An organ support system and method adapted for use with a patient and designed to modify the blood from the patient includes a control system, a venous line coupled to an output of a patient, an arterial line coupled to an input of the patient, and a cell line inserted into a hollow fiber cartridge to form an organ assist device. Blood is passed through the organ assist device. A small flow is extracted from the extracapillary space to check the integrity of the organ assist device. With this closed loop arrangement, a proper fluid balance can be maintained for the patient without requiring any dialysate, and leaks from the cell line to the patient can be immediately detected and prevented from reaching the patient.

It is known that the acute loss of more than 60% of liver function is a serious risk to survival. It is also known that patients with chronic liver insufficiency may have periods when a metabolic stress such as surgery or an infection places them in liver failure. The liver serves to remove impurities from the blood and either recycles them to useful compounds, or converts them to harmless waste products which are excreted by the kidneys. Without a properly functioning liver, the body is unable to maintain its normal metabolic balance, and many organs cease to function because of the build-up of toxins or because the liver is no longer synthesizing important nutrients. The functions of the liver are not completely known, but are such that simple removal of toxins from the blood by hemodialysis or hemoperfusion does not alleviate the patient's condition. Removal of toxins by these methods may improve one or more aspects of the patient's condition such as acid-base balance or mental status, but the overall condition is unaffected, and mortality is not improved.
Even though the liver is the only organ capable of regeneration, severe liver failure does not provide the optimum metabolic circumstances for such regeneration to take place. Faced with a rapidly deteriorating patient, the only successful treatment to date has been the removal of the failing liver and transplantation with a donor liver. There are, however, several major concerns with liver transplantation including the procurement of a matching organ within a useful time frame, the transport of the organ to the patient, major surgery which carries a 10-20% mortality, the continuing danger of rejection of the transplanted organ, and the expenses involved in the operation and subsequent medical care of the patient.
In view of the foregoing concerns, potential uses for a liver support system include supporting a patient until recovery from a metabolic stress, sustaining a liver transplant candidate until a suitable organ is available, and supporting a patient after transplantation until the grafted liver is functioning adequately and can fully sustain the patient. The solution to the problem is a metabolically-active liver assist device, i.e., one containing functioning liver cells. Implementation of such a device raises several problems which have not previously been encountered in extracorporeal blood therapies. These problems include inter alia:
The need for a continuous oxygen supply to maintain cell viability; PA1 The need to maintain a positive pressure gradient from the ICS to the ECS to prevent cells from migrating into the ICS in the event of a fiber rupture; PA1 The need to perfuse the ECS in order to reduce the concentration of clotting factors, thus reducing the likelihood of blood clotting in the cartridge; PA1 The need to monitor the fluid in the ECS to assess the continuing viability of cells in the ECS; PA1 The need to return fluid from the ECS to the patient's blood stream in order to supply proteins which are secreted by the cells; and PA1 The need to temporarily support the metabolic requirements of a cartridge while the need for further treatment is evaluated.


Disclosed herein are system, method, and computer program product embodiments for altering the data type of a column in a database. An embodiment operates by converting an original dictionary associated with a column into a new dictionary. The new dictionary stores the values of the original dictionary using a different data type. An index vector containing the keys of the original dictionary is then updated to contain the associated keys of the new dictionary. Because the size of the original dictionary is often substantially smaller than the number of rows in the associated column, this dictionary conversion decreases the computation cost to the database system of altering the data type of the column and reduces or even minimizes database downtime for users.

Many database systems can alter the data type of a column in a table. Altering the data type of a column can increase data compression in the database, and enable the database system to more efficiently analyze and manipulate column data. But altering the data type of a column is often compute intensive for the database system. Furthermore, the database system may need exclusive access to a table when altering the data type of a column. This causes the database to be unavailable to users for extended periods of time.
In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical or similar elements. Additionally, generally, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawing in which the reference number first appears.

Altering data type of a column in a database


A continuous variable valve lift device includes a rotatable input shaft, an input cam rotating with the input shaft, a control shaft rotatably disposed parallel to the input shaft, an input rocker mounted to, and rotatable round, the control shaft so as to be in contact with the input cam to have a torque forwarded thereto from the input cam, a control link mounted to the control shaft eccentrically, an input link having one end connected to the input rocker, a connecting rod connected between the other end of the input link and the control link, and a valve operating unit mounted to rotate as one unit with the control shaft for operating the valve, the valve operating unit having a control long hole for movably inserting the connecting rod therein, for improving the fuel consumption at a low load operation range of the engine.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates a variable valve lift device, and more particularly to a continuous variable valve lift device in which two intake valves are operated to have valve lift values different from each other in a low load operation range of an engine for enhancing flowability of intake introduced to a combustion chamber through the two intake valves to improve fuel consumption of the engine.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, the engine of a vehicle is provided with the combustion chamber for burning the fuel to generate power, and a valve train having intake valves each for controlling inflow of air or a mixture of the air and the fuel into the combustion chamber and exhaust valves each for controlling outflow of exhaust gas generated as the fuel burns from the combustion chamber.
And, as the intake and exhaust valves in the valve train are operated by cams interlocked with rotation of a crankshaft which is rotated by power generated by combustion of the fuel, the intake/exhaust valves opens/closes the combustion chamber, respectively.
If the cams have fixed profiles making the intake/exhaust valves to have fixed lift values respectively too, flow rates of the inflow/the outflow of the air and exhaust gas through the intake/exhaust valves are also fixedly set according to the lift values of the cams, respectively.
In the meantime, if the lift values of the intake/exhaust valves are controlled according to an operation state of the engine of the vehicle, appropriately, fuel consumption can be improved and an output of the engine can be increased. Accordingly, a variable valve lift device is suggested for controlling the lift values of the intake/exhaust valves according to the operation state of the engine.
Of the variable valve lift devices, a continuous variable valve lift device (CVVL) can devise the improvement of the fuel consumption as well as the increase of the output of the engine if the lift values of the valves are controlled within a range of 1 mm to 11 mm appropriately according on an operation range of the engine.
Of the continuous variable valve lift devices, so called an unequal continuous variable valve lift device is also disclosed in which, when the engine having the two intake valves is operated in a low load, if the two intake valves are controlled such that the valve lift values of the two intake valves are different from each other for enhancing flowability of the intake introduced to the combustion chamber through the two intake valves, thereby improving the fuel consumption of the engine.
On the unequal continuous variable valve lift devices, an unequal continuous variable valve lift structure is required, which can simplify a structure thereof and improve operation reliability.
The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.


A method and computer program product for executing procedure calls, such as procedure calls in the C programing language. For a procedure call, reference parameters are identified, and replaced by respective scalar variables. The scalar values are propagated to a call site and directly accessible by the calling procedure body. As such, the scalar variables are global in scope.

This invention relates to the programing languages that use pointers for passing reference parameters, and particularly the calling conventions of that language.
In this specification a reference to the xe2x80x9cC programing languagexe2x80x9d or simply xe2x80x9cCxe2x80x9d is to be understood as a general reference to all C programing language versions, including ANSI C, C+ and C++. C is one such programing language that uses pointers for passing reference parameters.
It is further to be appreciated that the invention can be embodied at any desired programing level including source code, an intermediate language level, object code, or assembly-level code.
A problem common to many high-level programing languages is the constraints placed upon programing semantics, which can hinder the generation of optimum source code. This is true of the calling conventions of the C programing language. A fundamental reference to the C programing language is the text xe2x80x9cThe C Programing Languagexe2x80x9d, by Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie, published by Prentice-Hall, second edition, 1998 (ISBN 0-13-110362-8). In C, there is a requirement that if any procedure makes changes to a formal parameter it should be passed as a reference parameter for this change to be visible outside the procedure.
This requires that the procedure takes-in pointer values as parameters, and at the call-site, the actual argument is the address-taken value of the variable that is needed to be modified. This introduces several unnecessary memory load and store operations.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of the generalised compilation process. In the first module 10, an input source code program undergoes lexical analysis, such that the program is broken up into a stream of lexical tokens that are recognised by the programing language. The passing module 12 then takes these tokens and performs a syntax analysis of the program, catches any syntax errors, and translates the program to an intermediate language. The semantic analysis module 14 principally performs a type-checking analysis. In the next module 16, various compiler optimizations are performed. The subsequent processing modules 18-22 perform register allocation and code generation (i.e. translation to assembly-level language), and production of the object code.
FIG. 2 is a schematic flow diagram demonstrating how parameters are passed in such conventional compilers. The call site is that passing the reference parameter, while the procedure body is that element using or defining the reference parameter. At the call-site, in step 30, the actual argument value is placed into memory. In step 32, the address of this location is placed in the parameter register. On the procedure body side, the memory address value for the argument value is fetched from the parameter register, in block 34. Finally, in step 36, the argument value is read from/assigned to the memory location.
Consider now the specific example of swapping two variables, A and B, represented by the following source code:
The call-site that wants to swap the two variables A and B would call the foregoing procedure as:
swap(anda, andb);
A sample of the assembly-level code generated by the procedure is follows:
1 r0, 0 (r4)
1 r5, 0 (r3)
st r0, 0 (r3)
st r5, 0 (r4)
. . .
Here, the registers r3 and r4 store the addresses of the locations containing the values to be swapped. These memory locations are dereferenced, and the values stored in registers r5 and r0 respectively, then these values are written back into the swapped locations. The sequence of the code at the call-site contains instructions for storing the values of a and b to memory and storing the values of the corresponding memory locations into registers r3 and r4. Since the addresses of these variables have been taken, they should be located in proper memory locations. However in this particular case, the call-site takes the address of these variables, not because this address-value is to be used, but because this is the only mechanism to allow the procedure swap to interchange two values and have them visible outside the procedure.
If the registers r3 and r4 are permitted to hold the actual values to be swapped, dereference of the address contained in these registers would not be required; moreover, storing of the values of the variables a and b into memory locations and then storing those locations into registers would not be required. Rather, it would simply be a matter of loading the values a and b into registers r3 and r4, calling the function swap, and picking up the swapped values from registers r4 and r3 respectively.
The present invention is directed to achieving this result.
The gist of the invention is the replacement of reference parameters by scalar variables that are visible to the calling procedure, such as being global in scope.
The invention discloses a method for executing procedure calls, the method comprising the steps of:
replacing reference parameters for a calling procedure by variables visible to the calling procedure; and
directly accessing the argument value by the calling procedure body.
The invention further discloses a method for executing procedure calls, the method comprising the steps of:
identifying reference parameters for a calling procedure;
replacing said reference parameters with respective scalar variables;
propagating said scalar variables at a call site; and
directly accessing the scalar variables by the calling procedure body.
In a preferred form, the step of identifying reference parameters includes those parameters which are dereferences in a procedure body until the first calling definition. The propagating step can include backwards copying said scalar variables. The propagating step can further include forwards copying said scalar values. It is particularly preferred that the procedure calls relate to the C programing language.
The invention yet further discloses a method for optimizing a compiler for the C programing language, comprising the steps of:
translating a C language code body to an intermediate language code body;
for procedure calls, replacing reference parameters thereof by variables visible to a call procedure; and
translating said intermediate language code body, with said replacement variables, to an assembly language code body.
The invention yet further discloses a computer program product having a computer readable medium with a computer product recorded thereon for executing procedure calls. The computer program includes respective computer program code means for performing the steps defined above.
The replacing step can include identifying reference parameters for a calling procedure, replacing said reference parameters with respective scalar variables, and propagating said scalar variables at a call site. Not all reference parameters are replaced with respective scalar variables; non-replace parameters being propagated at a call-site.

Optimization of calls in programming languages using pointers for passing reference parameters

International Business Machines Corporation


A method of providing coupons for shopping includes storing a shopping list in an electronic device including items for purchase via a merchant, storing electronic representations of coupons in the electronic device and associating the electronic representations of coupons with items included in the shopping list.

It is known to provide coupons to encourage customers to shop at particular merchants and/or purchase particular products. For example, it is known that a manufacturer may place a coupon in a newspaper which is distributed to potential customers. The customer "cuts out" the coupon, sorts it and stores it with other coupons. Once in the store, the customer searches for the coupon in a stack of coupons of varying size and then searches for the product covered by the coupon. At the checkout stand the clerk examines the coupon's expiration date, verifies that the correct product was purchased, and subtracts the coupon's value from the purchase price. The clerk at some point in time performs a preliminary sort of the coupons by manufacturer and tallies them, The coupons are next sent to a clearing house that sorts and tallies all of the coupons for a store and sends them to the manufacturer for redemption. The manufacturer once again sorts and tallies the coupons before performing reimbursement.
The distribution and processing of coupons is also discussed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,192,854 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,739,514.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods, devices, and computer program products for customer operated coupon tracking


Fibers of improved quality can be produced with a reduced energy input in a device for producing synthetic materials which has a polymer melt feed leading to a rotating hollow reactor (1), the wall of which can be heated and which widens conically in order to guide a film melt towards an open side that can be closed with a lid (13), and which has ribs (4) for dividing the melt film into fibers that grow rigid after leaving the hollow reactor (1); and said improved quality can be achieved specifically in that the hollow reactor (1) is vertically oriented and exhibits a continuously curved inner wall and at the curved upper side exhibits an opening (3) for introducing the polymer melt, and in that a rotating distributor plate (12) is positioned opposite the opening (3), a slight distance from the inner wall of the hollow reactor (1).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for producing synthetic fiber materials, with a polymer melt feed leading to a rotating hollow reactor, the wall of which can be heated and which widens conically in order to guide a film melt toward an open side that can be closed with a lid, and with ribs for dividing the melt film into fibers that grow rigid after leaving the hollow reactor.
2. Background Description
Synthetic fibrous materials with a polymer melt feed can be employed in particular as absorption agents that filter mineral oil and oil products, as well as a series of heavy metal ions, out of water. The process for manufacturing thermoplastic fibrous material usually involves two stages, namely the production of the melt and the formation of the fibers.
In known facilities, the thermoplastic material is first melted and the melt is then extruded through spinnerets in order to form the fibers. An apparatus known from SU 1 236 020 A exhibits a loading bin, a current supply, and a melt lattice, with a distributor for heated inert gas. The distributors are triangular in shape and are positioned uniformly over the melt lattice forming the surface. In the space above the lattice the thermoplastic material being processed is uniformly heated to a temperature close to the melting point and can then pass without hindrance between the triangular distributors, in the process of which there is a treatment with nitrogen. Connection points for mounting heating elements are located in the housing for the melt lattice. The heated material is thus melted and in turn reaches a worm gear and is pressed through the nozzles and formed into a skein or a thread. With facilities of this kind fibers can only be produced from high-quality raw materials, and an even rhythm must be assured when the raw material reaches the melt lattice and as the melt reaches the worm for removal.
Facilities are known from GB 1 265 215 and SU 669 041 A in which the fibers are produced from a melt strip, so that the uniformity of the melt throughput is not critical. Here the strip from the melt is divided into individual skeins at the edge of the rotating reactor. The reactor is a horizontally positioned, two-part basin with a hollow space and a working surface. Located in the hollow space are gap-like openings. An energy carrier penetrates from the outer cavity of the reactor through the gap-like openings and divides the melt strip into individual skeins, works them from two sides, makes them thinner, and draws them into fibers. In order to obtain a high-quality fiber with this apparatus the energy carrier must have a higher temperature than the melting temperature of the polymer, as well as a adequate speed, so that the melt skeins can grow thinner and longer and thus be formed into a fiber. The opened reactor basin results in an energy loss and diminishes the effectiveness of the manufacturing process.
Known from RU 2 061 129, furthermore, is an apparatus for producing fiber materials which exhibits an extruder, a circular head that forms a thread and is provided with radially positioned channels that run together in the center, and air current generator which simultaneously draws out the melt skeins lengthwise and cools them until them have become fibers, and an element for cutting the finished fibers that exhibits an extension converging in the direction of the arriving thread. The fibers are deposited under the influence of a stiff air current, which is aimed in the direction of the extruded melt skeins. The radially positioned channels that run together in the middle also require the use of high-quality raw materials. Otherwise these channels become blocked with a mass of material that is not fully melted, and this makes further transport through the melt liens more difficult. The production of high-quality fibers from raw materials of lower quality is thus impossible.
Known from RU 2 117 719 is a device of the initially mentioned type, in which a horizontally positioned, rotating, cylindrical hollow reactor is externally heated. The open part of the reactor has the form of a cone which increases in size and is sealed with an immovable lid. The cone lid, together with the lateral surfaces of the widening cone, forms a gap of 15 to 20 mm. In addition, the inner surface of the reactor is provided with flat ribs that have a triangular form over their length; the ribs are oriented in the direction of the fiber formation and point toward the melt outlet.
The device is equipped with a circular high-pressure air supply. With this known device it is possible to process thermoplastic material consisting of industrial and domestic refuse while simultaneously increasing the output of high-quality fiber material. In actual practice, however, a problem arises in that with conventional heating elements and a cylindrically shaped reactor it is impossible to uniformly heat the reactor wall and floor.
Consequently the temperature of the reactor floor and of the terminal components are always lower than the reactor wall. The melt collects in the corners between the wall and the floor and thus forms a kind of standstill area, where the melt cools and tends to stick to the floor and the transitional areas between the floor and the walls. The formation of such standstill areas diminishes the productivity of the apparatus and has a negative effect on the fiber quality. Solid parts of the polymer can be drawn out of the standstill area and transported, together with the melt, to the terminal part of the reactor under the effect of centrifugal forces, to be released along with the fiber. The result is that the fibers are formed unevenly, with thickened areas or inclusions of solid, unmelted pieces that vary in shape; the quality of the fibers is thus diminished.
To clean the standstill area the facility must be regularly shut down and the adhering polymer mechanically removed. If the reactor walls were heated to a greater degree this would lead to considerable overheating of the melt film. Another disadvantage of the known device rests in the fact that more than 30% of the introduced heat energy is directly employed in heating the strip. The residual energy released by the heater is consumed in heating the reactor interior and the ambient air through the transfer of radiation energy.
Furthermore, due to the back radiation between the heater and the reactor in the central part of the reactor the heating elements and the melt strip become overheated. This may result in the heater being burned and to the partial or compete burnout of the polymer. When there is a uniform distribution of the heater capacity in the radial and axial direction, the main quantity of heat gathers in the upper portion of the heater. In this case, overheating and burning of the heating elements is also possible.
The present invention is based on the problem of improving a device of the initially indicated type for the manufacture of synthetic fiber materials and in such a way that the fiber quality is improved while the energy consumption is reduced.
The invention solves this problem in a device of the initially indicated type in that the hollow reactor is vertically oriented and exhibits a continuously curved inner wall and an opening on the curved upper side of the wall to introduce the polymer melt and in that a rotating distributor plate is positioned opposite the opening, at a slight distance from the inner wall.
The device according to the invention is designed for the production of a uniformly thin melt film which can move to the open side of the reactor due to the continuous curve of the inner wall, without the presence of standstill areas. The uniformly thin film is successfully formed in that the polymer melt is fed axially through an opening on the curved upper side of the hollow reactor and there reaches a rotating distributor plate, which is positioned at a slight distance from the inner wall of the hollow reactor. The fed molten polymer is thus collected and flung evenly onto the inner wall of the hollow reactor by centrifugal force. The distributor plate thus creates a seal for the supply opening while forming an annular gap with the inner wall of the hollow reactor, and the material collected on the distributor plate leaves this annular gap in evenly distributed form and reaches the inner wall of the hollow reactor. The speed of flow of the melt film on the inner wall of the hollow reactor is determined by the centrifugal force resulting from the rotation of the hollow reactor and additionally by the weight of the melt film, since the hollow reactor is vertically oriented and open below.
The distribution effect of the distributor plate is further improved in that the surface of the distributor plate rises toward the rim and will ideally form a curved surface that is concave in the direction of the opening. In a preferred embodiment a truncated cone is positioned on the distributor plate; the diameter of this truncated cone is smaller than the diameter of the distributor plate. Here the diameter of the upper side of the distributor plate can correspond in terms of magnitude to the diameter of the opening of the feed opening.
The continuously curved inner wall of the hollow reactor will ideally be parabolic in shape and will thus correspond to the surface that arises when a parabola is rotated around its own axis. Given the same height and the same diameter of the outlet opening, the continuous curve provides a considerably reduced inner volume compared to the known device, so that the quantity of heat energy required for heating the inner space is reduced. The invention design also minimizes the heat losses and the specific heat consumption.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention the inner wall forms a curved gap in conjunction with a container surrounding the hollow reactor, to which a steam feed and a steam outlet are attached. The continuous circulation of heated water vapor through the hollow space results in the uniform heating of the reactor walls. It is thus possible to produce the melt strip or the melt film at a uniform temperature and thickness, with the result that the fiber exhibits a uniform diameter over its entire length and has no unmelted parts. To this end it is expedient for the steam feed and the steam outlet to be positioned on the upper and lower rim of the inner wall. The steam can then be guided in the polymer melt""s direction of flow, as well as in the opposite direction.

Device for forming synthetic fiber materials


A method and system for detecting an end of a preamble without interpolation. The method includes receiving information from a zero phase start module, the information including a target phase constraint, a polyant, and a zero phase start phase. The method also includes selecting two samples per preamble cycle of short filter outputs and long filter outputs based on the target phase constraint, the polyant, and the zero phase start phase. The method further includes decimating the short filter outputs and the long filter outputs such that the selected two samples for each of the filters per preamble cycle are output upon decimation. The method additionally includes performing a sign comparison on the corresponding short filter and long filter outputs after decimation, wherein a sign mismatch of the corresponding short filter and long filter outputs indicates an end of a preamble.

Current read channels typically use interpolation-based preamble detection; however, interpolation-based preamble detection typically suffers from significant performance loss and inaccurate preamble detection at high noise conditions (low signal-to-noise ratios). Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a method and system configured to increase system performance, even at high noise conditions.

Detection of end of preamble in read channel without interpolation

Avago Technologies General IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


The present invention provides methods and systems for automatic categorization of documents. More specifically, the present invention provides for the automatic assignment of a set of pre-defined topics to a set of documents.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of automatic document categorization.
2. Prior Art
While the present invention has application to a wide range of different environments, the preferred embodiment is directed towards online newspapers. The principal product of online newspapers—current news reports and current news articles—has become a commodity. To many users, a given online news site's rendition of today's news events is essentially interchangeable with that of any other site. Thus the publishers' leverage is limited, regardless of the quality of reportage.
This situation suggests the existence of major opportunities for the development of unique and valuable news products. Based on extensive market research, the greatest opportunity appears to be in the development of content products that center on the news, rather than in products and services that are more peripheral to the main activity of news sites. This allows sites to focus on their core competencies.
News sites excel at publishing reports of current news, and with the rapid growth in the number of such sites, competition has become fierce. More important, news consumers have become overloaded—there's simply too much news out there to properly absorb. Equally important, consumers are inundated with constantly changing reports of news events, to the point that they are nearly desperate for some kind of context to help them better understand the significance of these events.
As a result, context is often at least as important as content. If a publisher can add a meaningful context to existing content, significant additional value can be generated for the content-plus-context combination. If the publisher were to provide a context in the form of a report that is related to, for example, abortion, and it's basic form is a list of abortion-related articles, the initial appearance of the list—consisting mainly or exclusively of article headlines and summary paragraphs—contributes to the value of the entire collection.
Of all the potential news-centric products, the ones with the most potential for competitive differentiation, all depend on the existence of a news classification or categorization capability.
However, actually achieving effective categorization in a news environment requires overcoming some major challenges. To begin with, (1) there are a large number of topics—generally several hundred or more—that are required to categorize typical news stories at a reasonable level of detail. Also, (2) many of these topics are fairly close in definition—for example, in Iraq, there are topics relating to the occupation, to the oil reserves, to doing business in Iraq, to media issues, etc.
In addition, (3) the categorization must be accomplished in near real time. Typically, well over 200 articles must be categorized each day, often within a period of an hour or less. Plus, (4) new topics are constantly being added, and existing topics being redefined—single topics expanded into multiple topics, multiple topics merged into a single topic, and even more frequently, the definition of topics are simply refined.
And, finally, it is essential that (5) error rates be kept very low. False positive errors (relating to what's called "precision") are particularly egregious, creating a lack of confidence in the overall news report. Similarly, though somewhat less detrimental, are false negative errors (relating to what's called "recall"); too many and users lose confidence that the system is covering all the news events of importance and relevance. Some types of errors are more noticeable in (very dynamic) daily news reports, while others become more prominent in news reports (more static in nature) covering a longer period of time.
The state of the art in the technology (which is generally referred to as automatic text categorization/classification) is advancing strongly, and the application of this technology to processing news articles has become a high priority. Manual classification is out of the question, given the large number of categories, the large number of new articles that must be classified, the near real-time nature of the required response, and the demand for classification consistency and accuracy.
Rule-Based Text Categorization
Initially, text categorization technology focused on rules-based approaches, which are similar to the query-based technology found in search engines. Employing queries provided by users, the search engine analyzes processed articles (usually stored in the form of indices), performing Boolean logic matches between the query's terms and the content terms in the processed articles.
Using rules-based technology in searching, a query is developed and manually refined until it retrieves precisely the documents desired. To effectively use conventional search technology for text categorization, a mechanism for storing and retrieving the query expressions (often referred to as "canned searches") is required.
Once the query has been tested and refined, the documents are typically correctly included or excluded. But over time, a growing number of documents inevitably become incorrectly classified; they are either incorrectly included (false positives) or excluded (false negatives). This means that the output of even the most refined query must be constantly monitored to detect when errors begin to become significant. This monitoring can require a very substantial and costly effort.
The improperly classified documents could be, as appropriate, included or excluded by adding an include/exclude reference modifier to the query. With this approach, however, the augmented query (with a growing set of exclude/include conditions appended to it) quickly becomes very unwieldy. Once that happens, the query must be reformulated and tested and refined all over again so that it once again accurately captures the proper set of documents. Unfortunately, every time a query is refined, the whole set of not only current, but also past documents it retrieves must be manually re-examined and verified.
Instance-Based Text Categorization
To address these serious limitations of rule-based classifiers, a more advanced form of automated text categorization technology emerged, which is often called an "instance-based" or "machine learning" approach. Using the instance-based approach, the classifier analyzes a collection of documents that have been previous determined to belong to specified categories, and it develops an internal representation of the collection for each category. In essence, the instance-based classifier distills the common thread of meaning shared by the collection.
The instance-based classifier then compares new articles or documents against this internal collective representation (the "instance") to determine whether the new article is related to this particular collection (characterized by a topic). A variety of different algorithms are employed, but they all have the common effect of computing how close the article being analyzed relates to the specific pre-classified collection. The most common learning-based algorithms include nearest-neighbor, neural nets, decision trees, naive Bayesian and structured vector machines.
A major problem with instance-based classifications, even though it is more advanced compared to rules-based technology, is that it presents a kind of Catch-22. Before categorization of new documents can proceed, there must exist and be available, a set of documents that have been previously (and accurately) categorized against each topic. The presumed existence of this "training corpus" begs the question of how it was arrived at in the first place.
Moreover, every time a new topic is introduced, a new training corpus must be obtained.
And, every time an existing topic is changed (a fairly frequent event in the news business) the previous training corpus must be discarded and replaced with a new collection of "training" documents that have been pre-classified to reflect that new topic definition.
The performance of instance-based automated text categorization strategies tend to drop significantly when the number of topics grows and, in particular, when the topic definitions become too similar (as is common with news-related topics). And finally, such technology tends to be computationally expensive and slow.
Text Categorization Performance
Regardless of the technical implementation used, classification system performance is most commonly defined by two parameters: precision and recall. Precision refers to the capability of the classification system to avoid mistakenly assigning a topic to a document unrelated to that topic. Recall refers to the capability of the classification system to identify all documents that are in fact related to the topic. Combined, precision and recall characterize the overall accuracy of the classification system.
Though a given classification system configuration will produce results with a specific precision and recall measurement, the levels of precision and recall can be adjusted by adjusting the classification system's configuration. Precision and recall are generally inversely related. As the classification system' configuration is changed, the precision/recall performance will typically follow a curve similar to that shown in FIG. 1. At the midpoint 102, precision and recall are approximately equal. At the lower point 103, recall has increased at the expense of precision, while at the upper point 101 precision has increased while recall has diminished.
Each classification system will produce its own precision-recall curve. Referring to FIG. 2, a simple rule-based system will have a performance curve 201 that is generally lower than the performance curve of an instance based system 202. If a more complex, structure-aware rule-based system, or an instance-based system with a larger training set, is employed, their performance curve 203 will generally show a greater performance.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention has as its aim to generate enhanced news content products based on the classification of news articles. Research conducted in support of this embodiment strongly suggests that for the enhanced news products to be acceptable to their intended market audiences, the classification of the news articles must be extraordinarily accurate. Specifically, this research suggests that the precision level should be greater than 99%; that is, less than one out of each hundred news articles is incorrectly classified. That same research suggests that the target recall should be greater than 97%.
Evaluation of existing automated document classification systems concluded that none of them were capable of achieving those levels of precision and recall, particularly on a sustained basis. As shown in FIG. 3, this gave rise to the present invention whose performance curve 304 not only exceeds the performance of prior art classification systems 301-303, but is sufficient to operate in the performance region 305 defined by the 99% precision and 97% recall goals.
Beyond precision and recall, there are other important factors that affect the practical usability of a classification system in different environments. These additional factors, which are explained in more detail below, include:                1. provision for multiple classifications;        2. provision for classification confidence levels;        3. preparation or training speed;        4. (for learning-based classifiers) sensitivity to training corpus errors;        5. ease in changing or adding a classification topic;        6. ease of detecting and correcting classification errors; and,        7. classification throughput.
Multiple classifications (1) refer to the capability of assigning more than one topic to a given document. This is an essential capability for many applications. However, when multiple classifications are supported, the classification system is well served by a method of assessing the significance of each of the multiple classifications. Such a method is the provision of confidence levels (2).
Confidence levels are relative indicators on the confidence that can be placed on the decisions of the classification system. Confidence levels typically from 0.0 to 1.0 inclusive, with 0.0 indicating the lowest confidence level and 1.0 representing the greatest confidence. Most classification systems do not provide confidence levels associated with the classification outcomes.
Preparation or training time (3) refers to the time necessary to generate the classifiers using either rules or training data.
When employing learning-based classification systems, a significant factor pertains to the amount of errors in the training data (4) used to generate the internal classifiers. Deficiencies in training data produce "noise" in the resultant classification decisions that can be sufficient to seriously detract from the performance otherwise achievable by the classification system.
In applications where the topic set upon which the classifications are made, changes frequently, the classification system's ability to adapt to such changes (5) can become critical. In the preferred embodiment, the flow of newly published news articles can overwhelm classification systems designed for more static environments.
Ease of identifying and correcting errors (6) refers to the capability for monitors, human or machine, to determine that a classification error has occurred, and the capability to make corrections that not only change the specific error, but that prevent it from occurring again in the future.
Classification throughput (7) refers to the capability of a classification system to process the volume of documents it is presented with.
Thus, for the reasons set forth above, the standard classification systems aren't well suited for many applications, such as classifying news articles. What is needed is a classification system that is far more accurate (with a precision about 99% and a recall above 97%), which can make multiple classification assignments for each document, and which can easily adapt to changes in topic definitions as well as adding new topics.

System and method for document categorization


The present relates to a small form-factor pluggable (SFP) unit. The SFP unit comprises a housing, a back panel, a front panel, and at least two connectors. The housing defines a top, a bottom and two sides, and is of standardized internal dimensions. The back panel is affixed to the housing. The front panel is affixed to a front portion of the housing and defines at least two apertures. The apertures are located in such a manner so as to define there between a non-horizontal line. The at least two connectors are adapted to be inserted in the apertures of the front panel.

Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP) units are standardized units adapted to be inserted within a chassis. The standard describes the size of the SFP unit, so as to ensure that all SFP fully-compliant and partially-compliant units may be inserted smoothly within one same chassis, i.e. inside cages, ganged cages, superposed cages and belly-to-belly cages.
SFP units may be used with various types of exterior connectors, such as coaxial connectors, optical connectors, and any other type of electrical connector.
As SFP units are small in dimensions, it is possible to limit the size of the chassis required to host several units simultaneously. And with the constant reduction of the electric, electronic and optic components used within the SFP units, the only limitation known today is due to the size of the connectors from which signals are received and transmitted there from.
However, such miniaturization of the SFP renders difficult the design of SFP units with one or more frontal connector. There is thus a need for an SFP unit capable of simultaneously housing multiple frontal connectors such as: coaxial connectors, DIN 1.0/2.3, SMA, SMB, SMC, HD BNC, mini BNC, etc, in a way that ganged cages are supported without restrictions.


A storage device is disclosed. A first storage media may store data. The first storage media may be of a first storage type, and may be organized into at least two blocks. A second storage media may also store data. The second storage media may be of a second storage type different from the first type, and may also be organized into at least two blocks. A controller may manage reading data from and writing data to the first storage media and the second storage media. Metadata storage may store device-based log data for errors in the storage device. The drive-based log data for errors may include a unified log data for the first storage media and the second storage media. An identification circuit may identify a suspect block in the at least two blocks in the first storage media and the second storage media, responsive to the unified log data. Parameters for the first storage media and the second storage media may be derived from a unified parameter in the unified log data in proportion to the number of write operations and the number of read operations to each storage media, relative to the number of write operations and the number of read operations of the storage device.

Solid State Drive (SSD) failures in the field may lead to a server shutdown and hence impair the performance and availability of the datacenter-scale applications. To prevent such unexpected failures, systems that employ SSDs usually use simple threshold-based models to avoid such failures by replacing the drives prior to their failure. Such protection mechanisms may either lead to high degrees of false alerts, or are not able to predict/avoid all the SSD failures. Further, in case of a physical error, the SSD is not able to recover from the error and hence avoid device failure.
A need remains to provide a fine-grained block failure prediction.

Multi-non-volatile memory solid state drive block-level failure prediction with unified device log


An on-axis, angled, rotator device is disclosed. The rotator device may include a container containing a slot for receiving a sample. An angle of the slot may be configured to be between 0 and 180 degrees relative to a perpendicular irradiation plane of a radiation device. The rotator device may include a cup positioned within an opening of the container. Additionally, the rotator device may include a driveshaft configured to transmit torque to cause the cup to be rotated when the cup is positioned within the opening. When the sample resides within the slot and the driveshaft transmits the torque to the cup, the cup may cause the sample to rotate about a center axis of the sample. The angle of the slot containing the sample and the rotation of the sample about the center axis may facilitate uniform radiation exposure to the sample when the radiation device emits radiation.

In the world of photon sterilization, uniformity and dose rate of radiation are critical in achieving successful sterilization. For the purposes of this disclosure, uniformity may be the ratio of the highest dose of radiation to the lowest dose of radiation emitted from a radiation device, such as an x-ray tube. Typically, increasing the highest dose comes at the expense of the lowest dose and vice versa. As a result, high dose and uniformity, such as when irradiating various types of samples, is often difficult to achieve. Notably, position in a radiation field is very important to the rate and uniformity of the exposure dose that a particular sample receives from a radiation device. Radiation devices, such as x-ray tubes, suffer from an anode heel effect and do not distribute radiation uniformly in their perpendicular plane. For example, in currently existing applications, samples may be positioned in front of the incident radiation window of the radiation device, and, as a result, the samples must be held far away from the origin of the radiation (e.g. the radiation device) to create an even distribution of photon dose across the exposed side of the sample. The sample's distance away from the origin of the radiation causes a drop in the amount of dose that the sample receives and increases the total exposure time a sample needs to accumulate large doses. As a result, this makes it very difficult for an x-ray tube or other radiation device to create highly uniform fields with a high dose rate and limits a radiation device's viability for applications, such as, but not limited to, virus deactivation and x-ray sterilization.
Another issue with existing technologies is that certain irradiation applications require temperature control, such as cooling. Notably, existing irradiation technologies are unable to compensate for uniformity, dosage rate, and temperature regulation. Additionally, currently existing technologies are not readily useable with different radiation devices, unless there are substantial modifications that are made to adapt the technology with each different radiation device. While current technologies provide for many benefits and efficiencies, these technologies can be substantially improved and enhanced. In particular, current technologies may be improved so as to provide increased uniformity of radiation exposure, increased radiation dosage rates, and increased temperature control. Such enhancements and improvements to methodologies and technologies may provide for increased efficiency, increased effectiveness, reduced costs, and increased ease-of-use.

On-axis, angled, rotator for x-ray irradiation


The handle structure includes a main body and a gripping device. The gripping device is disposed on the bottom of the main body, including an outer layer and a soft member layer. The outer layer covers the soft member layer, and the soft member layer is a soft rubber, thereby providing the better gripping stability, the comfortable feeling, and the gripping quality by the soft member layer and the outer cover layer, in order to reduce the uncomfortable feeling on hand.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a handle structure, and more specifically, to a handle structure which provides the better gripping stability, the comfortable feeling, and the gripping quality.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional handle for a suitcase, a vacuum cleaner, an electric fan or the like generally includes a solid portion with a leather outer sleeve. The users may not feel comfortable when the luggage device or the suitcase is heavy. Although the handle must be rigid, there is usually not a significant load-bearing requirement for handles used for suitcase. Additionally, unlike handles for luggage, the comfort of the user when operating the handle has not previously been a primary consideration for the design of luggage handles. In this regard, users sometime experience an unpleasant sensation about slipping off the hand, resulting in the pressure reaction on the hand.
In view of this, the present invention provides a handle structure to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages.


A thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) is disclosed which is flame retardant and essentially halogen-free. An embodiment also includes expandable graphite filler to further provide fire protection.

The world of polymers has progressed rapidly to transform material science from wood and metals of the 19th Century to the use of thermoset polymers of the mid-20th Century to the use of thermoplastic polymers of later 20th Century.
Thermoplastic elastomers combine the benefits of elastomeric properties of thermoset polymers, such as vulcanized rubber, with the processing properties of thermoplastic polymers.
For safety reasons in some uses, thermoplastic elastomers should be flame retardant. There is customer demand for essentially non-halogen flame retardant thermoplastic elastomers.

Flame retardant thermoplastic elastomers


An optical metapolarizer device polarizes light while mitigating the absorptive or reflective losses associated with traditional polarizers. The metapolarizer device transmits light of one polarity and rotates the other polarity so that it is closer to the transmitted polarity. As a result, although the light exiting the metapolarizer device is highly polarized, the total transmissivity of the device can be well in excess of 50%, and can approach 100% in the theoretical limit.

1. Field of Technology
This technology relates to the polarization of light with less attenuation than normally associated with absorptive or reflective polarizers.
2. Description of the Related Art
The vast majority of liquid crystal devices in use around the world use absorptive polarizers, which attenuate slightly more than 50% of the light passing through them by absorption. Typically these are Polaroid films made, for example, from iodine-impregnated polymers stretched along one axis.
Wire-grid polarizers (WGPs) that reflect infrared light, rather than absorbing it, have been described since the 1960s, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,638 to Sriram, et al. Such a device consists of a sub-wavelength scale array of closely spaced, parallel metal wires on a transparent substrate, such that light of one linear polarity that strikes the wires is reflected while light of opposite linear polarity is transmitted through the substrate. With the advent of nanoscale lithography in the 1990s and 2000s it became possible to produce broadband wire-grid polarizers that can polarize and reflect all the way up into visible and ultraviolet wavelengths for use with high-end optics, projective LCD video displays, and laser technology, as described for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,122,103 and 6,288,840 to Perkins, et al.
More recently, low-cost reflective polarizer films combining the properties of a layered-polymer distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) with a stretched-polymer polarizer have been introduced. Such reflective polarizers are used in video displays to enhance brightness by recapturing, rather than absorbing, the attenuated light, as described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 7,038,745 to Weber, et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,099,758 to Verrall, et al. Such reflective polarizers can exhibit specular reflection, as in a mirror, or diffuse reflection, as in a coating of white paint, or a combination of the two.
In addition, reflective polarizers can be made from certain types of liquid crystals. Whereas wire-grid polarizers and stretched polymer polarizers are linearly polarizing, these liquid crystal polarizers (LCPs) are generally circularly polarizing. Thus, light of one circular polarization (i.e., right-handed or left-handed) is transmitted and light of the opposite circular polarization is absorbed or reflected.
Reflective polarizers of various types are a component of liquid-crystal-based video displays and thermoreflective optical filters. Typically these are linear rather than circular polarizers, as high contrast ratio and broad viewing angles may be more difficult to achieve using circular polarizers.
In addition, there are numerous examples of polarity-rotating materials, also known as "retarders" or "waveblocks" or "waveplates". In some cases these are structured devices such as twisted nematic liquid crystal cells or liquid crystal polymers, but more frequently they are simply birefringent materials, i.e., materials which exhibit a direction-dependent index of refraction. Such devices typically act across a range of wavelengths and, within that range, they operate equally on all polarities of light and act reversibly such that a photon passing through in one direction may be rotated clockwise whereas a photon passing through in the opposite direction may be rotated counterclockwise. In contrast, a "Faraday rotator" rotates the polarization of light in a non-reversible way. In other words, a photon passing through the Faraday rotator in one direction and then reflected back in the other direction experiences double rotation rather than net-zero rotation. However, even very efficient Faraday rotator materials such as terbium gallium garnet require strong magnetic fields and long optical paths in order to achieve meaningful rotation, making them impractical for most applications.
There are other examples of "metamaterials" or nanostructured materials incorporating sub-wavelength features that interfere with light waves in such a way that the metamaterial has an "effective permittivity" ∈eff, "effective permeability" μeff, and "effective index of refraction" neff, and thus a "wave impedance"
      Z    =                            ɛ          eff                          μ          eff                      ,that are quite distinct from those of the substances from which the metamaterial is made. Depending on the structure of the device (particularly features with inductive and capacitive properties), these parameters can even be simultaneously negative—something that does not occur in natural materials. Thus, using metamaterials it is possible to construct devices that "violate" the "laws" of classical optics, including achieving resolutions significantly higher than classical diffraction limits and extending near-field features into the far field. However, metamaterials are generally transmissive only when ∈eff, and μeff have the same sign, i.e., "double positive" (alternatively "right-handed" or "positive index") and "double negative" (alternatively "left-handed" or "negative index") materials are transmissive to some degree, whereas "single positive" materials are opaque. One example of a device with such a metamaterial is a planar microwave antenna with negative ∈ and μ based on a meander line or space-filling curve. See, Barbagallo, S., et al., "Synthesis of novel metamaterials," Chapter 2 (VDM Verlag 2008).
Other exemplary metamaterials are based on a transmission line topography periodically loaded with series capacitors and shunt inductors. See, Iyer, "Negative refraction metamaterials," Chapter 1, (Wiley 2005). This structure makes it possible to control ∈eff, μeff, and neff for positive, negative, or mixed values by adjusting the values of the capacitance and inductance of each periodic unit cell within the transmission line, and to adjust the wavelength range over which the device operates by adjusting the size of the unit cells. A "plasmonic nanowire composite metamaterials" is described that consistsdx of metallic nanowire segments distributed on or within a dielectric substrate, either randomly or periodically and either singly or in pairs See, "Negative refraction metamaterials," Chapter 8, Sarychev et al. (Wiley 2005). Depending on the length, diameter, concentration, and spacing of the wire segments, the ∈eff, μeff, and neff of the composite material can, for a given range of wavelengths, be adjusted to positive, negative, or mixed values.
Various planar, diagonally-symmetric "unit cells" or "particles" or "artificial atoms" that consist of planar arrangements of metal wire on a transparent dielectric substrate which, when arranged in regular 2-dimensional arrays, yield metamaterials with various properties including negative permittivity over certain ranges of wavelengths. See, Padilla, W. J., et al., "Electrically resonant terahertz metamaterials: Theoretical and experimental investigations" Physical Review B 75, 041102(R) (2007). These properties are dependent primarily on the size and spacing of the unit cells and secondarily on the shape of the unit cells. In general, the sizes of these unit cells fall between one-sixth and one-twentieth of the wavelengths they are intended to operate on.
Mismatched values of ∈eff and μeff, (i.e., where one parameter is close to that of free space while the other has a large positive or negative value) can rotate the polarity of a photon by shifting its electric and magnetic phases by different amounts. Thus, a metamaterial of this type can serve as a kind of waveblock, i.e., a device that rotates the polarity of photons within a particular wavelength range across a particular distance by a particular amount. These effects are frequency dependent, and various frequency responses can be arranged through design.
In addition, metamaterials can be designed for which the effective permittivity, permeability, and refractive index (and thus the overall optical properties) are different depending on the polarity of the incident light. One example of such a design is a chiral, planar structure consisting of "fish scale" patterns of aluminum nanowire on a transparent substrate. See, Fedotov, V. A., et al., "Asymmetric propagation of electromagnetic waves through a planar chiral structure," Physical Review Letters 97, 167401, (17 Oct. 2006). In essence, the structure is a type of wire grid polarizer, although it reflects and transmits circularly polarized light rather than linearly polarized light. Because its chiral nature is different depending on which surface of the polarizer is being observed, for light of mixed, random polarity (e.g., sunlight), this structure has an additional property of being asymmetrically transmissive, i.e., it is more transmissive to light passing through it in one direction than in the other.
Another example is a bi-layered metamaterial that is capable of altering (rotating) the azimuth of circularly polarized light in a manner comparable to a retarder or waveplate although in a much thinner structure. See, Rogacheva, A. V., et al., "Giant gyrotropy due to electromagnetic-field coupling in a bilayered chiral sStructure," Physical Review Letters 97, 177401 (27 Oct. 2006). A further example is a planar, chiral metamaterial that is capable of rotating the azimuth of circularly polarized light, in such a way that the degree of rotation depends on the input azimuth. See, Zhang, W., "Giant optical activity in dielectric planar metamaterials with two-dimensional chirality," Journal of Optics A: Pure and Applied optics, 8, pp. 878-90 (2006). Practical applications are not discussed for either device. Both are chiral and therefore non-axisymmetric, which limits their manufacturability. In addition, because they are chiral these structures act on circularly rather than linearly polarized light, which limits their potential utility in devices such as video displays and optical limiters for the reasons described above, i.e., because high contrast ratio and broad viewing angle are more difficult to achieve using circularly polarized light.
The information included in this Background section of the specification, including any references cited herein and any description or discussion thereof, is included for technical reference purposes only and is not to be regarded as subject matter by which the scope of the invention is to be bound.


A switch assembly is disclosed having a switch with an actuator moveable from an armed position to a disarmed position. A housing is attached to the switch and contains a cam that holds the switch actuator in the armed position. A trigger makes contact with the cam causing it to rotate within the housing and allowing the actuator to extend to move to a disarmed position. In some variants the cam can be shaped to prevent manual rotation against the bias force of the actuator in the disarmed position. The switch assembly can be positioned on an aircraft landing gear to detect an over-steer occurrence where the landing gear may become damaged. The state of the switch can be visibly or audibly indicated by an indicator in the aircraft cockpit or other location visible/audible to the ground operators.

Switches and switch assemblies are known and are generally used to indicate the difference in, or move between, two states. Switches may be used to indicate positional changes, such as the change in a position of an object being monitored.
There are several situations in which switches may be used in aircraft, and in particular in aircraft landing gear. The landing gear in aircraft, and in particular any changes in state of the landing gear, are monitored very careful to ensure the safety of the aircraft when in operation. Indicating means may be used to show a change in position of two components of the aircraft landing gear relative to each other. Indicating means may also be used to show a change in state of a specific component relative to its normal operational state.
Aircraft are often towed or pushed to position the aircraft when at or near the gate, and also to move aircraft around the airport. An important consideration when towing or pushing an aircraft involves preventing the aircraft steering angle from moving beyond its mechanical limits. This is referred to as over-steer. Damage may occur when a tow vehicle attempts to steer an aircraft nose landing gear beyond its mechanical limits of travel and possibly impart a high load over the strength and of the landing gear and air frame. This loading can result in deformation, fatigue, and ultimately, failure of the parts under stress. It is useful to have an indication of whether an over-steer event has occurred as the landing gear may have become damaged.
Tow vehicles can include warning systems to alert ground operators of potential over-steer, and ground support tow bars can have built-in fuses. In addition, the nose landing gear can have a fuseable tow fitting or disconnecting torque links to prevent towing torque transferring to the landing gear and airframe. These systems have problems because they rely on proper operation by the ground operations personnel and communicating faults or warnings to the aircraft operator (e.g. the pilot).
In order to ascertain when an over-steer event has occurred, a monitoring system or switch may be used that can indicate when such an event has occurred. Proximity sensors coupled to an electronic control box have been used in the past to indicate the occurrence of an over-steer event. Proximity sensors are generally more expensive than mechanical switches and also require a continuous power source, such as a battery, to operate the sensors when the aircraft is not powered. These proximity sensor can also be expensive to install, causes increased weight, due to sensors, targets and associated electronics, and creates additional points of failure that affect costs associated with maintenance and reliability. Proximity sensor systems typically require 2 or more proximity sensors, thus adding to the weight and complexity of the system.
Some large commercial aircraft use a proximity sensor based over-steer detection system. The system uses multiple proximity sensors that are mounted at the limits and detect targets that travel near the proximity sensor to indicate over-steer. Disadvantages of these systems include the inability to detect over-steer events if the system is not powered on and the requirement of a black box for conditioning and processing the proximity sensors signals that adds additional costs and must be integrated with the aircraft.
Another problem with switches that monitor for over-steer events is that tow operators may be able to reset the switch manually. If a tow operator has caused an over-steer event, the tow operator may be inclined to reset the switch so that the over-steer will not be detected to avoid being reprimanded or punished. Also, existing mechanical switches may not be practical in a high vibration landing gear environment.

Switch assembly and over-steer detection system


A mechanical method for machining flexible panels, in particular panels with a complex shape, in which the panel to be machined is held fixed on its periphery on a rigid support, and a machining tool is applied against one of the faces of the panel and is controlled to perform the desired machining. The method includes at least counterbalancing the machining force exerted by the tool on the panel by applying a force approximately opposing the tool through an appropriate means of support on a face of the panel opposite the face where the tool is applied, with the means of support being independent of the tool.

An object of the invention is a machining method which is particularly applicable to panels of the metal type, with or without stiffeners, or composites, or of the "sandwich" type, on which machining operations involving their thickness are to be performed, such as surfacing or the formation of recesses or cells, or trimming or drilling operations.
More particularly, the panels are skin panels having a double curvature, mainly located on an aircraft's nose cone. These panels, generally made of a light alloy, range from 1 to 12 mm thick depending on the aircraft and the constituent materials of the panel (aluminum alloy, titanium alloy, and metallic or organic resin based composite).
If the material allows, the production of these panels requires shaping by drawing on a necessarily convex mold, while panels of composite material are shaped by draping-gluing-infusion and compaction methods.
Because of its productivity and its flexibility, shaping by drawing is mainly employed.
This type of shaping is performed by means of a combination of traction on the panel and "envelopment" of the convex mold so that the geometrically known shape of the panel (that which was in contact with the drawing mold) is the internal (concave) surface. The drawing process generates a plastic deformation on the entirety of the panel's thickness and consequently leads to a thinning of the section through necking. Due to the nondevelopable nature of the shape, this "loss of thickness" is not uniform over the panel's entire surface.
The known methods for mechanical machining for thickness machining operations on such panels having a double curvature such as those mentioned above consist of placing and holding them in position either on rigid tools or on beds of suction cups. In both cases, this hyperstatic positioning does not make it possible to support the panels at all points. This imperfect positioning has two consequences on the quality and the performance of mechanical machining:                It is impossible to support high cutting stresses, which reduces productivity.        No physical reference to the points which are not in contact with the positioning element is available and it is consequently impossible to obtain precise dimensions, in particular the thickness, without having recourse to complex measurement systems.
Other problems are encountered in machining, in addition to the problem of referencing the panel.
It is, in particular, possible to produce recesses while milling complex concave surfaces by sweeping the surface, mainly with cutters having spherical ends or toroidal cutters. The quality constraints define a maximum roughness as well as a maximum allowable jog between sweeping passes. In the case of parts affected by fatigue, as is the case with aeronautical pans, these criteria are strict and the order of magnitude of these requirements is 1.6 μm in Ra for roughness and 0.04 mm for the jog tolerance.
Obtaining such criteria with a cutter having a spherical end implies the use of closer spaced sweeping cuts and therefore a reduced productivity. In addition, since the center part of the cutters having pherical ends are moved at a cutting speed of zero, the removal of material occurs there under very poor conditions, which degrades the resulting surface quality.
To resolve this disadvantage, it suffices to introduce a de-chucking, typically between 5 and 20°, so that the center of the tool is no longer in contact with the machined surface. However, this practice poses problems with local management of tool accessibility and collisions, perpendicular to the surface, problems which burden the preparation phase of the parts.
Toroidal cutters make it possible to use bigger sweeping cuts with equivalent jogs, i.e. a sweeping cut equal to the diameter of the cutter minus the diameter of the torus makes it possible, in theory, to obtain a zero jog, which provides a double advantage:                higher productivity (directly proportional to the sweeping cut size), and        the center of the tool is not involved, resulting in a better surface quality and an increased lifespan of the tool.
On the other hand, the use of a toroidal tool poses a problem in following the trajectory and of geometrical "over-cutting" which is also called "gouging" or "heeling." This over-cutting varies depending on the radius of the trajectory, and its variability thus ends up being added to the dispersions of various origins relating to the thickness tolerance at the bottom of a hole. To solve this problem, it is also possible to de-chuck the tool, but the trajectory corrections are complex in the case of a toroidal tool.

Process and mechanical device for machining flexible panels, in particular with a complex shape


Electrolytes for use in electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs; often referred as supercapacitors or ultracapacitors) are disclosed. In one example, the electrolyte comprises viologen in both the anolyte and the catholyte (with bromide). In another example, the electrolyte comprises viologen (in the anolyte) and tetraalkylammonium with bromide (in the catholyte), wherein the tetraalkylammonium is used to achieve solid complexation of bromine in the activated carbon of the cathode. In a third example, a zinc bromine/tetraalkylammonium supercapacitor/battery hybrid is disclosed. Also disclosed is a corrosion resistant bipolar pouch cell that can be used with the electrolyte embodiments described herein.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to energy storage devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
(Note: This application references a number of different references as indicated throughout the specification by one or more reference numbers in superscripts, e.g., x. A list of these different references ordered according to these reference numbers can be found below in the section entitled "References." Each of these references is incorporated by reference herein.)
Electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs), interchangeably referred to as supercapacitors or ultracapacitors, are capable of storing and discharging energy quickly due to a physical ion adsorption/desorption mechanism in the Helmholtz layer.1,2 Compared to EDLCs using non-aqueous electrolytes, EDLCs with nonflammable aqueous electrolytes are in principle safer, and provide higher power density due to their having a lower ionic resistance.1,3-5 However, the energy density of aqueous EDLCs is limited by the narrow electrochemical potential window of water compared to counterparts with organic electrolytes or ionic liquids.6-8 The grand challenge for aqueous EDLCs is to increase specific energy without compromising specific power and cycling stability. A number of hybrid and pseudocapacitive systems have been developed that utilize different charge storage mechanisms in addition to, and/or in place of, electric double-layer capacitance to increase energy density.9-15
One such approach to enhance the energy density is to replace the inert electrolytes of conventional EDLCs with redox-active electrolytes that enable faradaic charge storage.16-23 High-energy redox electrochemical capacitors (ECs) must concurrently utilize a catholyte and an anolyte (dual-redox enhanced electrochemical capacitors; dual-redox ECs) to maximize faradaic energy storage.19,23,25,26,36 Compared with the construction of nanostructured solid-state redox-active electrode materials, liquid-state redox-active electrolytes are easier to prepare and be scaled up, and should be compatible with the carbon electrodes that are currently mass-produced for commercial EDLCs.
In order to design redox-active electrolyte systems, redox couples should exhibit fast and reversible electron transfer and not engage in irreversible side reactions and/or degradation over repeated charge/discharge cycles. Additionally, the cross-diffusion of soluble redox couples that causes low Coulombic efficiency and fast self-discharge must be eliminated. The use of ion-selective membrane separators to mitigate self-discharge has been reported,24 but such membranes are costly, and primarily for that reason are not practical for commercial applications. Electrostatic attraction has also been proposed as a mechanism to retain redox couples at the surface of oppositely charged electrodes, but was shown to have only a minor effect on the suppression of self-discharge rates.25,26
Halogens (I− and Br−) are promising aqueous redox-active species as they are inexpensive, electrochemically reversible redox couples with high solubility.22,25,27-31 In comparison to iodide, bromide has a higher standard reduction potential (0.81 V vs SCE; EI3−/I−o=0.3 V) that further increases energy density. However, this advantage is offset by the corrosive and volatile nature of bromine generated at the positive electrode. Furthermore, soluble Br3− diffuses to the negative electrode, which causes low Coulombic efficiency and fast self-discharge, as well as possible irreversible oxidation or bromination of the anode or anolyte.32,33 In aqueous bromine flow batteries, asymmetric quaternary ammonium salts such as methyl ethyl pyrrolidinium bromide (MEPBr; 1-ethyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bromide) or methyl ethyl morpholinium bromide (MEMBr; 4-ethyl-4-methylmorpholinium bromide) are commonly used to complex Br2/Br3− as an oily-liquid phase.34,35 This complexation reduces the reactivity and vapor pressure of bromine while maintaining a mobile, liquid state for flow-system compatibility. However, this approach does not address the cross-diffusion and poor Coulombic efficiency.32 Standard bromine flow batteries avoid these limitations by storing the charged liquid complex in a separate tank away from the cell stack, but this practice is not feasible for non-flow systems, such as in redox-enhanced electrochemical capacitors (redox ECs). Alternatively, ion-exchange membrane separators can be used, but these materials are expensive and require addressing significant sealing challenges to be effective in a practical device. In short, a fundamental need is to store Br3− in non-flow energy storage systems in a manner that (1) reduces the unwanted chemical reactivity and vapor pressure of bromine but at the same time (2) suppresses cross-diffusion and self-discharge by (3) a simple and affordable mechanism. Embodiments of the present invention satisfy this need.

Stable bromine charge storage in porous carbon electrodes using tetraalkylammonium bromides for reversible solid complexation

The Regents of the University of California


Inventive subject matter disclosed herein includes a perfume that includes water; alcohol; oil in a concentration of about 2 to 20% by weight; a scent imparting constituent; and a stabilizing agent in a concentration effective for imparting a capacity to make a misting spray pattern when the perfume is sprayed through a sprayer.

Human beings have been applying fragrances to themselves for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians, believed to be among the first users, applied perfumed oil and incense to themselves. Some of the earliest recorded chemists made perfume and used the process of distillation to extract scents from natural materials such as flowers. Other methods of scent extraction have included maceration and solvent extraction. Over the course of human history, scents have mirrored the cultures that created them. One gruesome example was a fragrance called, "Parfum a la Guillotine," created during the French Revolution. The trend of fragrance reflecting the larger culture continues to the present day.


A split door frame assembly, including: a hinge jamb, a strike jamb and a header that connects the hinge jamb to the strike jamb. The hinge jamb, the strike jamb and the header each formed by a stop element and a trim element. The stop element is substantially L-shaped with a short leg and a long leg. The long leg has a first member, a second member, a first wall, a second wall, and a joining wall extending between the ends of the first and second walls. The joining wall is parallel to the first and second members. The second wall has a plurality of apertures spaced along its length. The trim element is an L-shaped member wherein a first leg of the L-shape forms an outer trim flange and a second leg of the L-shape extends 90° from the trim flange and has projections at its free end which are engagable in the apertures in the second wall.

The present invention relates to door frames, and particularly to metal door frames traditionally used in the construction of office buildings.
Conventionally, metal door frames are pre-manufactured and shipped to a building site fully assembled. The door frame is then placed in a rough opening in the wall and the wall must be built up to the door frame. Since the metal door frame includes the trim, which is intended to overlap the wall surface on both sides of the wall in which the frame is mounted, it is difficult to obtain a clean appearance of the wall around the door frame since the wall must be built up to fit the frame.
Various types of split door frames are known in the art and reference is made to the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,758; U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,193; U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,325; U.S. Pat. No. 3,420,003; U.S. Pat. No. 2,853,161; U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,879; U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,204; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,906,671. All of these patents deal with multiple part door frames which allow adjustment of the frame to the width of the wall forming the opening. All of these designs are of varying degrees of complexity which, in applicant's opinion, is the reason why none of them have found commercial success. Furthermore, most of these designs require numerous assembly steps which are necessary for mounting the frame to the wall and adjusting the width of the frame. U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,758 discloses an expandable split door frame that has a first part with an outer flange, a biasing member and a lipped cover that forms a channel. The second member has a lipped inner segment that is slidably arranged in the channel. The second member also has an outer flange for mounting against the wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,193 discloses a split jam for doors and windows, wherein the jam has a support frame and a trim frame. The support frame is attached to the rough opening of the door frame and then the trim frame is attached to the support frame, for example, by screws.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,325 discloses a two-piece adjustable metal door frame which utilizes a fairly complex arrangement of screws, slots and brackets which allows the door frame's width to be adjusted.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,420,003 discloses an adjustable door frame made up of three parts which require relatively precisely produced components, such as the teeth, that serve to hold the trim part in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,853,161 discloses a door frame that has an adjustable ratchet arrangement that connects the parts of the frame together.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,879 teaches a door frame assembly that utilizes a clip to mount the trim part of the frame to the support part of the frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,204 teaches a door jam assembly having two parts that slide relative to one another wherein both parts of the frame must be separately fixed to the wall structure.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,906,671 teaches an adjustable door frame with a support part, a trim part that slides behind the door stop of the support part so as to be connected thereto via screws, and a stop member that snaps over the clip in which the screw heads are located.
As previously mentioned, all these designs require a number of assembly steps for mounting the door frame in the wall opening.


One aspect of the disclosure relates to an interposer. The interposer may include: a first dielectric layer extending from a substrate in a direction away from a front side of the substrate; a back-end-of-the-line (BEOL) region extending from the substrate in a direction away from the back side of the substrate; a deep trench (DT) capacitor within the substrate and extending toward a back side of the substrate, the DT capacitor having a first portion within the substrate and a second portion within the first dielectric layer; and a through silicon via (TSV) adjacent to the DT capacitor and extending through the first dielectric layer, the substrate, and the BEOL region.

Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to integrated circuit structures, and more particularly, to an integrated circuit structure, such as an interposer, having a deep trench (DT) capacitor and through-silicon via (TSV) and method of forming the same.
Related Art
Interposers are thinned silicon die which are interposed between active or logic silicon and a packaging substrate. Interposers enable heterogeneous integration of die from various technology nodes to create an optimal cost-performance solution. Interposers with deep trench (DT) capacitors are capable of delivering powerful reductions in mid-frequency noise, thus, further enhancing system performance. Interposers may include through-silicon vias (TSVs) for joining chips (or dies) by vertically interconnecting through the interposer and functioning as components of an integrated circuit.
Stacking chips in comparison to wire bonding, reduces inductive losses which increases speed of data exchange. Since TSVs have shorter interconnects between the dies, there is a reduced power consumption caused by the conventional long horizontal wiring. As a result, TSVs allow much higher input/output density than wire bonding, which consumes much more space.
In this manner, TSVs allow multiple integrated circuit chips to be stacked together, allowing greater amounts of information to be passed between the chips. For example, integrated circuit chips and memory devices, which typically reside side-by-side on a silicon wafer, can be stacked on top of one another with the advent of the TSVs. Stacking the integrated circuit chips with the memory devices dramatically reduces the size of the overall chip package and boost speeds at which data flows among the functions on the chip. Signal transmission through TSVs in conventional silicon interposers are not as efficient as with other materials, such as glass. However, DT capacitors cannot be fabricated in as fine dimensions in glass as they can be with silicon.

Integrated circuit structure having deep trench capacitor and through-silicon via and method of forming same


An electric lamp is packed in a rectangular sleeve, in which a holder extends from a first edge of the sleeve up to an opposing third edge of the sleeve. The holder has interconnected partitions provided with windows between which the lamp is enclosed. The partitions have tags which extend from the third edge of the sleeve to a respective nearby edge.

The invention relates to a carton for electric lamps and to an electric lamp packed in a carton. More particularly, the invention relates to packaging of the type having a rectangular sleeve with an insertable holder which extends between diagonal edges of the sleeve.
GB 952 295 shows a carton consisting of a rectangular sleeve having longitudinal edges or folds, and a holder insertable in the sleeve, which holder extends from a first edge up to an opposing third edge of the sleeve. The holder has a first and a second partition, which partitions are provided with windows and are interconnected along the first sleeve edge. The carton is suitable to hold an electric lamp between the first and the second partition of the holder.
The windows in the partitions for the known lamp are larger than the packed lamp. The edges of the windows have tags which follow the shape of the lamp, so that the partitions hold the lamp.
Drop tests have shown that the known packing or carton offers insufficient protection for the lamp since the holder loses its grip on the lamp. Lamp fractures frequently occur.
GB 258 925 also discloses a carton for an electric lamp in which a holder extends in a rectangular sleeve from a first to a third edge of the sleeve. The holder has two rectangular partitions, each provided with a window, which partitions are interconnected along a folding line extending transversely to the edges of the sleeve. The holder has short tags which bear on a wall of the sleeve.
The holder has a double lid, a portion of which is recessed in the sleeve and has an opening for accommodating the lamp cap of the lamp. Without this double lid the holder, which retains the lamp asymmetrically owing to the folding line between the two partitions, would lose its grip on the lamp in the case of a drop or an impact.
In addition, the holder is badly fixed in the sleeve. The width of the holder is greatest at the area of the folding line and at most equal to the diagonal of the sleeve bottom. When enclosing an electric lamp, the partitions are made convex, so that the holder becomes narrower and no longer extends fully from a first to a third edge, while it also develops a lateral opening. The packing is not suitable for packing tubular lamps having an electric cable at either end.


Provided herein are compositions and methods for administering bacterial strains to reduce GvHD and improve survival after allogeneic BMT.

Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is a medical complication following the receipt of transplanted tissue from a genetically different person. GvHD is commonly associated with stem cell transplant (bone marrow transplant), but the term also applies to other forms of tissue graft. Immune cells (white blood cells) in the donated tissue (the graft) recognize the recipient (the host) as foreign (non-self). The transplanted immune cells then attack the host's body cells.
Intravenously administered glucocorticoids, such as prednisone, are the standard of care in GvHD. However, the use of these glucocorticoids, an immune suppressant, has many side effects and new treatment methods for GvHD are needed therefore.

Compositions and methods for treating and preventing graft versus host disease

The Regents of the University of Michigan


A clutch disc includes an input part, an output part, and a vibration damper. The vibration damper includes a first part with a first flange area, a second part with a second flange area, a spring device, and first and second intermediate parts. The intermediate parts are coupled to the first flange area and the second flange area by respective slide devices such that movement of the intermediate parts relative one another is inhibited by the spring device. The flange areas are each in operative connection with the input part and the output part such that a load acting on the input part that changes from either rotational direction to an opposite rotational direction moves the first flange area relative to the second flange area in a single fixed direction of movement.

Generic clutch discs are already sufficiently well-known from the state of the art. DE 10 2015 211 899 A1, for example, discloses a torsional vibration damper which can be used in a clutch disc and consists of an input part, an output part and a spring device.
In the case of the embodiments known from the state of the art, however, it has turned out to be a disadvantage that the slide devices used here are often relatively large and expensive to manufacture. Especially when moving multi-dimensional slide tracks, i.e. slide tracks with several curve sections running at an angle to each other, in the respective carriage, the flange areas and/or the intermediate parts need to be sufficiently large. With a relatively large swivel angle of the intermediate parts/flange areas and a relatively large spring path of the spring device, this effect is even greater.
In addition, the forces that arise on the slide devices (if rollers are provided in the slide device, the forces acting on the implemented roller contacts) require a certain sufficiently large dimensioning of the components of the slide device (e.g. a certain diameter of the rollers) in order to achieve tolerable pressures. It is therefore also necessary to make openings of considerable size in the corresponding components (along the roller tracks). This is disadvantageous both for the dimensioning of the components and for the entire assembly with regard to the installation space.
In addition, it is known that the implemented embodiments, by implementing several curve sections running transversely to each other, often cause torque properties that are inconsistent. As a result, a jerky and abrupt motion and thus a relatively high component load acts on the components of the slide device during operation.

Clutch disk comprising a pendular rocking damper having only one direction of movement between the flange regions thereof, and friction clutch


A mattress having multiple massage units provided on a top surface thereof is provided. Each of the massage units is formed at a lower side with an open-ended space through which two long locating strips are extended. The long locating strips are sewed up onto the top surface of the mattress at points that are in front of and behind each massage unit by a predetermined distance, so that the massage units are attached to the mattress by the long locating strips while being movable between two sewed points of the long strips before and after them. The massage units are provided in their inner spaces with at least one pair of massage elements to massage different areas on a user's body.

The present invention relates to a mattress, and more particularly to a mattress with multiple massage units longitudinally movably attached to a top surface thereof, so that the same one mattress is adaptable to massage users of different heights.
With the quick development in the sciences of communication and information in the nowaday business society, people seem to spend more time sitting still during work and tend to get sore limbs and ached back more frequently. When lacking of adequate treatment or rehabilitation, the sore limbs and ached back would very possibly develop into worse conditions. To enable general consumers to conveniently treat their sore limbs and ached back at home, there are many types of massage devices developed and available in the market.
Among many common massage devices, there are large-sized massage lounges and massage mattresses and small-sized massage rods. Speaking of the massage mattress, it is a massage means requiring least strength to operate. A user needs only to lie on the mattress to have the whole body well massaged. Therefore, the massage mattress is most suitable for the aged and sick people and is most effective in reducing the probability of bedsore.
A conventional massage mattress usually includes several massage units that are concealed and fixedly mounted in the mattress and are therefore not movable in their position. It is therefore possible the massage mattress having fixed and concealed massage units does not match with the heights of different family members to meet everyone's need. Moreover, since the massage units are fixed to only a few predetermined points inside the mattress, they do not massage and accordingly treat all sore and ached areas on the user's body.