an arranging direction of the magnetization pattern by an interval which is equal to an integer multiple of the pitch P of the magnetization pattern or to a reciprocal thereof. Therefore, when use is made of various magnetization patterns having different pitches, it is necessary to prepare various magnetic sensors having MR elements which are arranged apart by predetermined intervals corresponding to the various pitches of the magnetization patterns. Therefore, there occurs a drawback that the freedom of design is limited to a great extent. Moreover, in case of arranging the magnetic recording medium on the cylinder side surface, if a plurality of MR elements are arranged on a plane substrate, the distances between each MR element and the magnetic recording medium are not equal. Therefore, the output signal of each MR element is fluctuated due to the distance variation, and thus the differential output includes an error.
In order to eliminate the drawbacks mentioned above, there has been proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 35,011/81 an angle detector wherein a width of each MR element is varied, but it is a very cumbersome task to manufacture the MR elements each having a different width. Moreover, if the distance between the MR element and the magnetic recording medium is varied as mentioned above, it is necessary to arrange the MR elements each having a different width corresponding to such distance. In addition, if more than two MR elements are arranged in the direction of the magnetization pattern recorded on the magnetic recording medium, a dimension of the magnetic sensor is made large and thus the detection apparatus is liable to be large in size correspondingly.
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The present invention relates to methods and pharmaceutical compositions for An treating and preventing alopecia in a a patient in need thereof.
Hair growth is not continuous, but comprises alternating periods of growth (xe2x80x9canagenxe2x80x9d), regression (xe2x80x9ccategenxe2x80x9d) and rest (xe2x80x9ctelogenxe2x80x9d). (U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,456, incorporated by reference herein in its entirety) In the scalp, the anagen phase lasts about 6 years and the telogen phase about 4 months. The growth of scalp hair is not synchronous, and the rate of growth is about 0.4 mm per day. About 90 percent of the more than 100,000 scalp hairs are growing (anagen), so that 50 to 100 hairs are shed daily as they are pushed out at the onset of a new hair cycle.
The hair follicle is an epidermal appendage, the lower part of which undergoes cycles of growth and degeneration. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,783, incorporated by reference herein in its entirety) During the anagen (the growing phase) of the hair cycle, matrix keratinocytes located in the bulb region grow vigorously, generating cells that differentiate into several distinct hair components including the medulla, cortex and inner root sheath. During catagen, keratinocytes of the lower follicle below the bulge region (the attachment site of the arrector pili muscle) degenerate and the dermal papilla cells (DP; a group of specialized mesenchymal cells) aggregate and become encapsulated by a connective tissue sheath. Through the contraction of this sheath, the DP aggregate ascends and becomes attached to the bottom of the upper (permanent) portion of the follicle (telogen or the resting phase). Finally, a new epithelial growth originates from the bottom of the bulge area; this downgrowth pushes the DP away and reforms a growing bulb.
The in vitro growth potential of different subpopulations of follicular epithelial cells have been studied. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,783) Keratinocytes of different portions of human scalp follicles were isolated by microdissection followed by trypsinization and propagated in the presence of 3T3 feeder cells. The results indicate that the upper follicle contains keratinocytes that have in vitro proliferative potential that is significantly higher than those of the lower follicle, the bulb, the sebaceous gland and the epidermis.
Alopecia (hair loss) is a common condition that results from diverse causes. For example, adrenergic alopecia (common baldness) is seen in the vast majority of adult males and is considered physiologic and part of the aging process. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,616,471, incorporated by reference herein in its entirety) Besides the loss of hair, the length and diameter of each hair will be reduced in the adjacent areas even though the follicles remain intact.
Telogen effluvium is a transient, reversible, diffuse shedding of hair in which a high percentage of hair follicles enter the telogen phase prematurely as a result of physical or mental illness. Among the most important factors incriminated are childbirth, high fever, hemorrhage, sudden starvation, accidental or surgical trauma, severe emotional stress, and certain drugs.
Alopecia areata is an immunologic alopecia characterized by the abrupt onset of sharply defined areas of hair loss. In the most severe cases, the scalp will develop total hair loss (alopecia totalis) or the hair loss will involve the whole body surface (alopecia universalis). Most of the patients will run an unpredictable and relapsing course with multiple episodes of hair loss and regrowth. Only about 20 to 30 percent will have a single reversible episode. Regrowth of hair is common within several months, but in many instances is not complete, and relapses are common. Alopecia areata may be associated with autoimmune diseases such as vitiligo, pernicious anemia, collagen disease, and endocrinopathies.
Traumatic alopecia is induced by physical trauma, of which the two most important groups, from the therapeutic standpoint are trichotillomania and alopecia resulting from cosmetic procedures or improper hair care. Trichotillomania is a compulsive habit in which the individual repeatedly pulls or breaks off his or her own hair in a partially conscious state similar to thumb sucking or nail biting. Traumatic alopecia from cosmetic procedures is done consciously in ill-advised individuals and is almost exclusively seen among females. Sometimes this type of alopecia is associated with folliculitis induced by the occlusive effect of the oily cosmetics used in the procedure.
Anagen effluvium is a temporary alopecia caused by the inhibition of mitosis in the hair papilla by certain cytotoxic drugs, leading to constriction of the hair shaft or to complete failure of hair formation. In particular, alopecia frequently occurs in cancer patients who are treated with chemotherapeutic drugs such as cyclophosphamide (CY) and/or irradiation. U.S. Pat. No. 5,962,523 Such agents damage hair follicles which contain mitotically active hair-producing cells. Such damage may cause abnormally slow growth of the hair or may lead to frank loss. While various attempts have been made to protect against alopecia or abnormal rates of hair growth during such treatments, there remains a need for an agent that prevents damage to hair follicles in a safe and effective manner.
Alopecia may also result from nutritional deficiencies and metabolic defects. Caloric deprivation must be very severe to produce hair loss. Increased shedding sometimes occurs after marked weight loss for obesity. Anemia, diabetes, hyper- and hypovitaminosis, and zinc deficiency may also lead to alopecia.
Treatments for androgenetic alopecia have been ineffective in inducing regrowth. The use of cyclic estrogen therapy in females with an estrogen-dominant contraceptive or topical estrogen has been advocated to reduce the rate of hair loss, but results are not impressive. The claim that topical testosterone induces the growth of terminal hairs in bald scalp of males has not been confirmed.
There have been some indications that minoxidil (ROGAINE(copyright)., Upjohn), a potent vasodilator, has been effective in causing scalp hair regrowth in patients with androgenetic alopecia, but the results have been mixed.
U.S. Pat. 5,962,523 discloses the use of butyric acid or butyric acid derivatives to protect against hair damage or loss in a mammal as described herein.
Thus, there remains a need in the art for methods of treating and preventing the various types of alopecia.
In one aspect, the present invention provides methods and kits for treating or preventing alopecia by contacting the cells with angiotensinogen, angiotensin I (AI), AI analogues, AI fragments and analogues thereof, angiotensin II (AII), AII analogues, AII fragments or analogues thereof, ACE inhibitors, or AII AT2 type 2 receptor agonists, either alone or in combination with other alopecia-inhibiting compounds.
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Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were first synthesized and reported by Prof. S. Iijima of NEC Corporation, Japan in Nature 354, 56-58, 1991, and the polymer nanocomposites using carbon nanotube as filler were first reported by Prof. P. Ajayan et al. in Science, 265, 1212-1214, 1994. One graphene layer folds along the axis produces single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) whereas many graphene layers wrapped onto themselves makes multi walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT). Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are a novel crystalline form of carbon and the scientific community across the world soon realized experimentally and theoretically the CNT's unique atomic structure and properties, such as, high flexibility, low mass density, high aspect ratio, high strength-to-weight ratio, and extraordinary electrical, thermal, mechanical properties. J. P. Lu, in Physical Review Letters, 79, 1297-1300, 1997 and E. W. Wong et al in Science, 277, 1971-1975, 1997 has reported that the axial elastic modules and tensile strength of SWCNTs are theoretically and experimentally predicted to be as high as 1-2 TPa and 200 GPa respectively. Although the physical and chemical properties of SWCNT's are much superior to MWCNTs, however MWCNTs are widely used for application purpose due to their relatively low production cost and availability in large quantity.
E. T. Thostensona et al in Composites Science and Technology, 61, 1899-1912, 2001. has reported that the large surface area, high modules and strength of CNTs make them a good candidate for reinforcing host matrixes like polymer, ceramic or metal. Recent experimentations have shown remarkable enhancements in mechanical strength of composite with an addition of small amounts of CNTs, however, there are several challenges that are still need to be overcome in order to achieve the full potentials of CNT based composites as reported by R. Andrews et al, in Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science, 8, 31-37, 2004. The three critical issues of the CNT based composites are the uniform dispersion of CNTs in the host matrix material, the second is the proper interaction between the CNT and the host matrix and the third is the alignment of CNTs within the matrix. To achieve the distribution of CNTs in the matrix, the modification of the surface of CNTs is required either by covalent or noncovalent functionalization. For the proper interactions between the CNT and the host matrix the judicious choice of functional group on the CNT surface is critical.
S. Banerjee et al in Advance Materials, 17, 17-29, 2005 has reported that the chemical functionalization of CNTs allows the surface modification of carbon nanotube by introducing different functional groups for the better dispersion in organic solvent. Generally, CNTs are chemically modified either by covalently attach the functional group to the CNT surface or by wrapping polar/nonpolar molecules on the surface of the CNT by noncovalent interactions. Covalent functionalization of CNTs is very effective to enhance the proper dispersion of CNTs in the matrix, however, the covalent bonding inevitably disrupt the long range π conjugation along the CNT axis, leading to the defects on the CNT side walls. Covalent functionalization seriously affects the electrical properties as well as mechanical properties of CNT. Consequently by keeping the CNTs structure intact, the use of noncovalent interactions such as π-π interactions, van der Waals interactions and static charge interaction have been attempted to wrap the different molecules and polymers on CNTs surface for the proper distribution in the host matrix. However, it is realized that not only the distribution, the interaction of the attached moieties over CNTs with the host matrix is utmost important for achieving higher mechanical strengths. Therefore, the choice of functional group in both covalent and noncovalent derivatives' of MWCNTs is critical to achieve high reinforcement effect.
Jifen Wang et al in Journal of material Science technology, 2011, 27 (3), 233-238 disclosed the preparation of oleylamine derivative or oleylamine grafted of MWCNTs by process that involves: treating MWCNTs with nitric and sulphuric acids followed by a treatment with SOCl2 (containing dimethylformamide (DMF)) to covert the —COOH groups to —COCl and treating the resulting sample with oleylamine to obtain oleylamine derivative of MWCNTs. The oleylamine groups in the functionalized multi walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) prepared by this process are mostly non-covalently coated on MWCNTs. Further, the acids used in this process are concentrated acids that damage the structure of MWCNTs. The oleylamine coating on MWCNTs prepared by this process would easily come out during sonication in organic solvents and thus the applications of these MWCNTs are restricted.
There are several covalent derivatives of MWCNTs schemes available in the literature, which produced functionalized nanotubes that can be distributed in the polymer/resin matrixes. However, the enhancement of mechanical strength of the composite is not always showed desired results due to the improper reinforcement.
Thus there is a need for a process by which the functionalized MWCNTs can be synthesized in which the functional group is covalently attached to MWCNTs surface.
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Ketenes have been important intermediates in chemistry for many years, demonstrating a wide variety of applications. The ketene functionality ##STR2## reacts readily with aldehydes to produce beta-lactones. Ketenes also react with thiazoles to produce antibiotics. Patai, "The Chemistry of Ketenes, Allenes, and Related Compounds" (1980); Isaacs (1976); and Borrmann, et al. (1969). Ketenes also react with the unsaturated linkages of olefinic compounds to form cyclobutanone groups. This reaction is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,302,563 (1981) for increasing the adhesiveness of conjugated diene polymers.
There are several known methods for generation of ketenes, including the dehydrochlorination of acyl chlorides with tertiary amines, and the photolysis of diazo oxides. Brady, et al. (1967); and Meir, et al. (1975).
Methods for modification of the physical and/or chemical properties of compounds which can be formed from ketenes are of recognized importance. The siloxy group (--SiO--) would be a useful functionality of such modifications. However, as far as is known, there has been no report of a method for combining siloxy groups with ketene-reactive compounds. In fact, siloxy ketenes appear to be a novel class of compounds not previously known, although such ketenes would have interesting properties, being simultaneously a ketene and a silyl enol ether. It appears that the potential value of siloxy ketenes are synthetic intermediates has not previously been recognized.
As far as is known, the literature of photochemical reactions does not include any report of a photochemical reaction of silicon-containing diketones, such as the 1-silyl-1,2-diones. Background references on photochemistry include Brook (1973) Intra-Science Chem. Rept., 7:131-138; the Bryce-Smith, "Photochemistry", Vol. 9, pages 320-335, and Vol. 10, pages 281-297.
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Transcriptional regulation of development and homeostasis in complex eukaryotes, including humans and other mammals, birds, fish, insects, and the like, is controlled by a wide variety of regulatory substances, including steroid and thyroid hormones. These hormones exert potent effects on development and differentiation of phylogenetically diverse organisms. The effects of hormones are mediated by interaction with specific, high affinity binding proteins referred to as receptors.
A number of receptor proteins are known, each specific for steroid hormones [e.g., estrogens (estrogen receptor), progesterones (progesterone receptor), glucocorticoid (glucocorticoid receptor), androgens (androgen receptor), aldosterones (mineralocorticoid receptor), vitamin D (vitamin D receptor)], retinoids (e.g., retinoic acid receptor) or thyroid hormones (e.g., thyroid hormone receptor). Receptor proteins have been found to be distributed throughout the cell population of complex eukaryotes in a tissue specific fashion.
Molecular cloning studies have made it possible to demonstrate that receptors for steroid, retinoid and thyroid hormones are all structurally related and comprise a superfamily of regulatory proteins. These regulatory proteins are capable of modulating specific gene expression in response to hormone stimulation by binding directly to cis-acting elements.
It is known that steroid or thyroid hormones, protected forms thereof, or metabolites thereof, enter cells and bind to the corresponding specific receptor protein, initiating an allosteric alteration of the protein. As a result of this alteration, the complex of receptor and hormone (or metabolite thereof) is capable of binding with high affinity to certain specific sites on chromatin. One of the primary effects of steroid and thyroid hormones is an increase in transcription of a subset of genes in specific cell types.
A number of transcriptional control units which are responsive to members of the steroid/thyroid superfamily of receptors have been identified. These include the mouse mammary tumor virus 5'-long terminal repeat (MTV LTR), responsive to glucocorticoid, aldosterone and androgen hormones; the transcriptional control units for mammalian growth hormone genes, responsive to glucocorticoids, estrogens and thyroid hormones; the transcriptional control units for mammalian prolactin genes and progesterone receptor genes, responsive to estrogens; the transcriptional control units for avian ovalbumin genes, responsive to progesterones; mammalian metallothionein gene transcriptional control units, responsive to glucocorticoids; and mammalian hepatic .alpha..sub.2u -globulin gene transcriptional control units, responsive to androgens, estrogens, thyroid hormones, and glucocorticoids.
A major obstacle to further understanding and more widespread use of the various members of the steroid/thyroid superfamily of hormone receptors has been a lack of awareness of the possible interactions of various members of the steroid/thyroid superfamily of hormone receptors, and an understanding of the implications of such interactions on the ability of members of the steroid/thyroid superfamily of hormone receptors to exert transcriptional regulation of various physiological processes.
DNA binding studies on the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and the estrogen receptor (ER) have indicated that these receptors bind to their hormone response elements (HREs) as homodimeric complexes [see, for example, Kumar and Chambon in Cell 55:145-156 (1988) and Tsi et al., in Cell 55:361-369 (1988)). However, recent biochemical analysis has revealed that some other receptors (including retinoic acid receptor (RAR), thyroid hormone receptor (TR), and the vitamin D receptor (VDR)) can not efficiently bind to cognate response elements as homodimers, but rather require additional factors present in cell nuclear extracts to achieve high affinity DNA binding (see, for example, Murray and Towle in Mol. Endocrinol. 3:1434-1442 (1989), Glass et al., in Cell 63:729-738 (1990), Liao et al., in Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87:9751-9755 (1990), and Yang et al., in Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88:3559-3563 (1991)].
Several recent reports have identified members of the retinoid X receptor family (RXR; see, for example, Mangelsdorf et al., in Nature 345:224-229 (1990) and Gene Dev. 6:329-344 (1992), and Leid et al., in Cell 68:377-395 (1992)) as factors that can interact with RAR and potentiate DNA binding by forming a novel RAR/RXR heterodimer [see, for example, Yu et al., in Cell 67:1251-1266 (1991), Kliewer et al., in Nature 355:446-449 (1992), Leid et al., supra, and Zhang et al., in Nature 355:441-446 (1992)). Interestingly, RAR is not the only receptor with which RXR can interact. In fact, RXR has been found to be capable of heterodimerizing with several other members of the nuclear receptor superfamily, including VDR, TR (see Kliewer, et al., supra) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR; see, for example, Issemann and Green in Nature 347:645-650 (1990)).
Although the physiological significance of these interactions remains to be definitively determined, the capability of nuclear receptors to heterodimerize suggests the existence of an elaborate network through which distinct nuclear hormone receptor classes are capable of modulating each other's activity. In addition, the possible existence of other factors that can potentially interact with members of the steroid/thyroid superfamily and potentiate DNA binding by forming novel heteromeric species remains to be determined.
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Various types of creepers are known in the prior art. However, what has been needed is a creeper for underneath an automobile dashboard including a platform, a pair of wheels having a right wheel and a left wheel, and a vertical support. What has also been needed is for the pair of wheels to be disposed on a bottom surface of the platform proximal the front surface, with each of the right wheel and the left wheel disposed proximal a right surface and a left surface, respectively. Lastly, what has been needed is for the vertical support to be continuously disposed on the bottom surface of the platform from proximal the right surface to proximal the left surface. The platform has a width that substantially conforms to a length of a footwell in a front seat of an automobile. The creeper for underneath an automobile dashboard thus allows a user to secure the vertical support and a section of the platform within a footwell of an automobile so that the user can easily and comfortably perform work under the dashboard of the automobile while lying on the platform.
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This invention relates to an improved shrouding apparatus for protecting a molten metal pouring stream from atmospheric reoxidation.
In the continuous casting of molten metals such as steel, molten metal from a ladle is teemed into an intermediate pouring vessel called a tundish positioned above a continuous casting mold. The tundish has a pouring nozzle in its bottom wall. When continuously casting billets, a caster will often have as many as six billet strands issuing from six molds, thus the tundish will require six pouring nozzles.
Atmospheric reoxidation of the steel stream flowing between the tundish and the mold will cause the accumulation and entrapment of undesirable oxide inclusions in each cast billet. Inclusions trapped in the billet render the product cleanliness unacceptable for quality steel grades. To alleviate the problem of reoxidation, various types of shrouds have been developed and used in the continuous casting of steels. Bailey British Patent Specification No. 371,880, Lyman U.S. Pat. No. 3,572,422 and Pollard U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,734 teach shrouding of molten metal pouring streams with inert or reducing gas. Some types of shroud are manufactured from refractory materials and termed "refractory pouring tubes" since they project downward from the bottom of the tundish to beneath the surface of the metal in the mold as shown by Mills, et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,517,726. Alternatively, bellows-type shrouds exist which are attached to both the tundish and the mold, affording a completely enclosed pouring chamber which allows vertical oscillation of the mold. However, neither the stream characteristics nor the metal in the mold can be observed through this bellows-type shroud. Additionally, the bellows-type shroud affords no access to the nozzle. Still other shrouds exist which are mounted on the mold and extends upwards to the tundish. One such shroud is a split cylinder, half of which is removable to provide access to the pouring nozzle as shown in Holmes U.S. Pat. No. 3,439,735.
Although a split shroud affords access to the tundish nozzle, most of the prior art shrouds, including the split shrouds are fixed systems which are not readily removable to accomodate other apparatus beneath the pouring stream such as a launder which, when required, diverts the pouring stream away from the mold. Also, the fixed shroud systems do not allow nozzle cleaning by an oxygen torch during casting nor insertion of a chill plug to stop the flow of the molten metal.
The Pollard patent teaches that the shroud tube must be open at both ends, to afford two-directional gas flow and to allow rapid removal of the shroud from the operating position.
Contrary to the teachings of the Pollard patent, we have determined experimentally that a shroud must be tightly held against the tundish or pouring vessel to prevent entrainment of oxygen from air into the shroud and reoxidation of the steel stream. When a shroud is open at the top, hot air rising off the mold is drawn upwardly through the shroud, exiting at the top, reducing the effectiveness of the inert gas introduced to the interior of the shroud and causing considerable reoxidation of the steel in the pouring stream. When the diameter of a shroud closely approximates the diameter of the pouring stream, the quality of the seal between the shroud tube and the pouring vessel is not as critical as it is when the shroud tube has a diameter in excess of three times the diameter of the pouring stream. However, larger diameter shroud tubes on the order of four inch diameter have more desirable operating characteristics than small diameter tubes, say, of 21/2 inch diameter or less. In smaller diameter tubes, splash and spatter from the pouring stream impinges against the inside of the tube causing a buildup of solid steel. In some instances this buildup becomes so severe that it shuts off the pouring stream. In other instances, the buildup is washed out of the tube by action of the pouring stream and into the mold where it can rupture the solidifying shell causing molten steel to "break-out" and necessitating casting of that strand to be terminated. Experimental data shows that the larger diameter tubes require the seal between the shroud tube and the tundish to be as tight as possible to prevent air leakage into the shroud tube from the surrounding atmosphere.
Japanese researchers have determined that the oxygen content of shrouding gas must be maintained at less than 0.8% to prevent the continuous formation of oxide inclusions from reoxidation of the steel stream. In our experimental work, which involved the accurate measurement of shroud and mold environment oxygen concentrations, we determined: first, that a shroud sealed to the tundish has a significantly lower oxygen concentration in the shroud than one with a gap between the top of the shroud and the bottom of the tundish; and second, that as the gap between the bottom of the shroud and the top of the mold is decreased, the oxygen concentration in both the shroud and in the mold decreases significantly.
Therefore, the shroud tube should extend as far as possible downwardly toward the mold, yet allow space between the shroud and mold for viewing the liquid level in the mold. Heretofore, there has been no convenient mechanism for placing a shroud against a tundish and for removing it when necessary in order to divert the pouring stream from the mold. The invented shroud apparatus is readily positionable tightly against the pouring nozzle of a molten metal pouring stream from a bottom-pour vessel, yet is easily and quickly removed to accomodate other apparatus such as a launder beneath the stream.
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1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to food products. More particularly, the present invention relates to food products containing fish oils characterized by enhanced flavor stability.
2. Background Art
A great deal of attention has recently been focused on the various health benefits apparently associated with consumption of fish oil. Health benefits appear to be related to the presence of high levels of the n-3 family of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Oils containing such materials, such as fish oils, are referred to as "omega-3" oils and desirably contain high levels of n-3 fatty acids, especially eicosapentaenoic acid ("EPA") and docosahexaenoic acid ("DHA"). Such fatty acids are called "omega-3" since the first double bond occurs in the third carbon bond counting from the end or omega position of the fatty acid.
Notwithstanding the present interest in the health benefits of fish oil consumption, nonhydrogenated fish oil generally to date has not been widely used per se or as an ingredient in processed food products for use by humans due to notorious and severe problems in odor and flavor. However, gelatin capsules containing fish oil are available. Additionally, salmon oil has been added to canned salmon. Also, certain canned meat products have been marketed in Japan which have had refined fish oil added as a fortifier.
Hydrogenated fish oils are much more stable due to the decrease in the degree of polyunsaturation and are widely used in Europe for margarine. Hydrogenated fish oils have also been used in Scandinavian countries in other consumer products, e.g., cakes. Hydrogenation is also effective in reducing odor and flavor that develops in deodorized oil. However, hydrogenation by decreasing polyunsaturation including the n-3 fatty acid component correspondingly decreases the health value of fish oil. Accordingly, it would be desirable to realize a nonhydrogenated fish oil or food products containing such nonhydrogenated fish oils, but nonetheless of increased stability.
The principal approach taken in the art to utilize nonhydrogenated fish oil has been to employ fish oils of enhanced stability. Two broad approaches have been taken in the art to realize nonhydrogenated fish oils of enhanced stability. The first approach involves giving attention to the processing of the oil to achieve a cleaner, finished oil product. Particular attention has been given to the deodorization step in order to realize cleaner finished fish oil products.
In the second approach, the art has attempted to find adjuvants which can be added to finished fish oil to provide desired additional stability. For example, while the phenomenon of fishy flavor dvelopment is not completely understood, it is known, however, that oxidative rancidity is a contributing factor. Addition of known antioxidants, singly as well as commercial mixtures, some allegedly synergistic, does result in some increase in stability. However, the unstability of nonhydrogenated fish oils is so great, that even addition of such materials at maximum legally permitted levels provide only modest increases in stability.
Given the severe difficulties in realizing a suitable fish oil ingredient, it is understandable that comparatively little developmental effort has been made to formulating processed food products containing fish oil.
The prior art also includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,357,362 (issued Nov. 2, 1982 to David Barker). This patent discloses a pet food composition including fish flesh of reduced fishy odor by subjecting the composition in a sealed container, to sterilizing heat in the presence of a reducing agent. However, several disadvantages exist with this approach. First, the primary advantage is a fish odor reduction which is not necessarily directly related to the problems of fish oil flavor degradation. Second, the reduction in aroma is most likely due to the heat treatment in a sealed container. It is undesirable for many foods to be subjected to such severe heat treatment. Third, fish flesh or fish proteinaceous material, an essential ingredient of these pet foods, is known to have a material effect on oil stability. However, many food products, e.g., mayonnaise cannot contain fish flesh, yet could beneficially include fish oil were oil stability nonetheless obtained. Also, the product is less susceptible to oxidative rancidity since it is sealed. Finally, a wide variety of organic and inorganic reducing agents are taught as useful although reducing sugars are preferred.
Given the state of the art with regard to fish oil stabilization, there is a continuing need for the development of new and improved fish oil compositions and processed food products containing fish oil of improved stability.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide nonhydrogenated fish oil and food products containing nonhydrogenated fish oils which nonetheless exhibit improved stability against degradation in both flavor and odor.
It is another object of the present invention to provide food products of enhanced stability which do not require heat sterilization.
Another object of the present invention is to provide food products containing fish oil which do not require fish meat.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide food products containing fish oil of enhanced stability against flavor degradation.
It has been most surprisingly discovered that the above objectives can be realized, that long-standing problems associated with employment of fish oils in processed foods have been addressed and food products containing fish oils can be prepared by incorporation of modest amounts of fructose. Surprisingly, fructose alone among sugars and other materials appears to be unexpectedly superior in providing the desired stabilization benefits.
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In certain instruments, such as gyroscopes, there is a sensitive movable element (e.g., the gyro rotor) capable of small motions about its central position within the instrument housing. In these instruments, it is necessary to apply a force or torque to the sensitive element to force the element back to its central position. The manner in which the sensitive element is forced back to its central position is usually accomplished by applying a voltage to electrode plate pairs. The electrode plate pairs are separated by a narrow gap from the sensitive element along the X and Y axes. The plate electrodes parallel to the X and Y axes and the sensitive element form pairs of capacitors along these axes. When the sensitive element moves from its central position, a voltage is induced across the load resistor of the capacitive circuit in either the X or Y axis or both. This output signal is used by appropriate circuitry to cause the element to be forced back to its central position. Thus, the same X and Y axis capacitive circuits may be used as a pickoff or as a torquer.
A disadvantage of the instrument described is that there are independent X and Y axis pickoffs, each having its own scale factor determined by the electrode plate area and the nominal gap between the plate and the sensitive element. Another disadvantage is that there are instabilities in geometry; that is, if the electrode structure goes out of round, the average gap on the X-axis will differ from the Y-axis again changing the relative scale factors. Thus, the device will be unable to meet the scale factor requirement that the two pickoffs must be accurate to five parts per million in order to measure a displacement angle within an accuracy of one second of arc.
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1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates to a touch panel and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Background Art
Recently, touch panels, which perform input functions through the touch of an image displayed on a display device by an input device such as a stylus pen or a hand, have been applied to various electronic appliances.
Touch panels can be mainly classified as resistive touch panels or capacitive touch panels. In a resistive touch panel, glass is shorted with an electrode due to the pressure of the input device so that a touch point is detected. In a capacitive touch panel, the variation in capacitance between electrodes is detected when a finger of the user touches the capacitive touch panel, so that the touch point is detected.
Multi-touch is available in a capacitive touch panel. Multi-touch is a technology in which several touch points can be simultaneously recognized, and allows a user to carry out more various manipulations when compared to a typical technology of recognizing only one touch point. Different from a conventional touch scheme requiring additional manipulations through auxiliary buttons to perform various functions (e.g., because only the position variation can be input through a touch), the reaction of a device to the touch can be specified according to the number of detected touch points, and predetermined manipulations through the detection of the intervals between the touch points can be performed. Accordingly, a user can more intuitively and conveniently manipulate the touch panel.
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This application claims priority from copending provisional application Serial No. 60/310,646, filed Aug. 7, 2001, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
This invention relates to the use of combinations of rapamycin 42-ester with 3-hydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)-2-methylpropionic acid (CCI-779) and 4-dimethylamino-but-2-enoic acid [4-(3-chloro-4-fluoro-phenylamino)-3-cyano-7-ethoxy-quinolin-6-yl]-amide (EKB-569).
Rapamycin is a macrocyclic triene antibiotic produced by Streptomyces hygroscopicus, which was found to have antifungal activity, particularly against Candida albicans, both in vitro and in vivo [C. Vezina et al., J. Antibiot. 28, 721 (1975); S. N. Sehgal et al., J. Antibiot. 28, 727 (1975) H. A. Baker et al., J. Antibiot. 31, 539 (1978); U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,929,992; and 3,993,749]. Additionally, rapamycin alone (U.S. Pat. No. 4,885,171) or in combination with picibanil (U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,653) has been shown to have antitumor activity.
The immunosuppressive effects of rapamycin have been disclosed in FASEB 3, 3411 (1989). Cyclosporin A and FK-506, other macrocyclic molecules, also have been shown to be effective as immunosuppressive agents, therefore useful in preventing transplant rejection [FASEB 3, 3411 (1989); FASEB 3, 5256 (1989); R. Y. Calne et al., Lancet 1183 (1978); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,899]. R. Martel et al. [Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 55, 48 (1977)] disclosed that rapamycin is effective in the experimental allergic encephalomyelitis model, a model for multiple sclerosis; in the adjuvant arthritis model, a model for rheumatoid arthritis; and effectively inhibited the formation of IgE-like antibodies.
Rapamycin is also useful in preventing or treating systemic lupus erythematosus [U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,999], pulmonary inflammation [U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,899], insulin dependent diabetes mellitus [U.S. Pat. No. 5,321,009], skin disorders, such as psoriasis [U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,730], bowel disorders [U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,731], smooth muscle cell proliferation and intimal thickening following vascular injury [U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,288,711 and 5,516,781], adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma [European Patent Application 525,960 A1], ocular inflammation [U.S. Pat. No. 5,387,589], malignant carcinomas [U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,018], cardiac inflammatory disease [U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,832], and anemia [U.S. Pat. No. 5,561,138].
Rapamycin 42-ester with 3-hydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)-2-methylpropionic acid (CCI-779) is ester of rapamycin which has demonstrated significant inhibitory effects on tumor growth in both in vitro and in vivo models. The preparation and use of hydroxyesters of rapamycin, including CCI-779, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,718.
CCI-779 exhibits cytostatic, as opposed to cytotoxic properties, and may delay the time to progression of tumors or time to tumor recurrence. CCI-779 is considered to have a mechanism of action that is similar to that of sirolimus. CCI-779 binds to and forms a complex with the cytoplasmic protein FKBP, which inhibits an enzyme, mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin, also known as FKBP12-rapamycin associated protein [FRAP]). Inhibition of mTOR's kinase activity inhibits a variety of signal transduction pathways, including cytokine-stimulated cell proliferation, translation of mRNAs for several key proteins that regulate the G1 phase of the cell cycle, and IL-2-induced transcription, leading to inhibition of progression of the cell cycle from G1 to S. The mechanism of action of CCI-779 that results in the G1→S phase block is novel for an anticancer drug.
In vitro, CCI-779 has been shown to inhibit the growth of a number of histologically diverse tumor cells. Central nervous system (CNS) cancer, leukemia (T-cell), breast cancer, prostate cancer, and melanoma lines were among the most sensitive to CCI-779. The compound arrested cells in the G1 phase of the cell cycle.
In vivo studies in nude mice have demonstrated that CCI-779 has activity against human tumor xenografts of diverse histological types. Gliomas were particularly sensitive to CCI-779 and the compound was active in an orthotopic glioma model in nude mice. Growth factor (platelet-derived)-induced stimulation of a human glioblastoma cell line in vitro was markedly suppressed by CCI-779. The growth of several human pancreatic tumors in nude mice as well as one of two breast cancer lines studied in vivo also was inhibited by CCI-779.
Protein tyrosine kinases are a class of enzymes that catalyze the transfer of a phosphate group of ATP or GTP to tyrosine residue located on protein substrates. Protein tyrosine kinases clearly play a role in normal cell growth. Many of the growth factor receptor proteins function as tyrosine kinases and it is by this process that they effect signaling. The interaction of growth factors with these receptors is a necessary event in normal regulation of cell growth. However, under certain conditions, as a result of either mutation or overexpression, these receptors can become deregulated; the result of which is uncontrolled cell proliferation which can lead to tumor growth and ultimately to the disease known as cancer [Wilks A. F., Adv. Cancer Res., 60, 43 (1993) and Parsons, J. T.; Parsons, S. J., Important Advances in Oncology, DeVita V. T. Ed., J. B. Lippincott Co., Phila., 3 (1993)]. Among the growth factor receptor kinases and their proto-oncogenes that have been identified and which are targets of the compounds of this invention are the epidermal growth factor receptor kinase (EGF-R kinase, the protein product of the erbB oncogene), and the product produced by the erbB-2 (also referred to as the neu or HER2) oncogene. Since the phosphorylation event is a necessary signal for cell division to occur and since overexpressed or mutated kinases have been associated with cancer, an inhibitor of this event, a protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor, will have therapeutic value for the treatment of cancer and other diseases characterized by uncontrolled or abnormal cell growth. For example, overexpression of the receptor kinase product of the erbB-2 oncogene has been associated with human breast and ovarian cancers [Slamon, D. J., et. al., Science, 244, 707 (1989) and Science, 235, 1146 (1987)]. Deregulation of EGF-R kinase has been associated with epidermoid tumors [Reiss, M., et. al., Cancer Res., 51, 6254 (1991)], breast tumors [Macias, A., et al., Anticancer Res., 7, 459 (1987)], and tumors involving other major organs [Gullick, W. J., Brit. Med. Bull., 47, 87 (1991)]. Because of the importance of the role played by deregulated receptor kinases in the pathogenesis of cancer, many recent studies have dealt with the development of specific PTK inhibitors as potential anti-cancer therapeutic agents [some recent reviews: Burke. T. R., Drugs Future, 17, 119 (1992) and Chang, C. J.; Geahlen, R. L., J. Nat. Prod., 55, 1529 (1992)].
4-Dimethylamino-but-2-enoic acid [4-(3-chloro-4-fluoro-phenylamino)-3-cyano-7-ethoxy-quinolin-6-yl]-amide (EKB-569) is an EGFR kinase inhibitor which has significant inhibitory effects on tumor growth in both in vitro and in vivo models. The preparation and use of EGFR kinase inhibitors, such as EKB-569, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,002,008.
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Limitations and disadvantages of conventional approaches to reception of signals in the presence of nonlinear distortion will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such approaches with some aspects of the present method and system set forth in the remainder of this disclosure with reference to the drawings.
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The present invention is directed to the total containment welding of plastic tubes. Various prior art exists disclosing different approaches for welding plastic tubes together. Prior patents disclose processes where the weld connection depends on the melt rheology of plastic resulting in non-uniform size of the weld connection. No attempt was made in the prior art to gain control of the size of the weld connection.
Parent application Ser. No. 158,505 discloses various wafer constructions for use in the total containment welding of plastic tubes and in the selective connect and disconnect of the plastic tubes. Such wafers are sufficiently effective that the same wafer could be used multiple times by removing the plastic material accumulated on the wafer after each use. In certain applications, however, it is desired to prevent the multiple use of the wafer and to assure that the wafer will be used only once.
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Skiing is a group of sports using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with the use of a binding. Skiing can be grouped into two general categories. The older of the two disciplines, originated in Scandinavia and uses free-heel bindings that attach at the toes of the skier's boots but not at the heels. This type of skiing is generally referred to as Nordic skiing. Types of Nordic skiing include cross-country, ski jumping and Telemark. The second general type of skiing is called Alpine skiing. Alpine skiing (often called “downhill skiing”), originated in the European Alps, and is characterized by fixed-heel bindings that attach at both the toe and the heel of the skier's boot. Alpine skiing is primarily used when traveling down a slope, as gravity propels the skier forward. Whereas Nordic skiers can traverse across open terrain with ease due to the free-heel binding.
No matter the type of skiing, it has become a popular recreational sport participated by many all across the world. Skiing is most visible to the public during the Winter Olympic Games where it is a major sport. Due to its popularity, ski technology has drastically improved over the years. The materials of the skis are now sophisticated composites that can flex and bend while still being light and maneuverable. Bindings have improved that allow the skier to adjust personal settings according to individual preferences. While ski technology has improved there still remains an age old problem; carrying one's skis.
Carrying a pair of skis is not so easy. While graceful on the slopes, even expert skiers have trouble easily carrying a pair of skis. Skis are still substantially heavy and burdensome to control when not in use. Their long lengths make them awkward to manipulate. This problem is exacerbated because you almost always have to carry two skis at any one time. Not only is a skier carrying two skis, but usually two poles as well. Typically people will attempt to lock the skis such that their bottom surfaces are touching. A single hand can then grip the skis for carrying. Unfortunately, the skier is almost undoubtedly wearing a pair of ski gloves or mittens. This only complicates matters for attempting to retain a secure grip. Compound all of these problems with the fact that walking in ski boots is also very difficult. As the skier walks, it is hard to keep a steady and even pace such that the skis won't start to fall or be dislodged from one's grip. Also, the distance walked can be quite significant as one is rarely able to find a parking spot relatively close to a chair lift. It is not uncommon to walk a substantial distance just to get to the slopes.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a device that can easily allow a skier to carry two skis comfortably and easily. Also, there is a need for this device to be compact and easily storable within one's pocket, such that it can be carried while skiing. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.
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Products offered for sale by online merchants may have a variety of attributes. For example, a certain style of shoe may be offered in multiple sizes and widths. Thus, each combination of size and width for the shoe style may correspond to a distinct inventory item for a merchant. Some products, such as, for example, handbags, may be offered in only a single size and may correspond to a single inventory item.
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The present invention relates to a golf club heads, and more particularly to such a golf club head which has means to lessen shocks when striking the ball.
The game of golf has become more and more popularly accepted by adult people. When playing the golf, different numbers of golf clubs may be used in different conditions. Conventional golf clubs are commonly made of wood. In recent years, a variety of materials including iron, carbon fibers, titanium, etc., have been developed for use in making club heads for golf clubs. In order to diminish material consumption and to reduce the weight, a club head for golf clubs is made having a recessed top chamber. However, a club head of this design con not efficiently absorb or lessen shocks when striking the ball.
It is one object of the present invention to provide a golf club head which effectively lessens shocks when striking the ball. It is another object of the present invention to provide a golf club head which produces a sound when striking the ball. To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, there is provided a golf club head which comprises a recessed top chamber, a face disposed at a front side of the recessed top chamber for striking the ball, the face having a plurality of scoring lines at an outer side, and a back wall disposed at a back side of the recessed top chamber opposite to the face, wherein a plurality of pores are provided at the face along the scoring lines and disposed in communication with the recessed top chamber; a circular through hole is provided at the center of the back wall and disposed in communication with the recessed top chamber for guiding air out of the recessed top chamber, the circular through hole having a diameter about within 1/6 to 1/4 of the width of the face.
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This invention relates generally, as indicated, to light emitting panel assemblies.
Light emitting panel assemblies are generally known. However, the present invention relates to several different light emitting panel assembly configurations which provide for better control of the light output from the panel assemblies and more efficient utilization of light to suit a particular application.
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The fabrication of silicon-based photovoltaic solar cells from thin silicon wafers, typically 140-180 micrometers thick, requires multiple processing steps, including a 2-stage diffusion process to create a semi-conducting “p-n”, junction diode layer, followed by screen-printing “solder paste” coatings on the wafer front and back sides which are fired into the p-n junction or back contact layer, where they act as ohmic collectors and grounds, respectively.
The diffusion process includes coating the wafer with a phosphoric or/and boric acid composition, followed by firing in a diffusion furnace to create a P-doped p/n junction photovoltaic layer on the front side, or/and a B-doped contact layer on the back side. After diffusion and various cleaning steps, the wafers are coated with an Anti-Reflective Coating (ARC), typically silicon nitride (SiN3) which renders the wafers deep blue or brown, depending on the ARC coating used.
To form a back contact ground layer, the wafer back surface is coated with an Al-based paste. The wafer top surface is screen printed with a fine network of Ag-based paste lines connected to larger buss conductors to “collect” the electrons generated. After these pastes have been dried, they are “co-fired” at high temperature in an IR lamp-heated conveyor-type metallization furnace.
Currently available IR conveyor furnaces for such processing steps are single line, that is a single conveyor belt or roller system that conveys the wafers through the processing step, single file. All wafers are processed according to the same processing schedule and dwell time in each processing zone. To double production requires buying and installing a second line of a multiplicity of modules arranged end-to-end. Each module has its own drive, its own transport system, its own framework including sides top and bottom, and requires the same factory floor-space foot print. To double production requires double the factory real estate and double the capital equipment for the processing machinery and the operating personnel.
For example, in the case of diffusion firing processes, the furnaces have a long heating chamber in which a plurality of IR lamps are substantially evenly spaced apart (typically 1.5″ apart) both above and below the wafer transport system (wire mesh belt or ceramic roller conveyor). The heating zone is insulated from the outside environment with various forms of insulation, compressed insulating fiber board being the most common. The infra-red (IR) lamps increase the temperature of the incoming silicon wafers to approximately 700° C. to 950° C. This temperature is held for the 30-minute duration of the diffusion process, after which the wafers are cooled and transferred to the next downstream process operation and equipment.
Currently available conveyor-type liquid dopers (as distinct from the muffle tube and carrier-type POCl3 gas dopers) employ solid or elastomeric band conveyors on which the wafers travel. The wafers are adhered to a peel-off disposable paper backing to protect the wafer back side against doping chemical exposure. These are non-conductive conveyor systems, which involve the extra step of wafer handling to remove the paper backing.
Currently available diffusion furnaces typically employ one of two types of wafer transport systems: 1) a plurality of static (not-longitudinally moving), solid ceramic, rotating rollers; or 2) active (longitudinally moving) wire mesh belts, to convey the wafers through the furnace firing zone. Static, ceramic rotating-roller furnaces currently are preferred in order to minimize or prevent metallic contamination of the back surface of the wafers.
A typical conventional diffusion furnace is on the order of 400″ long, having 160, 36″-wide IR lamps placed above the rollers, with from 100-160 placed below. The total mass of the conveyor rollers is on the order of 800 lbs, and is classified as a high-mass conveyor system.
As the demand for solar cells increases, the rates of production must increase, either by process improvements or adding furnaces into service. With respect to adding furnaces, conventional furnaces have a large footprint. Thus, adding furnaces requires increased capital outlay, for buildings, the furnaces themselves, and related service facilities.
In the case of wire mesh belts used in the metallization furnaces, the mesh belts must be supported beneath the belts to prevent sagging. Long-standing practice in the industry is to provide supports comprising pairs of opaque, white quartz tubes, typically on the order of 2-3 cm in diameter, placed with their long axes parallel-to or slightly canted to the direction of travel of the belt, e.g. in a staggered converging or diverging (herringbone) pattern. The quartz tubes are smooth, and provide line contact surfaces on which the underside of the belt slides as it conveys the printed wafers through the metallization furnace processing zones. To minimize shadowing by the tubes, the practice has long been to angle the tubes, either converging or diverging along the line of travel so that the same portion of the wafer was not shadowed the entire duration of travel through the furnace. The shadow effect is reduced by this long-used trick of angling the support tubes, but not eliminated, because now the entire wafer is in shadow at least some of the duration of transport through the furnace. In effect, the shadow lines are there, less pronounced and more diffuse, but broader.
In addition, the contact of the back side of the wafer with the many wires of the conveyor belt contributes to abrasion and contamination of the back contact layer paste during the metallization firing process. In an attempt to minimize this problem, current conveyor belts employ “pips”, which raise the wafer a few millimeters above the belt. The pips are made by bending a plurality of loops of the wire mesh belt upward of the top plane of the belt. However, the wafer bottom still rests directly on the pips, on the order of 10-20 per wafer, and they still move laterally and forward or back on the order of a millimeter in each direction during the transport of the wafers through the processing zones. This results in reduced throughput, due to discarding pip-damaged and contaminated wafers
Thus, the need for faster production and greater throughput, while curbing facility capital outlay, is not met by the current state of the art quartz tube-supported metal belts having wafer support pips. In order to compensate, conveyor-type dopers and furnaces have been made laterally wider, so that multiple lines of wafers can be processed in each process zone. In the case of furnaces, this in turn requires longer, more expensive lamps which typically experience a substantially shorter mean time to failure, thus significantly increasing operating costs.
Since there are dimensional and IR lamp cost constraints, increasing lamp density in the furnace is not generally a feasible solution. Likewise, increasing the power to the lamps is not currently feasible because higher output can result in overheating of the lamp elements, as a result of the thermal mass of the furnace, principally in the high mass solid ceramic roller conveyor system. Overheating particularly affects the external quartz tubes of the lamps. Most furnaces are thermocouple controlled. Since the IR lamps are placed side by side, on the order of 1.25″ apart, each lamp heats lamps adjacent to it. When the thermocouples detect temperatures approaching the selected diffusion or sintering temperature set point in the 700-950° C. range, they automatically cut back power to the lamps by an amount that depends on the thermal mass of the transport system (rollers or metal mesh belts and quartz tube supports). This lower power density is accompanied by substantial changes in the spectral output of the IR lamp emissions (hence a lower light flux and energy output). In turn, this reduced light flux results in the need to slow down the conveyor belt speed or lengthen the furnace (while maintaining the original belt speed), thus slowing processing. Overheating of lamps, e.g., due to thermocouple delay or failure, can cause the lamps to deform, sag and eventually fail. Lamp deformation also affects uniformity of IR output delivered to the wafers.
Accordingly, there is an unmet need in the wafer processing art to increase production at costs that are less than the unit cost of duplication of process lines. In addition, in the diffusion to and metallization furnace and firing process art there is an unmet need to significantly improve net effective use of firing zone(s) by reduction in wafer pip damage and contamination, permit-ting improved utilization of firing energy, improving the speed and uniformity of the firing process, reducing furnace size while retaining or improving throughput, and accomplishing these goals on a reduced furnace footprint, and lower energy, operating and maintenance costs.
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A compact vehicle is disclosed for instance in US2006219452. In this compact vehicle, an engine unit comprising a V-belt type automatic transmission is mounted below the seat, and an electric power steering system is installed.
Furthermore, compact vehicles include vehicles equipped with an electronic fuel injection system.
There is a demand in the market for vehicles that have a compact body while having more complete accessories of various types. However, when an electric power steering unit is provided, a relatively large electric motor and gear mechanism become necessary, and when an electronic fuel injection system is provided, a relatively large fuel pump to supply high pressure fuel to the fuel injection valve becomes necessary, so the problem of the width dimension and height dimension of the vehicle body becoming larger depending on how these components are laid out becomes a concern.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to sealed bearing rotary cone rock bits.
More particularly, this invention relates to precision roller bearings for seal bearing rotary cone rock bits.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Roller bearings for rotary cone rock bits have been in the public domain for many years. Roller bearing "air" bits are typically used in open pit mines where a multiplicity of shallow holes are formed in the earth formations. These types of roller bearing rotary cone bits usually are non-sealed bits that rely on a gaseous fluid to lubricate the bearings and to flush the bearings of debris during use of the bit in a borehole. These types of mining bits utilize cylindrical roller bearings that are loosely confined (large bearing clearances) by bearing races formed between a journal and a rotary cutter cone. These open-type bearings encourage the flushing of detritus from the bearing cage by the gaseous fluid pumped under pressure through a connecting drill string.
Prior art U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,030,442, 3,990,525, 4,255,000, 44,359,113 and 4,386,668 represent rock bits that operate under the foregoing parameters.
Sealed bearing rotary cone rock bits that incorporate cylindrical type roller bearings are typically run in a deep well borehole with drilling fluid or "mud" to move the debris from the borehole bottom to the rig floor.
The following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,249,781, 4,256,193, 4,263,976 and 4,428,687 teach sealed lubricated roller bearings for rotary cone rock bits.
Still another type of rotary cone rock bit utilizes conical bearings oriented between journals and rotary cones. The conical bearings take both radial and axial loads during operation of the bit in a borehole.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,748 teaches an open bearing rotary cone rock bit (air bit) with conical bearings that utilizes a gaseous fluid to lubricate and flush the bearings.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,367,904 teaches a sealed bearing rotary cone rock bit that uses conical bearings that are internally grease lubricated through a closed lube reservoir system.
The prior art does not teach a precision roller bearing having very close fits. The bearing package of the present invention includes highly refined surface finishes that complement extremely hard roller bearing elements fabricated from special bearing metals. A specific lubricant is utilized having lube viscosities that are unique to the bearing combination of the instant invention.
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1. Field of the Invention
The current invention relates to a reactor for biological, in particular anaerobic, purification of waste water including a reactor vessel having a substantially flat or round bottom, at least one supply line arranged in the lower region of the reactor vessel for feeding waste water to be purified into the reactor, at least one fluid discharge pipe for discharging purified waste water from the reactor, and at least one discharge pipe for solid matter arranged in the lower region of the reactor vessel for discharging solid matter from the reactor.
2. Description of the Related Art
A multitude of mechanical, chemical and biological methods and corresponding reactors are known for waste water purification. In biological waste water purification, the waste water to be purified is brought into contact with aerobic or anaerobic micro-organisms, which in the case of aerobic micro-organisms decompose organic contaminants contained in the waste water predominantly to carbon dioxide, biomass and water, and in the case of anaerobic micro-organisms mainly to carbon dioxide and methane and only in small part to biomass. In recent times the biological waste water purification methods are carried out increasingly with anaerobic micro-organisms whereby the reactors, depending on the type and form of the utilized biomass, are categorized for anaerobic waste water purification into contact sludge reactors, upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASA) reactors, expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactors, fixed bed reactors and fluidized bed reactors. Whereas the micro-organisms in fixed bed reactors adhere to stationary carrier materials and the micro-organisms in fluidized bed reactors adhere to freely moving, small carrier material; the micro-organisms in UASB and EGSB reactors are utilized in the form of so-called pellets.
In the case of UASB and EGSB reactors, waste water which is to be purified, or a mixture of waste water which is to be purified and already purified waste water from the outlet of the anaerobic reactor, is fed continuously to the reactor through an inlet which is arranged in the lower region of the reactor and is directed through a micro-organism pellet-containing sludge bed which is located above the inlet. During decomposition of the organic compounds from the waste water, the micro-organisms form methane and carbon dioxide containing gas (which is also referred to as biogas) which partially adheres to the micro-organism pellets in the form of small bubbles and which partially rises to the top in the reactor in the form of free gas bubbles. Because of the added gas bubbles the specific weight of the pellets decreases, which is the reason that the pellets rise to the top in the reactor. In order to separate the formed biogas and the rising pellets from the water, separators are arranged in the center and/or upper part of the reactor, mostly in the embodiment of gas hoods under the top of which biogas accumulates, forming gas cushions. Purified water, relieved of gas and micro-organism pellets rises to the top in the reactor and is drawn off at the upper end of the reactor through overflows.
Moreover, during operation of the reactor, solids continuously float downward in the reactor and settle on the reactor bottom from where they are discharged from the reactor through a solid matter discharge pipe. These are, on the one hand, solids contained in the waste water and, on the other hand, solid matter which initially only forms in the reactor, for example in the situation where waste water having a high content of dissolved calcium is used—as for example waste water from the paper industry. Due to chemical conditions, a portion of the calcium precipitates as solid calcium-carbonate. Since the solid matter settles uniformly across the reactor cross section, not all solid matter sediments can be removed in practice from the reactor through the solid matter discharge line. Therefore, large areas of sediment accumulate increasingly on the reactor bottom and in particular at right angle locations in the reactor vessel. In order to remove these sediments from the reactor, the reactor must be shut down from time to time.
To overcome this problem, reactors for biological purification of waste water have been suggested, for example in DE 40 42 223 A1, whereby the lower reactor section tapers conically in the downward direction. This ensures that at least the greater portion of the sediment accumulates in the tip of the cone from where it can be easily discharged from the reactor through a solid matter discharge pipe. This lower conical reactor section must, however, be manufactured from a particularly stable material in order to be able to withstand the weight of the waste water contained in the possibly several meters high reactor. Moreover, manufacture of a reactor of this type is very complicated and therefore expensive.
What is needed in the art is a reactor for biological, in particular anaerobic, purification of waste water from which solid matter occurring during its operation can be easily and in particular completely removed and which is of simple design and can be produced cost effectively. The reactor is to be suitable for purification of calciferous waste water, for example from the paper industry.
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1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a power supplying device, in particular, to a backup power supplying device having programmable current-balancing control.
2. Description of Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1A, FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional backup power supplying device. The backup power supplying device 1 includes more than two power modules. Taking FIG. 1A as an example of two power modules, a first power muddle 11 and a second power module 12 jointly share the output power to a load, so that when any one of the power modules is interrupted abnormally, the other power module which can operate normally may keep providing power to the load to meet the demand for uninterruptible power supply.
The backup power supplying device described as above could be in a current-balancing control state. The demand for the input power of the power supply terminal when the two power modules supply power concurrently is higher than that when only one power module is at work. Therefore, there two applications are derived. In the first application, one power module (e.g., the second power module 12) stays in a sleep mode in order to reduce power consumption. When another power module (e.g., the first power module 11) is broken, the power module staying in the sleep mode (e.g., the second power module 12) can be started to output power to the load. In the second application, the input terminal of one power module (e.g., the second power module 12) is changed to connect to a battery, in order to avoid the load failing to continue operating when the mains AC is interrupted. It is worth mentioning that when an abnormality occurs on the first power module 11, the first power module 11 can transmit an error signal PR to the second power module 12 so that the second power module 12 can be switched to a power supply mode accordingly. The two above-mentioned applications both are making the power source enter the sleep mode when the power module is in an off state. When an abnormality occurs on the power module which supplies power originally or the input power of the power module is interrupted, a problem of interruption instantaneously and restart on the output voltage will occur. At this time, it will cause the power interruption and restart on the system (or load), causing the system administrator must reset the system settings, resulting in the system operating cost increases. The following description of FIG. 1B is a clear example.
Referring to both FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, FIG. 1B is an output voltage waveform diagram of a backup power supplying device 1 shown in FIG. 1A when an output voltage interruption occurs. The input voltage of the backup power supplying device 1 can be mains (AC), DC, or any type of input voltage. The present disclosure is not limited to the type of the input voltage and the voltage value. When an interruption occurs on a first input voltage of the first power module 11 and the voltage level is reduced to zero volts as shown in FIG. 1B, a first output voltage of the first power module 11 then drops to zero volts. The second power module 12 can receive the error signal PR from the first power module 11 to generate a second output voltage to supply power. It is worth mentioning that the second input voltage of the second power module 12 is always maintained without interruption. There will be a time for system interruption and restart on the voltage change, which is obtained from the total output terminal of the first power module 11 and the second power module 12 connected in parallel.
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Embodiments of the present invention relate in general to computer memory and more specifically to memory mirror invocation upon detecting a correctable error (CE) in a memory.
In order to deliver powerful computing resources, computer architects must design robust computing systems capable of tolerating and recovering from equipment errors. To build error-tolerant computing systems, computer architects often user memory mirroring technology. Memory mirroring technology employs the use of two redundant memory modules separately storing the same memory contents.
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Post-harvest chemicals are applied to fruit in environmentally sealed storage rooms. Air and treatment chemicals are applied in the form of a chemical fog mixture. The fog mixture is introduced into the storage room using a device such as an electro-thermofogger gun. The introduction of the externally supplied air in the fog mixture increases the internal pressure of the environmentally sealed storage rooms.
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The invention relates to a spoiler arrangement on the rear of a motor vehicle, particularly a passenger car, which is arranged in the rear area of a fast back and extends essentially above a rear window.
From the German Pat. Document No. DE-OS 35 11 809, a spoiler arrangement of the initially mentioned type is known which is installed fixedly on the rear and functions well. This spoiler arrangement has the purpose of, on the one hand, reducing the drag coefficient of the vehicle and, on the other hand, increasing the negative lift at the rear axle.
So that this spoiler arrangement will not be damaged when driving through a certain type of automatic car wash installations, an expensive swivel mechanism is provided for the spoiler arrangement. In addition, the stationary spoiler arrangement impairs the free -- also stylistic -- design of the body in the area of the spoiler arrangement.
The EP-A 0 226 778 shows a spoiler arrangement arranged at a notchback of a motor vehicle which can be moved from a retracted inoperative position to an extended operative position and vice versa. In the inoperative position, the spoiler arrangement is arranged inside a recess-shaped receiving space of the rear opening hood.
This arrangement has the disadvantage that the recess-shaped receiving space arranged on the bottom side of the hood projects relatively far into the trunk, thereby considerably reducing the capacity of the trunk.
It is an object of the invention to take such measures on a spoiler arrangement arranged adjacent to a rear window of a fast back that the spoiler arrangement, when driving through an automatic car wash installation, is effectively protected from damages without any significant impairment of the free design of the vehicle body, and in that, in addition, the capacity of the trunk provided below the fast back is reduced only slightly.
According to the invention, this object is achieved providing an arrangement wherein an adjustably constructed spoiler arrangement, in a retracted inoperative position, forms a partial area of the rear window, the partial area extending flush with the shell, with respect to the adjacent rear window section.
The principal advantages achieved by means of the invention are that, by means of the adjustable design of the spoiler arrangement and by means of the integration of the spoiler arrangement into the rear window, the free design of the vehicle body in the area of the spoiler arrangement is not impaired and it is also ensured that the retracted spoiler arrangement is not damaged when driving through a car wash installation. By using a thin-walled disk section as a spoiler arrangement, it is achieved that the spoiler arrangement has only a low height and can correspondingly, in the inoperative position, be received in a shallow receiving space, whereby the capacity of the trunk space is limited only insignificantly.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a slotting tool for use in slotting a work.
2. Description of the Related Art
A slotting tool of the related art is constructed in a manner such that a toe of a punch does not cooperate with a die to preliminarily punch out a work. The slotting tool slots the work by means of a slotting portion of the punch and the die. Slotted scrap is punched out for cutting off from the work by means of a heel portion of the punch and the die. Therefore, the slotting tool does not work from a slotting starting position in the work. In this connection, prior to slotting the work by the slotting tools of the related art, an auxiliary and extra hole must be prepared which is located in an extension line of and overlapping the slot to be formed.
In another type of slotting tool, a repeated slotting operation is performed from a hole preliminarily and previously punched for slotting. This is required because incomplete slotting scrap is left on a work at the final stage of the continuous slotting operation, notwithstanding that this type of slotting tool does not require an auxiliary and extra hole. Therefore, the extra auxiliary hole, which is located in an extension line of the slotted hole required and overlaps with the slotted hole required, must be punched at a final and terminating slotting position, prior to slotting the work by the slotting tool.
The above slotting operations of the related art are thus complicated thereby increasing the cost of the slotting operations.
Furthermore, where a second slotted hole is required near a first slotted hole and where a micro-joint portion is required on a work and formed on the work by the first slotted hole, the micro-joint portion cannot remain on the work and therefore is not formed on the work where an auxiliary and extra hole is required.
In addition, the preliminarily punched slotted holes are typically uneven thereby reducing the accuracy of the hole.
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Drug delivery devices allowing for multiple dosing of a required dosage of a liquid medicament, such as liquid drugs, and further providing administration of the medicament to a patient, are as such well-known in the art. Generally, such devices have substantially the same purpose as that of an ordinary syringe.
Drug delivery devices of this kind have to meet a number of user specific requirements. For instance in case of those with diabetes, many users will be physically infirm and may also have impaired vision. Therefore, these devices need to be robust in construction, yet easy to use, both in terms of the manipulation of the parts and understanding by a user of its operation. Further, the dose setting must be easy and unambiguous and where the device is to be disposable rather than reusable, the device should be inexpensive to manufacture and easy to dispose. In order to meet these requirements, the number of parts and steps required to assemble the device and an overall number of material types the device is made from have to be kept to a minimum.
Typically, the medicament to be administered is provided in a cartridge that has a moveable piston or bung mechanically interacting with a piston rod of a drive mechanism of the drug delivery device. By applying thrust to the piston in a distal direction, a predefined amount of the medicinal fluid is expelled from the cartridge.
In particular for elderly or physically infirm users, the overall handling of the device in a home medication environment should be simple and highly reliable. As for instance illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, drug delivery devices and in particular pen-type injectors typically comprise a multi-component housing. Here, a distal end section typically serves as a cartridge holder 12. The cartridge holder 12 comprises a threaded socket 16 at its distal end to receive a needle assembly 18 having a correspondingly threaded needle hub 20 and a double tipped injection needle 22.
The cartridge holder 12 further comprises an insert portion 26 at its proximal end section, by way of which the cartridge holder 12 can be at least partially inserted into a correspondingly shaped distal receptacle of a proximal housing component 14 of the drug delivery device, typically denoted as body 14. The body 14 serves to accommodate a drive mechanism having a piston rod to become operably engaged with a piston of a cartridge to be disposed and fixed in the cartridge holder 12. By way of the inspection window 24, the fluid or filling level of the cartridge can be visually inspected.
The known device 10 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 is of disposable type. Cartridge holder 12 and body 14 are adapted to be interconnected in a non-releasable way. For this purpose, the insert portion 26 of the cartridge holder 12 comprises several circumferentially distributed through openings 28 of substantially rectangular shape. Correspondingly and as illustrated in FIG. 3, the receiving side wall portion 32 of the body 14 comprises radially inwardly protruding pegs or prongs 34 adapted to mate with the through openings 28 of the cartridge holder as soon as the cartridge holder 12 is appropriately inserted into the body 14 with its insert portion 26.
Radially inwardly protruding prongs 34 further comprise a beveled surface 36 towards their distal end in order to facilitate mutual engagement of prongs 34 and through openings 28. Furthermore, the insert portion 26 of the cartridge holder 12 is delimited in distal direction by a circumferential and radially outwardly extending rim 30, which in a final assembly configuration abuts against a distally located end face 38 of the body 14.
The housing components 12, 14 are typically manufactured as injection moulded plastic components, which, by virtue of appropriately selected thermoplastic materials feature a sufficient elasticity in order to support the snapping in and a resulting positive interconnection of cartridge holder 12 and body 14.
However, since such drug delivery devices 10 are predominately intended for home medication, the device has to fulfill highest possible standards in terms of failure safety and robustness, especially in view of mechanical impact.
If for instance the device 10 drops down from a considerably height, a mechanical load-distribution may rise above a critical level in the interconnection of cartridge holder 12 and body 14. Point stresses or point loading acting on the through opening 28 and/or on the prongs 34 may exceed a critical level and the interconnection of cartridge holder 12 and body 14 may break down, the housing components 12, 14 may release and the device 1 would be no longer of use.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a drug delivery device comprising a robust, reliable and mechanically resistant interconnection of cartridge holder and body. The interconnection should be easily integrable in existing housing designs of drug delivery devices. It should also be easily implementable, both, in terms of production costs and assembly work. Moreover, the interconnection of body and cartridge holder should be intuitive and easy to establish.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of soybean breeding. In particular, the invention relates to the novel soybean variety D4120384.
2. Description of Related Art
There are numerous steps in the development of any novel, desirable plant germplasm. Plant breeding begins with the analysis and definition of problems and weaknesses of the current germplasm, the establishment of program goals, and the definition of specific breeding objectives. The next step is selection of germplasm that possess the traits to meet the program goals. The goal is to combine in a single variety an improved combination of desirable traits from the parental germplasm. These important traits may include higher seed yield, resistance to diseases and insects, better stems and roots, tolerance to drought and heat, better agronomic quality, resistance to herbicides, and improvements in compositional traits.
Choice of breeding or selection methods depends on the mode of plant reproduction, the heritability of the trait(s) being improved, and the type of variety used commercially (e.g., F1 hybrid variety, pureline variety, etc.). For highly heritable traits, a choice of superior individual plants evaluated at a single location will be effective, whereas for traits with low heritability, selection should be based on mean values obtained from replicated evaluations of families of related plants. Popular selection methods commonly include pedigree selection, modified pedigree selection, mass selection, recurrent selection and backcrossing.
The complexity of inheritance influences choice of the breeding method. Backcross breeding is used to transfer one or a few favorable genes for a highly heritable trait into a desirable variety. This approach has been used extensively for breeding disease-resistant varieties (Bowers et al., 1992; Nickell and Bernard, 1992). Various recurrent selection techniques are used to improve quantitatively inherited traits controlled by numerous genes. The use of recurrent selection in self-pollinating crops depends on the ease of pollination, the frequency of successful hybrids from each pollination, and the number of hybrid offspring from each successful cross.
Each breeding program should include a periodic, objective evaluation of the efficiency of the breeding procedure. Evaluation criteria vary depending on the goal and objectives, but should include gain from selection per year based on comparisons to an appropriate standard, overall value of the advanced breeding lines, and number of successful varieties produced per unit of input (e.g., per year, per dollar expended, etc.).
Promising advanced breeding lines are thoroughly tested and compared to appropriate standards in environments representative of the commercial target area(s) for generally three or more years. The best lines are candidates for new commercial varieties. Those still deficient in a few traits may be used as parents to produce new populations for further selection.
These processes, which lead to the final step of marketing and distribution, may take as much as eight to 12 years from the time the first cross is made. Therefore, development of new varieties is a time-consuming process that requires precise forward planning, efficient use of resources, and a minimum of changes in direction.
A most difficult task is the identification of individuals that are genetically superior, because for most traits the true genotypic value is masked by other confounding plant traits or environmental factors. One method of identifying a superior plant is to observe its performance relative to other experimental plants and to one or more widely grown standard varieties. Single observations are generally inconclusive, while replicated observations provide a better estimate of genetic worth.
The goal of plant breeding is to develop new, unique and superior soybean varieties and hybrids. The breeder initially selects and crosses two or more parental lines, followed by repeated selfing and selection, producing many new genetic combinations. Each year, the plant breeder selects the germplasm to advance to the next generation. This germplasm is grown under unique and different geographical, climatic and soil conditions, and further selections are then made, during and at the end of the growing season. The varieties which are developed are unpredictable. This unpredictability is because the breeder's selection occurs in unique environments, with no control at the DNA level (using conventional breeding procedures), and with millions of different possible genetic combinations being generated. A breeder of ordinary skill in the art cannot predict the final resulting lines he develops, except possibly in a very gross and general fashion. The same breeder cannot produce the same variety twice by using the exact same original parents and the same selection techniques. This unpredictability results in the expenditure of large amounts of research monies to develop superior new soybean varieties.
The development of new soybean varieties requires the development and selection of soybean varieties, the crossing of these varieties and selection of progeny from the superior hybrid crosses. The hybrid seed is produced by manual crosses between selected male-fertile parents or by using male sterility systems. Hybrids may be identified by using certain single locus traits such as pod color, flower color, pubescence color or herbicide resistance which indicate that the seed is truly a hybrid. Additional data on parental lines as well as the phenotype of the hybrid influence the breeder's decision whether to continue with the specific hybrid cross.
Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection breeding methods are used to develop varieties from breeding populations. Breeding programs combine desirable traits from two or more varieties or various broad-based sources into breeding pools from which varieties are developed by selfing and selection of desired phenotypes. The new varieties are evaluated to determine which have commercial potential.
Pedigree breeding is commonly used for the improvement of self-pollinating crops. Two parents which possess favorable, complementary traits are crossed to produce an F1. An F2 population is produced by selfing one or several F1's. Selection of the best individuals may begin in the F2 population (or later depending upon the breeders objectives); then, beginning in the F3, the best individuals in the best families can be selected. Replicated testing of families can begin in the F3 or F4 generation to improve the effectiveness of selection for traits with low heritability. At an advanced stage of inbreeding (i.e., F6 and F7), the best lines or mixtures of phenotypically similar lines are tested for potential release as new varieties.
Mass and recurrent selections can be used to improve populations of either self-or cross-pollinating crops. A genetically variable population of heterozygous individuals is either identified or created by intercrossing several different parents. The best plants are selected based on individual superiority, outstanding progeny, or excellent combining ability. The selected plants are intercrossed to produce a new population in which further cycles of selection are continued.
Backcross breeding has been used to transfer genetic loci for simply inherited, highly heritable traits into a desirable homozygous variety which is the recurrent parent. The source of the trait to be transferred is called the donor or nonrecurrent parent. The resulting plant is expected to have the attributes of the recurrent parent (e.g., variety) and the desirable trait transferred from the donor parent. After the initial cross, individuals possessing the phenotype of the donor parent are selected and repeatedly crossed (backcrossed) to the recurrent parent. The resulting plant is expected to have the attributes of the recurrent parent (e.g., variety) and the desirable trait transferred from the donor parent.
The single-seed descent procedure in the strict sense refers to planting a segregating population, harvesting a sample of one seed per plant, and using the one-seed sample to plant the next generation. When the population has been advanced from the F2 to the desired level of inbreeding, the plants from which lines are derived will each trace to different F2 individuals. The number of plants in a population declines each generation due to failure of some seeds to germinate or some plants to produce at least one seed. As a result, not all of the F2 plants originally sampled in the population will be represented by a progeny when generation advance is completed.
In a multiple-seed procedure, soybean breeders commonly harvest one or more pods from each plant in a population and thresh them together to form a bulk. Part of the bulk is used to plant the next generation and part is put in reserve. The procedure has been referred to as modified single-seed descent or the pod-bulk technique.
The multiple-seed procedure has been used to save labor at harvest. It is considerably faster to thresh pods with a machine than to remove one seed from each by hand for the single-seed procedure. The multiple-seed procedure also makes it possible to plant the same number of seeds of a population each generation of inbreeding. Enough seeds are harvested to make up for those plants that did not germinate or produce seed.
Descriptions of other breeding methods that are commonly used for different traits and crops can be found in one of several reference books (e.g., Allard, 1960; Simmonds, 1979; Sneep et al., 1979; Fehr, 1987a,b).
Proper testing should detect any major faults and establish the level of superiority or improvement over current varieties. In addition to showing superior performance, there must be a demand for a new variety that is compatible with industry standards or which creates a new market. The introduction of a new variety will incur additional costs to the seed producer, the grower, processor and consumer; for special advertising and marketing, altered seed and commercial production practices, and new product utilization. The testing preceding release of a new variety should take into consideration research and development costs as well as technical superiority of the final variety. For seed-propagated varieties, it must be feasible to produce seed easily and economically.
Soybean, Glycine max (L), is an important and valuable field crop. Thus, a continuing goal of plant breeders is to develop stable, high yielding soybean varieties that are agronomically sound. The reasons for this goal are to maximize the amount of grain produced on the land used and to supply food for both animals and humans. To accomplish this goal, the soybean breeder must select and develop soybean plants that have the traits that result in superior varieties.
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The present invention relates to an apparatus for removing textile articles from supported dispositions on the posts of support members, the textile articles being tubes or tubes having textile strand material built thereon.
Tubes of the type on which textile strand material is built typically have an elongate shape and a hollow interior. Numerous transport systems have been proposed for transporting such tubes with the tubes either in an empty status (no textile strand material thereon) or in a condition in which textile strand material has been built on the tube and several of these transport systems include support members each for individually supporting a tube in a separate disposition from the other tubes. The support members may be interconnected to one another for simultaneous advancing movement of the support members and one example of this type of transport system arrangement is a plurality of textile article support members mounted to a flexible endless member at uniform spacings therealong. Another transport system arrangement includes independently movable support members, each capable of individually supporting a tube in an upright disposition thereon, and a device for advancing the independent support members along a travel path. Both in those transport system arrangements in which the support members are interconnected together and those transport systems in which the support members are independently movable, the support members each include a cylindrical post having a diameter selected in relation to the inside diameter of the hollow interior of a tube for snug receipt of a tube inserted over the post of a support member.
At various stages during the processing of a textile article, the textile article, which may be an empty tube or a tube having textile strand material built thereon, must be removed from the support member on which it is supported and this textile article removal process necessarily includes axially moving the textile article along and beyond the post on which it is supported. Various textile article removal devices have been proposed. For example, in Japanese Patent Document 49-26531, a textile article removal device is disclosed for removing textile articles supported in upright dispositions on posts uniformly mounted along the extent of an endless belt. In this known textile article removal device, a pair of oppositely moving endless belts are disposed adjacent the travel path of the textile articles and the pair of oppositely moving endless belts form an opening therebetween.
As each supported textile article is advanced along the travel path to a position adjacent the opening, the post on which the textile article is supported is displaced in a direction transverse to the travel path to thereby effect movement of the supported textile article into the opening until the textile article is frictionally engaged at generally diametrically opposite locations by the pair of oppositely moving endless belts of the textile article removal device. The oppositely moving endless belts then draw the engaged textile article off the post on which it is supported with the advancing movement of the post being temporarily halted during the drawing off of the textile article. Following removal of the textile article from the post, the advancing movement of the other textile articles continues while the removed textile article is transported by the oppositely moving endless belts of the textile article removal device to a chute along which the textile article slides to a collection container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,636 to Sekitani et al discloses a textile article removing device operable to remove textile articles from support members of the type which are movable independently of one another. In this known textile article removal device, the individual support member on which each textile article is supported is temporarily stopped at a removal location and a pair of opposed engaging surfaces such as, for example, an endless belt and a roller, are moved toward one another to frictionally engage a supported textile article therebetween. Once frictionally engaged between the opposed engaging surfaces, the textile article is drawn off from its associated support member and the now-empty support member is subsequently advanced beyond the removal location.
In both of the known textile article removing devices just described, the advancing movement of the textile articles must be temporarily halted each time a support member is advanced into the removal location so that the respective textile article at the removal location can be frictionally engaged and drawn off of its associated support member. The start of a textile article removal operation must therefore be coordinated with the advancing movement of the textile articles in cycles of stopping and re-starting the advancing movement of the textile articles. This correspondingly limits the rate at which textile articles can be removed from their associated support members. Accordingly, the need still exists for improvements in the expeditious removal of textile articles from support members and particularly in minimizing interruptions in the advancing movement of textile articles during the removal operation.
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The present invention is directed to a method of operating a discharge lamp system and a discharge lamp system in which vertical segregation is reduced.
Vertical operation of a discharge lamp system can lead to vertical segregation of vapor phase species, which in turn leads to color separation over the length of the lamp, reduced light output, local overheating of the lamp wall, and other problems that may cause premature lamp failure or unsatisfactory lamp performance. This is particularly true for high aspect ratio lamps (lamps whose length to width ratio is high).
A solution to this problem is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,124,683 in which an arc in a discharge lamp is straightened by acoustic modulation of lamp power. Such power modulation can also provide some control over vertical segregation during vertical operation of the lamp.
As is now known, modulation of lamp power causes modulation of the arc temperature distribution and, as a result, modulation of the gas pressure distribution throughout the lamp. Certain frequencies of modulation cause standing wave oscillation of the gas pressure in the discharge tube of the lamp system. Acoustic modes in discharge lamp systems are generally determined based on a cylinder of a size comparable to the discharge tube of the lamp. If the pressure has a spatial dependence along the axis of the tube, then the acoustic mode is longitudinal. The number of half wavelengths determines the particular mode number. If there are two half wavelengths, the lamp is operating at the second longitudinal mode. If the pressure has a spatial dependence along the radius of the tube, then the acoustic mode is radial, and if the pressure has a spatial dependence around the circumference of the tube, then the acoustic mode is azimuthal. Combination acoustic modes are also possible, such as the radial-longitudinal mode and the azimuthal-longitudinal mode, in which the pressure distribution depends on more than one coordinate. These combination modes can be further defined, depending on the number of half wavelengths, such as a combination acoustic mode of the third azimuthal and second longitudinal modes.
The frequencies for each of these acoustic modes (the resonance frequencies) are determinable from the dimensions of the discharge tube and the speed of sound in the gas phase of the lamp. The speed of sound has a temperature dependence and the arc temperature profile can depend on position. Nevertheless, the resonance frequencies can be reasonably estimated using an isothermal cylindrical model.
The longitudinal mode frequencies are roughlyfnL=(nC)/(2Length),where fnL is the nth longitudinal mode, C is the average speed of sound, and Length is the cavity length.
The radial mode frequencies are roughlyfnR=(knRC)/(πD)where fnR is the nth radial mode, knR is a constant that is known for each radial mode (it is 3.83 for the first radial mode and higher for subsequent modes), C is the average speed of sound, and D is the diameter of the cavity.
The azimuthal mode frequencies are roughlyfnA=(knAC)/(πD)where fnA is the nth azimuthal mode, knA is a constant that is known for each azimuthal mode (it is 1.84 for the first azimuthal mode, 3.05 for the second, 4.20 for the third and higher for subsequent modes), C is the average speed of sound, and D is the diameter of the cavity.
Better estimates of the resonance frequencies can be obtained from finite element calculations of the eigenmodes of vessels approximating the shape of the cavity in which the arc is formed using well estimated temperature and composition distributions.
Still other methods of estimation are possible. For example, for a radial acoustic mode, the continuous radial sound speed profile can be discretized into iso-speed concentric cylinders. A characteristic time can be calculated for each cylinder by inverting the first radial resonant frequency for that cylinder. The composite characteristic time can be calculated from the sum of the individual cylinder's characteristic times. The refined estimate of the frequency of the first radial acoustic mode can be calculated from the inverted composite characteristic time.
Further, the resonance frequencies can be tuned based on visual clues such as accumulation of salt fill in patterns on the walls of the arc tube, and the disappearance of color separation. For example, salt rings may appear around the tube when the frequencies are properly tuned to longitudinal resonances.
Combination modes can be determined by combining the frequencies of the individual modes in quadrature so long as one of the modes is longitudinal. For example, the resonance frequency of the first radial and fourth longitudinal combination mode is
f1R4L2=f1R2+f4L2.
The frequencies discussed herein are the power modulation frequencies (denoted herein “power frequencies”). For a sine waveform, the corresponding current (or voltage) frequencies are one-half the power frequencies.
With reference again to the prior art, a further solution to the problem of vertical segregation is offered in U.S. Pat. No. 6,184,633. As shown in FIG. 1, the lamp power is modulated in a repeating pattern of a sine wave sweeping over a frequency range 10 that is appropriate for arc-straightening and a lower frequency 12 corresponding to a longitudinal mode. The swept power frequency range is 90-110 kHz and the power frequency of the longitudinal mode is 24.5 kHz (the current frequencies being one-half these power frequencies). This improved control over the arc, but the lower frequency is difficult to generate efficiently and is too close to audio frequencies.
A further improvement is offered in U.S. Pat. No. 6,437,517 in which the repeating pattern of FIG. 1 is the same, except the lower frequency is replaced with a frequency higher than the arc-straightening frequency sweep. The higher frequency can be a single frequency or may sweep over a frequency range. The higher frequency excites a combination acoustic mode that combines the azimuthal mode (specifically, the third azimuthal mode or higher) and the longitudinal mode (specifically, the nth longitudinal mode). For a lamp 19 mm long and with an inner diameter of 4 mm, the arc-straightening frequency range is 90-110 kHz, the combination mode is centered on 150 kHz (±10 kHz) and the pattern is repeated at about 100 Hz. Due to its symmetry, this combination acoustic mode of the azimuthal and longitudinal modes is still difficult to excite and the present inventors have sought a suitable substitute combination acoustic mode that is easier to excite.
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1. Field
Methods, apparatuses, and computer readable mediums consistent with exemplary embodiments relate performing a service, and more particularly, to performing a service based on a widget.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to accelerated convergence between devices, services of various scenarios based on the convergence are being developed. A service capable of maximizing a user experience based on convergence between a plurality of devices connected in a network increasingly attracts attention.
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