A transmission for an industrial vehicle has an input shaft, first and second transmission mechanisms, a clutch mechanism, a rotation direction switching gear train, a speed change gear train, and an output shaft. The first and second transmission mechanisms change the speed among a plurality of speeds of rotation from the input shaft. The clutch mechanism is disposed on the input side of the transmission mechanisms and includes forward and reverse clutches and first and second snap clutches for selecting which of the first and second transmission mechanisms will receive rotational input from the engine. The rotation direction switching gear train inputs rotations for forward and reverse travel to the forward and reverse clutches. The speed change gear train inputs to the first snap clutch and the second snap clutch the output from the forward clutch and the reverse clutch.

A hydraulic transmission such as that disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2005-282830 is commonly provided as a transmission for a wheel loader or another industrial vehicle. This type of transmission has a torque converter disposed between the engine and the transmission body. Disposed inside the transmission body are a hydraulic clutch for forward travel and a hydraulic clutch for reverse travel whereby a switch is made between forward and reverse travel, as well as hydraulic clutches for a plurality of speed-change steps that can operate in forward and reverse.
With such a transmission, the hydraulic clutch for forward travel is engaged (brought into a power transmission state) and the hydraulic clutch for reverse travel is disengaged (brought into a power cutoff state) during forward travel, after which the hydraulic clutch of the corresponding speed-change step is engaged so that a suitable speed-change step is selected in accordance with the travel state or the like. Conversely, the hydraulic clutch for forward travel is disengaged and the hydraulic clutch for reverse travel is engaged during reverse travel, after which the hydraulic clutch of the corresponding speed-change step is engaged so that a suitable speed-change step is selected in accordance with the travel state or the like.
In a passenger vehicle, on the other hand, a twin-clutch transmission for a vehicle is provided for rapidly switching speeds (e.g., Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2001-99246). The transmission shown in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2001-99246 has a first transmission mechanism for odd-numbered speeds, a second transmission mechanism for even-numbered speeds, and first and second clutch mechanisms provided in correspondence to the respective transmission mechanisms.
In such a configuration, it is possible to rapidly change speed from an odd-numbered speed-change step to an even-numbered speed-change step because the speed change can be prepared (pre-shifted) in the second transmission mechanism for even-numbered speeds when the vehicle is travelling in an odd-numbered speed, for example.


A non-real time stereoscopic video service method and apparatus are provided. The non-real time stereoscopic video service method performed by a reception apparatus, including: extracting a program association table (PAT) from a received transport stream (TS) and analyzing the same; extracting a program map table (PMT) corresponding to a program selected by a user from the PAT and analyzing the same; extracting a stereoscopic video service descriptor from the PMT and analyzing the same; generating frame and/or time information of an image to be reproduced according to the analysis of the stereoscopic video service descriptor; and reproducing an image by synchronizing a reference image and a supplementary image based on the generated frame and/or time information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a broadcast transmission and reception method and a broadcast transmission and reception system and, more particularly, to a broadcast transmission and reception method and a broadcast transmission and reception system for providing three-dimensional (3D) stereoscopic broadcast in non-real time.
2. Related Art
A stereoscopic video service provides a stereoscopic image to a viewer through video images of left and right views. Since a stereoscopic image is provided to the viewer through images of left and right views, a larger amount of data should be transmitted in the stereoscopic video service in comparison to a monoscopic video service.
Meanwhile, multiplexing a reference image (reference video or reference data) and a supplementary image (supplementary video or supplementary data) and transmitting the same for a stereoscopic service is called a real time stereoscopic service. However, as mentioned above, in order to provide the stereoscopic video service, a large amount of data is required to be transmitted, and here, because of a limitation in a data transfer rate, or the like, it is difficult to transmit data of the reference video and data of the supplementary video in real time.

Method and apparatus for non-real time stereoscopic video service

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


In a shunt wound d.c. motor for driving centrifuges, an apparatus for obtaining smooth acceleration by regulating the bottom speed range in accordance to a preset slope current and then accelerating the armature current with full excitation. Smooth braking is also achieved by applying to the field current the full excitation during deceleration and a preset slope current thereafter.

The invention relates to an apparatus and a method for controlling a shunt wound d.c. motor.
Shunt wound d.c. motors are the type of motors generally preferred for driving centrifuges and ultra centrifuges. Centrifuges and ultra centrifuges are used generally for separating sample substances in a liquid medium. Under certain conditions, particularly in the case of simple separations of two substances, the acceleration and braking rates are of secondary importance. However, where zonal, swing-out or vertical rotors are used with density gradients, very smooth acceleration and deceleration are of great importance, particularly at speeds between 0 and about 1200 rpm. In the case of acceleration, the density gradient is sufficiently stable after this starting phase as a result of the centrifugal force produced, thus the rotor can be brought to the final speed with full acceleration. Smooth starting acceleration can be dispensed with if self-forming gradient material is used. However, smooth deceleration is absolutely essential in order to avoid any undesirable mixing effects which would occur on maximum braking.
Known centrifuge drive motors usually have a fixed acceleration and the braking function can be switched in with a fixed braking effect. Consequently, the starting and braking rates are dependent upon the rotor mass. Where uncalibrated regulators are used, reproducibility is poor. None of the known centrifuges enables the braking slope to be regulated reproducibly independently of the rotor mass. Nor are there any known method of regulation of the braking rate below and above free deceleration. The use of lightweight and high-strength materials in the manufacture of rotors therefore precludes suitability for this type of application of density gradient centrifugation.
The object of the present invention is to provide a motor control system without the above disadvantages.
According to the apparatus and method of the present invention, the armature current is regulated with full field excitation during acceleration. During deceleration, the field current is regulated with full armature current in accordance with a signal having a defined adjustable slope.


Compositions and methods of enhancing the potency and efficacy of adoptive cell therapy using integrin-ligand stabilizers, wherein the integrin is selected from the group consisting of α4β1, α5β1, α4β7, αvβ3 and αLβ2, and contacting the effector cells ex vivo with agonists or stabilizers having the general Formula (I); methods of treating integrin-expressing cells with such stabilizers to enhance tumor infiltration; and therapeutic methods comprising administering stabilizer or agonist-treated cells to a mammal requiring treatment of solid tumors, hematologic cancers.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to composition and methods for adoptive T-cell therapy (ACT).
More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to compositions and methods to improve the potency of T-cell based therapies, where the compositions are suitable for adoptive cell therapy including effector cells, treated effector cells, and at least one association enhancing compound capable of stabilizing integrin receptor-ligand interactions between integrins and their cognate ligands.
2. Description of the Related Art
Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) involves the isolation and ex vivo expansion of tumor specific lymphocytes to yield a greater number of tumor reactive effector T-cells than could be achieved by simple vaccination. The tumor specific T cells are infused into patients with cancer to prime the patients' immune system to kill tumor cells. ACT has shown remarkable clinical outcomes, particularly in metastatic melanoma (Dudley, Wunderlich et al. 2005; Dudley, Yang et al. 2008).
There are many forms of ACT being used for cancer that are generally classified as: 1) Cultured tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL); 2) Isolated and expanded one particular type of T cell or clones reactive to tumor cells; and 3) Genetically engineered with tumor specific-T-cell receptors or -chimeric antigen receptors.
Irrespective of the approach, the potency and efficacy of anti-tumor activity ACT is a direct function of intra-tumoral bioavailability (infiltration) of effector cells, such as T cells (CD8+ and CD4+) and natural killer (NK) from the systemic circulation to tumor stroma. The current invention provides compositions, methods to manufacture, and methods of treating to improve the intratumoral bioavailability of ACT to thereby increase potency and efficacy of effector cells.
In spite of the recent advances, many patients often fail ACT perhaps due the failure of the infused cell therapeutic to penetrate into solid tumors (Melero, Rouzaut et al 2014). Intratumoral bioavailability of effector cells employed in ACT requires the intravenously infused cell therapeutic to 1) home to the tumor vascular bed, 2) adhere to tumor endothelium, 3) transmigrate across the endothelial barrier, and 3) infiltrate into tumor stroma.
The extent of infiltration of therapeutic cells, such as T cells (CD8+, CD4+), and NK cells, into solid tumors has been associated with improved survival (Galon, Costes et al. 2006; Fridman, Pages et al. 2012). However, activated T-cells, while clearly present in the systemic circulation, often fail to transmigrate across the tumor vascular endothelium (Buckanovich, Facciabene et al. 2008). Tumors vasculature possesses barriers to T-cell adhesion and transmigration to and across the tumor vascular endothelium, decreasing intratumoral bioavailability of the cell therapeutic and consequently decreasing the effectiveness of immunotherapy.
In normal tissues, endothelial cells serve as a functional barrier to aberrant lymphocyte transmigration. In injured tissues, however, transmigration of inflammatory cells from the systemic circulation to the site of injury is triggered when endothelial and other cells produce proinflammatory cytokines, which lead to lymphocyte adhesion and transmigration across the endothelium, delivering the effector cells to facilitate numerous cellular process such as healing and antigen presentation. In the case of ACT, this transmigration is required for antitumor activity mediated by antigen presentation or direct cytotoxicity.
Integrins are cell adhesion molecules that are required for lymphocyte transmigration across endothelial barriers. Pro-inflammatory cytokines activate integrin receptors and upregulate their cognate extracellular ligands on lymphocytes and endothelial cells, respectively. In doing so, cytokines increase receptor affinity and ligand clustering. A variety of cytokines have been shown to increase the binding of LFA-1 (αLβ2) and VLA4 (α4β1) integrin receptors on lymphocytes, respectively, to ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 on the surface of endothelial cells. The activation of these integrin pathways are known to mediate T-cell transmigration across the endothelium in inflamed non-cancerous tissue.
Therefore, the stimulation of these cell adhesion and transmigration pathways is a desirable mean to improve the transmigration of effector T-cell therapeutics across tumor endothelium. However, unlike endothelial cells in normal tissues, paracrine factors secreted by tumor cells, such as VEGF, down regulate VCAM-1, ICAM-1 and other adhesion molecules on the surface on adjacent endothelial cells in the tumor vasculature (Griffioen, Damen et al. 1996; Griffioen, Damen et al. 1996; Bouzin, Brouet et al. 2007; Motz and Coukos 2011; Motz, Santoro et al. 2014).
Therefore, increasing the binding efficiency of integrin agonists such as ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 on tumor endothelial cells to their cognate receptors on T-cells may improve the potency of T-cell therapeutics by facilitating the firm adhesion and transmigration of greater number of therapeutic cells across the tumor endothelial barrier. I have discovered small molecule stabilizers of integrin ligand-receptor interactions are useful for improving the intratumoral bioavailability of T-cell therapies.
United States Published Patent Application No. 20130236434A1 and Vanderslice et al (The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 288, (27), p 19414-19428, 2013) disclose small molecule stabilizers of selected integrin-ligand interactions. United States Published Patent Application No. 20130236434A1 disclosed a method of enhancing binding of cells to an integrin-binding ligand comprises treating integrin-expressing cells in vitro with an agonist of integrin, wherein the integrin is selected from the group consisting of α4β1 (β-1 integrin, very late antigen 4 (VLA-4)) and contacting the treated cells with an integrin-binding ligand; integrin agonist compounds. The focus of the application is to improve the homing and grafting of endothelial progenitor and hematopoietic stem cells for tissue repair and neovascularization using compounds that intended as candidates for active pharmaceutical ingredients for cardiovascular indications. As such, the application did not disclose compositions for adoptive cell therapy, and means to improve potency and efficacy of effector cells by improving intratumoral bioavailablity.
Vanderslice et al disclosed compositions and methods of enhancing binding of cells to an integrin-binding ligand comprising treating integrin-expressing cells in vitro with a compound that stabilizes integrin-ligand interactions, wherein the integrin is selected from the group consisting of α4β1, α4β7, α5β1, αLβ2 and αVβ3 to their respective ligands. In particular, these investigators showed that compound AEC1 (methyl(6S,10S)-10-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-6-butyl-3,8-dioxo-1-(2-thienyl)-2-(2-thienylmethyl)-4-oxa-2,7,9-triazadodecan-12-oate) was a potent stabilizer of T-cells (Jukat Cells, an immortalized line of human T lymphocyte cell) to VCAM-1 and fibronectin coated surfaces. They further showed the compound also stabilized α4β7/MedCam-1, αLβ2-ICAM-1 interactions and resulted in a greater number of cells adhering to simulated endothelial surfaces. The clear intended application of the compound was to improve the homing and grafting of endothelial progenitor cells for tissue repair and neovascularization.
Although the same α4β1-VCAM-1, αβ7/MedCam-1, αLβ2-ICAM-1 are known to mediate T-cell and tumor endothelium interactions, Vanderslice et al failed to recognize that the use of such compounds for increasing the intratumoral bioavailability of T-cell based therapies. In spite of directly demonstrating marked improvement in the potency of cell adhesion and migration across simulated endothelial surfaces by stabilizing α4β1-VCAM-1, the investigators did not contemplate the use of compounds such as AEC1 (methyl(6S,10S)-10-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-6-butyl-3,8-dioxo-1-(2-thienyl)-2-(2-thienylmethyl)-4-oxa-2,7,9-triazadodecan-12-oate) could be used to improve the potency of ACT by facilitate transmigration across tumor endothelium.
While several methods and compositions have been proposed for enhancing adoptive T-cell therapies, there is a continued need in the art for new methodologies to improve the potency and efficacy of ACT, where the compositions include effector cells, treated cells, and at least one association enhancing compound capable of stabilizing integrin receptor-ligand interactions between integrins and their associated ligands.

Compositions and methods to improve adoptive cell therapies


A negative electrode for a secondary battery, the negative electrode including: a current collector; an interlayer on the current collector and consisting of at least one first polymer selected from a cation-substituted polycarboxylic acid and a copolymer thereof; a negative electrode active material layer on the interlayer and which includes a negative electrode active material and a binder.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a negative electrode for a secondary battery and a secondary battery including the negative electrode.
2. Description of the Related Art
A graphite-based negative electrode for a secondary battery has excellent lifetime and voltage characteristics but also has a low theoretical capacity. Thus, studies have been done to use a high capacity silicon-based material instead of graphite. However, a silicon-based material has not been widely used because of its rapid volume change that causes increased side reactions, detachment of an active material, and loss of a solid electrolyte interface ("SEI") layer, which are understood to cause deterioration of battery performance.
Therefore, a binder which is more capable of suppressing volume expansion of a silicon-based material and with fewer side reactions is needed. In the case of a silicon-based material, the particle size is small, and the particles may be in the form of a nanowire or a nanoparticle, and thus the silicon-based material has a large specific surface area compared to that of a graphite-based material. Therefore, as an amount of a binder needed increases, interfacial adhesion characteristics between a current collector and an active material layer weaken.

Negative electrode for secondary battery and secondary battery including the negative electrode


An improved database-management system determines that a near-capacity leaf page of its database index must be split into multiple pages in order to store newly added index entries. The system determines whether the page should be “multi-split” into more than two pages, the total number of new pages to be added, and the range of indexed values assigned to each new page. These determinations are made as functions of the frequency with which the index page, and other index pages for the same index, have been split in the past, of the data distribution of values indexed by the leaf page, and of the degree of sequentiality of entries added to the leaf page. Leaf pages approaching capacity may also be scheduled for “pre-split” splitting during a period of lower utilization. These multi-split and pre-split operations reduce the numbers of index splits and of corresponding synchronous database-log writes.

The present invention relates in general to database management systems ("DBMSs") and in particular to the maintenance of database indexes.
A DBMS locates data items stored in a database 4002 by traversing a hierarchical index tree 430 to find a leaf node that contains the address of a desired data item. If the number of addresses stored in a single leaf node exceeds a maximum threshold value, the index page represented by that leaf node is split into two new nodes and the addresses it had stored must be divided among the new nodes.
Each time a DBMS must split an index leaf page, the DBMS must lock its logging mechanism in order to record the split. Other types of database updates do not necessarily require such a locking, but an index-splitting operations consists of multiple operations that must all be completed before users are again allowed to access a newly split index. The number of synchronous log writes required by index splits should therefore be minimized in order to ensure optimal DBMS performance.

Multi-page splitting of a database index

International Business Machines Corporation


A completion assembly for use in a lateral well bore has a base pipe with a plurality of holes through the sidewall of the base pipe. Flow through the holes is regulated to produce an influx difference between the ends of the base pipe. Flow can be regulated by variably spacing or sizing the holes. Flow can also be regulated by selectively inserting a rod between adjacent splines located on the base pipe to cover and block the flow through certain holes in the base pipe. Flow can also be regulated using a rotatable sleeve adjacent to the base pipe such that rotation of the sleeve brings the holes and openings in the pipe and sleeve, respectively, into and out of alignment. A filter can be used to filter sand and other particulates. An erosion inhibitor can be used to extend the useful life of the assembly.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to flow control in downhole completions. Specifically, this invention relates to the control of flow along the length of a horizontal downhole completion.
2. Related Art
Within the oil and gas industry, it is now fairly common to include lateral well bores that extend at an angle from a main vertical well bore. In some cases, the lateral well bores extend in a substantially horizontal direction from the main well bore.
A completion is typically deployed within such lateral well bores. The completion may include sliding sleeves, packers, and sand control equipment. Essentially, hydrocarbons flow from the formation intersected by the lateral well bore, into the lateral well bore, into the completion, and to the surface through the completion and associated tubing string.
However, in lateral well bores, specially those extending in a substantially horizontal direction, the flow rate into the completion is not equal along the length of the completion. Instead, due to the flow friction along the length of the completion, a higher flow rate tends to exist at the near end or xe2x80x9cheelxe2x80x9d of the lateral completion, and a lower flow rate tends to exist at the far end or xe2x80x9ctoexe2x80x9d of the lateral completion. The disparity in flow rate from the xe2x80x9ctoexe2x80x9d to the xe2x80x9cheelxe2x80x9d of the lateral completion, in turn, may lead to premature gas or water coning at the area of higher flow rate and/or may also decrease the total amount of hydrocarbons extracted from the relevant formation.
The prior art would therefore benefit from a system and method for equalizing the flow rate along a lateral completion.
The present invention uses an innovative design for a completion assembly for use in a lateral well bore having a base pipe with a plurality of holes through the sidewall of the base pipe. Flow through the holes is regulated to produce an influx difference between the ends of the base pipe. Flow can be regulated by variably spacing or sizing the holes. Flow can also be regulated by selectively inserting a rod between adjacent splines located on the base pipe to cover and block the flow through certain holes in the base pipe. Flow can also be regulated using a rotatable sleeve circumferentially adjacent to the base pipe such that rotation of the sleeve brings the holes and openings in the pipe and sleeve, respectively, into and out of alignment. A filter can be used to filter sand and other particulates. An erosion inhibitor can be used to extend the useful life of the assembly.


One embodiment of the present invention provides a method for evaluating the electrical defect density of a semiconductor layer, which comprises: a step for measuring an electric current by applying a voltage to a semiconductor element 1 which comprises a GaN layer 12 that serves as a semiconductor layer; and a step for deriving the electrical defect density in the GaN layer 12 with use of the measured electric current value.

In a semiconductor element such as a transistor, if electrons or holes are trapped in a defect level (trap level) formed by impurities, defects, or the like in a semiconductor layer, generation of a leakage current or variation of a threshold voltage will be caused. Therefore, in order to manufacture a highly reliable semiconductor element, it is important to know the density of electrical defects (defects due to atomic defect or residual impurity) in the semiconductor layer. The density of the electrical defects is approximately equal to the sum of the carrier density and the density of the charge trapped in the defect level.
Conventionally, there has been known a method for deriving a carrier density profile in a semiconductor layer from a CV curve (a curve showing the relationship between a capacitor capacitance and a gate voltage) profile (see, e.g., Non-Patent Literature 1).

Method for evaluating electrical defect density of semiconductor layer, and semiconductor element


A mass analyzer includes a desolvation chamber into which an upstream gas is injected to provide a counter-flow to said downstream flow in the chamber. The counter-flow may slow the downstream flow of solvated ionized particles in the chamber, while allowing lighter desolvated ions to travel toward an outlet aperture of the desolvation chamber.

Mass analysis, and more particularly mass spectrometry, has proven to be an effective analytical technique for identifying unknown compounds and for determining the precise mass of known compounds. Advantageously, compounds can be detected or analysed in minute quantities allowing compounds to be identified at very low concentrations in chemically complex mixtures. Not surprisingly, mass spectrometry has found practical application in medicine, pharmacology, food sciences, semi-conductor manufacturing, environmental sciences, security, and many other fields.
A typical mass spectrometer includes an ion source that ionizes particles of interest. The ions are passed to an analyser region, where they are separated according to their mass (m)-to-charge (z) ratios (m/z). The separated ions are detected at a detector. A signal from the detector may be sent to a computing or similar device where the m/z ratios may be stored together with their relative abundance for presentation in the format of a m/z spectrum.
Typical ion sources are detailed in "Ionization Methods in Organic Mass Spectrometry", Alison E. Ashcroft, The Royal Society of Chemistry, UK, 1997; and the references cited therein. Conventional ion sources may, for example, create ions by electrospray or chemical ionization.
Electrospray ionization involves dispersing liquid containing analyte(s) of interest into a fine aerosol jet of solvated charged droplets. Typically, a nebulizer gas flow is involved in this dispensing process and an impinging heater gas flow assists droplet desolvation. Charged droplets are drawn by an electric field to the sampling inlet of a mass spectrometer. Liquid flows greater than 25 μL/m usually require the various gas flows to be heated for rapid desolvation.
Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization ("APCI") relies on liquid containing analyte of interest to be discharged into a fine aerosol jet of droplets containing the analyte. Again, a nebulizer gas flow is involved and an impinging heater gas flow may assist droplet desolvation. Desolvated analyte molecules are chemically ionized by reagent ions created in close proximity by a corona current.
It has long been recognized that the sampling inlet is a major sensitivity bottleneck: typical diameters of the sampling inlet are about 0.5 mm, and space repulsion of analyte ions acts as a choke upon significant sensitivity increases. Although larger sampling diameters are desired for higher sensitivity, such apertures necessitate larger vacuum pumps. Present vacuum pumping systems are at their practical maximum in terms of size and cost.
Accordingly, alternative approaches are required.

PerkinElmer Health Sciences Canada, Inc.


In a method for displaying information relating to the assignments of functions to a group of freely assignable operating keys in a motor vehicle, a first display step outputs for each operating key of the group a brief description of the respective function assignment, and a second display step outputs for a single selected operating key of the group a more detailed description. In the first display step, the brief descriptions of all operating keys of the group are output side-by-side into screen areas, which essentially are adjacent to each other, in an edge region of a display unit of the motor vehicle. In the second display step, the more detailed description is output into the same edge region of the same display unit such that the more detailed description covers the entire screen area of the brief description of the selected operating key, and the more detailed description at least partially covers the screen area of the brief description of at least one additional operating key.

The invention relates to a method for displaying information relating to the assignments of functions to a group of freely assignable operating keys in a motor vehicle. According to this method, a first display step outputs for each operating key of the group a brief description of the respective function assignment, and a second display step outputs for a single selected operating key of the group a more detailed description. Such a method is known, for example, from DE 10 2004 058 954 A1.
For reasons relating to energy and economic efficiency, as well as for design reasons, only relatively small displays are generally installed in motor vehicles. Therefore, the efficient use of the available display area is especially important.
The object of the invention is to improve the utilization of the available display area in a motor vehicle in using a method of the type described above.
This object is achieved with a method for displaying information relating to the assignments of functions to a group of freely assignable operating keys in a motor vehicle, where, according to this method, a first display step outputs for each operating key of the group a brief description of the respective function assignment, and where a second display step outputs for a single selected operating key of the group a more detailed description. In the first display step, the brief descriptions of all operating keys of the group are output side-by-side into screen areas, which in essence are adjacent to each other, in an edge region of a display unit of the motor vehicle. In the second display step, the more detailed description is output into the same edge region of the same display unit in such a manner that the more detailed description covers the entire screen area of the brief description of the selected operating key, and the more detailed description at least partially covers the screen area of the brief description of at least one additional operating key. Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention are described herein.
The invention makes it possible to display the more detailed information at least partially in screen areas, to which brief descriptions had already been assigned before and that are only rarely the focus of the user's attention in any event because they are located on the edge of the display. The brief description of the selected operating key becomes obsolete due to the long description. Therefore, its screen area can be released at least partially to the benefit of the long description. Even the brief description of other operating keys is normally regarded as obsolete or at least less relevant when the operator has already reached the second display step for the selected operating key. Therefore, the screen areas of the brief descriptions of other operating keys can also be released at least partially to the benefit of the long description of the selected operating key.
Preferably, in the second display step, the more detailed description covers exclusively the display area that was used for brief descriptions in the first display step. Hence, no additional display area is required.
Preferably, in the second display step, the more detailed description even covers the entire display area that was used for brief descriptions in the first display step. As a result, this display area is utilized especially well.
Preferably, in the second display step, the more detailed description covers exactly the display area that was used for the whole set of brief descriptions in the first display step.
According to a first preferred embodiment of the invention, the screen areas of the brief descriptions in the first display step have essentially the same height and are arranged side by side on the display area at the same height such that they form essentially a line. In the second display step the more detailed description covers a portion of this line that is enhanced with respect to the brief description of the selected operating key, or it even covers the entire line. The line is located preferably at the upper or lower edge of the display unit.
According to a second preferred embodiment of the invention, the screen areas of the brief descriptions in the first display step have essentially the same width and are arranged one above the other so as to be horizontally oriented in relation to each other such that they form essentially a column. In the second display step the more detailed description covers a portion of this column that is enhanced with respect to the brief description of the selected operating key, or it even covers the entire column. The column is located preferably on the left or the right edge of the display unit.
Preferably, in the second display step, the brief description of at least one non-selected operating key is scaled down with respect to the first display step to the benefit of the more detailed description of the selected operating key.
In addition, it is preferred that in the second display step the brief description of at least one non-selected operating key is shifted with respect to the first display step inside the display area that had already been used in the first display step for brief descriptions. Owing to the combination of scaling down and shifting, the brief descriptions of the other operating keys can yield somewhat to the benefit of the description of the selected key that becomes more detailed in the second display step. Nevertheless, a three dimensional correspondence between the spatial arrangement of the operating keys and the respective brief descriptions and/or the more detailed description can be maintained.
As an alternative, in the second display step the brief description of at least one non-selected operating key can be at least partially covered by the more detailed description of the selected operating key.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft


A stabilizing system for use in joining flanged pipe sections together in an underwater environment including at least one flange stabilizing element having a back plate portion with a support portion affixed thereto and extending orthogonally out therefrom a distance substantially in excess of the thickness of one flange, providing laterally spaced lines of support adjacent to the front of the flange at different vertical positions along its width defining a curved support tray area consistent with the curvature of the flanges of the pipe sections to be joined. At least one stub also extends orthogonally out from said back plate portion having a diameter less than the diameter of the bolt holes of the flanges. A series of left and right flange stabilizing elements are placed on the flange of the first pipe section with their back plate portions against the backside of the flanges with the stubs extending through selected ones of the bolt holes of the flange, with the support portion extending out substantially past the flange forming a tray upon which the flange of the other pipe section can be placed for support and proper mating positioning. The back plate portion also preferably includes a circular opening aligned with a flange bolt hole, through the combination of which is placed a locking key with downwardly extending, vertically disposed ends, effectively temporarily locking the respective stabilizing element to the first pipe flange. The system is particularly useful in making up underwater connections between pipe sections, even in rough water, using one or more divers with the stabilizing tray preventing the other flanged pipe section from moving around without restriction, assisting the divers in making up the flanged pipe sections. Once the flange sections are partially made up or joined together with for example two or more loosely fastened bolts, the flange stabilizing element(s) and locking key(s) are removed, and the flange sections completely made up with the standard "O" ring(s) and bolts.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a stabilizing system for assistance in joining up two flanged pipe sections in an underwater environment, which system includes the use of a flange stabilizing element having for example a back plate portion with a lower, flange support portion extending outwardly therefrom to form a support tray for the flange of the other pipe section, which stabilizing element is temporarily used during the initial stages of relatively positioning the pipe sections and loosely making up some of the bolts between the flanges of the pipe sections.
2. Prior Art and General Background
Heretofore, a substantial problem has existed in the joining of two flanged pipe sections in an underwater environment. In such an environment, one or more divers are used to position the flanges of the pipe sections to be joined down on the water bottom with the assistance of a crane barge floating on the water surface, using a support cable and a belly-line going from the crane(s) or air tuggers down to and supporting the pipe section to be joined to the previously positioned pipe section.
In the past, rough areas, bending of the cable supported pipe sections and the great relative weights of the pipe sections made the positioning and alignment of the flanges a very difficult step for the divers to perform. Indeed, due for example to bad weather conditions, the work could not be done and a pipe joining job could be substantially delayed at tremendous equipment and personnel costs awaiting the right conditions for the diver(s) to be able to make up and join the pipe sections.
In the past, in a valve assembly tie-in situation, a saddle clamp has been used attached at its base to a previously existing pipe line to position and hold the main body of one of the pipe sections to be joined. However, this approach has not been found to be satisfactory or reliable, particularly in rough water conditions.
The present invention is directed to providing a temporary pipe stabilizing system using one or more flange stabilizing elements positioned on one of the pipes, preferably its flange, to provide an adjacent guiding and support surface(s) for the other pipe section, preferrably its flange, during the initial make-up stages of joining the pipe sections together.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a safe, reliable and effective system for allowing the relatively easy joining of two pipe sections together, particularly in the difficult circumstances involved in an underwater environment, even during rough weather conditions.
3. General Discussion of the Invention
The pipe flange stabilizing system for use in joining flanged pipe sections together, particularly in an underwater environment, includes the use of at least one flange stabilizing element preferably having a back plate portion with a support portion affixed thereto and extending orthogonally out from the back plate portion a distance substantially in excess of the thickness of one flange. Additionally, there is included preferably at least one or preferably at least two stubs also extending orthogonally out from the back plate portion in the same direction as the support portion. The support portion preferrably forms a support and positioning surface or tray for the underside of the flange of the other pipe section to be joined to the initial pipe section, while the stub(s) temporarily affix the flange stabilizing element to the first one of the flanges.
Additionally, to further secure the flange stabilizing element(s) to the initial flange, a locking key is preferably included for each element to temporarily lock the stabilizing element to the initial flange. This locking key can for example have the form of an extended member having at its terminal ends downwardly extending arms for hooking over the combined thicknesses of the back plate portion having a circular opening therein and the thickness of the flange, with the locking key then being inserted in the common openings formed with and between the back plate opening and an aligned bolt opening in the initial flange.
The present invention is used to stabilize or steady one pipe flange opposite the other, so that the flanges thereafter can then be relatively easily made up, including the ultimate placement of all the bolts and "O" rings.
At least one and preferably at least two spaced flange stabilizing element(s), and also preferably at least two stabilizing elements on each side of the vertical flange center-line, are used on the initial flange. The support surfaces extending out past the initial flange toward the other pipe section are then used as support, guidance and positioning means for the flange of the other pipe section. After the two mating flanges are initially made up, the stabilizing element(s) are removed, and the making up of the flanges is completed.
Since the flanges of the pipe sections are round, the tray(s) are constructed to provide a supporting contour compatible or consistent with, if not identical to, the peripheral curve of the flanges.
The stub(s) serve to position the stabilizing element on the initial flange and hold it in position on the initial flange against forces directed in the vertical plane. The locking key resists forces applied in the horizontal plane, as well as the vertical plane.
The present invention provides a simple, reliable, safety enhancing, economical system for assisting in the initial making up of two flanged pipe sections in an underwater environment, even in rough seas. It further substantially reduces the amount of "down time" or "waiting time" which would otherwise occur in offshore environments using the techniques of the prior art.

Pipe stabilizing system for underwater use in joining flanged pipe sections


A processing device executing an application analyzer analyzes a call stack having a plurality of stack frames to identify potential return addresses for the plurality of stack frames. The processing device records a value of each of the potential return addresses and records a location on the call stack for each of the potential return addresses. The processing device then determines which of the potential return addresses are actual return addresses based on debugging information and the recorded locations of the potential return addresses. The processing device generates a stack trace based on the actual return addresses.

In software engineering, a profiler is an application that monitors another application (used herein interchangeably with the term program) and gathers runtime information from the monitored application while that application operates. The profiler determines information about that application's behavior based on the gathered runtime information. A profiler is typically used to identify an application's performance bottlenecks to help a software engineer improve the application.
One method used by profilers to monitor an application is to generate stack traces of that application during runtime. A stack trace is a report of active stack frames in a call stack for the monitored application at a particular point during execution of the application, where each stack frame corresponds to an uncompleted function. Most profilers generate stack traces by following a linked list of frame pointers that are included in the call stack, where each frame pointer points to a location on the call stack of a preceding stack frame. However, in some instances some or all stack frames on the call stack do not have frame pointers. In such instances, the profiler generates the stack trace by walking through the call stack and recording each portion of the call stack that appears to be a return address. This method commonly produces false positives, in which a region of the call stack that appeared to include a return address did not actually include a return address. Thus, stack traces of call stacks that include one or more stack frames lacking frame pointers are often not accurate.

Generating stack traces of call stacks that lack frame pointers


The present invention describes an air-burst projectile (100) and a system (200) for deploying the airburst projectile to counter an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 10. Each airburst projectile includes one or more spinners (140, 140a-140d); each spinner has a sleeve or a tube (146), a number of radial partition plates (148, 148a-148d) extending from the sleeve/tube and an annular rear plate (144) connected to the sleeve. Adjacent partition plates thus form a compartment (150). Disposed in each compartment is a streamer or streamers (170,170a,170b), which are formed in a coiled-up state. When the airburst projectile is deployed into a flight path of a target UAV, the spinners (140, 140a-140d) are ejected and the streamers (170,170a,170b) are dispersed in the flight path to create a streamer cloud, so that a streamer may entangle with propellers of the UAV and bring down the UAV, or as a warning or fence marking shot.

Mini-UAV or drones driven by propellers are becoming a common sight; these are deployed commercially (such as, for aerial photography or delivery of a product), for law enforcement (such as, reconnaissance, policing, combat, etc.) or as hobby crafts. FIG. 1A illustrates components of a typical drone.
Conventional counter drone measures to intercept and neutralise any undesirable drones have their own limitations. For eg., US patent publication no. 20170237520 describes a portable directional jammer to disrupt navigation of a UAV, for eg. as seen in FIG. 1B. In another approach, one can use a conventional gun (such as, shot gun or an artillery gun) to shoot down a target drone, as seen in FIGS. 1C and 1D; these methods are rather dangerous to implement. It is also possible to bring down a target drone with a net (as seen in FIG. 1E) which system uses an attack drone, but the entire system can be complex and expensive to deploy; as an alternative, FIG. 1F shows a standalone net gun, which is used to deploy a net. In another approach, FIG. 1G shows a UAV defender which is used to jam a target UAV.
In another approach, U.S. Pat. No. 9,175,934, issued to Lockheed Martin Corp., describes an auto-injector countermeasure for non-destructive disabling and control of UAVs. The auto-injector device is mounted on an attack UAV and the countermeasure involves controlling the attack UAV to intercept a target UAV, firing the auto-injector, injecting a disabling substance into the target UAV, exerting control over the target UAV and navigating the target UAV to a location for retrieval.
In yet another eg., US patent publication no. 2016/0023760, by Insitu, Inc., describes a counter-UAV system, which involves an interceptor UAV launched toward a target UAV. The interceptor UAV can disable the target UAV by deploying a net to entangle the target UAV. The counter UAV system requires a ground based launch control, target acquisition, guidance and communication sub-systems, which make the system complex and expensive to deploy.
Despite the above advances, there is still a need to provide another system to bring down an undesirable UAV or drone; preferably, this system is simple to deploy, yet requires little re-training or capital expenses.

System for countering an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)


Compositions and methods for depositing elemental metal M(0) films on semiconductor substrates are disclosed. One of the disclosed methods comprises: heating the semiconductor substrate to obtain a heated semiconductor substrate; exposing the heated semiconductor substrate to a composition containing a metal precursor, an excess amount of neutral labile ligands, and a supercritical solvent; exposing the metal precursor to a reducing agent and/or thermal energy at or near the heated semiconductor substrate; reducing the metal precursor to the elemental metal M(0) by using the reducing agent and/or the thermal energy; and depositing the elemental metal M(0) film while minimizing formation of metal oxides.

In the field of semiconductor manufacturing, deposition of materials such as elemental metals having a formal oxidation state which equals to zero ("M(0)") on semiconductor substrates can be carried out by a variety of techniques, including chemical vapor deposition ("CVD"), physical vapor deposition ("PVD"), and atomic layer deposition ("ALD").
Conventional CVD processes for metal film deposition occurs through the volatilization of metal precursors at high temperatures under vacuum. The selection of metal precursors available for CVD is limited by requirements such as high thermal stability and sufficient volatility of the metal precursors. When a precursor is selected and volatilized during the CVD process, the metal precursor is usually only present in the vapor at low concentrations. This can lead to limited film growth resulting in non-conformal films. Moreover, the high temperature requirements of CVD can significantly impact the thermal budget during wafer processing.
With regard to conventional PVD of metal precursors, PVD is fundamentally limited by the nature of a line-of-sight deposition process that results in non-conformal film growth and inability to deposit material in certain types of high aspect ratio structures. Additional shortcomings of PVD include the significant particle levels that are generated in the PVD process, limited control and lack of homogeneity of the deposited film, and process control issues relating to diffusion of the sputtered material.
Conventional ALD processes for deposition of thin films occurs through exposure of the substrate to alternating cycles of precursors to grow atomically thin films. While the ability to grow films in a carefully controlled manner at the atomic level results in conformal deposition, the high number of cycles required to prepare even very thin films leads to slow film growth. Moreover, repetitive valve cycling can also lead to particle generation and maintenance issues.
Currently, several integrated circuit ("IC") processes require low cost deposition of conformal thin-films for both front end of line and back end of line applications, including capacitor electrodes, barriers, and interconnects.
Some of the limitations of conventional CVD, PVD, and ALD techniques described above suggest a need in the art for improved methods of depositing metal(s) on semiconductor substrates.

Compositions and methods for forming and depositing metal films on semiconductor substrates using supercritical solvents


A method of compiling a source code described by a first programming language, the method being executed by a computer and includes: specifying a function described by a second programming language different from the first programming language from the source code, the function being allowed to use one or more arguments; and first creating an instruction to store given data that causes occurrence of an error when a register is accessed due to execution of the function in an area in the register for an argument that is not set for the function in the source code among the one or more arguments.

In some cases, in a source code described by a first programming language, a statement that calls a function described by a second programming language is included. When this statement is executed, the function described by the second programming language is executed. The first programming language is the common business oriented language (COBOL) language for example. The second programming language is the C language or JAVA (registered trademark) for example.
Furthermore, techniques for checking arguments set in functions described by various kinds of programming languages have been variously proposed.
As one example of the related art, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 1990-205930, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2013-140470, and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 1990-240743 are known.

Method of compiling a source code, storage medium, and apparatus


An application execution time reducing method according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a function registering step, a native function step, and a native function deleting step. In the function registering step, when processing of an application in a software structure having a native function which is a basic component is started, information about the native function is registered onto a platform on which the native function can be executed. In the native function step, the native function is executed on the platform by using the information about the native function. In the native function deleting step, when the processing of the application is quitted, the information about the native function is deleted from the platform.

The present disclosure relates to a method for reducing execution time of an application installed on a device.
A typical image forming apparatus that is an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) such as a printer, a multifunction printer, multifunction peripheral equipment, or a multifunction machine has an execution environment for Java (registered trademark). Such a typical image forming apparatus has a mechanism that allows execution of an application (hereinafter, referred to as "Java application") created in Java language. By using an interface of a function provided by the image forming apparatus, the Java application can execute various processes using the function of the image forming apparatus. Thus, if a user, by using an interface of a predetermined function, creates a Java application that realizes a function not provided by the image forming apparatus, the user can install the Java application on the image forming apparatus. In devices such as the typical image forming apparatus on which a Java application can be installed, measures are taken so as to facilitate execution of an application. For example, a conventional information processing device capable of executing an application allows a function of each application to be called without a user performing different input operations for respective applications.

Application execution time reducing method


An on-board sensor cleaning device includes nozzle ports. The on-board sensor cleaning device ejects fluid from the nozzle ports in a predetermined order to clean a sensing surface of an on-board sensor.

A typical electric pump device drives a piston in a cylinder with driving force of a motor to generate compressed air and discharges the compressed air from a discharge port of the cylinder so that the air is ejected toward a sensing surface (e.g., lens or cover glass) of an on-board sensor such as a camera from a nozzle port that is in communication with the discharge port (for example, refer to patent documents 1 and 2).
A recent vehicle may include multiple on-board sensors such as cameras, and a nozzle port may be arranged for each on-board sensor (for example, refer to patent document 3). In such a case, for example, an electric pump device may be arranged for each on-board sensor (each nozzle port) to eject fluid from the nozzle port.
When the area of a cover glass is relatively large, multiple nozzle ports may be arranged. The fluid may be divided at an upstream side of the nozzle ports and simultaneously ejected from the nozzle ports (for example, refer to patent document 4).


A device is provided which can act as one component of an anastomosis-forming assembly, i.e. as an anastomosis button. The device comprises a plurality of elongate members having a first, introduction configuration in which they are substantially aligned with one another, and a second, use configuration in which they are disposed at an angle to one another. For example, there may be two such elongate members, which, in the use configuration, form a cross. The device comprises means, for example, a tensionable thread, for bringing the elongate members into the use configuration.

1. Field
This invention relates to methods and devices for transfixing and joining tissues and, more particularly, to forming anastomoses.
2. Description of the Related Art
In abdominal and vascular surgery anastomosis, the joining together of hollow structures, is an important goal. The ability to establish continuity between two hollow structures can relieve blockage due to cancer, inflammation or other pathology, can allow the removal of abnormal tissue or organs, and by bypassing a blocked segment, can allow the unimpeded movement of food or facilitate the flow of blood or bile through the body.
Anastomoses are most commonly formed at open abdominal surgery (laparotomy). Hand sewn anastomoses, usually in two or even three layers, are widely performed but are time consuming and require large incisions for hand access. Stapled anastomoses became widely performed especially in colonic surgery since they allowed surgeons to remove low rectal tumours. The short rectal remnant could be joined to the colon above the tumour at a site where it was difficult to place stitches by hand, and in consequence allowed patients to recover without needing a permanent colostomy. The advent of laparoscopic surgery staplers allowed anastomoses to be formed through incisions of 1-2 cm or so that were just large enough to allow passage of these instruments inside the abdominal or thoracic cavity.
Some aids so form anastomoses have been developed. J. B. Murphy, an American surgeon working in Chicago in the 1880's, popularized surgical astomoses by creating a compression button device for anastomosis. The device had two mushroom-shaped buttons, which could be placed in the two organs to be joined. The buttons could be pressed together by an internal spring in the stalk of the mushroom and the organs would be welded together by the consequent ischaemia (lack of blood supply) at the sites where the buttons were pressed together. Eventually the button device would fall through into the gut, leaving an anastomosis or hole and be passed through the body into the toilet. Compression button anastomoses are still used at open colonic surgery. The use of magnets to compress tissue to form an anastomosis has also been described, and a spring compression button method using a biofragmentable ring has been employed, especially in the rectum.
An anastomosis procedure has been described in an article entitled "Anastomosis at Flexible Endoscopy: an experimental study of compression button gastrojejunoscopy", C P Swain and T N Mills, Gastrointestinal Endoscopy 1991, 37: 625-631, in which, as its title implies, a method is described of forming anastomoses using a flexible endoscope. The method described there involved introducing a flexible endoscope into one of the two structures to be joined (in this case the stomach), and entering the second of the two structures (in this case the small bowel) by forming an incision in the abdomen of the subject. The present invention is directed, in one aspect thereof, to the formation of anastomoses without the need to make such external incisions, though the invention is also applicable to the formation of anastomoses by procedures in which such incisions are made.
The ability to form anastomoses using flexible endoscopic or percutaneous procedures without opening the abdomen or chest or using laparoscopic methods might offer advantages especially to patients with advanced cancer or in elderly or sick patients, who might withstand conventional surgery poorly. In particular, flexible endoscopy might allow anastomoses to be formed from stomach to small bowel, duodenum to gallbladder, and small bowel to colon.
Flexible endoscopy allows access to many hollow organs including oesophagus, stomach, duodenum, small intestine and colon, and most flexible endoscopes have a channel through which instruments can be passed. Although the flexible endoscopes employed for most conventional purposes do not provide information on the location of tubular structures outside the organ, modified flexible endoscopes employing ultrasound are available which do. Endoscopic ultrasound is a hybrid method, which uses ultrasound imaging at the tip of the endoscope but returns the optical imaging and internal instrument channel of a conventional endoscope. Some such endoscopes have their imaging array constructed in a linear fashion, which allows good ultrasound visualization of organs adjacent to the organ in which the tip of the endoscope lies.
Devices are described here which can form anastomoses either through flexible endoscopes or at percutaneous needle access, which do not require surgical incision or laparoscopy (although they might be used during either of these surgical methods to form an anastomosis), and which may be used in combination with ultrasound or x-ray imaging externally to the patient or, preferably, imaging internally to the patient, for example using endoscopic ultrasound. In this situation the particular problem may arise that there may be no access to the distal side of the tissues to be joined except by making a hole through the tissues themselves, so the anastomosis-forming component on the distal side of the tissue layers must be thin enough to fit through a hole without causing excessive trauma to the tissues.

Device for transfixing and joining tissue


A tissue fastening device includes a suture clip holder and a suture cutter. A suture clip can be releasably secured to the suture clip holder, and a suture line or lines can pass through the clip and adjacent the suture cutter. A first movement of a control handle causes the suture clip to be released from the suture clip holder, and a second movement of the control handle causes the suture cutter to cut the suture line or lines. The first movement is different from the second movement. The first movement can be rotational, with the second movement being longitudinal. Alternatively, the first movement can be longitudinal, with the second movement being rotational. The device may include a main body, an inner body, and an outer body.

Many medical procedures involve joining tissue pieces. Suturing adjacent tissue pieces is commonly performed using suture, particularly where the tissue pieces are easily accessible to the surgeon. In conventional surgical techniques, the surgeon will secure the tissue pieces by forcing a needle and suture material through various portions of the tissue, and then tying a knot in the suture material to secure the tissue pieces.
Minimally invasive surgical techniques have emerged as an alternative to conventional surgical techniques to perform a plurality of surgical procedures. Minimally invasive procedures differ from conventional surgical procedures in that a plurality of devices may be introduced into the body through a small incision. As a result, trauma to the body is greatly reduced, thereby decreasing the recovery time of the patient.
Percutaneous and other minimally-invasive methods of surgery, where the surgery may be performed remotely via catheters, often include the need to fasten tissue pieces which the surgeon cannot directly access. For example, in percutaneous operations to close a patent foramen ovale (PFO), adjacent tissue pieces on either side of the PFO must be secured together via a catheter. Further description of such PFO procedures is included in co-pending patent application Ser. No. 11/174,143, filed concurrently herewith and entitled "System, Apparatus, and Method for Repairing Septal Defects," the entire contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference.
One challenge presented when performing a heretofore conventional surgical procedure using a minimally invasive technique is to remotely position and secure sutures to an area of interest. In minimally invasive surgical techniques the surgeon's access to the approximation site is greatly reduced. One method involves using a surgical device to attach the suture material to the tissue, while allowing for sufficient suture so that the suture ends lead outside of the patient's body for easy access by the surgeon. The surgeon can remotely form a loose knot in the suture material and advance the knot to the tissue within the patient using a so-called "knot pusher." The surgeon can then remotely tighten the suture and knot, thereby securing the tissue pieces together.
Several knot pushing devices are known which permit an operator to push suture knots which have been formed extracorporeally towards tissue to be sutured. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,863, issued to Garrison et al., discloses a surgical knot pusher having an elongated body connected to a pushing head. The pushing head engages a portion of suture material containing a knot and is advanced to the area of interest, thereby "throwing" the knot. Once the suture knot is placed the knot pushing device is removed and a cutting implement is introduced into the body and cuts the remaining suture material. The remaining suture material is then removed. Another example of a knot pusher is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,860,890, entitled "Surgical Knot Pushing Device and Method of Use," the entire contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference.
In light of the foregoing, there is presently a need for improved systems for remotely securing tissue pieces. More specifically, there is a present need for an improved method, apparatus, and system for fastening tissue. The current invention meets this need.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System, apparatus and method for fastening tissue


A hydraulic device includes a housing and a solenoid valve to be mounted to the housing. The solenoid valve includes a plunger and a plunger-mounting sleeve in which the plunger is mounted. The plunger-mounting sleeve includes a sleeve member and a sleeve flange having a flange portion and a cylindrical portion provided at the radially outer edge of the flange portion. The plunger-mounting sleeve is fixed to the housing by seating a flange portion of the sleeve flange on a shoulder formed on a mounting hole formed in the housing, press-fitting a mounting ring loosely fitted around the sleeve member into the cylindrical portion of the sleeve flange, thereby pressing the flange portion against a seating surface of the shoulder, and further wedging the cylindrical portion into the inner periphery of the mounting hole.

This invention relates to a hydraulic device, such as a brake hydraulic pressure control device, including a solenoid valve mounted to a housing for opening and closing oil passages and adjusting the degree of opening of its valve portion, and particularly a hydraulic device in which the solenoid valve is mounted to the housing in an improved manner so as to simplify the structure of the solenoid valve and reduce the cost of the hydraulic device.
Conventional solenoid valves used in vehicle brake hydraulic pressure control devices are disclosed n JP Patent Publications 09-14500A (Patent document 1) and 10-82478A (Patent document 2).
The solenoid valve shown in Patent document 1 comprises a plunger for driving a valve body, a shaft (valve rod) integral with the plunger, a core as a guide member through which the shaft is inserted, and a sleeve made by pressing and covering the plunger and the core. The solenoid valve is mounted to the housing by fixing the sleeve to the housing.
The housing has a mounting hole in which the valve portion of the solenoid valve is mounted. The mounting hole has a shoulder which divides the mounting hole into a large-diameter portion including the open end of the mounting hole and the remaining small-diameter portion. The core of the solenoid valve has on its outer periphery a tapered portion (flange) having a tapered top surface which is inclined radially outwardly and downwardly. The sleeve of the solenoid valve has a tapered skirt portion at its bottom open end. The sleeve is fixed to the housing by seating the tapered portion of the core on the shoulder of the mounting hole of the housing, placing the tapered skirt portion of the sleeve on the tapered top surface of the tapered portion of the core, fitting a back-up ring which can be fitted in the large-diameter portion of the mounting hole on the sleeve to place the ring on its skirt portion, and caulking the portion of the housing near the open end of the mounting hole to press the tapered portion of the core through the back-up ring.
The oil passages in the housing are liquid-tightly sealed at the portion where the solenoid valve is mounted by forming a metal-sealed portion by pressing the tapered portion of the core against the shoulder of the mounting hole.
In Patent document 2, an annular spacer is used instead of the back-up ring. The solenoid valve of Patent document 2 is fixed to the housing by plastically deforming the annular spacer to press it into an undercut portion formed on the inner periphery of the mounting hole.
In the arrangement of Patent document 2, (instead of the tapered portion of the Patent document 1) a large-diameter portion having no tapered top surface is formed on outer periphery of the core and seated on the shoulder of the mounting hole. The sleeve has a flange at its open end portion. With the flange of the sleeve placed on the large-diameter portion of the core, the flange of the sleeve and the large-diameter portion of the core are pressed by the annular spacer and are pushed into the undercut portion and fixed in position in the mounting hole by plastically deforming the annular spacer. The oil passages in the housing are liquid-tightly sealed at the portion where the solenoid valve is mounted in the same manner as with the solenoid valve of Patent document 1.
With the solenoid valves of Patent documents 1 and 2, when the sleeve is fixed in position by the back-up ring or annular spacer, the sleeve is compressed. In order for the sleeve to be able to withstand the compression force and in order to keep sufficiently close contact between the liquid-tight seal surfaces, the sleeve, which is formed by pressing, is reinforced by the core. Thus, high rigidity is required for the core.
With the solenoid valves of Patent documents 1 and 2, the core, which is made of a magnetic material and is magnetized when the coil is energized, is provided between the plunger and the housing. But there are solenoid valves of a different type in which the plunger is located between the housing and the magnetic core. In such solenoid valves, no magnetic core is necessary between the plunger and the housing. But in such a case too, it is necessary to provide a core having high rigidity between the plunger and the housing in order to reinforce the sleeve. This complicates the structure of the solenoid valve and also increases its cost.
Thus, for the type of solenoid valves in which the plunger is provided between the magnetic core and the housing, it is being desired to improve the connecting structure of the sleeve, which is formed by pressing, to the housing to simplify the structure of the solenoid valve.


Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuits with bipolar transistors and methods for fabrication are provided. A bipolar transistor may have a lightly-doped base region. To reduce the resistance associated with making electrical contact to the lightly-doped base region, a low-resistance current path into the base region may be provided. The low-resistance current path may be provided by a base conductor formed from heavily-doped epitaxial crystalline semiconductor. Metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistors with narrow gates may be formed on the same substrate as bipolar transistors. The MOS gates may be formed using a self-aligned process in which a patterned gate conductor layer serves as both an implantation mask and as a gate conductor. A base masking layer that is separate from the patterned gate conductor layer may be used as an implantation mask for defining the lightly-doped base region.

This invention relates to bipolar transistors and methods for fabricating bipolar transistors, and, more particularly, to bipolar transistors with low base resistances formed on complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuits.
Integrated circuits based on complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) transistors contain complementary n-channel and p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) field-effect transistors. CMOS technology allows circuits to be formed that exhibit low power consumption and high levels of integration.
It is sometimes desirable to form another type of transistor——called the bipolar junction transistor (BJT) on the same silicon substrate as the MOS transistors in a CMOS integrated circuit. Bipolar junction transistors can be used to form circuits that are difficult or impractical to form using MOS transistors.
Fabricating both bipolar transistors and MOS transistors as part of the same integrated circuit is challenging and the bipolar transistors that result generally do not exhibit optimal performance. One obstacle to forming high-performance bipolar transistors on CMOS integrated circuits relates to the presence of an oxide layer that is used in the gates of the MOS transistors.
The MOS transistors in CMOS circuits have three electrodes—a source, a drain, and a gate. Signals pass between the source and drain under the control of signals applied to the gate. The gate of an MOS transistor has a gate conductor that is separated from an underlying silicon channel region by a thin gate oxide. The gate oxide is an insulator and does not conduct current.
Bipolar transistors also have three electrodes—an emitter, a collector, and a base. The emitter and collector of a bipolar transistor are roughly analogous to the source and drain in an MOS transistor. A bipolar base is analogous to an MOS gate.
It is generally desirable to form bipolar transistors and MOS transistors that have small lateral dimensions (i.e., small base widths and small gate lengths). With conventional approaches for forming. bipolar transistors on CMOS circuits, these small lateral dimensions are defined by forming narrow polysilicon lines over a thin gate oxide layer.
These conventional approaches result in CMOS devices that are optimal, but bipolar devices that have undesirably high base resistances. In the CMOS portion of the circuit, the narrow polysilicon lines are used as gate conductors. The thin oxide under each polysilicon line is used as the gate oxide. In the bipolar portion of the circuit, the narrow polysilicon lines help to define the bases during fabrication. However, the underlying gate oxide blocks access to the silicon of the base, which makes it difficult to form a low-resistance connection. High base resistances cause bipolar performance to suffer.
It is an object of the present invention to provide bipolar transistors with low base resistances on CMOS integrated circuits.

Bipolar transistors with low base resistance for CMOS integrated circuits


A process comprising, in a vacuum, depositing a bottom electrode layer and a piezoelectric layer over a cavity in a substrate, the cavity being filled with a sacrificial material, patterning and etching the piezoelectric layer and the bottom electrode layer to expose one or more edges of the bottom electrode layer and the piezoelectric layer, treating some or all of the one or more edges to prevent electrical contact between the bottom electrode layer and a top electrode layer, and depositing and etching the top electrode layer. An apparatus comprising a resonator attached to a substrate and suspended over a cavity in the substrate, the resonator comprising a bottom electrode layer and a piezoelectric layer on the bottom electrode layer, both the bottom electrode layer and the piezoelectric layer having been deposited in a vacuum, and a top electrode layer on the piezoelectric layer, wherein one or more edges of the bottom electrode layer and the piezoelectric layer include features that prevent electrical contact between the bottom electrode layer and the top electrode layer.

Film Bulk Acoustic Resonators—commonly known as FBARs—are used in a variety of applications, for example as radio frequency (RF) filters in wireless communication systems. In a typical membrane-type FBAR, the membrane is made up of a piezoelectric material sandwiched between a pair of electrodes. A voltage applied across the pair of electrodes causes the piezoelectric material to vibrate. The frequency of the first fundamental mode of a FBAR is determined by the thickness of the resonator's film stack, which is equal to the corresponding half-wavelength. RF FBAR filter is generally consisting two set frequencies of FBAR resonators.
During operation, how well a particular FBAR performs its function is related to the quality of the materials that make up the FBAR. In membrane-type FBARs, resonant properties are sensitive to the quality of the piezoelectric material sandwiched between the pair of electrodes. Currently, FBARs are manufactured by first depositing, patterning and etching a bottom electrode, then depositing the piezoelectric material on the already-etched bottom electrode and patterning and etching it, and finally depositing, patterning and etching of the top electrode.
Among other shortcomings, the current process for making FBARs significantly degrades the quality of the piezoelectric layer in the resonator. Patterning and etching the bottom electrode causes its surface to be irregular and rough. Depositing the piezoelectric material on such a rough surface distorts the orientation of crystals in the piezoelectric material, which can significantly degrade its quality. Moreover, the patterning and etching of the bottom electrode, which expose its surface to air, cause oxides and other substances to build up on its surface before the piezoelectric material is deposited. These oxides and other substances can also affect the quality of the piezoelectric layer.

Film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR) process using single-step resonator layer deposition


The method and/or apparatus monitors and records the times when a user interacts with a network video player, e.g. a web video player, while watching an online video clip. Specifically, a data collection agent (DCA) is loaded to the player or to a web page that displays the video clip. The DCA collects detailed viewing information and periodically sends this information to a central server. The viewing information is processed by the central server to generate at least one of: a viewership attention span report, a viewership demographics report, and a viewership geographic report.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to the field of monitoring websites. More specifically, this invention relates to a method and system for monitoring online video sharing websites.
2. Background
The number and popularity of Web 2.0 websites is rapidly increasing. Generally, a Web 2.0 website is a site where a user is able to create an account, upload, share, contribute, comment, vote or read personal opinions of other users, all on the same site. Many of the Web 2.0 websites, such as YouTube™, MetaCafe™, Google® video, Yahoo!® video, Myspace.com®, users' blogs, etc. provide video sharing services.
A video sharing, or online video, service allows individuals or content publishers to upload video clips to Internet websites. The website stores the video clip on its server, and provides different types of functions to allow others to view that video clip. For example, the website may allow commenting and rating of a video clip. Many services have publication options, e.g. private sharing. Video sharing services can be classified into several categories, e.g. user generated video sharing websites, video sharing platform, white label providers, web-based video editing.
As video hosting websites are becoming increasingly popular, such websites provide a platform for traditional publishers, such as TV broadcasters, to use these websites as another medium to display media content. For example, CBS and CNN networks often publish video clips on YouTube. For such publishers it is highly desirable to know the "ratings" of their published video clips. In television, the ratings, e.g. Nielsen Ratings determine the audience size and composition of television programming as well as advertising rates. This method is not applicable for the Internet.
In the related art, there are different techniques to determine the popularity of a website. One technique known in the art refers to "page-hit" (or "page views"). The "page-hit" refers to an event wherein a server receives a request for a page and then serves up the page. A common measure of traffic at a website is in the number of page hits, especially in an advertising context for particular pages or sets of pages. Page hit counts are a rough measure of the traffic of a website. Other techniques involve analyzing traffic between the Web server and clients. These techniques work well when the traffic of interest relates to particular pages, but are generally uninformative when traffic by topic is desired because one page may relate to multiple topics. Systems have been suggested for embedding script code in web pages for tracking user activity on a web page.
The rating of video clips on video hosting websites can be determined using viewership information provided by these sites. Typically, the sites count the cumulative number of users who view the clip. However, more refined measurements that include, for example, the quantity and characteristics of viewers as well as detailed information about the duration and repetition of each view, are neither generated by video sharing websites nor by any other prior art technique. Furthermore, the viewership information can be easily manipulated by using, for example, scripts, browser refreshes, and other fraudulent means. As a result, ratings measured based on the viewership information are inaccurate at best and often misleading. Systems have been suggested for placement of advertising slots in hosted video clips. In such systems, methods are used to track the ad placement and viewing. Such methods require preparation of the video clips for ad placement.
Frameworks described in the prior art enable collection of application events in distributed internet applications. These frameworks require the application to be specifically instrumented through an Application Programming Interface (API), which requires software development capability for use of the API and system resources such as storage to the file system for running the API.

Method and apparatus for tracing users of online video web sites


A micro-pump for fuel injection includes a housing, a pressure regulator, a combustible liquid inlet conduit in fluid communication with the pressure regulator, and a drop ejector on the housing and in fluid communication with the pressure regulator. The drop ejector contains a nozzle capable of ejecting a combustible liquid in a drop-by-drop fashion from the drop ejector. Further, an apparatus for generating a combustible vapor for a combustible fuel device such as an internal combustion engine. The apparatus includes a micro-pump for ejecting a combustible liquid drop-by-drop therefrom and means, connected to the micro-pump, for channeling a stream of air through the drops ejected by the micro-pump thereby generating a combustible vapor for the combustible fuel device.

The present invention generally relates to engine fuel systems and, more particularly, to combustible fuel devices that generate combustible vapors such as internal combustion engines.
Heretofore, combustible vapors were directed into the cylinders of internal combustion engines using either carburetors or fuel injectors. Fuel injectors were either continuous or pulsed. The continuous fuel injectors directed the combustible vapor into an intake manifold, and when an intake valve opened, the vapor was drawn into the cylinder by the piston. The pulsed fuel injectors directed fuel vapor on command into either a region upstream of each intake valve or directly into the combustion chambers. Both of these fuel delivery systems are highly developed, well known, and have been in use for decades.
By way of further background, the engine fuel system disclosed in this document also generally relates to a printing/imaging technology known as thermal ink jet or bubble jet. For printing marks and text on various media with water based inks, this technology is likewise well known and highly developed.
As environmental regulations become more and more stringent, there is an increasing need for more precise control of the fuel/air stoichiometry in the combustion chambers of an engine. Several problems continue to persist in conventional fuel delivery technology. For instance, if excessive fuel is used or too little air, the amount of hydrocarbon emissions increases correspondingly. Also, for fuel injectors, the orifices change in size over time; they get larger due to mechanical wear and smaller due to clogging from both the constituents in the fuel and small particles that are not removed by the fuel filter. In addition, the requirement for more precise fuel and air metering to meet environmental and fuel economy regulations has caused both carburetors and fuel injectors to become more and more expensive.
There is also a need for an inexpensive, simple fuel delivery system for small industrial engines, those having about twenty-five horsepower or less. These are the engines used on lawn mowers, rotary tillers, outboards, and scooters, for example. These engines are increasingly being subject to environmental regulation, but it is impractical to incorporate a conventional fuel delivery system that costs as much or more than the rest of the machine.
Further, with these conventional fuel delivery systems, reliability continues to be a problem. For example, a conventional fuel injection system requires high-pressure pumps and carefully engineered fuel conduits, tubing, and connections that must withstand constant vibration and extreme variations in operating temperature.
It is apparent from the foregoing that although there are well-developed engine fuel delivery systems, there is a need for an approach that meets increasingly stringent environmental regulations, is reliable and inexpensive, and more precisely controls the fuel/air stoichiometry in combustion chambers.
Briefly and in general terms, an apparatus according to the invention includes a micro-pump having a housing, a pressure regulator connected to the housing, a combustible liquid inlet conduit in fluid communication with the pressure regulator, and a drop ejector on the housing and in fluid communication with the pressure regulator. The drop ejector contains a nozzle capable of ejecting a combustible liquid in a drop-by-drop fashion from the drop ejector.
Another aspect of the invention is an apparatus for generating a combustible vapor including a micro-pump for ejecting a combustible liquid drop-by-drop therefrom and means, connected to the micro-pump, for channeling a stream of air through the drops ejected by the micro-pump thereby generating a combustible vapor for combustible fuel devices such as an internal combustion engine.
In operation, the apparatus ejects a combustible liquid drop-by-drop from a micro-pump and channels a stream of air through the drops ejected by the micro-pump, thereby generating a combustible vapor.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.

Micro-pump and fuel injector for combustible liquids

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.