A contact type image sensor including a plurality of photodiodes for converting a light signal into an electric signal according to the intensity of the light and a plurality of blocking diodes, arranged in either a back-to-back or a front-to-front connection with the photodiodes, for functioning as switching elements to have the information stored on the photodiodes read out, and adapted to be driven by a matrix drive system. For a back-to-back connection of the blocking diodes and photodiodes, a control circuit maintains the potential difference between cathodes of the photodiodes at zero volts at all times. Similarly, for a front-to-front connection of the blocking diodes and photodiodes, a control/drive circuit maintains the potential difference between the anodes of the photodiodes at zero volts at all times. Since the potential difference between the cathodes (for the back-to-back connection) or anodes (for the front-to-front connection) of all of the photodiodes is always maintained at zero volts, crosstalk at crossover portions between output lines connected to the photodiodes is reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a contact type image sensor capable of reading an original without contracting it and for use in a small size facsimile equipment or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Since a contact type image sensor is capable of reading an original without using a contracting optical system, it has a shorter optical path and it can be miniaturized. Therefore, it is nowadays widely used in such reading apparatuses as small size facsimile equipment and bar code readers.
While there are various types of contact type image sensors in use, the below described contact type image sensor is arranged such that electric charges stored on its plurality of photodiodes by photoelectric transfer are sequentially read out by means of its blocking diodes functioning as switching elements. Since the photoelectric transfer element and the switching element constituting each sensor element of such a contact type image sensor are formed of diodes of the same structure, it is possible to achieve high packaging density of the sensor elements and simplification of the manufacturing process.
However, for a contact type one-dimensional image sensor to read an original, it is required that the sensor is as long as the size of the original. For example, supposing sensor elements are used at the density of 8 elements/mm, virtually close to 2000 elements are required for reading an original in A-4 size. To read pieces of information stored on these sensor elements, matrix driving is frequently used. Matrix driving is frequently used also a contact type two-dimensional image sensor for reading pieces of information stored on a still larger number of sensor elements used therein.
In arranging a matrix drive system in the contact type image sensor, however, there are formed crossover portions (non-contact portions) where a plurality of electrode circuits and another plurality of electrode circuits make two-level crossings. Since there is interposed an insulator of silicon oxide or the like between one electrode and the other electrode at the crossover portion, the crossover portion functions as a capacitor and, thus, each of the crossover portions introduces stray capacitance. Further, since a great number of the crossover portions are formed in the contact type image sensor with a matrix-drive system, there has been a problem that the response of the sensor elements becomes slow or crosstalks are produced between diodes due to the capacitance existing at the crossover portions.


Virtual machines are managed by obtaining software hierarchy information of a current virtual machine to be installed. Then logical memory assigned to the current virtual machine is divided into a private part and a shared part based at least in part upon existing software hierarchy information of at least one virtual machine already installed and the software hierarchy information of the current virtual machine. Then, the shared part of the logical memory is mapped to shared segments of a physical memory, wherein the shared segments are used by at least one installed virtual machine.

Various aspects of the present invention relate generally to virtual machines, and more particularly, to managing virtual machines.
In recent years, virtualization technology has been widely used in many situations in order to improve the efficiency of information technology (IT) resources and applications. Virtualization technology can instantly assign resources, applications, and servers to a corresponding location according to the needs of the location to integrate various resources and improve computer usability, thereby saving 50%-70% of IT cost.
The typical realization of virtualization is to simulate, in a physical machine, at least one virtual computer, i.e. Virtual Machine, which is a completed computer system having entire functions of physical systems running in an isolated environment and simulated by software. Such virtual machines can host their own guest operating system and applications like physical computers and can have all components like physical computers, including simulations of a motherboard, hard disk, network card controller, etc. Although multiple virtual machines may share the physical resources of one computer, they are isolated from one another like different physical computers. For example, if there are four virtual machines in one physical server but one of them crashes, the other three can be still available. Because of such isolation, the usability and security of applications running in virtual environment is far better than that in traditional non-virtualized systems.
To keep isolated from one another, virtual machines retain independency of hardware resource distribution and share as few common physical resources as possible. Specifically, in memory management, a hypervisor between the physical platform and virtual machines assigns a separate segment of memory for each virtual machine, and each virtual machine only accesses its own memory.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Managing memory in multiple virtual machines

International Business Machines Corporation


In one aspect, the invention comprises compounds that bind to the synaptic vesicle protein SV2A and that can be useful as radiotracers for positron emission tomography. In another aspect, the invention comprises methods of imaging the brain, measuring synaptic density or diagnosing neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, psychiatric disorders such as depression, and metabolic disorders such as diabetes comprising detecting the compounds of the invention by positron emission tomography (PET).

Alzheimer's disease (AD) affects more than 35 million people worldwide, and the number is estimated to quadruple in 40 years if there remains no cure. AD is characterized by the accumulation of plaques and fibrillary tangles, i.e., β-amyloid plaques (aβ) and tau protein aggregates, with significant loss of neurons and atrophy at late stage, and can only be definitively diagnosed with postmortem histology staining of brain tissues. Early symptoms of AD are marked by the impairment of declarative memories, and accumulating evidence suggests that this occurs as the hippocampal synapses are compromised by soluble 0-amyloid protein oligomers during the earliest phase of AD. Evidence also suggests that neuropathophysiological development occurs for many years, if not decades, before any clinical presentation, with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) being a prodrome of AD, and synapse loss occurring prior to the accumulation of aβ.
The fact that there are no disease-modifying drugs for AD after decades of efforts to discover them drives us to consider early intervention as a strategy to treat that debilitating disease. With new treatments being tested, a biomarker for reliable, early diagnosis and prognosis of AD will enable more effective intervention before severe neuro-degeneration sets in. The usefulness of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging for AD diagnosis has been well recognized by the AD community, as evidenced by its inclusion in the new diagnostic criteria for AD. PET imaging of aβ using Pittsburgh compound B (PIB) has emerged as a diagnostic tool included in clinical trials for aβ-targeting drugs. However, aβ accumulation is necessary but not sufficient to produce clinical manifestations of AD, with some people carrying aβ but never expressing dementia during their life. In an AD model, the recovery of cognitive function correlates well with the recovery of synapse density, rather than any changes in aβ. Thus, early detection and prediction of AD progression remains a big challenge, with no validated modality.
As one of the earliest and most consistent hallmarks of AD, regional synaptic losses correlate with the severity of AD from a postmortem study of AD patients. Regional synaptic loss in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex is directly related to memory and cognitive dysfunction, and is one of the earliest signs of preclinical or prodromal AD, even before the onset of aβ plaques. Synaptic function has been indirectly measured by detecting neuronal activity via positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), or FDG PET. However, as FDG PET measures glucose metabolism of neurons, it is prone to confounders such as blood glucose level, neuron activation, and so forth. There is a need for an imaging biomarker that is directly linked to synaptic density and free of confounding factors in its measurement.
As the second most common neurodegenerative disease after AD, Parkinson's disease (PD) affects more than 10 million people worldwide, and causes enormous socioeconomic burden. There is evidence showing synaptic density changes in animal models and post-mortem PD patients. The exact synaptic density dynamics during the developing process of PD is yet to be clarified, partly due to the lack of a non-invasive imaging tool. From limited literature reports, an increase in synaptic density in the striatum was observed in animal models at the early stages of PD (proposed to be due to a compensatory mechanism from dopaminergic denervation), while a decrease in synaptic density was observed at the later stages of PD with clinical manifestations. The synaptic decrease was also found outside of the nigrostriatal system and include non-dopamine neurons in the cortex.
Stroke is a devastating disease that has high mortality and morbidity rates. As the most commonly used clinical outcome measure for stroke clinical trials, the modified ranking scale (mRS), which measures the degree of disability or dependence in the daily activities of the stroke patients, is subjective. One of the pathological features of stroke is synaptic deficit, with recovery of motor and memory functions after stroke accompanied by the increase of synaptic density. Studies in cortical stroke models have found a correlation between motor recovery and the synaptophysin expression level, a biomarker of synaptic density.
As a common neurological disorder, multiple sclerosis (MS) is a leading cause of disability from cognitive dysfunction. Cognitive deficits have been reported in 40-65% of MS patients at all stages and subtypes. These cognitive deficits relate to demyelination associated with loss of synaptic density and brain atrophy. Postmortem brain pathology showed hippocampal demyelination in MS as well as significant synaptic density loss (˜50%). Significant reduction of cortical axonal density was observed only in demyelinated areas of cortical gray matter, but synapse loss was present also in normal appearing gray matter.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a range of disorders that are characterized by social and communication deficits and repetitive behaviors. Recent research suggests that children and teens with autism have an abnormal "pruning" of synapses in the brain during development, which results in a surplus of brain synapses. Thus abnormal synaptic homeostasis represent a risk factor for ASD and therapies to correct these synaptic defects might be effective in the treatment of ASD.
Epilepsy is a chronic brain disorder that affects nearly 3 million people in the United State. The hallmarks of epilepsy are spontaneous recurrent seizures and frequent comorbid conditions such as anxiety, depression, cognitive impairment, and sudden unexpected death. Despite the availability of multiple classes of antiepileptic drugs, about 30% of the patients develop medically intractable epilepsy, with a particularly high (50-70%) rate of intractable cases among patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. Thus, surgery for epilepsy has been a long-standing practice for medically refractory patients, but are dependent on the preoperative localization of the seizure-onset zone. SV2A is the target for levetiracetam, a second generation antiepileptic drug, and its expression has been shown to be reduced by 30-50% in the anterior temporal neocortex of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. A similar reduction in SV2A expression has also been seen in the hippocampus of temporal lobe epilepsy patients with hippocampal sclerosis and in tissues resected from epilepsy patients with focal cortical dysplasia and tuberous sclerosis.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a devastating problem worldwide. Approximately 2 million head injuries occur each year in the US, which lead to over 50,000 deaths and approximately 80,000 individuals who survive with severe neurological dysfunction. A large portion of patients with severe injury develop cognitive dysfunction, as well as post-traumatic seizures with epilepsy that can last for years. Acute TBI has been shown to be associated with reorganization of synapses, and functional recovery from TBI has been indicated to accompany recovery in synaptic function.
Diabetes mellitus is a group of chronic metabolic conditions, all of which are characterized by elevated blood glucose levels resulting from the body's inability to produce insulin or resistance to insulin action, or both. Diabetes prevalence is increasing rapidly. According to the 2016 data from the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 422 million adults globally are living with diabetes mellitus, and it is becoming one of the major health problems in developing countries. Diabetes-related complications, e.g., cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, neuropathy, blindness, and lower-extremity amputation are a significant cause of increased morbidity and mortality among people with diabetes, and result in a heavy economic burden. In the United States, the prevalence and incidence of diabetes have increased dramatically during the past 2 decades approaching epidemic proportions. Effective interventions are desperately needed to slow the diabetes epidemic and reduce diabetes-related complications. Type 1 Diabetes mellitus accounts for 5% to 10% of all cases of diabetes, and is characterized by a complete lack of insulin production caused by autoimmune beta-cell mass (BCM) destruction in the islets of Langerhans of the pancreas and subsequent deficient insulin secretion in response to hyperglycemia. A clinically viable means to measure BCM would be an invaluable tool for evaluating the physiological basis of therapeutic approaches to restore deficient insulin secretory capacity. SV2A is expressed in the pancreas associated with insulin-containing granules in neuroendocrine cells.
There is thus a need in the art for novel compounds and/or compositions that can be used in the clinic for the diagnosis of a neurodegenerative, neurological, psychiatric, and/or metabolic disease, such as but not limited to AD, PD, MS, autism, epilepsy, stroke, TBI, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and diabetes, or any other diseases/disorders where involvement of synaptic disruptions and/or abnormalities exists. The present disclosure addresses this need.

Radiolabeled pharmaceuticals and methods of making and using same


Drug delivery models, displays, and systems may be configured to provide a clinician with readily intuitive information about the effects of one or more drugs on a subject. Interactive features may be included to provide a subject-specific model of the expected or predicted effects of one or more drugs on the subject. Additionally, interactive features that effect drug delivery to the subject may also be included. Drug delivery models, displays, and systems may be used in teaching, in advance of treatment, during treatment, or following treatment.

Clinical pharmacology is the science of predicting the magnitude and time course (e.g., pharmacokinetics, or P.sub.k) of drug effect. Given that anesthetists spend their day administering low therapeutic index agents, clinical pharmacology is perhaps more important to anesthesiology than any other specialty. Anesthesia and reanimation necessitate a standard of precision and accuracy in drug administration not required in most areas of clinical medicine. Anesthetists depress the central nervous system to maintain the anesthetized state but then rapidly reanimate patients after an operation is complete. Although over-dosing every patient within the constraints of acceptable hemodynamic variables is one approach to assuring the patient is adequately anesthetized, it comes at the cost of slow emergence from anesthesia. The anesthetist must rely on drugs with rapid onset and predictable offset of effect to ensure maintenance of an anesthetic state with return of responsiveness and other vital function until the appropriate time. Anesthetists must therefore target drug levels that are within a relatively narrow therapeutic window to achieve the competing clinical imperatives of adequate anesthesia (without toxicity) and rapid emergence. Thus, from a practical aspect, the ultimate goal of clinical pharmacology is to provide anesthetists with the information they need to make rational and rapid decisions about the selection and administration of anesthetics.
Apparatus for modeling and displaying the modeled effects of a single drug on a subject are known in the art. These apparatus are useful in assisting those administering drugs, including health care professionals and other individuals, as well as automated systems that deliver drugs, with information that is useful in determining if, when, and how much of an additional dosage of the drug should be administered to the subject. Conventionally, such apparatus were configured to model the concentration of the drug in a subject's body, or "pharmacokinetics" (P.sub.k) of the drug. More recently, modeling techniques and apparatus have been used to model the effect site concentration of the drug, or "pharmacodynamic effect" or "pharmacodynamics" (P.sub.d) of the drug, which is a measure of the effectiveness of the drug on the body of a subject, may be modeled over time. Unfortunately, the often puzzling mathematical manipulations involved in estimating pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters and the complex math required to build models that predict drug behavior have made use of these models in a clinical setting impractical.
As multiple drugs may be administered to a subject, more than one drug may have an effect on a patient or other subject during a particular point in time. Further, when multiple drugs are present in the body of a subject, they may have an effect on one another, or affect the subject in a different manner than any of the drugs alone would affect the subject. Nonetheless, modeling apparatus and techniques that are known in the art do not account for drug-drug interactions, or the combined effects of two or more drugs on the body of a subject.
Modeling techniques and apparatus that are known to the named inventors of the claimed subject matter do not consider the individual characteristics of a subject to which drugs are administered, the effects of multiple drugs on one another, or the effects of multiple drugs on a subject to which they are administered.
Without multiple sources of pharmacodynamic knowledge and monitoring, excessive dosages may waste drugs and, thus, money; prolong withdrawal of the subject from anesthesia, which may consume the availability of valuable operating room time; and even cause death of the subject. When anesthesia dosages are too small, the subject may become conscious or semi-conscious during an operation or other invasive procedure or the subject may be required to endure an excessive amount of pain, both of which may have a number of other negative consequential effects on the subject.
Moreover, anesthetists have been unable to effectively integrate the intricacies of kinetics and dynamics into their clinical practice, and instead, rely on training and experience to determine dosing.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for techniques and apparatus that provide those who administer drugs or monitor the administration of drugs, in an intuitive manner, with additional information that would be beneficial in determining the proper amounts of one or more drugs that should be administered to a subject.

Methods and apparatus for drug modeling and displaying drug models


A valve assembly HAS an element movable in a mechanical journal arrangement relative to a valve opening to establish an opening position of a valve, and A control unit for controlling the application of an oscillatory electromagnetic force to the element (8) having an known peak amplitude to cause the element to execute a sympathetic oscillatory motion as a friction reducing maneuver. The control unit is adapted to control the peak amplitude of the oscillatory electromagnetic force to sequentially apply a number of different peak amplitudes, each during a different measurement period. A monitor detects changes in the opening position of the valve during each of the measurement periods and provides a measure thereof. A processor is connected to the control unit and to the monitor to determine a working amplitude of the oscillatory electromagnetic force at which the detected changes will be minimized and to supply the determined working amplitude to the control unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of controlling an oscillatory friction-reducing maneuver of a valve element journaled in a bearing for movement to regulate a degree of opening of the valve, and to a valve assembly having an element operable according to the method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In valves for which the degree of opening is automatically regulated with a mechanically journaled element friction in the bearing can cause problems. One of the most common is that frictional forces cause the element to stick in a particular position so that a change in the force applied to the element in order to move it to another position can have unpredictable results. Moreover, the magnitude of the frictional force itself is often unpredictable, since it may change with the age of the valve, the pressure of the element against the bearing etc., so that the force which must be applied to the element in order to overcome the frictional force can be unpredictable.
It is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,787,924 to provide, in a valve having a mechanically journaled element as described above, a controller which exerts a force on the element to move it to a desired position and then exerts an additional oscillatory force of a predetermined maximum magnitude, a working amplitude, to cause sympathetic oscillation of the element about the desired position by amounts sufficiently small so as not to adversely effect the flow control operation of the valve. This continuous oscillatory motion is designed to prevent the element sticking in the journal arrangement. The working amplitude of this additional force may even be made to be dependent, in a known manner, on the magnitude of an error signal representing the known position of the element and the desired position.
However, the magnitude of the working amplitude of the additional force, or its dependency, is factory pre-set and is typically the same for all valves of a particular type. If set too low it may not overcome the frictional forces which could vary, particularly as the valve ages. If set too high then unacceptably large oscillations in the position of the element may result. A compromise magnitude or dependency must therefore be pre-set which ensures that, for all valves, the valve will operate properly under a large cross-section of conditions.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an electromagnetic valve operable according to the method in which the working amplitude of the additional force causing the oscillations is adapted to the operating conditions of the valve as well as to the mechanical properties of an individual valve.
In accordance with the present invention this object is achieved in a method for controlling a friction reducing maneuver of the valve element whereby variations in the magnitude of a property, such as flow or pressure of fluid flowing through the valve, which is affected by a degree of opening of the valve and so is indicative of the degree of movement of the journaled element, is monitored as the maximum amplitude of the force causing the element to perform the friction reducing maneuver is varied. The maximum amplitude of the force is then set to that determined from the monitored variations as providing the minimum variation. Thus the amplitude of the force causing the oscillations need not be pre-set but is made dependent on the prevailing conditions within the valve. This ensures that only sufficient additional force is applied to cause the element to oscillate while minimizing the adverse effects on the fluid passing through the valve.
Preferably the method includes the step of preventing movement of the journaled element in directions other than that required to establish a degree of opening of the valve. This controls a source of variation in friction and so reduces the number of occasions during the operation of the valve for which the amplitude for minimum variation needs to be determined. Indeed to may be sufficient to carry out this determination only once, for example before delivery, during the lifetime of the valve.
The aforementioned object also is achieved in accordance with the present invention in a valve, such as an electromagnetic valve, operable according to the above-described method of the present invention and so possessing the advantages associated with that method.

Method for controlling a valve element and valve assembly


A complete Direct Digital Numerical Control (DDNC) automation system for a practical measurement system for a manufacturing process where a given slide or ram is moved under power by input of GO-TO location commands to cause a cascade of motion events to an approximate position, then relax, as a low-cost precision lock system completes the power move into exact absolute final position. This low-cost system uses simple switches & drive systems to operate without computer micro-processor (CNC) or program-logic-controllers (PLC), yet provide accurate final positioning. Position commands are simple real number digits meaningful to the Operator in work-station terms. Add-on Digital Readout Displays (DRO) are optional, as is remote input by other digital programs to augment the simple manual control panel GO-TO commands. This system is engineered for small shops in rural communities; for affordable automation of tiny devices; machines; & even provide numerical control (DDNC) for monster-machines.

The many existing automation controls are based on using special high-cost-complex machine components. Precision parts are required at each stage, and within each unit, the total-output tolerance is the sum of all the internal errors. Many automation servo units have a complex-signal system to command a movement of a given number of pulses. Each pulse commands an increment-in-motion or change-in-location. These pulses are then converted into a complex-stepper-motor or servo-power-sequence to rotate and cause a linear motion. The pulse-drive requires a precision drive-motor working through a precision gear-box to cause a given twist of a shaft. The shaft has to be mounted in precision bearings, and be made of very precision construction to convert the twist into the required, precise, linear-motion to the travel-ram. Some form of feedback is required in existing automation controls to sense the actual move in relation to the command. All this is hardware is very expensive, and in many systems, special-software is used to avoid major interface problems for electrical commands to provide actual productive work. The whole field of automation and motion control has been changing to encompass special glass-etched scales, rotary and linear encoders, special-stepper and servo-motors as assembled, without any new overall system. A need exists for a redesign, as a means to inject some improved selected complex components into the existing array of numerical control and automation hardware.
Some newer control systems have been developed with laser-beam-transit-time to read "distance" from a given reference point. Special magnetic-encoded scales with complex-markings and other forms of analog-to-digital systems are being used. These more modern controls still only make machines move in accord with input commands. The new sensors have better life and operation in the harsh environment where they are operating. The commands and interface with the physical motion must compare to feedback return signal-readout-information. Computers are needed to handle this type of new extremely complex encryption, and carry that back to the main power control and to a display panel.
High-cost for these systems results from new super-precision-motion-control units. Even a slightly sloppy, gear-tooth-mesh cannot be used in standard CNC systems today. Special zero-back-lash or go-too-far, and-then-back-up special-circuit systems are used, and are required. Many servo-motor packages are very small. This forces the use of long rubbery belts or linkage to extend the motion for a large machine. Most systems decay with age and with wear. Ball screws offer only a tiny, high stress-area-contact to mate the shaft to the nut. Small line pad area is the actual push-surface high-stress interface that is present in all rack and pinion, and all gear-to-gear drive systems. Wear makes for less-accuracy in these prior art system designs using low-contact area interface.
It is therefore an object of the invention to develop apparatus that use simple motion causing drives to power this low-cost exacting and precision-locating and measuring system.
It is another object of the invention to have the apparatus acquire an absolute-location and accurate lock of motion command, to move to "12.3 inches"; or "130.2 MM"; or "12.009 inches"; or "345.01 feet", as examples.
It is another object of the invention to utilize simple electrical-switching-circuits and low-cost, inexpensive, long-life control modules as means to command and control motion.
It is another object of the invention to develop a practical system to operate at, at least 12 volt direct current signal levels for extreme immunity to electrical noise or electro-magnetic-interference found around work stations.
It is another object of the invention to acquire proper precise digital numeric command location without the need for microprocessors; any complex computers and logic systems; or expensive subassemblies and components.
It is another object of the invention to provide practical-affordable-automation motion and measurement systems for rural America and third-world-countries to automate their process, increase their productivity, with less need for technicians, and high-cost-expensive servicing equipment.
It is another object of the invention to provide a Digit Readout (DRO) with this option as an add-on motion control subsystem; as well as, for use in its own right, as a measurement display for Operator interface.
It is another object of the invention to replace the much-more-complex motion controls using incremental, binary, or Gray codes as encryption and sensing means for rotary and linear systems.
It is another object of the invention to provide the use of the simple straight forward precision rack with selectable lock segments for extreme accurate end of linear or rotary travel.
It is another object of the invention to eliminate, from a selected group of precision pulse-control drive systems components and subsystems now necessarily embedded in current servo drives for Numerical Control (CNC) machines.

Practical measurement system for a manufacturing process


A spark generating device that is supported by a tricycle is movable to a position in which the spark generating device contacts the riding surface. The spark generating device includes a handle actuation portion and a spark portion that creates sparks on the riding surface as a result of frictional contact with the riding surface. The spark generating device can also include a handle actuation portion which is accessible to the user and allows the user to move the spark generating device to the second position without having to manipulate the wheels or pedals of the tricycle.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate generally to personal mobility vehicles and, more specifically, to a tricycle with a spark generating device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Three-wheeled vehicles, commonly known as tricycles comprise a front wheel and a pair of spaced rear wheels, and many types and styles of tricycles have been developed for use by both children and adults. Riding on tricycles is a popular recreational activity. This is especially true for younger age children who do not yet have the physical coordination and skill necessary to ride more advanced recreational vehicles such as two-wheeled bicycles, skateboards, roller skates, or two-wheeled scooters. There have been many tricycles devised over the years. Most of these tricycles perform the normal function of moving when pedaled by the user and turning on a radius determined by manipulation of the handlebars controlling the front wheel. There have been very few tricycle designs which add accessories to add excitement and desirability to the standard design.
Spark generation is one feature that has been added to several recreational apparatus and activities. Many of these apparatus and activities have integrated spark generators into their designs and configurations. Skateboards, roller skates, and roller blades have been designed to allow the user to generate sparks while performing the corresponding activity. Some of these prior art arrangements attach a spark generating material in a fixed manner to the apparatus which generates sparks upon contacting the riding surface. This requires that the entire apparatus be adjusted or displaced in order to generate sparks. For example, with roller blades and skateboards, the user would have to lift the front wheels off of the contact surface in order to cause the spark material to engage the riding surface to generate sparks.
With a tricycle, it would be very difficult and undesirable to lift any portion of the tricycle off of the riding surface in order to generate sparks. Other prior art arrangements, for example those on skateboards or scooters, require the user to adjust or act upon a spark generating portion with the user's foot or feet. However with a tricycle, it is desirable to allow the user to generate sparks without the use of the user's foot or feet, as typically tricycle configurations require users to act upon the pedals with both feet to propel the tricycle forward. Therefore, the current arrangements in the prior art for generating sparks on recreational items are unsuitable for use with tricycles.

Sparking device for a personal mobility vehicle


The present invention relates to the field of article manufacture and more particularly to an apparatus for removing the flashing from a manufactured article. The apparatus includes at least one gripping unit for gripping a portion of the flashing. The gripping unit is switched by a pneumatic actuator between an open and a clamping configuration. A support is provided upon which each gripping unit is movably mounted, and an indexing actuator is provided for indexing each gripping unit along the support between a rest position displaced from the support surface and a clamping position adjacent to the support surface. A control unit is provided for controlling the operation of the pneumatic actuator and the indexing actuator to effect removal of the flashing. The control unit causes each gripping unit, when in the clamping position, to switch from the open configuration to the clamping configuration to grip the flashing. Subsequently, the control unit causes each gripping unit to return from the clamping position to the rest position so that the flashing is removed from the article. The control unit then causes the gripping unit to switch to the open configuration to release the flashing. Other aspects of the invention provide proximity sensors for sensing the position of each gripping unit and a disposal track for removing the flashing to another location once it is removed from the article by the gripping unit.

A common manufacturing operation involves the sealing of deformable material such as plastic or vinyl sheeting. Such sealing may be accomplished through the use of a radio frequency (RF) sealing press or, more traditionally, with a heat sealing press. Typically, following the sealing process, there remains a portion of scrap material or "flashing" along the sealed edge. This flashing is preferably removed prior to delivering the article being manufactured to the next manufacturing operation.
In the manufacture of loose-leaf binders for instance, vinyl sheets are sealed about cardboard inserts to form a rigid cover for the binder. The flashing that remains following the sealing process preferably should be removed from the binder cover before the cover is delivered to its next stage of manufacture. The flashing has traditionally been removed manually by gripping an edge of the flashing and lifting it from the rigid binder. Since the seal substantially cuts through the vinyl sheeting, the flashing is weakened and easy to remove. Although a simple process, this method of removing the flashing depends upon the employment of manual labour. The efficiency of the flashing removal operation tends to be limited by the mundane nature of the task, as well as other inefficiencies associated with employing manual labour as opposed to utilizing automated technology.
It is therefore desirable that an automated apparatus be provided to perform the flashing removal operation. This apparatus should provide a simple and efficient means for removing the flashing. Preferably, the apparatus should be adaptable to be used in association with other automated technology.

Apparatus for removing a flashing from a manufactured article


A process is provided for the production of aromatic sulfide/sulfone polymers which comprises contacting under suitable polymerization reaction conditions: (1) at least one dihaloaromatic sulfone, (2) water, and (3) a complex comprising at least one alkali metal hydrosulfide.

Thermoplastic polymers having a high degree of heat resistance or thermal stability are the object of intensive research and development in many laboratories throughout the world. Since thermoplastic materials comprising these polymers can be molded rapidly and efficiently to articles of simple or complex design, mass production techniques can be utilized to provide a wide variety of useful products. Heat resistant thermoplastic polymers thus offer important advantages that can be used in applications such as electrical components, wire coatings, automotive parts, aircraft parts and the like. Often such polymers can be used in the form of composite materials which contain high temperature resistant fibers and fillers.
Arylene sulfide/sulfone polymers are thermoplastic polymers known in the art, and processes for making these polymers are disclosed in various U.S. patents of R. W. Campbell, e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,016,145, 4,102,875, 4,127,713 and 4,301,274. Although these patents represent significant and valuable advances in the art, there is a need for a simplified process which can provide aromatic sulfide/sulfone polymers having high molecular weight.
Accordingly, an object of our invention is to produce aromatic sulfide/sulfone polymers exhibiting high molecular weight.
It is a further object of our invention to provide a simplified, readily controllable process for producing high molecular weight aromatic sulfide/sulfone polymers.
Other objects and aspects, as well as the several advantages of our invention are apparent from a study of this disclosure and the appended claims.

Aromatic sulfide/sulfone polymer production


The invention is directed to an optical system for a fundus camera in which lens pairs are tilted relative to the imaging beam path to prevent flare. This tilting is carried out in two planes and these planes are preferably oriented perpendicular to one another.

a) Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to an optical system for a fundus camera which serves to image the ocular fundus. When imaging the ocular fundus with a camera of this type, flare generally results at the cornea and at surfaces of the optical system and has a degrading effect on the image quality.
In its basic construction, a fundus camera comprises a multiple-stage optical system. An ophthalmoscope lens generates an intermediate image that is imaged by a sequential system (principal objective) on a film or a CCD matrix. The ophthalmoscope lens is also a component part of the illumination.
b) Description of the Related Art
A particular problem in observing and photographing the fundus is posed by flare at the cornea and at the surfaces of the ophthalmoscope lens because the light which is reflected by the retina and which carries the relevant image information is substantially less intense than the light that is reflected before entering the eye. Troublesome corneal flare is normally prevented by dividing the pupil of the eye. For this purpose, the ophthalmoscope lens images an illumination ring in the pupil of the eye. The illumination rays reflected at the cornea miss the observation aperture. Only the area within the illumination ring is used for observation.
There are substantially two known concepts for suppressing flare at the ophthalmoscope lens.
DE-OS 35 19 442 describes an optical system in which components of light that could enter the observation aperture by reflection at the ophthalmoscope lens or cornea are masked out by "black-dot plates" which are arranged at a suitable location in the beam path and which are coated in a defined manner with light-absorbing layers. This method of suppressing reflections has come to be known as "anti-flare dot objective".
The proximity of the anti-flare dot to the field diaphragm is a disadvantage in this design. The absorption of individual light components can become visible as an inhomogeneous illumination of the ocular fundus. Ring-shaped shadows occur which degrade the image and accordingly impede evaluation by the ophthalmologist.
Another solution is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,910. This solution does away with masking of determined light components within the illumination optics. Instead of the ophthalmoscope lens, a multiple-lens objective is used whose lenses are tilted relative to one another in such a way that the direct flares at the glass-air interfaces do not enter the observation aperture. For this purpose, the optical axes of the lenses lie in a plane together with the optical axis of the observation beam path. This solution requires a considerable expenditure on mechanical mounting and has considerable problems with correcting imaging errors.
A system of the type mentioned above exhibits a clear difference between imaging scales in the meridional and sagittal section. Anamorphotic effects can be observed in object imaging as well as in pupil imaging (illumination). The images are distorted and there is no similarity of imaging. Further, the system exhibits coma and astigmatism when imaging the axial point and the imaging errors in the field are not symmetric with respect to rotation.


An emergency routing number (ELRN) is assigned to each switch in a wired communication network. When a switch of the wired communication network routes an emergency call to a Public Service Answering Point (PSAP), the switch sends the ELRN as the calling party number and provides the PSAP with a hardware identifier (HID). The HID identifies, at the switch, the landline connecting the switch to the wired phone initiating the emergency call. If the emergency call drops, the PSAP performs a call back using the ELRN as the called party number. The switch that routed the emergency call to the PSAP receives the call back. The PSAP also sends the HID to the switch. When a switch receives its ELRN as the called party number, the switch recognizes an emergency call back situation and routes the emergency call back on the landline identified by the HID.

Emergency service calls in North America are originated by dialing "9-1-1." Other parts of the world may use some other abbreviated string of dialable digits such as "6-1-1" in Mexico; all share the intent to provide the caller with an easy way to call for help with an easy to remember number. These calls are routed to a local Public Service Answering Point (PSAP) where an emergency response may be initiated (police, fire department, road repair, ambulance, etc.) while the caller is kept on the phone. If the call is somehow disconnected or dropped before the emergency is completely reported or the responder arrives, the PSAP may call back the originator using a call back number provided through its databases.
For example, the call record for a 911 call originated through a wired communication network may include Automatic Line Identification (ANI) or the telephone number of the access line from which the call originated. With the introduction of local number portability (LNP) to the public telephone network, a subscriber may switch their telephone service from a landline service provider (LSP) to a wireless service provider (WSP) and port their directory number (DN) (e.g., a phone number) from the LSP to the WSP. During that transitional time period between when a number is ported to and activated by a WSP and deactivated by a LSP (hours to days), emergency service calls may still be originated from the old wired phone as well as the new mobile phone. However, according to current standards, the same DN will be presented to the PSAP as the callback number for both phones.
Since the DN presented to the PSAP as a callback number has been ported to a WSP, a callback from the PSAP will likely be routed through the WSP to a mobile station (MS). This will happen even if the initial emergency call originated at the wired phone. Namely, there is no unique callback number to the wired phone during this transitional time period.

Emergency service call back to a ported number


The present invention is a method and system for providing auxiliary power to an integrated anesthesia delivery and patient monitoring system. When AC main power is unavailable or inadequate to power a patient monitoring device of the integrated system, DC power from a battery in an anesthesia machine of the integrated system provides power to the patient monitoring device through a DC power connection. Distribution of the battery power is controlled by a first, normally closed solid state switch in the anesthesia machine and a second, normally open solid state switch in the patient monitoring device. The battery is also configured to provide DC power to the anesthesia machine when AC mains power is unavailable to the anesthesia machine. The method and system utilizes required DC auxiliary power from the anesthesia machine to provide DC auxiliary power to the other devices.

In an operating room environment, anesthesia delivery systems are required to have backup power in the event of loss of AC mains power, while patient monitoring systems are not required to provide such backup power. When AC mains is lost, the clinician is put in an anxious situation since the anesthesia delivery system remains operational without any patient monitoring data. Clinicians would prefer to have the complete integrated anesthesia delivery and patient monitoring system remain powered when the AC mains is lost or interrupted.
FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of an integrated anesthesia and patient monitoring system of the prior art. In this prior art model, an anesthesia machine 10 includes a power supply 14, a battery 16, a DC to DC converter 18 and an anesthesia machine load 20. An AC mains 12 power supply provides power to the anesthesia machine 10. A patient monitoring device 30 includes a power supply 34, a DC to DC converter 36 and a patient monitor load 38. An AC mains 32 power supply also powers the patient monitoring device 30.
In operation, when the AC main 12 power supply is present, the anesthesia machine 10 is powered by the AC main 12 power supply. When no AC main 12 power supply is available, or when the AC main 12 power supply falls below a functional operation level, the power supply 14 is disabled and the battery 16 powers the anesthesia machine load 20 through the DC to DC converter 18. The anesthesia machine 10 will receive power from the battery 16 until the battery 16 is depleted, or until the AC main 12 power is reestablished.
The patient monitoring device 30 will only operate if the AC main 32 is providing power to the power supply 34, thus powering the patient monitor load 38 through the DC to DC converter 36. Upon failure of the AC main 32 power supply, the patient monitoring device 30 will fail.
Current solutions to the interruption of operation of the patient monitoring device upon the loss of AC power include a patient monitoring power supply system with a battery that provides backup when AC mains is lost, and an anesthesia delivery system power supply that provides all power (when AC mains is available or the system is on battery) to the patient monitoring system such that the patient monitoring system does not have its own AC main supply. These solutions are oftentimes quite expensive.

Method and system for providing auxiliary power for anesthesia delivery and patient monitoring


An agent and a method for dispersing spilled oil, particularly on a body of water. The compound is a viscous dispersant liquid comprising a mixture of surfactants and a viscosifying agent that may be stored, shipped, mixed, and delivered on site using standard equipment and methods. The compound is released as a cohesive, persistent, visible, gel-like or paste-like liquid that floats on water. At least one method includes delivering the viscous dispersant liquid onto an oil spill in a body of water utilizing a jet airplane flying at over about 100 feet and spraying the liquid in large, pea-sized droplets.

This section is intended to introduce various aspects of the art, which may be associated with exemplary embodiments of the present techniques. This discussion is believed to assist in providing a framework to facilitate a better understanding of particular aspects of the present techniques. Accordingly, it should be understood that this section should be read in this light, and not necessarily as admissions of prior art.
The production of hydrocarbons, such as oil and gas, has been performed for numerous years. Occasionally, oil or fuel is released onto the surface of a body of water. This is generally referred to as an "oil spill." When such an event occurs, the oil spill is evaluated and in many cases cleaned up. The accidental release of oil or other hydrocarbons in the marine environment poses a significant threat to offshore, near-shore, and coastal areas. In many cases, immediate action may limit the extent of environmental impact.
One method of cleaning up the oil spill is by dispersing the oil into the water column below the surface to prevent the oil from washing up on shore where it may cause severe environmental damage. Liquid chemical treating agents (e.g., chemical dispersants) are generally used in such methods. Chemical dispersants are typically sprayed over the surface of an oil spill to reduce the interfacial tension between the oil and water and to allow wave action to break the oil spill into very small oil droplets. These small oil droplets disperse the oil into the water column. However, once the liquid dispersant enters the water column, it is no longer available for contacting and dispersing the oil. Hence, if the small droplets miss the oil spill, even by a small distance, they will be ineffective.
Conventional chemical dispersants have limitations that reduce their effectiveness for many real world situations. Conventional chemical dispersants tend to lose their effectiveness as the viscosity of the treated oil increases. Some oils naturally have higher viscosities than others (e.g., Bunker C). Even low viscosity crude oils weather over time into a more viscous liquid as their "light ends" dissipate. Other crude oils form emulsions with water that often have a higher viscosity than the crude oil by itself. Further, oil tends to immediately increase in viscosity upon contact with cold water. The high viscosity of the oil reduces the effectiveness of liquid dispersants by limiting the ability of the dispersant to interact with it. Many currently marketed liquid dispersants may tend to roll off or flow off the surface of the viscous oil and pass into the water column without dispersing the oil.
Another limitation of conventional dispersants is related to their delivery methods via boat or airplane. In these delivery methods, the dispersants are sprayed onto an oil spill as small 0.4 to 0.7 μm droplets because larger droplets tend to penetrate the oil spill. These small droplets, particularly when sprayed from aircraft, are expected to have significant losses due to overspray.
A related problem is that conventional chemical dispersants are clear and cannot be seen on the water or oil spill from an airplane. Thus, responders applying the dispersant may not know how well the dispersant covered the slick resulting in spraying a previously treated area or failing to treat an area. Currently these application problems are somewhat addressed by flying low (e.g. about 100 feet) over an oil spill during application.
Conventional dispersants are comprised of only 40 to 50% dispersing agent. The rest is primarily composed of solvent to increase the chances of the dispersing agent mixing with and dispersing the oil spill. The use of more solvent is good because it increases the likelihood of contact with the oil spill, but detrimental in that it limits the amount of dispersing agent, by weight, that can be used.
In addition, many conventional dispersants have a density greater than seawater. This causes droplets that penetrate or miss the slick to sink into the water column without interacting with the oil. These application problems result in overuse of dispersant, which increases costs.
One method utilized to improve dispersant effectiveness for viscous oils and emulsions involved formulating a more effective carrier solvent. Two such dispersants are COREXIT® 9500 and 9527 developed by ExxonMobil Corp. (manufactured by NALCO Chemical Co.). These dispersants are designed to be more effective because the carrier solvents remain in the oil film and resist extraction of the dispersant into the water column.
Another approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,560,482. This method utilizes a viscous, sticky, gel-like solvent that allows contact of the surfactants with the oil spill for a longer time interval to improve the likelihood that the oil will be dispersed into the water. However, this reference fails to teach low density, droplet size, or visibility of the viscous dispersant liquid.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,197 discloses an oil dispersant utilizing a water-soluble polymer and eliminating the hydrocarbon solvent from the formulation. However, this reference fails to teach low density, droplet size, or visibility of the dispersant.
Further, another approach is disclosed in PCT Patent Publication No. WO2005/115603. This reference teaches the use of solid particles including a matrix component and an effective amount of a dispersant component. The solid particles are distributed over the surface of an oil spill and the solid matrix component dissolves to release the surfactant into the oil. The matrix component is oleophilic and does not tend to roll off of viscous oils.
Microbubbles have been used in detergents for altering their density as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,713, but there is no teaching or suggestion to use microbubbles in a oil dispersant formulation.
Accordingly, the need exists for a more efficient dispersant that is persistent, visible when delivered during a spraying operation, is comprised of larger droplets, and tends to float on seawater. Also, a method for effectively and efficiently applying such a dispersant is needed.


A computer-implemented method, system, and article of manufacture for data communication between a requester and a responder in a remote direct memory access (RDMA) network, where each of the requester and the responder is an RDMA-enabled host of the network. The method includes: sending a request for the responder to provide data, where the request includes a mapped steering tag that is obtained by mapping a set of memory buffers of the requester onto a single representation that allows for identifying each of the memory buffers of the set; and receiving the requested data together with the mapped steering tag and assigning the data being received to the memory buffers of the set consistently with the mapping.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to remote direct memory access (RDMA), and more specifically, to RDMA read requests in RDMA networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
Sending and receiving application data over a computer network brings about data copy operations on both sending and receiving hosts. In a multi-user operating system, data typically needs to be copied between application space and operating system kernel. In these systems, the application generates and consumes data while the operating system kernel is responsible for eventually shipping data to a remote application over a network or for receiving remote application data from the network. When using connection-oriented, reliable transport protocols such as TCP, which rely on data retransmissions for guaranteeing data delivery, the copy of the data in kernel space is critical as temporary buffer for re-fetching the data for the retransmits.
Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) is a communication paradigm where application data is fetched directly out of a computer's local application memory and directly placed into the application memory of a remote computer. In bypassing the operating system and avoiding intermediate data copies in host memory, RDMA significantly reduces the CPU cost of large data transfers. Complete data copy avoidance (zero-copy) is furthermore achieved if the network interface card (NIC) is able to move networked data directly between the application buffer and NIC buffer using a Direct Memory Access (DMA) engine.
With RDMA, in order to allow the DMA engine of the NIC to move the data between the application buffer and the NIC buffer, the application buffer (memory region) first has to be registered with the NIC. After successful registration, the application buffer, which now can also be referred as a "tagged buffer", is identified through a unique steering tag (STag). Each RDMA access to a tagged buffer is described by the tuple of STag, tagged offset (TO), and length (len).
An STag identifies an application memory buffer which is already registered with the RNIC Interface (RI) for access. It is a 32-bit identifier including two sub-fields: a consumer provided STag key and an RI provided STag index. The STag key contains the least significant 8 bits of the STag. The STag index contains the 24 most significant bits of the STag. The STag Key is provided by the consumer, the STag index is provided by the RNIC. The consumer can use the STag key as desired. The tagged offset points to the first byte of the memory buffer referenced by the STag which should get accessed.
Two different methods to assign the TO are described. The TO can be the offset in bytes from the beginning of the buffer, or it can be the virtual address of the first byte to be accessed. The length describes the length of the set of bytes to be accessed within the buffer, starting with the first byte defined by TO. The STag together with the tagged offset (TO) and length are used for all subsequent remote data transfers over the network. All local and remote memory accesses require the use of an STag.
For example, a data transfer according to the RDMA Verbs specification works as follows:
1. The application posts RDMA work requests (WRs) defining the data transfers to work queues which are accessible by an RDMA device;
2. An RDMA device processes these WRs asynchronously and in order;
3. The RDMA device notifies the application through a completion event upon completion of the WR processing;
4. The application reaps the work completion (WC) corresponding to the WR from the completion queue.
Also, the work requests are used to define the following:
1. The data transfer operation type (Send, Receive, RDMA Read, RDMA Write);
2. The source buffer for Sends, RDMA Reads and RDMA Writes; and
3. The destination buffer for Receives, RDMA Reads and RDMA Writes.
Depending on the data transfer operation, the source buffer is either local (Send, RDMA Write operations) or remote (RDMA Read operations). Accordingly, the destination buffer is local for RDMA Read and Receive operations and remote for RDMA Write operations. For the Send and RDMA Write data transfer operations, the source buffer (local) can be non-contiguous. Non-contiguous buffers are referred to by means of scatter/gather lists which contain a number of scatter/gather elements. Each such scatter/gather element refers to a single application buffer identified by a STag, the TO and the length.
The following documents provide useful additional details:
RDMA Protocol Verbs Specification (http://www.rdmaconsortium.org/home/draft-hilland-iwarp-verbs-v1.0-RDMAC.pdf);
RDMA Protocol (http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc5040.html);
Direct Data Placement (http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc5042.html)

RDMA read destination buffers mapped onto a single representation


An expansion card fastening device includes a bracket, a first fastener, and a second fastener. The bracket includes parallel arranged fences. The first fastener is assembled on one of the fences, and includes a connecting portion, a supporting portion, and an elastic element. The supporting portion and the elastic element are both disposed on an end of the connection portion. A first clasp protrudes from the supporting portion, and faces the same direction with a free end of the elastic element. A second fastener pivots to the supporting portion, and is resisted by the elastic element. A second clasp protrudes from the second fastener, and faces the same direction with the first clasp.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to fastening devices, and more especially, to an expansion card fastening device used in computer systems.
2. Description of Related Art
As computer functions increase, more expansion cards are equipped with the computer. Generally, expansion cards are fixed in a computer case by fastening devices. However, different expansion cards vary in sizes. Therefore, it requires different fastening devices to lock those different expansion cards in place. It is inconvenient for users to replace the expansion cards having different sizes.
Therefore it is desirable to provide an expansion card fastening device suitable for fastening different sized expansion cards.

Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd.


A search based call back request system enables a user to request a follow up contact from a seller. The system provides search functionality and stores seller information such that when search results appear for sellers that have requested to offer call back service to a buyer, the system formats the search results screen to include a call back request indicator for the seller. The system includes functionality for the user to enter custom call back data.

Searching various data sources over a network using a computer (e.g., web or internet searching) has become ubiquitous in today's society. Many companies, such as Google®, provide the ability to enter search conditions and receive search results. Much of the web searching conducted by the typical user is searching for products and services that the user may be interested in purchasing. The search results may include links to a product manufacturer, a retailer and/or product reviews. In many cases, users have become comfortable with accessing information online as part of the decision to purchase a product. However, in some cases, although the user may access product information online, the user may not acquire enough information (e.g., about the product or about the seller) to convince the user to purchase a product.
Many product and/or merchant web sites may include contact information and some provide a mechanism where the seller may request more information. However, typically the search results themselves lack the ability to submit a request for more information. Thus, some users waste time and other resources sifting through and evaluating the enormous amount of information available on individual web sites when more efficient and targeted research and analysis for a prospective purchase could be accomplished by direct contact with a seller.
Thus, a long felt need exists for a searcher call back request system that enables a buyer to perform an internet search and request for a seller, associated with one of the search results, to contact the buyer.

Searcher call back request system and method


One embodiment pertains to a switching device which is configured to provide multicast traffic management in a layer 2 network without layer 3 devices A specific embodiment relates to a method of implementing IGMP multicasting in a layer 2 network. IGMP packets are snooped by multiple switches in the layer 2 network. IGMP query messages are generated by each of the multiple switches. IGMP join report messages are forwarded by each of the multiple switches to all ports on which a querier is present. Other embodiments are also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates generally to communications and networking. More particularly, the present application relates to multicasting in networks.
2. Description of the Background Art
Internet Protocol (IP) multicasting is an efficient technique for directing the same information packets to multiple receiving hosts. In comparison, unicasting sends a separate copy to each individual destination and is hence often much less efficient. Broadcasting differs from multicasting in that all hosts in a network receive and process broadcast traffic, while multicast traffic is, at least in theory, only received and processed by a controlled group of receivers.
Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) is a protocol of the Internet Protocol (IP) suite. IGMP may be utilized to control and limit the flow of multicast traffic through an IP network.
IGMP utilizes multicast "queriers" and hosts that support IGMP. A querier is a network device which transmits the queries and is typically a router. Queriers and IGMP hosts communicate with each other "query", "report" and "leave group" messages. A query message is sent by a querier device to discover which network devices are members of a specified multicast group. A report message is sent by a host in response to a query to indicate a host's membership in the specified multicast group. A leave group message is sent by a host so as to remove itself from a multicast group.

Method and apparatus for layer 2 multicast traffic management


A methodology enabling the formation of steep channel profiles for devices, such as SSRW FETs, having a resultant channel profiles that enables suppression of threshold voltage variation and the resulting device are disclosed. Embodiments include providing STI regions in a silicon wafer; performing a deep well implantation of a dopant into the silicon wafer between STI regions; forming a recess in the doped silicon wafer between the STI regions; performing a shallow well implantation of the dopant into the silicon wafer in the recess; and forming Si:C on the doped silicon wafer in the recess.

The utilization of SSRW designs is known to enhance device performance while suppressing a short-channel effect. Various device designs use a step-doping channel profile using Si:C. These designs use Si:C due to its capability to form an excellent p-type (boron (B) or indium (In)) diffusion barrier and to form a steep channel profile for n-channel MOSFETs (NFETs). Conventionally, SSRW profiles are achieved by ion implantation, which is limited by the diffusion of p-type dopants during subsequent thermal processes and is more difficult in technology nodes below 20 nanometers (nm). SSRW profiles have also been achieved by forming the Si:C diffusion barrier by blanket epitaxial growth before the formation of shallow trench isolation (STI) regions.
FIGS. 1A through 1C depict the conventional process for forming a p-type step-doped channel profile in silicon wafer 101. FIG. 1A illustrates an undoped silicon substrate 101 on which a Si:C layer 105 and a silicon cap layer 103 are grown epitaxially. Adverting to FIG. 1B, oxide STI regions 107 are formed to isolate later formed semiconductor devices from each other. As illustrated in FIG. 1C, a high energy p-type well implant 109 (e.g. of B, In, or boron fluoride (BF2)) is performed. (Alternatively, an N-well implantation, channel stop, or anti-punch through may be performed.) High energy and high dosage threshold voltage adjustment implants are required to achieve the desired dopant concentration 20 nm to 30 nm below the gate dielectric layer of the fabricated FET device. Due to limitations in the thickness of the photoresist material for such high energy and high dosage implantation, this method is difficult to apply for 20 nm and beyond fabrication technology. Further, this method cannot avoid dopant impurities in the channel surface region caused by the implanted ions migrating upwards during threshold adjust well implantation, thus causing threshold voltage variation and, therefore, degraded device performance.
If blanket epitaxial Si:C is grown after STI formation and chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) followed by an active silicon strip without precise control of step height between active regions and the field oxide, the active regions end up with a step height difference relative to the field oxide, causing process issues during later polysilicon gate electrode or replacement metal gate electrode formation. Polysilicon gate patterning is very sensitive to substrate topology and gate height varies significantly on the active regions and the field oxide at the gate CMP unless the step height is close to zero. Also, a blanket epitaxial growth may not be favorable to all FETs. For example, Si:C doping improves B diffusion for NFETs and may give some strain benefit (tensile) for NFETs. However, Si:C may not be favorable for PFETs (B source/drain profile may be changed). In most cases, the PFET threshold voltage increases with Si:C and may cause counter doping for threshold voltage centering, which could cause short channel control issues. Further, if carbon concentration needs to be high for NFETs, it may cause PFET ion degradation from tensile stress.
A need therefore exists for methodology enabling SSRW device formation which enables steep channel profile formation while using lower energy implants and the resulting device.

Method of forming step doping channel profile for super steep retrograde well field effect transistor and resulting device


Disclosed is a therapeutic nutritional compound for treating and supporting the immune response in a mammal, particularly a human baby or child, and the treatment method. Additionally, the therapeutic nutritional compound can be used in conjunction with a vaccine or immunization regimen to reduce the potential undesirable effects caused by other components of the vaccine. The therapeutic nutritional compound can include glutathione, selenium, zinc and antioxidants.

There has been a rise in the incidence of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) since the mid 1980s. This increase cannot be attributed or explained by genetic factors alone. Thus, some have concluded that there is an environmental cause or factor to such disorders. One such factor under suspicion is metal toxicity and especially mercury. Apparently, some children are genetically predisposed to excessive vulnerability and toxicity to mercury. Cumulative exposures from maternal amalgams, Rho D shots for Rh incompatibility, seafood, and especially metal-containing vaccinations take them beyond their tolerance point and into neurotoxic, neurobiologic, neuroimmune and neurometabolic consequence manifesting, to variable degrees as abnormal behaviors, abnormal immune function, abnormal gut function. Fully 60% of autistic children have mothers who are Rh negative (whereas only 8% of women in the general population are Rh negative), and who received the heavily mercury laden Rhogam shots during pregnancy.
Additionally, autistic patients are thought to have defective metallothionein (MT) proteins which normally regulate copper, zinc, heavy metals, gluten and casein digestion, and neuronal development. Elevated copper/zinc ratios are characteristic of ASD, but recently it has also become possible to measure MT proteins in red blood cells directly. Clinical reports already suggest that many autistic children test low on MT protein, and classic features of autism can indeed result from a genetically weakened MT system. Gastrointestinal dysfunction from metal toxicity may prevent these patients from breaking down dietary protein into required amino acids needed for MT protein synthesis, and from maintaining normal intestinal flora. Since MT is directly involved in the neuronal maturation of the brain, the timing of any environmental insults is critically important, and calls attention once again to the vaccination, as well as maternal mercury exposure and amalgam issues.
ASD is thought to be in part a disease of heavy metal induced oxidative stress with predisposing/permissive factors being the vulnerable MT system, vulnerability of the transmethylation and transsulfuration metabolic pathways, by which glutathione, and cysteine, two of the principal detoxifying substances found in the body are synthesized, and the presence of higher levels of testosterone in male children. Testosterone seems to potentiate the adverse effect of MT weakness on the brain, and appears to be partly responsible for slower synthesis of glutathione in males. These effects may account for the 4 to 1 ratio of males to females diagnosed with ASD. When environmental insults such as mercury exposure, whether from vaccines, maternal exposure or diet occur, brain maturation and myelination may be compromised. The theory is that ASD patients do not have so much a damaged brain, but rather one that has not completely matured.
Thus, what is needed is a therapeutic treatment directed to removing ongoing environmental sources of heavy metals, chelating out existing tissue stores of heavy metals, supporting liver detoxification, preloading with zinc and augmenting nutrients, and then gradual introduction of MT and glutathione promoting nutrients. A treatment involving the process of detoxification of the central nervous system, and nutritional support for a weak MT protein and antioxidant buffering system is needed.
The present invention comprises a therapeutic nutritional compound for reducing oxidative stress and supporting immune system function in a mammal, particularly a human baby or child. Additionally, the therapeutic nutritional compound can be used in conjunction with an immunization or vaccine regimen to reduce the undesirable effects caused by the metals in the vaccine. The therapeutic nutritional compound can include glutathione, selenium, zinc and antioxidants.
In greater detail, the therapeutic nutritional compound consists essentially of, on a weight percent basis of the following combined components, from about 20% to about 35% glutathione, less than 1% selenium and from about 60% to about 90% of one or more antioxidant vitamins. In a more preferred embodiment, the compound consists essentially of from about 65% to 75% of one or more antioxidant vitamins. The compound may further include zinc in an amount less than 1%. N-acetyl-cysteine may also be included in amount from 5% to 10%.
The antioxidant vitamins included in the compound may include vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin C and combinations thereof. Typically, the antioxidant vitamins comprises, by weight of the combined components, from about 20% to about 35% vitamin A, from about 2% to about 7% vitamin E, and from about 35% to about 50% vitamin C.
In a further embodiment, a method of supporting the immune response of a mammal is provided. The method includes administering a therapeutic dose of a compound comprising on a weight percent basis of the combined following components from about 20% to about 35% glutathione, less than 1% selenium, from zero to less than 1% zinc and from about 60% to about 80% of an antioxidant vitamin or combination of antioxidant vitamins. Typically, the dose is between about 300 mg to about 500 mg, and preferably from about 350 mg to about 450 mg, and is administered to a human infant. In dosing, about 1 dose is administered per day to an infant less than 6 months in age, about 2 doses are administered per day to an infant between about 6 months to 12 months in age, about 3 doses are administered per day to an infant between about 12 months to 36 months in age and about 4 to about 5 doses are administered per day to an infant between about 36 months to 60 months in age.
An additional embodiment includes a method of treating a mammal to increase an immune response in vaccination/immunization. The method includes administering a therapeutic dose of a compound comprising, on a weight percent basis of the combined following components, from about 20% to about 35% glutathione, less than 1% selenium, from zero to less than 1% zinc and from about 60% to about 80% of one or more antioxidant vitamins at least once before vaccination and at least once after being vaccinated. The mammal is administered a dose 1-7 days before vaccination, on the day of vaccination and 1-7 days after vaccination. The dose is typically administered to a human infant and/or young child.

Therapeutic composition and method of supporting the immune system


The ceramic honeycomb structure has a plurality of cells partitioned by porous partition walls and extending through the structure in an axial direction, one end portion of a predetermined cell is plugged with a plugging portion constituted of a plugging material with which the cell is filled, and the other end portion of a remaining cell is plugged with the plugging portion on a side opposite to the end portion of the predetermined cell. In the ceramic honeycomb structure, a sectional numerical aperture of the plugging portion in the vicinity of the partition wall is smaller than that of the plugging portion in the vicinity of a central axis, and a difference between the sectional numerical apertures is 10% or more.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ceramic honeycomb structure for use in a filter for purifying an exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine, represented by a diesel particulate filter (DPF), and a method of manufacturing the structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Since a large amount of particulates (particulate substances) are contained in an exhaust gas discharged from an internal combustion engine such as a diesel engine, and contain as a main component carbon that is a cause for environmental pollution, a filter for trapping the particulates is sometimes disposed in an exhaust system of the engine.
In general, in the filter to be used for such purpose, as shown in FIGS. 1(a) and (b), there is used a ceramic honeycomb structure having a plurality of cells (through channels) 9 partitioned by porous partition walls 7 and extending through the structure in an axial direction. One end portion of each predetermined cell 9a is plugged with a plugging portion 11 constituted of a plugging material with which the cell is filled. The other end portion of each remaining cell 9b is similarly plugged with the plugging portion 11 on a side opposite to the end portion of the predetermined cell 9a.
After the exhaust gas flows into the filter from one end surface 3 of the filter constituted of such honeycomb structure, and the particulates and the like contained in the gas are removed, the gas flows out of the other end surface 5. Specifically, first, the exhaust gas flows into the cell 9b whose end portion is not plugged in the end surface 3 on an inflow side of this filter and whose end portion is plugged in the end surface 5 on an outflow side. The gas passes through the porous partition wall 7 to move to the cell 9a whose end portion is plugged in the inflow-side end surface 3 and whose end portion is not plugged in the outflow-side end surface 5, and is discharged from the cell 9a. Moreover, in this case, the partition wall 7 constitutes a filtering layer, and the particulates in the gas are trapped and accumulated on the partition walls 7.
In recent years, there has been proposed such ceramic honeycomb structure in which a porosity of each plugging portion is set to be higher than that of each partition wall which partitions the cell (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. 7-332064). When the porosity of the plugging portion is set to be higher than that of the partition wall, a pressure loss drops. In addition, when a heat capacity of the plugging portion is reduced, a fast heating property and a thermal shock resistance are improved. In a case where the structure is used in a diesel particulates filter (DPF) for trapping the particulates discharged from the diesel engine, a regeneration treatment is performed to heat the filter periodically and burn and remove the particulates accumulated in the filter. In this case, there is an effect that a temperature of the filter rises fast, and a treatment time can be reduced.
However, when the porosity of the plugging portion is set to be higher than that of the partition wall as described above, a bonding strength between the partition wall and the plugging portion drops. Therefore, there is a possibility that the plugging portion falls owing to vibration, exhaust pressure, and the like during a long-time use. Therefore, there is actually a restriction on enhancing of the porosity of the plugging portion, and any sufficient effect is not obtained in the present circumstances. In a case where the porosity of the partition wall is high, a partition wall strength is low. Therefore, there sometime occurs destruction of the partition wall due to a thermal shock in the plugging portion and in the vicinity of the portion.

Ceramic honeycomb structure and method of manufacturing the same


A method for preparation of aryl-substituted aliphatic hydrocarbons is disclosed. The method comprises reacting in the presence of a solid superacid resin catalyst an unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbon in liquid form with an aromatic hydrocarbon that is susceptible to Friedel-Crafts reaction. The reaction between the liquid unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbon and the aromatic hydrocarbon produces a reaction product comprising an aryl-substituted aliphatic hydrocarbon.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to aryl-substituted aliphatic hydrocarbons, and more particularly to methods for preparation of aryl-substituted aliphatic acids from unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbons and aromatic hydrocarbons.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional methods for preparation of aryl-substituted aliphatic acids suffer from several drawbacks. For example, standard methods not only have involved production of complex reaction mixtures and required expensive and cumbersome separation techniques, but also result in low yields. Such aryl-substituted aliphatic acids are particularly useful as corrosion inhibitors or as substrates for corrosion inhibitors. Saturated fatty acids have been considered for such uses; but they are ordinarily solids which are insoluble in the oil products, such as motor oil, for which the inhibitors are desired. Thus, branched acids, such as isostearic acid, sometimes have been used. However, due to the drawbacks of the conventional methods for preparation of branched acids, such acids are expensive.
Typically, a Friedel-Crafts reaction has been the vehicle for preparation of aryl-substituted saturated acids. According to this reaction, an aromatic hydrocarbon, such as benzene or toluene, is reacted in the presence of an acidic reagent with an unsaturated aliphatic acid, for example, oleic acid. The acidic reagent employed in this process is a strong Lewis acid, commonly aluminum chloride, boron trifluoride or hydrofluoric acid. For example, in Nakano, Y. and Foglia, T. A., "Methanesulfonic Acid Catalyzed Addition of Aromatic Compounds to Oleic Acid," JAOCS, Vol. 61, No. 3 (March 1984), the use of aluminum chloride to catalyze a reaction between benzene and oleic acid is noted.
Such methods involve several disadvantages. For example, since the Lewis acids employed in the Friedel-Crafts reaction are extremely strong acids and are extremely reactive, and because hydrogen halide gas is generated, special handling and extra safety precautions are required. In addition, the reaction is exothermic and must be moderated by cooling. Further, the Lewis acid is consumed in the reaction, making recycling of the acid impossible and adding significantly to the cost of the reaction. Moreover, such methods produce inferior yields when the aliphatic acid is internally unsaturated.
In addition, the reaction also is associated with several undesirable side reactions, resulting in limited yields and separation problems. Morever, for example, since one such side reaction is polyalkylation, a substantial excess of the aromatic hydrocarbon is commonly employed in an effort to limit polyalkylation of the aromatic ring. However, such efforts to limit polyalkylation have proven unsatisfactory since use of a substantial excess of the aromatic hydrocarbon tends to increase costs of the process and, in any event, polyalkylation is not entirely eliminated by such measures.
According to other side reactions, where an acid such as oleic acid is employed as an aliphatic hydrocarbon substrate in the reaction, the intermediate carbonium ion reacts with the carboxyl group of the acid to form lactones. If an unsaturated acid is employed as the aliphatic hydrocarbon substrate, the intermediate carbonium ion may also react with two acid molecules to yield an ester of the acid. As a result of the involvement of such side reactions, the yield of the desired product is diminished and the reaction product comprises a mixture of compounds, requiring extensive purification techniques to isolate the desired mono-substituted alkyl aromatic.
Moreover, many procedures required by the conventional reaction prove very troublesome in practice. The reaction products are darkly colored, making separation and isolation difficult; and steam distillation is often necessary to isolate the desired products. In addition, the products obtained are complex mixtures; and their complex structure adds to the difficulty in purification. Not only that, but also the excess highly reactive Lewis acid which is employed in the reaction as a catalyst must be carefully quenched.
Further, the physical properties of the reaction product are often not suitable for the desired applications. For example, the typical reaction yields a high melting solid, when commercial application, for example, as a corrosion inhibitor or substrate therefor, requires a low melting solid or a liquid. Thus, an improved method for preparation of suitable branched fatty acids is needed.
The Nakano and Foglia article noted above describes a method for adding aromatic compounds to the double bond of oleic acid by a methanesulfonic acid catalyzed reaction. However, the reaction described therein requires copious amounts of methanesulfonic acid (6:1 molar ratio based on oleic acid content) and produces yields significantly under 80%, resulting in a difficult separation process involving a two-step extraction/water washing technique and a relatively expensive process. Moreover, the significant interplay of undesirable side reactions in the Nakano and Foglia method results in a product containing large amounts of impurities, especially lactones and esters of oleic acid. Accordingly, the industry is still searching for satisfactory methods for preparation of aryl-substituted aliphatic hydrocarbons.

Synthesis of aryl-substituted aliphatic acids


The technology disclosed relates to evolving a deep neural network based solution to a provided problem. In particular, it relates to providing an improved cooperative evolution technique for deep neural network structures. It includes creating blueprint structures that include a plurality of supermodule structures. The supermodule structures include a plurality of modules. The modules are neural networks. A first loop of evolution executes at the blueprint level. A second loop of evolution executes at the supermodule level. Further, multiple mini-loops of evolution execute at each of the subpopulations of the supermodules. The first loop, the second loop, and the mini-loops execute in parallel.

The subject matter discussed in this section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in this section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in this section or associated with the subject matter provided as background should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in this section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves can also correspond to implementations of the claimed technology.
The technology disclosed relates to evolving a deep neural network based solution to a provided problem. In particular, it relates to providing an improved cooperative evolution technique for deep neural network structures. It includes creating blueprint structures that include a plurality of supermodule structures. The supermodule structures include a plurality of modules. The modules are neural networks. A first loop of evolution executes at the blueprint level. A second loop of evolution executes at the supermodule level. Further, multiple mini-loops of evolution execute at each of the subpopulations of the supermodules. The first loop, the second loop, and the mini-loops execute in parallel.
Neuroevolution is a recent paradigm in the area of evolutionary computation focused on the evolution of co-adapted individuals with subcomponents without external interaction. In neuroevolution, a number of species are evolved together. The cooperation among the individuals and/or the subcomponents is encouraged by rewarding the individuals and/or the subcomponents based on how well they cooperate to solve a target problem. The work on this paradigm has shown that evolutionary models present many interesting features, such as specialization through genetic isolation, generalization and efficiency. Neuroevolution approaches the design of modular systems in a natural way, as the modularity is part of the model. Other models need some a priori knowledge to decompose the problem by hand. In many cases, either this knowledge is not available or it is not clear how to decompose the problem.
However, conventional neuroevolution techniques converge the population such that the diversity is lost and the progress is stagnated. Also, conventional neuroevolution techniques require too many parameters to be optimized simultaneously (e.g., thousands and millions of weight values at once). In addition, the deep learning structures used by conventional neuroevolution techniques are excessively large and thus difficult to optimize.
Therefore, an opportunity arises to provide improved systems and methods for cooperatively evolving deep neural network structures.

Cooperative evolution of deep neural network structures

Cognizant Technology Solutions U.S. Corporation


A method for producing a liquid preparation having a solid body content and the resulting liquid preparation. According to the method, the addition of at least a portion of the solid bodies takes place only (a) in the last stage of the method preceding the pouring of the liquid preparation into a packing unit or (b) during the pouring into a packing unit.

(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for producing liquid preparations having a solid body content, in which the addition of at least a portion of the solid bodies takes place just before or during the pouring of a liquid preparation.
(2) Description of Related Art, Including Information Disclosed Under 37 C.F.R. §§1.97 and 1.98.
Many of the products that are used in everyday life are liquid preparations. In the field of detergents and cleaning compositions these are, for example, liquid detergents or fabric softeners; in the field of food preparations, for example, ready-made salad dressings or liquid tomato products such as ketchup; in the field of pharmaceutical preparations, for example, lotions or tinctures; in the cosmetics sector, for example, hair shampoos or shaving lotions; and in a further technical field, for example, liquid adhesives and varnishes or paints. This list could be continued indefinitely.
These liquid preparations frequently require a specific solid body content. The reasons for this are many and varied and depend on the intended use of the product. The reason may even be simply to emphasize the main visual features of a product, in order thereby to enhance its purely visual attractiveness to the consumer and in so doing facilitate his purchasing decision.
Thus, small colored particles may be incorporated, for example, in liquid detergents, the particles being suspended in the liquid detergent and not sinking, so that no sediment forms, and the particles do not float or cream. These particles may also contain specific active ingredients to make the product more effective. In such a case the particles would transmit a message to the consumer, such as "new and improved formulation." The consumer would directly be able to recognize the particles as the cause and identify the added value associated with them. In addition, sensitive substances, for example, can be worked into the liquid matrix via the particles. These sensitive substances are then protected so that incompatibilities between ingredients can be avoided.
The same considerations also apply to other technical fields—for example, it is possible to work into hair shampoos microcapsules which remain in the hair when the hair is washed and release their content, for example conditioning oils, to the hair only as a result of the rise in temperature occurring during the drying of the hair. User-friendly hair care can be achieved in this way. Likewise, flavorings in microencapsulated form, which are released only during cooking or in the course of mastication, can be introduced, for example, into liquid food preparations. Liquid preparations having a solid body content therefore permit "more intelligent" products with enhanced visual attractiveness and create possibilities for new formulations.

Method for producing liquid preparations having a solid body content