Document data corresponding to each page included in a document is stored, and furthermore, feature data indicative of a feature of the document data and a document index indicating the document are associated with the document data. A document extracting apparatus obtains input document data, calculates feature data from the input document data, judges similarity between the input document data and the document data based on the feature data, obtains a document index associated with document data similar to the input document data, and extracts a plurality of pieces of document data associated with the document index. Thus, document data concerning the document including a page corresponding to the document data similar to the input document data is extracted for a plurality of pages.

The present invention relates to a technique for searching a document database for a specific document, and more specifically relates to a document extracting method and a document extracting apparatus for searching, based on document data such as an image obtained by reading a document using a scanner, a database for document data corresponding to the read document.
Conventionally, there has been used a technique for storing, in a database, data obtained by reading a document including a text document, a photograph or the like using a scanner, or document data electronically created using a personal computer (PC), reading a new document, and extracting document data corresponding to the read document from the database. Proposed document data extracting methods, for example, include: a method in which a keyword is extracted from a read document using an OCR (Optical Character Reader), and document similarity is judged based on the keyword; and a method in which documents are restricted to formatted documents having ruled lines, and features of the ruled lines are extracted to judge document similarity.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-282088 discloses a technique for associating descriptors for characterizing documents (text documents) with a list of documents characterized by the descriptors, generating a descriptor from a read document (input text document), and performing document matching using the generated descriptor. A document descriptor is defined as being unchangeable for distortion and the like, which is caused as a document is read. A plurality of descriptors are generated for one document, voting is performed for documents associated with the respective descriptors generated from read documents, and a document having the greatest number of votes or a document having the number of votes exceeding a predetermined threshold value is selected.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-37748 discloses a technique for storing document image data in advance, and performing pattern matching for each bit between bitmap data of a read document and bitmap data of the document stored in advance, thereby performing document search. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-37748 also discloses that in the case of a document including a plurality of pages, only a cover page may be read for search, and image data of the read page may be compared with image data of a first page of each document stored, thereby performing document search.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-31181 discloses a technique for storing text document images in advance, comparing a feature of a read document image with features of all the pages of the stored text document images to judge similarity therebetween, and extracting a text document image having similarity higher than a threshold value, thereby performing text document image search. In this technique, when a plurality of text document images become candidates, the text document images are displayed to receive user's selection, and when the average of similarity of pages included in a text document image is below a threshold value, this text document image is deleted from the candidates to narrow down the selection.

Document extracting method and document extracting apparatus


Methods to simultaneously test and screen multiplexed, mixed cell populations, e.g., populations comprising genetically heterogeneous cancer cells, in common conditions.

As similar cancers from different individuals may respond differently to the same agent because of unique genetic vulnerabilities in the cancer, there is a great unmet need to elucidate the effectiveness of new anticancer agents using multiple representative cancer models. While recent technologies have improved the processivity of cytotoxicity analyses of compounds (see, e.g., Sharma et al., Nature Reviews Cancer, 10:241, 2010), these tests remain expensive, laborious, or both.

Multiplex methods to assay mixed cell populations simultaneously


A composition and method is disclosed for providing a magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent that is sensitive to pH, the compound and salts thereof including, a tetraaza base having a spacer at each of the amide groups, and a proton exchange attached to each of the spacer molecules, wherein the proton exchange group groups mediate proton exchange with water molecules that are trapped within the tetraaza base molecule.

The present invention relates in general to the development, characterization and use of contrast agents used for the magnetic resonance imaging of tissue, and more particularly, to the synthesis and use of contrast agents for use during magnetic resonance imaging of samples.
Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with magnetic resonance imaging-based systems, as an example.
Heretofore, in this field, gadolinium complexes have been observed to enhance relaxation of water protons via rapid exchange of inner-sphere water molecules with bulk solvent. Recent kinetic results, however, have shown that the lifetime of an inner-sphere water molecule in Gd3+ complexes can range from 0.84 ns for aqueous Gd3+, 208 ns for GdDOTAxe2x88x92, to over 19000 ns in the tetraamide analog below.
Present gadolinium-based complexes, however, fail to provide
customizable solutions to show a contrast where there is no variation in the cellular uptake of the complex. Also, presently available gadolinium-based contrast agents generally provide only an on or off signal, that is, they either cause or fail to cause a contrast. Therefore, presently available compounds are insensitive to particular biological situations and functions.
It has been found, however, that the present magnetic resonance imaging agents and methods are insensitive to changes in the environment of use. A significant problem of current systems for causing contrast during magnetic resonance imaging is that the user is completely dependent on the differential uptake of the contrast agent by the target around the region to be analyzed. It has been found that certain contrast agents are preferred due to increased uptake of the contrast agent by the target, e.g., tumors. These contrast agents work well as long as the tumor""s uptake is greater than that of the surrounding tissue. But if the uptake between the target and the surrounding tissue is similar then no contrast is observed.
Another problem with presently available contrast agents is that, the contrast agent captured by the target provides a single image of the target without regard to its metabolic condition. A contrast agent is required that can be taken up by the target, but that is also able to report on the changing metabolic status of the target vis-a-vis the surrounding tissue.
The present inventors have developed and characterized a new contrast agent for use with magnetic resonance imaging systems that has an unusual pH dependence. One such agent has increased contrast versus the surrounding medium at between pH 4 and 6, reaching a maximum near pH 6, gradually decreasing to a minimum near pH 8.5, then remaining pH insensitive to 10.5. Further characterization of the pH sensitivity and the mechanism by which this occurs was also determined, and was used to develop new agents having varying pH dependence.
More particularly, the present invention is a composition and method for making and using the same as a contrast agent during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A compound of the invention has the formula:
wherein R, Rxe2x80x2, Rxe2x80x3 and Rxe2x80x2xe2x80x3 are made up of spacer groups and proton exchange groups such that xe2x80x94Rxe2x95x90xe2x80x94spacer group)(proton exchange group). The proton exchange groups of R and Rxe2x80x2xe2x80x3 are usually the same and are functional groups containing at least one hydrogen that is capable of hydrogen bonding with
water. Likewise, the proton exchange groups for Rxe2x80x2 and Rxe2x80x3 are usually the same and are functional groups containing at least one hydrogen that is capable of hydrogen bonding with water, although if R and Rxe2x80x2xe2x80x3 contain functional groups with hydrogens capable of hydrogen bonding with water, some applications may require that Rxe2x80x2 and Rxe2x80x3 not have any hydrogens capable of hydrogen bonding. In one embodiment Rxe2x95x90Rxe2x80x2xe2x95x90Rxe2x80x3xe2x95x90Rxe2x80x2xe2x80x3.
More particularly, the chelating compound may have a inner-sphere water molecule lifetime of greater than 1000 ns. For use as a contrast agent in MRI the chelating compound will be used to chelate lanthanide (III) ions, preferably gadolinium ions. The water relaxivity of the compound, and particularly the proton exchange rate, is dependent upon the pH of the solution. The proton exchange group will generally have a pKa of less than 10. The spacer group may be, for example, an acetamide moiety.
The present invention is also directed to a magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent that includes a gadolinium ion and a tetraamide base complexed to the gadolinium ion having the formula:
wherein the tetraamide base comprises four proton-exchange groups attached to each nitrogen atom of the tetraamide base, and wherein the proton-exchange groups are selected from the group consisting of phosphonates, sulfonates, carboxylates, imidazoles or acidic alcohols.
Finally, a method of increasing the contrast of magnetic resonance images of a patient is disclosed that includes; administering to a patient in need of magnetic resonance imaging a diagnostically effective amount of a tetraamide compound or a salt thereof having the formula:
wherein R, Rxe2x80x2, Rxe2x80x3 and Rxe2x80x2xe2x80x3 have a spacer group and a proton exchange group, wherein the proton exchange groups for R and Rxe2x80x2xe2x80x3 are functional groups containing a hydrogen capable of hydrogen bonding with water, and the proton exchange groups for Rxe2x80x2 and Rxe2x80x3 are the same and are functional groups containing a hydrogen capable of hydrogen bonding with water.

Board of Regents the University of Texas System


For measuring the inductance of a workpiece, a device which includes an inductance meter, respective D.C. and A.C. power sources as well as a guard line circuit. In order to simulate conditions of actual use of the workpiece, the D.C. power source is connected to provide a direct current bias through the workpiece. A measuring current produced by the A.C. power source and applied to the workpiece is detected via the inductance meter. The guard line circuit is coupled so as to prevent any portions of the A.C. measuring signal from undesirably flowing through the D.C. power source.

1. Industrial Field
The present invention relates to a D.C. biasing apparatus in impedance measurement, and more particularly to an apparatus for applying a D.C. bias current in inductance measurement.
2. Prior Art and Problems thereof
An inductor has a different inductance value depending on a D.C. bias current because of causes such as saturation of a magnetic core. Accordingly, when inductance is measured under a similar condition as the actual employment state of the device, a D.C. bias power source is used together with an ordinary inductance meter. A problem existing in such measurement is that an error is produced in impedance measurement because an A.C. measuring signal undesirably flows through the D.C. bias power source which is connected in parallel to the device under test.
Here, a conventional method for measuring inductance under D.C. bias will be explained with reference to the drawings. First, one of conventional examples is to connect an inductor 74 having sufficiently large inductance as compared with the device under test between a bias power source and the device under test as shown in FIG. 7 (a). An impedance measuring equipment 71 is a general measuring instrument with which a value of a device under test is determined by applying an A.C. current to a device under test 72 from terminals H.sub.c and L.sub.c, measuring A.C. voltages at terminals H.sub.p and L.sub.d and obtaining a vector ratio thereof. Here, a current i.sub.ac from the terminal H.sub.c is divided at the terminal H.sub.d flowing in the device under test 72 and a current i.sub.e flowing to the bias power source. The shunt ratio at this time is determined principally by the ratio of the impedance of the device under test 72 to the inductor 74. The current i.sub.e flows into the terminal L.sub.c of the impedance measuring equipment through the capacitor C and the power source E. Since processing is performed in the measuring instrument 71 assuming that a current (i.sub.d +i.sub.e) flew in the device under test 72, an error is produced in a measured value. In order to reduce this error, it is just required to reduce i.sub.e. For such a purpose, it is required to make the inductance of the inductor 74 very large for the device under test. For example, when it is desired to take the measurement within an error of 10% in case the true impedance of the device under test is 1K.OMEGA. (approximately 1.6 H) at the measuring frequency of 100 Hz, the inductor 74 requires 16 H or more which is 10 times as high as the true impedance. Further, a current of the same value as the D.C. current which is desired to be applied to the device under test 72 flows in this inductor 74. Therefore, when the bias current is 10 A for instance, the inductor 74 which has a large inductance value as described above becomes huge physically.
As another method, it is thinkable that a parallel resonance circuit 76 is provided in place of the inductor 74 as shown in FIG. 7 (b). At the resonance frequency, the impedance looking the D.C. bias source from the connecting point of terminals H.sub.c and H.sub.p and the device under test becomes very large. Therefore, highly accurate measurement can be made, but the measurement frequency is limited to the resonance frequency, thus lacking in universality.
Hereupon, there is another problem in the D.C. biasing method. FIG. 8 (a) shows an external appearance of the system. Said system 81 includes an inductance measuring unit 81 and a D.C. bias power source unit 82, and a device under test is connected to a measurement terminal 84 attached directly to or in the vicinity of the power source unit 82 so as to be measured.
However, it is desirable to extend and connect a prober 85 with cables as shown in FIG. 8 (b) in order to improve workability in some measurement environment, but a new problem is caused by extension cables. The bias current flows out of a power source 83 and flows in a bias cable 88A as shown with an arrow mark I.sub.1 and flows further in a bias cable 88B through a device under test of the prober 85 and returns to the power source 83 again as shown with an arrow mark I.sub.2. With this, two problems arise with such a composition. The first problem is that a capacitance is formed between bias cables 88A and 88B. If it is assumed for instance that these two connecting cables are parallel conductors as shown in FIG. 9 (a), the capacity between conductors, viz., the capacity C between bias cables is formularized approximately by the following expression. ##EQU1##
The measured signal of the inductance meter expands the measurement error with the coupling (AC coupling) thereof through this capacity C. For example, the capacity between cables when the bias cables 88A and 88b in the length of 1 (m) are held close to each other (D=2 r) is approximately 40 pF, and this means that, when impedance of 1 K.OMEGA. is measured with the measurement frequency of 1 MHz, a stray impedance of approximately 4 K.OMEGA. is added in parallel, thus producing a measurement error of about 20%. Moreover, since this capacity greatly depends on the distance between cables, two lines of cables 88A and 88B have to be fixed in some configuration in order to improve measurement reproducibility, which makes the workability worse.
The second problem is a magnetic field generated by bias currents I.sub.1 and I.sub.2. The magnetic field produced at a point at a distance a from bias cables is formularized as follows: ##EQU2##
In some cases, such apparatus does not satisfy the product standard because of the reason that magnetic field makes trouble for other instrument. For instance, when a bias current of 20 (A) is applied, the magnetic field produced at a point at a distance of 1 cm from the cables is B=4.times.10.sup.-4 (Wb/m.sup.2) per cable, viz. 4 gauss. Furthermore, the magnetic field of 2 times as high as the case of a line of cable, viz., 8 gauss is produced at the point P shown in FIG. 9.
Against above-mentioned problems, when respective cables 88A and 88B are shielded by a shield 91 as shown in FIG. 9 (b), it is possible to prevent the generation of a capacity between cables, but the magnetic field cannot be prevented from being generated.
Also, if a coaxial cable 93 is used as shown in FIG. 9 (c), the bias current flows in a core wire 93a and a casing 93b in the opposite directions, respectively. Therefore, no magnetic field is produced on an outside of the cable. On the contrary, however, the capacity between the core wire 93a and the casing 93b becomes large.


A methods, apparatus and system are provided for a vehicle with a ground navigational display. The system may include a display, a navigation system determining a location of the vehicle, a database storing a map including locations of buildings on the map and a processor. The processor may be configured to display the map on the display based upon the location of the vehicle, assign a fixed height to all of the buildings displayed on the display, and render the buildings displayed on the display in three-dimensions and having the assigned fixed height.

Operating a vehicle at night or in adverse weather conditions can be challenging. If the vehicle operator is unfamiliar with the area, the difficulty can be increased. Vehicles may also operate in close proximity to buildings or other fixed objects, other vehicles and pedestrians, which may be difficult to see in certain conditions.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a system, method and apparatus for assisting the vehicle operator navigate the vehicle in all weather and visibility conditions. Other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.

Ground navigational display, system and method displaying buildings in three-dimensions


A desk-top picture frame has a base frame with a hollow structure, a front opening through which things can be placed in and removed from the inner chamber thereof, a mirror on the front panel thereof, a loose-leaf clip on the top edge thereof for holding picture frame sheets, note book, memo pad or wall calendar. The side wall of the base frame is formed of a plurality of transverse ribs curvilinearly bent inward and outward to define an area serving as a pen case.

The present invention is related to picture frames and, more particularly, to a desk-top picture frame which can be simultaneously used for several purposes.
A desk-top picture frame is an ornamental border surrounding a picture for showing a picture on the top of a desk. When it is desired to show several pictures at a time, several such desk-top picture frames are necessary and inevitably, a large amount of big space occupation on a desk is also necessary. There is another method for collecting pictures in a loose-leaf book which has blank pages for mounting pictures. The disadvantage of this method is that pictures can not be vertically mounted on a desk or any flat surface for show.
In addition to a desk-top picture frame, a desk calendar, memo pad, telephone note book, cash box, standing mirror, pen case, stationery case and etc., are also commonly seen on one's desk. When these items are all placed on one's desk, the whole top surface of the desk becomes fully occupied with little space left for writing or reading. Although a type of multi-purpose desk calendar has been commercialized, which combines with a pen case together for holding a variety of writing materials, it still can not fully satisfy consumer's requirement. Therefore, it is an idea of the present inventor to provide a picture frame which has a loose-leaf clip for holding wall calendar, loose-leaf telephone note-book, loose-leaf memo pad, and loose-leaf pages which can be used for mounting pictures so that pictures can be shown on the top of a desk, and which includes receiving chambers for collecting a variety of miscellaneous items.


The invention provides a process for the preparation of a carbonyl compound in high efficiency by oxidizing an alcohol. The process for the preparation of a carbonyl compound of the present invention includes a step of oxidizing an alcohol in the presence of a compound of the formula (I) or a derivative or a salt thereof, and an oxidant,

A carbonyl compound such as an aldehyde or a ketone is an extremely important material in organic synthesis. As the processes for the preparation, various types of the reactions have been known for a long time. Of the known synthetic processes, the preparative process by oxidation of alcohol can be nominated as a representative one. As a process of oxidation of alcohol, for example, the process applying heavy metal oxidants (such as a potassium permanganate, a bichromic acid and salt thereof, chromium trioxide), the dimethyl sulfoxide oxidation process (Swern Oxidation) or the process of oxidation (TPAP Oxidation) using a transition metal catalyst are known. In addition, the process of oxidation using 2-iodoxybenzoic acid, which is prepared from 2-iodobenzoic acid and 2 KHSO5.KHSO4.K2SO4 (Oxone (registered trademark)) as an oxidant, was known. For example, in Non-patent Document 1, a process for the oxidation of alcohol in the presence of 1 mol % of an 2-iodoxybenzoic acid derivative based on the alcohol, which was prepared on site from 2-iodobenzoic acid derivative and Oxone (registered trademark) as an oxidant, in nitromethane is disclosed.
Non-patent Document 1: Chemical Society of Japan No. 87 Spring Annual Meeting Presentation, Lecture Number 1C8-05*A.

Process for preparation of carbonyl compound and pro-oxidant for preparation of carbonyl compound

Abstract: wherein R1 and R2 independently represent hydrogen, a halogen, a nitro or acidic group, or an alkyl or alkoxy group, each of which optionally has a substituent, or R1 and R2 combine the two carbon atoms to which they are boned to form an aromatic ring.

National University Corporation Nagoya University


An apparatus and process for separating drilling fluid from drill cuttings are disclosed. The separations are performed in a drying auger unit, including: an inclined housing having side walls joined by a bottom and having an inlet end and an outlet end; at least one inlet for feeding a cuttings slurry to the inlet end; a helical auger located in the housing for transporting drill cuttings from the inlet end of the housing to the outlet end of the housing, and a drive for rotating the auger, an elevated pan disposed in and extending the length of the housing and having an arcuate cross section with a radius greater than a radius of the helical auger, wherein the pan is disposed proximate at least a lower quadrant of the helical auger; the housing further comprising a liquid recovery zone adjacent to the pan for transporting drilling fluids, separated from the drill cuttings during transport along the pan by the helical auger, to a liquid collection zone disposed adjacent to the inlet; an outlet for recovering drilling fluids from the liquid collection zone; and at least one fluid inlet nozzle for injecting a fluid into the liquid recovery zone to facilitate transport of any solids in the liquid recovery zone to the liquid collection zone; and at least one outlet for recovering drill cuttings having a reduced content of drilling fluids.

1. Field of the Disclosure
Embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to separation of components of a cuttings slurry. In a more specific aspect, embodiments disclosed herein relate to an apparatus for the concurrent transport and separation of drill cuttings from a cuttings slurry. In yet further aspects, embodiments disclosed herein relate to a system and a process for handling, separating, and disposing of a cuttings slurry.
2. Background
Oilfield drilling fluid, also referred to as "drilling mud" or "returned drilling fluid," serves multiple purposes in the industry. Examples of drilling fluids can include, but are not limited to, water-based and/or oil-based fluids that are circulated downhole to provide hydrostatic pressure during drilling operations, as well as remove cuttings during a drilling operation, cool and lubricate a drill bit. Typically, the fluid is mixed at the surface and pumped downhole at high pressure to the drill bit through a bore of the drillstring. Once the fluid reaches the drill bit, it exits through various nozzles and ports where it lubricates and cools the drill bit.
Drilling fluid provides a column of hydrostatic pressure, or head, to prevent "blow out" of the well being drilled. This hydrostatic pressure offsets formation pressures thereby preventing fluids from blowing out if pressurized deposits in the formation are breeched. Two factors contributing to the hydrostatic pressure of the drilling mud column are the height (or depth) of the column (i.e., the vertical distance from the surface to the bottom of the wellbore) itself and the density (or its inverse, specific gravity) of the fluid used. Depending on the type and construction of the formation to be drilled, various weighting and lubrication agents are mixed into the drilling mud to obtain the right mixture. Typically, drilling fluid weight is reported in "pounds," short for pounds per gallon. Generally, increasing the amount of weighting agent solute dissolved in the mud base will create a heavier fluid. Drilling fluid that is too light may not protect the formation from blow outs, and drilling fluid that is too heavy may over invade the formation. Therefore, much time and consideration is spent to ensure the mud mixture is optimal. Because the mud evaluation and mixture process is time consuming and expensive, drillers and service companies prefer to reclaim the returned drilling fluid and recycle it for continued use.
Another significant purpose of the drilling mud is to carry the cuttings away from the drill bit at the bottom of the borehole to the surface. As a drill bit pulverizes or scrapes the rock formation at the bottom of the borehole, small pieces of solid material are left behind. The drilling fluid exiting the nozzles at the bit acts to stir-up and carry the solid particles of rock and formation to the surface within the annulus between the drillstring and the borehole. Therefore, the fluid exiting the borehole from the annulus is a slurry of formation cuttings in drilling fluid.
The exiting drilling fluids used in drilling operations return from downhole as a cuttings slurry, which typically will include both drilling fluid and drill cuttings. The composition of the cuttings slurry may also include other materials, such as weighting additives and agents, other suspended particulate matter, as well as other fluids. Before the fluid can be recycled and re-pumped down through nozzles of the drill bit, the drill cutting must be separated.
After various separatory operations, the cuttings slurry can have a general liquid phase or a substantially solids phase further having "dry" or "wet" solids. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that "dry" or "wet" refers generally to the amount of drilling fluids remaining with the substantially solids phase during and/or after any separatory operation. Thus, the solids phase may be considered "wet" if a substantial quantity of fluid phase is still present after the separatory operation. Likewise, the solids phase may be considered "dry" if the cuttings do not contain a substantial quantity of fluid phase. Those of ordinary skill in the art will further appreciate that the amount of fluids remaining with either of the phases may vary according to the type of formation being drilled, the type of drilling fluids used in the drilling operation, and the type of separatory operation employed.
Separation operations such as a clarifier, a centrifuge, a screen, a mud cleaner, or a shaker, are well known in the art for removing drilling fluid from a cuttings slurry. However, these operations are not always capable of sufficient or adequate separation of drilling fluids from the cuttings slurry. For example, a cuttings slurry recovered from a shaker may have a reduced drilling fluids content as high as 50% by volume. The high volume of drilling fluid in a cuttings slurry is problematic because at the end-point in a process, this slurry is usually designated for disposal. The effect of losing drilling fluid through disposal is doubled because replacement drilling fluid is subsequently re-added as a make-up stream. Further, the added liquid weight remaining in the cuttings slurry creates a greater load requirement for transport and disposal operations.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for improved separation devices and/or processes for removing drilling fluid from drill cuttings.


A high temperature rechargeable molten salt cell is provided using a lith-aluminum (48 atomic percent Li) alloy as the anode, a eutectic mixture of lithium chloride (59 mole percent) and potassium chloride (41 mole percent) with a melting point of 352.degree. C. as the electrolyte and barium nickel sulfide (BaNiS.sub.2) as the cathode active material.

High temperature rechargeable molten salt cells are required for electric propulsion, load leveling and pulse power applications. Amongst the many molten salt battery systems that have been studied over the past many years, the lithium alloy/metal sulfide cell has shown considerable promise for these applications. Heretofore these cells have used a lithium alloy (LiA1), as the anode, an electrolyte of lithium halide-alkali halide mixture (LiCl-KC1eutectic) and a cathode having as the cathode active material a binary metal sulfide of the general formula YS or YS.sub.2 where Y=Fe, Co, or Ni. Recently, a new series of ternary metal sulfides having the general formula XYS.sub.2 where X=Ba or Ca and Y=Fe, Co or Ni have been synthesised. The ternary metal sulfides are thermally stable to temperatures of about 800.degree. C.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army


The invention relates to an integrated circuit with an active transistor area and a plurality of wiring layers arranged above the active transistor area. At least one optical device is integrated in the active transistor area. The optical device is electrically connected with at least one of the wiring layers. At least one optical tunnel extends from the at least one optical device through the plurality of wiring layers to a surface of an uppermost wiring layer of the plurality of wiring layers facing away from the active transistor area.

The present disclosure relates to the field of integrated circuits and, more specifically, to an integrated circuit with an optical tunnel.
In modern mass production of integrated circuits, efficient and effective approaches are required for testing integrated circuits in order to be able to ensure high quality standards. Integrated circuits are for example tested using electrical contacts with which the integrated circuits are provided for test purposes.

International Business Machines Corporation


An optical amplifier includes: a rare-earth doped fiber configured to amplify signal light to thereby produce a amplified signal light; a gain control circuit configured to control an optical gain of the rare-earth doped fiber; a photodetector configured to detect intensities of different wavelength of light obtained from the amplified signal light; and an abnormality detection circuit configured to detect an abnormality of the signal light in accordance with a ratio or a difference between the intensities of the different wavelength.

In an optical amplifier including a rare-earth doped fiber and an excitation light source, a ratio between light levels detected in a light input monitoring unit and an output monitoring unit that include optical branching couplers and photodiodes, namely, an optical gain, is maintained at a given level owing to automatic gain control.
An amplifier alarm circuit detects an increase in spontaneous emission light output from the optical amplifier. A signal component in a predetermined wavelength band passes through a band pass filter to remove the wavelength component of an optical signal and the power of the signal component is compared with a threshold value. When power exceeding the threshold value has been detected, it is determined that spontaneous emission light has increased, and an output abnormality alarm is output.
In an optical transmission system, a case where the optical power of light having been received is smaller than a predetermined threshold value is determined as an abnormality. Each of a signal light wavelength component and a predetermined noise light component is extracted from transmitted light, the ratio of optical powers of the signal light wavelength component and the predetermined noise light component is compared with a predetermined value, and the deterioration of transmission quality is detected.
A related technique is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2002-368698, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-6887, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 10-209967, or Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 11-186962.


The preparation and use of quarternized bis hydroxy alkyl amines by the reaction of a tertiary amine and an alkylene oxide in a strong acid system are disclosed. Cationic polyurethane compositions containing pendent hydroxy alkyl groups and methods for their preparation are also disclosed.

This invention relates to processes for the manufacture of cationic polyurethane compositions and quaternary ammonium salts and to the new compositions prepared thereby. In particular this invention relates to the use of alkylene oxides to prepare cationic polyurethane compositions and quaternary ammonium salt intermediates. An important aspect of the present invention is the use of alkylene oxides such as ethylene oxide and propylene oxide to form cationic ammonium moieties in polyurethanes.
It has been known for some time that water dispersible polyurethane compositions can be prepared and used to form films. Various procedures have been disclosed in the literature for making polyurethanes water soluble without diminishing the film forming capabilities of the polyurethanes.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,470,310 (Dietrich et al.) describes the preparation of water dispersions of polyurethanes which contain salt type groups bonded into the polyurethane.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,484 (Bluestein et al.) discloses aqueous dispersions of polyurethanes prepared from a quaternized polyurethane prepolymer prepared by reacting from 0.6 to 1.2 equivalents of an alkoxylated diol; one hydroxyl equivalent of an N-alkyl dialkanolamine; about 4 equivalents of an organic diisocyanate and quaternizing with 0.5 equivalents of a dialkyl sulfate quaternizing agent. This quaternized polyetherurethane is chain extended to form a polyurethane-urea and dispersed in water in the presence of a nonionic surfactant belonging to the class of alkoxylated long chain alkyl phenols having an HLB of between about 14 and 16.
The use of dialkyl sulfates, such as dimethyl sulfate, and alkyl halides, such as chloroacetoamide, to quaternize tertiary nitrogen atoms is well known. These compositions, however, possess undesirable characteristics limiting their use in the preparation of cationic polyurethanes.
Dimethyl sulfate, an often used dialkyl sulfate, is highly toxic and difficult to use on a large scale. Alkyl halides such as chloroacetamide are corrosive and require the use of expensive equipment, such as special types of stainless steel.
Therefore a general object of the present invention is to provide a method of preparing cationic polyurethane compositions.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of preparing quaternary ammonium salt intermediates.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for the preparation of quaternary amines containing reactive hydroxyl groups by a method that avoids the use of corrosive or toxic reactants.
Another object of the present invention is to provide new quaternized polyurethane compositions.
Another object of the present invention is to provide water dispersible polyurethane polymers.
Another object of the present invention is to provide polyurethane compositions that form stable films.
Other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description.

Cationic polyurethane compositions, quaternary ammonium salts and methods for their preparation


A system for monitoring blood pressure of a subject includes a primary system for determining a first blood pressure and a corrective system. The corrective system includes a cuff configured to be operated in an inflation phase and a deflation phase, a sensor array which produces inflation and deflation phase output signals, and a processor. The processor is configured to a) determine first and second output values from the inflation phase output signal and b) determine third and fourth output values from the deflation phase output signal. The processor is also configured to determine a correction applicable to the first blood pressure. The correction is a function of the first, second, third and fourth output values.

Several techniques are known for noninvasively determining the blood pressure of a subject. Among these is an ausculcatory method in which a cuff is wrapped around a portion of the subject's body, usually the upper arm. The cuff is inflated with air thereby pressurizing the cuff so that the cuff compresses the subject's arm and occludes the artery extending therethrough. After the artery has been occluded, the pressure in the cuff is released in a controlled fashion. During the decompression a caregiver, aided by a stethoscope, listens for sounds known as Korotkov sounds, also referred to as K-sounds. Variations in the character of the K-sounds are used to discern the time of the post-occlusion initial onset of blood flow through the artery and the subsequent re-establishment of substantially normal blood flow through the artery. The cuff pressure at the onset of blood flow and at the re-establishment of normal blood flow are taken to be the subject's systolic and diastolic blood pressure values respectively.
A similar ausculcatory method relies on a microphone in the cuff rather than a caregiver listening for the K-sounds. An algorithm executed by a processor identifies the K-sounds and the associated systolic and diastiolic pressures.
Another method is an oscillometric method. The oscillometric method is similar to the microphone assisted ausculcatory method except that instead of using a microphone the cuff includes a pressure transducer, and instead of relying on the K-sounds as described above, the oscillometric technique relies on oscillations in the subject's blood pressure, that create relatively small disturbances in the cuff pressure, to identify the subject's systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The oscillations appear during the inflation phase of the oscillometric method, increase in amplitude to a peak amplitude with increasing cuff pressure, and then decrease in amplitude and vanish with further increases in cuff pressure. Similar oscillations appear during the deflation phase of the oscillometric method. The oscillations increase in amplitude to a peak amplitude with decreasing cuff pressure, and finally vanish with further decreases in cuff pressure. The amplitude of the oscillations is alternatively referred to as pulse height. The peak amplitude or pulse height is typically about 1 to 3 mm Hg. A graph of pulse height vs. cuff pressure is referred to as the pulse envelope. The pulse envelope has an ascending side corresponding to the pulses of increasing amplitude and a descending side corresponding to the pulses of decreasing amplitude. A processor analyzes the pulse envelope and takes the cuff pressure corresponding to the peak pulse height as an estimate of the subject's mean arterial pressure (MAP). The processor equates the subject's systolic blood pressure to the cuff pressure on the ascending side of the pulse envelope at a predefined fraction (less than 1.0) of the peak pulse amplitude. The processor equates the subject's diastolic blood pressure to the cuff pressure on the descending side of the pulse envelope at a predetermined fraction (also less than 1.0) of the peak pulse amplitude. The predefined and predetermined fractions may or may not be equal to each other.
Blood pressure may also be determined by way of cuffless techniques. One cuffless technique measures pulse transit time (PTT). PTT is the time it takes a pulse wave to propagate from a more upstream location to a more downstream location in a subject's artery. PTT is considered to be a good indication of MAP. A processor executes an algorithm to determine systolic and diastolic pressure from the MAP.
Although the foregoing techniques are widely used, they either do not account for the effects of arterial compliance on the blood pressure determination, or do not do so satisfactorily. Accordingly, the subject matter described herein discloses a system for correcting a blood pressure value to account for arterial compliance, a system for determining a blood pressure including a correction for arterial compliance, and a method of determining the correction.

Method and systems for correcting for arterial compliance in a blood pressure assessment


In an embodiment, the present invention provides a pressure containment device which includes a housing with a returns outlet port, an injection port, and an overflow outlet port, and a seal assembly with a seal arranged in the housing to surround and enter into a sealing engagement with a tubular body extending along a passage in the housing via a sealing face. The injection port is arranged between the returns outlet port and a first end of the seal. The overflow outlet port is arranged adjacent to a second, opposite, end of the seal and communicates with an upper end of the passage. The upper end of the passage connects to a bell nipple or to a section of a riser pipe and, in use, the overflow outlet port is exposed to a hydrostatic head provided by a fluid in the bell nipple or the section of the riser pipe.

Subterranean drilling typically involves rotating a drill bit from surface or on a downhole motor at the remote end of a tubular drill string. It involves pumping a drilling fluid down the inside of the tubular drillstring, through the drill bit, and circulating this fluid continuously back to surface via the drilled space between the hole/tubular, referred to as the annulus. This pumping mechanism is provided by positive displacement pumps that are connected to a manifold which connects to the drillstring, and the rate of flow into the drillstring depends on the speed of these pumps. The drillstring is comprised of sections of tubular joints connected end to end, and their respective outside diameter depends on the geometry of the hole being drilled and their effect on the fluid hydraulics in the wellbore. The drillstring ends are connected by a thicker material larger diameter section of the joint located at both ends of the section called tool joints.
Tool joints provide high-strength, high pressure threaded connections that are sufficiently robust to survive the rigors of drilling and numerous cycles of tightening and loosening at the drillpipe connections. The large diameter section of the tool joints provides a low stress area where rig pipe tongs are used to grip the pipe to either make up or break apart the connection of two separate sections of drillpipe.
For a subsea well bore, a tubular, known as a riser extends from the rig to a well head at the top of the wellbore subsea on the ocean floor. It provides a continuous pathway for the drill string and the fluids emanating from the well bore. In effect, the riser extends the wellbore from the sea bed to the rig, and the annulus also comprises the annular space between the outer diameter of the drill string and the riser.
The bit penetrates its way through layers of underground formations until it reaches target prospects—rocks which contain hydrocarbons at a given temperature and pressure. These hydrocarbons are contained within the pore space of the rock i.e. the void space and can contain water, oil, and gas constituents—referred to as reservoirs. Due to overburden forces from layers of rock above, these reservoir fluids are contained and trapped within the pore space at a known or unknown pressure, referred to as pore pressure. An unplanned inflow of these reservoir fluids is well known in the art, and is referred to as a formation influx or kick and commonly called a well control incident or event.
The purpose of the drilling fluid (also known as mud) is to lubricate, carry drilled rock cuttings to surface, cool the drill bit, and power the downhole motor and other tools. Mud is a very broad term and in this context it is used to describe any fluid or fluid mixture that covers a broad spectrum from air, nitrogen, misted fluids in air or nitrogen, foamed fluids with air or nitrogen, aerated or nitrified fluids, to heavily weighted mixtures of oil and water with solids particles. Most importantly this fluid and its resulting hydrostatic pressure—the pressure that it exerts at the bottom of the well bore (known as the bottom hole pressure or BHP) from its given density and total vertical height/depth—prevent the reservoir fluids at their existing pore pressure from entering the drilled annulus. The drilling fluid must also exert a pressure less than the fracture pressure of the formation, otherwise fluid will be forced into the rock as a result of pressure in the wellbore exceeding the formation's horizontal stress forces.
The BHP exerted by the hydrostatic pressure of the drilling fluid is the primary barrier for preventing influx from the formation. BHP can be expressed in terms of static BHP or dynamic/circulating BHP. Static BHP relates to the BHP value when the mud pumps are not in operation. Dynamic or circulating BHP refers to the BHP value when the pumps are in operation during drilling or circulating.
The use of blow out preventers, referred to as BOP's, are used to seal and control the formation influxes, described herein, in the wellbore are well known in the art—these are compulsory pressure safety equipment used on both land and off-shore rigs. Whilst land and subsea BOPs are generally secured to the well head at the top of a wellbore, BOPs on off-shore rigs are generally mounted subsea and below the rig deck and integrated into the riser system and positioned on the ocean floor. These are well known in the art.
The annular BOP elements seal around the drill string, thus closing the annulus and stopping flow of fluid from the wellbore. They typically include a large flexible rubber or elastomer packing unit configured to seal around a variety of drillstring sizes when activated, and are not designed to be actuated during drillstring rotation as this would rapidly wear out the sealing element. A pressurized hydraulic fluid and piston assembly are used to provide the necessary closing pressure of the sealing element. With wellbore pressure below the closed element some fluid may invade the sealing face from below and assist in lubricating the pipe as it is moved through the element—but this is not a controlled process. With these conditions, when a continuous leak rate occurs through a BOP it generally indicates a loss of integrity. These are well known in the art.
Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) and/or Underbalanced Drilling (UBD) utilizes additional special equipment that has been developed to keep the well closed at all times, as the wellhead pressures in these cases are above atmospheric pressure, unlike in conventional overbalanced drilling. MPD generally allows drilling with a pressurized annulus while preventing co-mingled and/or produced formation fluids hydrocarbons from entering the wellbore and reaching surface, resulting in a pressurized annulus of a single density drilling fluid. UBD allows the flow of comingled drilling and reservoir fluids to surface during drilling and therefore contains a pressurized annulus containing hydrocarbons and drilling fluid which may be multi-phase.
Equivalent circulating density—ECD is the increase in the BHP expressed as an increase in pressure that occurs only when drilling fluid is being circulated. The ECD value reflects the total friction losses over the entire length of the wellbore annulus, from the point of fluid exiting the drilling bit at the wellbore bottom to where it exits the well at the surface just below the rig floor of the floating installation. The ECD can result in a bottom hole pressure during circulating/drilling that varies from slightly to significantly higher values when compared to static conditions i.e. no circulation. Therefore the goal of a conventional drilling system is to maintain the BHP above the pore pressure but below the fracture pressure while taking the ECD into account to manage the BHP. The management of BHP through MPD allows the BHP to be controlled and maintained as constant as possible within a narrow window using a combination of a lighter drilling fluid and applied choke pressure at surface.
During MPD and/or UBD, the closed loop is generated by a pressure seal around the drillpipe at surface with a rotating pressure containment device—RPC, and flow is diverted to a flow line below the sealing point of this device. These sealing devices can also be referred to as a Rotating Control Device—RCD or Rotating Control head—RCH, Rotating Blowout Preventer—RBOP, or Pressure Control While Drilling—PCWD. The function of the RPC device is to allow the drill string and its tool joints to pass through while reciprocating/stripping or rotating while maintaining pressure integrity such that the annulus isolated from the external atmosphere. All the aforementioned devices use a stationary seal that does not rotate relative to the drill pipe and the rotation is handled by a bearing which may be a thrust, roller, cone or ball bearing(s) or a combination of these.
Stripping is the vertical movement of drill pipe through any sealing device with wellbore pressure present below the sealing point. As both the frequency of larger diameter tool joints passing through the element and the velocity of the pipe movement increase during stripping, this is generally when most sealing devices tend to fail. These two main factors in combination with temperature and wellbore fluid composition result in the operational longevity of the sealing device to be affected.
A typical RPC device includes an elastomer or rubber packing/sealing element and a bearing assembly that allows the sealing element to rotate along with the drill string. There is no rotational movement between the drill string and the sealing element—only the bearing assembly exhibits the rotational movement during drilling. These are well known in the art and are described in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,699,109, 7,926,560, and 6,129,152.
The pressure seal provided by conventional RPC designs is achieved using active and/or passive methods.
Passive sealing is accomplished by the exertion from the wellbore pressure below against the lower part of the sealing element exposed to the annulus which forces the element inwards against the drill pipe external surface. Passive seals are well known in the art and are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,040,394.
Active seals are usually provided by the use of a hydraulics network system, circuitry, and bladder. A hydraulic circuit provides fluid to the RPC device and a high pressure hydraulic pump within the circuit is used to energize the active seal arrangement. The pressure chamber for activating the bladder is preferably defined within the rotating seal assembly, and the rotating seal assembly includes both the bladder and the bearings. The rotating seal assembly is hydraulically secured within the RPC device housing, usually by remote control and performed by a single cylindrical latch piston. Active seals are well known in the art, and disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,380,590 and 7,040,394.
Current systems and methods associated with these prior art pressure containment devices allow for a controlled lubrication across their active or passive sealing mechanism that consists of a lubrication fluid, usually oil. The oil is contained under pressure within the bearings by the use of special seals that allow for the isolation of the pressurized bearing from the wellbore fluids. Any leak of wellbore fluids across these seals will result in failure of the seals due to the abrasive action of the mud containing drill cuttings and subsequent rapid failure of the bearings or bearing assembly.
During times of circulating and non-circulating it is critical that the BHP at the bottom of the hole where the reservoir exists is always greater than the reservoir pressure. During connections, where additional pipe must be added, the BHP must be maintained during periods of no circulation through the drilling bit. During MPD and in the absence of continuous circulation methods as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,158,356, an external high volume pump is used to inject fluid into the riser at a point below the RPC device. This injected fluid circulates through to the main returns flow line at surface and through the choke valve, such that a combination of the choke position and/or injected flow rate can be used to maintain the BHP constant during connections.
There are inherent problems related to the design of current RPC technology. It is difficult to monitor the wear or integrity of the sealing element in question when it is in service, and depending on the axial and radial loads and bending moments present from drilling the internal sealing face between the drillpipe and sealing element starts to wear. Furthermore, bearing assemblies and internal seals under excessive drilling loads start to mechanically fail. However, with dual sealing arrangements differential pressure across the lower sealing element may be monitored in the cavity between the upper and lower sealing elements to determine if the wellbore pressure is passing the lower seal. Such a system is described in US 2013/0118749. Additionally, with these designs there are no lubricating fluids injected or pumped across the sealing faces to reduce the friction and heat generated from pipe movement through the seal during stripping or drilling.
The loads imposed on the sealing elements of any RPC device increase as larger diameter tool joints pass through the sealing assembly, resulting in a higher degree of deformation and imposing higher axial and compressive loads on the sealing elements. During stripping operations, where excessive lengths of drill pipe are reciprocated in or out of the well with wellbore pressure present below the RPC device, multiple tool joints pass through the sealing element causing it to wear and permanently deform over time.
The degree of deformation and wear depends on the magnitude of the wellbore pressure, temperature, fluid composition, and upward/downward velocity of the pipe through the element. The higher the wellbore pressure, the higher the differential pressure is created across the sealing face. Higher temperatures and different fluid compositions further degrade the sealing element, affecting its performance and causing further breakdown. Furthermore, as the sealing elements deform, solids from the wellbore invade the sealing face which increases the wear rate. Without a lubricating fluid the wear rates on typical RPC designs can be excessive, and without the ability to accurately monitor the integrity of the sealing element in question the sealing elements tend to suddenly fail before they can be replaced. This can result in the uncontrolled release of fluid and/or gas pressure at the rig floor and to the surrounding atmosphere.
Additionally, the frictional coefficients present with elastomeric materials used in current RPC sealing element designs are too high and greatly affect their operational life. This, compounded with the problems described herein, impacts the effectiveness of their sealing capacity.
A new design approach to pressure containment technology was described in previously filed patent applications WO2012/127227 and WO2011/128690.
The system design and methods disclosed in these applications includes a tubular elastomeric or polymeric stripping sleeve inserted and concentrically positioned across an annular packing unit. As the packer closes, the radial pressure of the packer on the external surface of the sleeve forces it radially inwards against the tubular, thus providing a non-rotating seal for drillpipe rotation i.e. the drillpipe rotates within the stationary sleeve. This system uses no conventional bearings, and the radial friction created from the annular packer against the external surface of the sleeve prevents the sleeve from rotating with the drill pipe. The stripping sleeve sustains the integrity of the annular packer and becomes the wearable, disposable item.
In a stacked dual configuration i.e. two sleeves and two annular packers spaced a specific distance apart, the wellbore pressure can be staged down across each sealing face to reduce the overall pressure drop and further enhance longevity. The dual assembly allows the staging of larger diameter tool joints if spaced adequately apart, eliminating the larger tool joint diameter from being forced upwards or downwards into the closed sleeve. This would further enhance its longevity as the sleeve would not be exposed to the additional loads imposed by the tool joint body.
A set of upper and lower locking dogs/pistons contained within the annular packer housing allow the landing and securing of either a single or dual sleeve arrangement. These extend radially inwards into the central bore of the housing and prevent longitudinal movement of the stripping sleeve.
In the dual arrangement, fluid is injected between the two energized sleeves and maintained at a specified pressure determined by the wellbore pressure present. The fluid is returned through a return line opposite the injection line, equipped with a choke such that pressure between the sleeves can be controlled. Maintaining this pressure within the cavity decreases the pressure drop across the lower sleeve and enhances the sleeve's longevity as a result. Furthermore, the opposing fluid rates from the return and injection lines can be compared to determine the integrity of the sleeves—i.e. if fluid is either passing through the upper or lower sleeve or if wellbore fluid is entering passing through the lower sleeve. Supplying a lubricating fluid to this cavity may assist in lubricating the drill string as it enters this region and thus ultimately reducing the frictional forces between the sealing faces of the sleeve and the drill pipe. The lubrication fluid does not have to be a special lubricant or oil as for the bearing type systems mentioned earlier. It is sufficient for this to consist of 'clean' drilling fluid i.e. drilling fluid which has had the cuttings removed. Such fluid is in ample supply from the active drilling tank which is the same supply as is pumped down the drill pipe.
This design may also provide a floating fluid seal or hydrodynamic film between the seal sleeve and the drill string that will assist in actively sealing around the tubular, using lubricants such as drilling fluid or hydraulic oil. This may assist in decreasing friction and associated wear rates as the drill pipe is rotated and reciprocated through the energized sleeve.


A method and apparatus for in-line processing a data packet while routing the packet through a router in a system transmitting data packets between a source and a destination over a network including the router. The method includes receiving the data packet and pre-processing layer header data for the data packet as the data packet is received and prior to transferring any portion of the data packet to packet memory. The data packet is thereafter stored in the packet memory. A routing through the router is determined including a next hop index describing the next connection in the network. The data packet is retrieved from the packet memory and a new layer header for the data packet is constructed from the next hop index while the data packet is being retrieved from memory. The new layer header is coupled to the data packet prior to transfer from the router.

The present invention relates generally to data routing systems, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for efficiently routing packets through a network.
In packet switched communication systems, a router is a switching device that receives packets containing data or control information on one port, and based on destination information contained within the packet, routes the packet out another port to a destination (or an intermediary destination). Conventional routers perform this switching function by evaluating header information contained within a first data block in the packet. The header includes destination information that can be used in determining the proper output port for a particular packet.
Efficient switching of packets through the router is of paramount concern. Referring now to FIG. 1, a conventional router includes a plurality of input ports 2 each including an input buffer (memory) 4, a switching device 6 and a plurality of output ports 8. Data packets received at input port 2 are stored at least temporarily, in memory 4 while destination information associated with each packet is decoded to determine the appropriate switching through switching device 6.
Data packets include both header and data fields and can be of variable lengths. The header includes both format information related to the type of packet and layer data. Networking protocols are defined in terms of layers, with each layer responsible for different portions of the communications in the network. For example TCP/IP is a standard internet network protocol that includes an application layer, transport layer, IP layer (network layer or L3), link layer (L2) and physical layer (L1). A data packet can include a plurality headers, one for each relevant layer that is to handle the packet during routing. Each layer header can include source and destination information as well as other layer specific information. To transfer the packet out of the switch, portions of the header are required to be examined (e.g., Layer 2 and Layer 3, L2 and L3 respectively, header information). Typically, packets are stored in memory 4 while header processing is performed.
Complicating the examination process, the format of the packet headers can vary. Destination or other information (e.g., L3 information) may not always be located at the same position in a header.
Unfortunately, conventional routers are inefficient in a number of respects. Conventional routers are incapable of processing packets in-line. All of the packet header typically must be received prior to the beginning of header processing. Packets are not screened early on for faults necessitating additional bandwidth and resources for handling these bad packets.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The invention provides immunostimulatory glycolipids and compositions thereof and methods of use thereof.

Polysaccharide A (PSA) of Bacteroides fragilis (B. fragilis) has been reported to be an immunomodulator with therapeutic and prophylactic activities. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,679,654 and 5,700,787; Tzianabos A O et al. (2000) J Biol Chem 275:6733-40. As an example, PSA has been shown to provide protection from intestinal inflammatory diseases as well as systemic immune-mediated diseases such as the mouse model for multiple sclerosis, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). PSA is one of eight capsular polysaccharides made by B. fragilis.
PSA was recently discovered to possess a lipid moiety. The lipid moiety was hypothesized to anchor the polysaccharide in the B. fragilis outer membrane. It was also recently discovered that this "lipidated PSA" was more potent than non-lipidated PSA (referred to herein as "PSA") forms provided in the prior art.

Glycolipid compositions and methods of use

President and Fellows of Harvard College


Coatable thermal mass transfer precursor compositions, suitable for producing thermal mass transfer donor elements, are described, the coatable compositions comprising a polyalkylene binder precursor; an acrylic binder precursor; an effective amount of a pigment to provide the desired color to a thermal mass transfer composition using the coatable composition; and d) a diluent (preferably water) in which the polyalkylene binder precursor, acrylic binder precursor, and pigment are all dispersed therein. Signage articles produced using the donor elements are also described.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to thermal mass transfer compositions and articles for use in producing signage articles. In particular the present invention relates to the use of thermal mass transfer compositions which employ a binder which does not significantly absorb ultraviolet radiation, thereby avoiding substantial heat absorption and degradation of the binder, and including durable, stable pigments which do not exhibit significant color change or loss of brightness.
2. Related Art
Thermal mass transfer processes use a donor sheet (commonly denoted a "ribbon" or "foil") and a receptor sheet or substrate. The thermal mass transfer donor sheet normally comprises a carrier layer and a colorant layer with at least a thermally transferable colorant (a dye or preferably a pigment) in a heat softenable binder. The colorant layer typically consists of a pigment dispersed in a binder (the binder transferring with the pigment during thermal transfer). Thermal mass transfer sheets are used with the donor surface (colorant layer) in intimate contact with a receptor material, and the donor sheet is heated in an imagewise manner (e.g., by thermal printheads, irradiation as by a laser or high intensity radiation transmitted through a mask or stencil) to transfer the image forming material. In the thermal mass transfer system, the colorant layer is softened by the imagewise heating (and sometimes a receptor layer on the receptor sheet is contemporaneously softened), and the softened area is transferred to the receptor sheet. The ultimate use of the substrate having the transferred image thereon frequently dictates the durability requirements of the image.
Thermal mass transfer is useful for preparing outdoor durable signage articles, such as automobile registration tags which are adhered to license plates. See, for example, Patent Cooperation Treaty applications WO 94/19710 (claiming priority from U.S. Ser. Nos. 08/017,573 and 08/033,627) and WO 94/19769 (claiming priority from U.S. Ser. Nos. 08/017,573 and 08/033,625), both published Sep. 1, 1994. For the articles described therein, thermal mass transferred indicia was printed onto a specially formulated polyurethane "multifunction" layer, an attribute of which was to eliminate the need for a cover layer for resin-based binder printed indicia. Many commonly used binders employ large amounts of UV stabilizers and UV absorbers, which tend to produce heat in the binders and cause their early degradation, thereby decreasing brightness and/or increasing color change.
There is a need in the signage art, particularly those meant for outdoor usage, to be able to apply color images to many different substrates without loss of brightness or color change, and without having to use complex processes.

Compositions and thermal mass transfer donor elements for use in producing signage articles


Described is a method for generating a parametric search statement for finding a target document. The parametric search statement is generated in the text boxes of a search bar. A user action is performed in the text box. An in-place context menu having menu items responsive to the user action are displayed near the location of the user action. Each menu item includes at least one of an attribute of the target document, a comparison operator and a value. One of the menu items is selected from the in-place context menu based on a known characteristic of the target document. Parametric search statements are easily generated using the method without the need to access numerous dialogs boxes or to enter significant text.

Many client applications do not offer a convenient way to quickly retrieve documents. For example, mail clients (e.g., Lotus Notes (International Business Machines, Armonk, N.Y.) and Microsoft Outlook (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Wash.)) do not provide easy access to specific messages maintained in a mailbox. To organize messages for later retrieval users often maintain multiple mail folders. Each folder contains emails that share a common characteristic. For example, a folder can hold messages relating to a specific task or project. Ideally a user seeking to obtain an earlier message knows which folder contains that message. If the number of folders is low, then there can be numerous messages in each folder. Significant user effort is required to sort through messages in the folder to find the message of interest. In other situations, users may not remember to which folder they moved the message. Moreover, user interfaces typically only permit a user to find a raw word in the selected folder or to sort the first column and then jump to the first of the emails starting with a predetermined prefix.
The user interfaces provided in typical email client applications permit typed input in a search bar that is visible in the main application window or is otherwise accessible from the main application window. Using this search bar it is generally only possible to search for plain text in any part (e.g., header or body) of the email document. Parametric searches are generally implemented using complex user interfaces.
Parametric searches are significantly different than searches implemented on the Internet. Web search engines often perform searches for information which may not exist. Email message searches, however, are primarily implemented for retrieval. The user knows that the sought email message exists and whether the email message was sent or received. Frequently, the user knows the name of the sender or the recipient and the time period during which the email message was transmitted or received. These parameters significantly reduce the quantity of emails in the search results. Unfortunately, the parameters are not easily and quickly defined in the search statement. If a parametric search is required, the user navigates through multiple pop-up boxes to generate the proper search statement.
What is needed is a method for generating parametric search statements for finding and retrieving emails and other documents. The present invention satisfies this need and provides additional advantages.

Search bar with intelligent parametric search statement generation


An assembly is provided with a semiconductor chip mounted on the main surface side of a die pad of a lead frame. The semiconductor chip is connected with a lead via bonding wire. The assembly is inserted into a transfer molding die for resin sealing, wherein the die temperature of a lower die is set higher than the die temperature of an upper die, and the transfer molding is carried out. Specifically, the die surface temperature of the lower die disposed at the main surface side of the lead frame is set higher by +5.degree. to +15.degree. C. than the die surface temperature (170.degree. C.) of the upper die disposed at the rear surface side to carry out molding. This reduces the viscosity of the sealing resin flowing into the rear surface side to increase fluidity of the resin, and a thin resin layer can be positively molded without insufficient resin filling at the rear surface side where the flow path cross sectional area in the cavity is small.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for producing a resin sealed type semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 shows the structure of a resin sealed type semiconductor device, to which the present invention is to be applied, and FIG. 2 shows a circuit assembly composed of a semiconductor chip and a lead frame. Referring to the Figures, a lead frame 1 used for assembling the semiconductor device comprises a die pad 1a, which also functions as a heat sink, a lead 1b, and a semiconductor chip 2 which is mounted on the main surface side of the die pad 1a. The semiconductor chip 2 is connected with the lead 1b of the lead frame 1 through a bonding wire 3, thereby forming the circuit assembly shown in FIG. 2. The circuit assembly is molded, and resin sealed with a resin package 4. Such a semiconductor device is normally mounted on a heat sink 5 with the thermal transfer resistance between the die pad 1a and the heat sink 5 reduced to as low of a value as possible. The resin package 4 has a resin layer thickness d coating the rear surface side of the die pad 1a. Resin layer thickness d is extremely small compared to a resin layer on the main surface side and is, for example, formed to a thickness of approximately 0.5 mm.
Outer shapes of the package of a resin sealed type semiconductor device are standardized, for example, by the U.S. JEDEC (Joint Electron Device Engineering Council), and package outer shapes such as T0220, T03P, and the like are known. The present invention relates to an improvement of the production method for a resin sealed type semiconductor device, and particularly, is directed to a production method for resin sealed type semiconductor devices with package outer shapes having resin packages with portions of different resin layer thicknesses such as T0220, T03P, and the like.
Molding of the resin package 4 is generally achieved by transfer molding. In the transfer molding process, a lead frame assembly as is shown in FIG. 2 is preheated to a predetermined temperature. The lead is pinched between an upper die and a lower die of a molding die heated to a predetermined temperature. The die pad is inserted into a cavity formed between the upper and lower dies, and a sealing resin is injected through a gate of the molding die to achieve molding. Heretofore, when an epoxy type resin is used as a sealing resin, the surface temperature of the die is kept at 170.degree. to 180.degree. C. for molding.
When the resin package 4 as shown in FIG. 1 is molded using a transfer molding die, since a cross section between the die pad 1a and the cavity wall of the die at a rear surface side of the die pad 1a is extremely thin compared to the main surface side, resin flow at the rear surface side in the cavity is disturbed compared to the main surface side under the same molding pressure. Thus the sealing resin injected through the die gate tends to flow and fill the main surface side of the cavity earlier than the rear surface side. As a result, the filling of resin at the rear surface side of the die pad is insufficient, resulting in molding defects such as pinholes, weld marks, and the like.
FIG. 3 shows such a condition. Sealing resin is shown injected through a gate 8 at the left end of a molding die comprising an upper die 6 disposed at the main surface side of the die pad 1a and a lower die 7 disposed at the rear surface side. The sealing resin fills the main surface side in the cavity earlier where the flow path cross section is larger, and resin filling is delayed at the rear surface side in the cavity where the flow path cross section is small. Therefore, fusion of the resin does not occur between the sealing resin R flowing through in the rear surface side and the sealing resin R flowing through the main surface side to the rear surface side from an end at the right side, and defects such as weld marks, pinholes, and the like tend to be generated. Further, if the above-described defects such as weld marks, pinholes, and the like occur at the rear surface side of the die pad, strength of the resin package decreases, leading to breakage and cracking.
There are known methods such as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laying-open No. 290032/1990 and Japanese Patent Application Laying-open No. 94432/1991, in which a control member, such as an orifice, is provided at the die side or the lead frame side for slowing the flow of resin to the main surface side of the die pad in the cavity of a die so that sufficient sealing resin flows to the rear surface side of the die pad.
However, these methods require complex dies, resulting in an increase in cost and limitation in the applicable package outer shape.

Method for producing resin sealed type semiconductor device


A method and apparatus limit access to network elements. A network authentication key server generates a current key and transmits it to a plurality of network authentication nodes, each node being associated with one or more network elements. The server receives user requests for access to a given network element and determines whether the user is authorized to access the requested element. If access is granted, the request is modified to include the most current key. The request as modified is forwarded toward the requested network element. The modified request can be intercepted by the associated network authentication node and the request can be either passed through to the network element or discarded, depending on whether the request includes information that matches a current key maintained within the network authentication node.

The present invention is directed to a method an apparatus for limiting access to network elements. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for limiting access to network elements having disparate operating systems to only those users being authorized to access the respective elements.
Various communication network configurations are known in the art. Typically such communication network configurations include a plurality of different network elements. The network elements can be supplied by various vendors and therefore implement different types of interfaces. Similarly, the different types of network elements, which may be intelligent devices that include some processing capabilities, operate with different operating systems, for example different versions of Unix or DOS or Windows.
One example of an arrangement of network elements is illustrated in FIG. 1. In this particular arrangement a user may have access to various network elements via personal computer (PC) 101. The PC may be coupled to a router 102 via a wide area network (WAN) or local area network (LAN) connection. It would be possible to use TCP/IP transport protocols for initiating communications from the PC. The router can be coupled to different network elements such as a signal control point (SCP) 103, a signal transfer point (STP) 104 and a terminal server 105 which constitutes an additional intelligent device that interfaces to yet additional network elements. Examples of such additional network elements include a voice mail server (VMS) 107, a switch 108 which could be a Lucent Technologies 5ESS switch, and a Signal Access Cross Connect System (DACS) 109. It should be understood that this is merely an example of an arrangement of network elements and is not the sole representation of a configuration in which problems arise that can be addressed by the present invention.
In such network configurations employing a plurality of different network elements, it is difficult to provide a unified solution for limiting access by the user to each and every one of a plurality of the network elements. The problem arises because the different network elements operate with different operating systems and, as indicated before may be supplied by different vendors with different communication specifications. Therefore, typically each individual network element would have to operate some sort of authentication process to determine whether an individual user has access to that particular element. This requires different implementations of authentication processes depending upon the design of the respective network elements.
Another network where this problem arises is in a wireless cellular network where access is needed to a variety of network elements. Again, since the various network elements may have different operating systems with different degrees of authentication capability, it can be difficult to implement a universal solution that will force authentications.
It would be beneficial to have an arrangement by which access could be limited to the disparate network elements using a unified solution that is independent of the operating systems of the respective elements.

Method and apparatus for limiting access to network elements


An alignment tool (2) for a joint is provided comprising a reference member 4 that defines a reference plane R and a distraction member (6). The distraction member (6) comprises first and second distraction arms (70, 72), each of which is independently moveable with respect to the reference member (4) along a movement axis M. The movement axes M, M of the first and second distraction arms (70, 72) are substantially parallel. A kit of parts is also provided comprising an alignment tool (2), a drill guide (200) and a cutting guide (300).

It is known to replace diseased or damaged articulating surfaces of a joint with prosthetic components in total or partial joint replacement procedures. During such procedures, it is necessary to balance the tension in the soft tissue structures that support the joint, for example the ligaments and surrounding tissues. In certain cases, it is also desirable to correct for deformities. These deformities may be from a pre-existing injury or condition, or may have developed in the joint in parallel with, and usually as a consequence of, the degradation of the natural articulating surfaces. For example, it is common for an ankle requiring total joint replacement surgery to exhibit a certain degree of varus or valgus deformity. This is where the distal bone of the joint is angled either medially (varus) or laterally (valgus) with respect to the normal joint line. Such deformities can be corrected by placing the joint in the desired anatomical alignment before resecting the distal bone articulating surface in preparation for implantation of the prosthetic component. The bone surface will have worn away, or subsided as a result of trauma, to a greater degree in one compartment or the other (depending on the nature of the deformity). Placing the joint in correct alignment before resecting will therefore cause the removal of a non symmetrical piece of bone, removing less bone from the side that is worn away or subsided in order to restore normal alignment to the joint. In conventional surgical procedures, the joint is placed and held in alignment prior to a distal bone resection by a surgical assistant. The correction for varus or valgus deformities is therefore conducted by eye and the accuracy and repeatability of the resection is dependent upon the surgical assistant holding the limb steady in the correct place.


An escape system for providing an escape route out of a building is discloses. The system comprises a ladder, and at least one anchor element at a position distant from the proximal end of the ladder. The ladder is extendible between a collapsed storage configuration and an extended use configuration. The ladder comprises a plurality of essentially rigid ladder segments, each ladder segment comprising at least one rung and being displaceable in relation to the remaining plurality of ladder segments. The ladder also comprises at least one fixation element attached to or forming part of at least one of the ladder segments. The fixation element comprises a first spacer element, the first spacer element extending between the anchor element and the ladder in the extended use configuration. The ladder is detached from the anchor element in the collapsed storage configuration, and at least one fixation element of the ladder is configured to attach to the anchor element when the ladder is in the extended use configuration.

Various escape ladders are known for providing an escape route of a building. In general, an escape ladder may be of a first type or a second type. The first type of ladder is permanently mounted to a building and ready for use with little or no need for extension of the ladder case of an emergency. Often such ladders comprise rigid ladder segments and platforms permanently mounted to the façade of a multi-story building, possibly with the ladder segment closest to ground being an extendible ladder segment aiming to prevent access to the escape ladder from ground. While such ladders often provide relatively high structural stability for a safe descent, the need for relative large structures permanently mounted on the façade of the building may have detrimental effects on the visual expression of the building, which for buildings worth preserving may prevent installation, as well as the possible ineffectiveness of such ladders towards preventing access from ground with negative consequences for theft prevention.
The second type of ladder is an extendible ladder, which is stored in a collapsed or compressed configuration with one end of the ladder being secured to the building. This second type of ladder is then extended when the need for an escape route arises. While such ladders generally have less impact on the visual expression of the building they are mounted on, and commonly provide improved prevention of unwanted ground access as compared to the first type, they may lack in structural stability. Even in the case of a second type of escape ladder being formed by a plurality of mutually displaceable rigid elements, the ladder may lack structural stability.

Escape system comprising extendible ladder


A protection device for a waterbed protects the water bladder and water heater from damage due to overheating when a dangerous condition, such as an insufficient level of water within the bladder or an element of the waterbed surroundings interposed between the bladder and the water heater, arises. The protection device employs a detector in the form of two capacitance plates placed adjacent to the water bladder and connected to a circuit which is operative to prevent power from being supplied to the water heater upon detection of a dangerous condition. The capacitance of the detector plates varies with the level of the water within the bladder and with the presence of a surrounding element between the bladder and heater.

Waterbeds have become an increasingly popular type of bed. Waterbeds offer many advantages over conventional boxsprings and mattresses.
One such advantage is that a waterbed equally distributes pressure over a person's body, thereby eliminating the frequent discomfort caused by unequal pressure distributions in conventional boxspring and mattress beds.
Another reason why waterbeds have become popular is that the temperature of the mattress can be controlled. In a conventional bed, a person must rely on layers of blankets, turning up the heat in the building, or other means to stay comfortable during cold nights.
By contrast, a waterbed can enhance comfort by means of a water heater generally located underneath the water bladder and controlled by a thermostat. The heater heats the water inside of the water bladder to the desired temperature to make the bladder warmer than the ambient air, thereby making many layers of blankets unnecessary and allowing energy to be conserved by turning down the heat in the building.
Generally, the water heater is controlled only by a conventional thermostat, which has an "off" position, and variable temperature settings when turned on. However, applicant is unaware of any means whereby a waterbed heater may be prevented from activating in the event that there is insufficient water in the water bladder or if other dangerous conditions arise.
When the waterbed is initially installed, the heater is typically first placed on top of the bed frame and the water bladder placed on top of the heater. If the heater is inadvertently turned on before sufficient water is introduced into the water bladder, for example, or if a person forgets to turn the heater off after draining the bed, the temperature of the water heater or of the water in the bladder may rise to a dangerous level. If the melting point of the water bladder is reached, the bladder will be destroyed. If the ignition temperature of the surrounding wood frame or bed clothing such as sheets or blankets, or other surrounding material is reached, a fire may result. It is also possible that a person will inadvertently come into contact with the overheated bladder or water contained therein, and be burned. This danger is especially great to small children.
A dangerous condition may also arise where a person inadvertently places a blanket or sheet or other flammable material between the water heater and the water bladder. In such a case, it is possible that such material may catch fire.

Use of capacitance for protecting against overheating of a waterbed heater

Ohio Mattress Company Licensing & Components


A coding apparatus capable of coding a spectrum at a low bit rate and with high quality without producing any disturbance in a harmonic structure of the spectrum. In this apparatus, internal state setting section sets an internal state of a filtering section using a first spectrum S1(k). A pitch coefficient setting section outputs a pitch coefficient T by gradually changing it. The filtering section calculates an estimated value S′2(k) of a second spectrum S2(k) based on a pitch coefficient T. A search section calculates the degree of similarity between S2(k) and S′2(k). At this time, pitch coefficient T′ corresponding to the maximum calculated degree of similarity is given to a filter coefficient calculation section. The filter coefficient calculation section determines a filter coefficient βi using this pitch coefficient T′.

A coding technology for compressing a voice signal, audio signal or the like to a low bit rate signal is particularly important from the standpoint of effectively using a transmission path capacity (channel capacity) of radio waves or the like and a recording medium in a mobile communication system.
Examples of a voice coding scheme for coding a voice signal include schemes like G726, G729 standardized by the ITU-T (International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector). These schemes use narrow band signals (300 Hz to 3.4 kHz) as coding targets and can perform high quality coding at bit rates of 8 kbits/s to 32 kbits/s. However, since such a narrow band signal is so narrow that its frequency band is a maximum of 3.4 kHz, the quality thereof is such that it gives the user an impression that a sound is muffled, which results in a problem that it lacks a sense of realism.
Furthermore, there is also a voice coding scheme that uses wideband signals (50 Hz to 7 kHz) as coding targets. Typical examples of this are 6722, 6722.1 of ITU-T and AMR-WB of 3GPP (The 3rd Generation Partnership Project). These schemes can perform coding of wideband voice signals at a bit rate of 6.6 kbits/s to 64 kbits/s. However, when the signal to be coded is voice, although a wideband signal has relatively high quality, it is not sufficient when an audio signal is the target or a voice signal of higher quality with a sense of realism is required.
On the other hand, when a maximum frequency of a signal is generally on the order of 10 to 15 kHz, it is possible to obtain a sense of realism equivalent to FM radio, and when the maximum frequency is on the order of up to 20 kHz, it is possible to obtain quality comparable to that of CD (compact disk). For such a signal, audio coding represented by the layer III scheme or AAC scheme standardized by MPEG (Moving Picture Expert Group) is appropriate. However, these audio coding schemes have a wide frequency band of a signal to be coded, which results in a problem that the bit rate of a coded signal increases.
Examples of conventional coding technologies include a technology of coding a signal with a wide frequency band at a low bit rate (e.g., see Patent Document 1). According to this, an input signal is divided into a signal of a low-frequency domain and a signal of a high-frequency domain, the spectrum of the signal of the high-frequency domain is replaced by the spectrum of the signal of the low-frequency domain and coded, and the overall bit rate is thereby reduced.
FIG. 1A to FIG. 1D show an overview of the above described processing of replacing the spectrum of high-frequency domain by the spectrum of the low-frequency domain. This processing is originally intended to be performed in combination with coding processing, but for simplicity of explanation, a case where the above described processing is performed on an original signal will be explained as an example.
FIG. 1A shows a spectrum of an original signal whose frequency band is restricted to 0≦k<FH, FIG. 1B shows a spectrum of the signal restricted to 0≦k<FL (where, FL<FH), FIG. 1C shows a spectrum obtained by replacing a high-frequency domain (high-frequency band) by a low-frequency domain (low-frequency band) using the above described technology and FIG. 1D shows a spectrum obtained by shaping the replacing spectrum according to spectrum envelope information about the replaced spectrum. In these figures, the horizontal axis shows a frequency and the vertical axis shows intensity of a spectrum.
In this technology, a spectrum of the original signal whose frequency band is 0≦k<FH (FIG. 1A) is expressed using a low-frequency spectrum whose frequency band is 0≦k<FL (FIG. 1B). More specifically, the high-frequency spectrum (FL≦k<FH) is replaced by the low-frequency spectrum (0≦k<FL). As a result of this processing, the spectrum as shown in FIG. 1C is obtained. Here, for simplicity of explanations, a case with a relationship of FL=FH/2 will be explained as an example. According to information about a spectrum envelope of the original signal, the amplitude value of the spectrum in the high-frequency domain of the spectrum in FIG. 1C is adjusted and the spectrum as shown in FIG. 1D is obtained. This is the spectrum which is the spectrum obtained by estimating the original signal.    Patent Document 1: National Publication of International Patent Application No. 2001-521648 (pp. 15, FIG. 1, FIG. 2)

Spectrum coding apparatus and decoding apparatus that respectively encodes and decodes a spectrum including a first band and a second band