A rotational drive device that provides both variable levels of adjustable rotational resistance and also selective direction in which the resistance acts. The device has two mutually rotatable members each having a grasping handle. One member has a shaft serving as an axle for rotatably supporting the second member. A nut threads to the end of the shaft. When tightened, the nut imparts axially compressive forces urging the two rotatable members towards one another. The base rotatable member has a ramped member facing a corresponding opposed ramped member rotatably supported on the shaft. When the ramped members are rotated relative to one another, overall axial length of the base member is adjusted. This adjustment selectively modifies resistance to rotation of the rotatable members. A clutch device selectively transmits resistance forces when one rotatable member is rotated relative to the other in a first direction, in a second direction, and in both directions. When one direction is selected, the two members rotate with minimal resistance. The clutch has curved cam surfaces which bind in a smooth, stepless manner without causing chattering and vibration typical of pawl ratchets.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotational drive device that provides both variable levels of adjustable rotational resistance and also selective direction in which the resistance acts. The invention finds application in exercise equipment wherein a user overcomes the resistance when using the equipment. The device may comprise an exercise device having two handles to be grasped by the two hands of the user, who rotates the handles relative to one another, or alternatively may be incorporated into a more complicated machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many different types of rotational exercise devices have been designed in the past. Most of these exercisers include means to adjust the rotational resistance in one or both directions. What is lacking in the prior art is a rotational exercise device that can be adjusted to provide selectively variable resistance in either one or both of opposed directions, and which offers selection of the direction of resistance.
Exercise devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,543,729 and 2,725,232, issued to Herbert N. Magida respectively on Feb. 27, 1951, and Nov. 29, 1955. In both cases, the subject devices include two handles, one for each hand of the user, and an adjustably variable frictional resistance element. Resistance is the same regardless of direction of rotation of one handle relative to the other. By contrast, the present invention enables the user to select the rotational direction in which resistance acts. Optionally, resistance acts in both directions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,618, issued to Frank Edward Joutras on Aug. 4, 1998, describes an exercise device having a ratchet mechanism and an adjustable resistance feature. However, Joutras lacks a directional selector for selecting direction of resistance, as seen in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,984, issued to Tatsuo Nakayama on Sep. 24, 1996, shows a ratchet wrench which includes torque adjustment and an adjustable selector for selecting the direction of resistance. A ratchet wrench is intended to rotatably drive a device such as a threaded fastener to the point of tightness, and therefore lacks a second handle as seen in the present invention, which second handle would be appropriate for exercise devices. Also, a wrench intended for rotating a fastener would not provide resistance in two opposed directions, with the consequence that no significant progress could be achieved in turning a fastener.
The prior art devices, in addition to failing to show the combination of variable resistance and selection of direction in which the resistance acts, lacks a stepless ratchet mechanism. As employed herein, stepless ratchet action signifies action from which arise neither the sound nor the tactile characteristics of a rapidly oscillating or striking sequence generated by a ratchet wherein a pawl contacts a series of steps in rapid progression. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
The present invention is a dynamic tensioner particularly suitable for use in exercising. The tensioner includes two rotatable members which rotate about a common axis. In one embodiment, the tensioner has two handles each grasped in one hand by the user, wherein one handle is attached to each rotatable member. A frictional resistance element opposes relative rotation of the two handles. The tensioner incorporates both a directional selector and a variable resistance adjuster. The device therefore provides variable resistance to rotation of the rotatable members and associated handles, which resistance may be varied both in magnitude and in direction. More specifically, the variable resistance selectively acts in either one of two opposed rotational directions, wherein almost no resistance acts in the opposite rotational direction, or alternatively, equal resistance in both rotational directions. Thus three directional options are provided by the selector, in addition to selection of level of frictional resistance provided by the resistance adjuster.
The directional selector is a three position dial which biases a plurality of cams into one of three possible positions to transmit selected frictional resistance forces only when the first member is rotated clockwise relative to the second member, only when the first member is rotated counterclockwise relative to the second, and in both rotational directions. The tension adjuster includes a threaded fastener which compresses the two rotatable members into mutual engagement. As increasing axial forces press the two members together, frictional resistance to rotation increases. The two members undergo only partial rotation relative to one another. Alternatively stated, they move only through a limited arc of motion.
This motion, combined with selected frictional resistance, allows specific muscle conditioning for any limb of the body which engages one handle of the tensioner. The two handles or their corresponding members may pit effort of one limb against effort exerted by another limb. Alternatively, one handle or corresponding member may be immobilized, with only one body limb engaging a handle or corresponding member. In the latter example of usage, a single body limb is subjected to exercise. Thus the present invention is particularly suited for physiological sculpting.
A clutch transmits compressive forces from the tension adjuster which generate resistance in selected mutual rotational directions. The clutch, unlike a stepped pawl and ratchet device, acts steplessly. That is, motion of one rotatable member relative to the other proceeds smoothly in both directions without causing rapid vibrations or chatter typical of stepped pawl and ratchet devices.
In the preferred embodiment, the frictional resistance element comprises two members having opposed, interfitting, complementary ramps. The members are formed from a mildly elastic, strong material such as a steel alloy. When ramps of each member are pressed against one another, each ramp deforms slightly to accommodate passage of its opposed counterpart.
Accordingly, it is one object of the invention to provide a dynamic tensioner which varies both magnitude and direction of resistance forces acting on two mutually rotatable members.
It is a second object of the invention to enable alternating direction of the two mutually rotatable members by stepless ratchet action.
Another object of the invention is to provide a dynamic tensioner which is engaged by, selectively, one or two limbs of a user, and which pits effort of one arm against selected resistance forces.
It is a further object of the invention that the tensioner provide selectively variable frictional resistance to rotation of one rotatable member relative to the other rotatable member.
Still another object of the invention to enable a user to select one of two opposed directions of rotation or both directions when subjecting the rotatable members to frictional resistance to rotation.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.

Dynamic tensioner incorporating stepless ratchet device


A camera mount includes a lower mount component comprising a rigid tray; and an elastic retaining member fastened to the tray such that it arches over the tray cavity. The elastic retaining member includes a first relief indentation to prevent the elastic retaining member from causing unwanted interaction with a camera.

The use of compact cameras, originally intended for use in sports videography, has expanded into other non-sports videography applications due to the cameras allowing for very high image quality while remaining small, light and convenient to carry.
Since the needs of sports videography are extremely diverse and continually evolving, the cameras are designed to be as small as possible, with no allocation for providing attachment to traditional camera mounting elements such as threads.
As such conventional mounting of such compact cameras utilize an additional mounting or secondary housing unit, conventionally in the form of a fully-enveloping frame.
Conventional mounting units are largely based on the needs of the sports-oriented original market for compact cameras; however, such conventional mounts are mainly intended to assure the rigid mounting of the compact camera to fast-moving objects, and operational issues such as fast access to battery compartments or cable sockets have been considered secondary importance.
The importance of absolute rigidity of mounting versus fast access are of equal importance when it comes to many non-sports applications In these applications, the fastening of the compact cameras to non-moving external supporting objects conventionally involves fastening the compact cameras to tripods or scaffolds.
In particular, the fully-enveloping, tightly-fitted nature of such mounts as required for their conventional customary functions make it cumbersome to remove and re-insert the camera as must often be done, for example, in the case of replacing an exhausted battery.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a camera mount that utilizes an elastic retaining component that can be quickly released allowing ready access to the compartments of the compact camera when needed.
It is further desirable to provide a camera mount that utilizes an elastic retaining component that quickly re-engages when the compact camera is to be put back into use.


An organic light-emitting element including an organic light-emitting layer, a transparent substrate, and a transparent electrode disposed between the organic light-emitting layer and the transparent substrate; and which treats the surface of the transparent substrate on the opposite side from the transparent electrode as a light-extraction surface. The transparent substrate has birefringence, and has a refraction index of a P polarized light that is less than a refraction index of an S polarized light. A polarized light wherein an oscillation direction of an electric field is parallel to a laminated surface of the light-emitting layer is designated S polarized light, and a polarized light that includes a vector of the direction of the progression of the light and in which the oscillation direction of the electric field is included in a plane perpendicular to the laminated surface is designated P polarized light.

Attention has currently been drawn to an organic light-emitting element as a thin-type light-emitting member. An organic light-emitting element can provide a high luminance using low power and is excellent in terms of visibility, a response speed, a service life, and power consumption. The light use efficiency thereof, however, is on the order of 20%, and hence there is a large loss in an organic light-emitting element.
FIG. 9 is a schematic sectional view of a conventional organic light-emitting element. An organic light-emitting element 100 is formed by stacking, in order from a lower layer in the figure, a metal electrode 101, an organic light-emitting layer 102, a transparent electrode 103, and a transparent substrate 104. In the figure, arrows 110a to 110e represent characteristic ones of light rays generated from the organic light-emitting layer 102.
The light ray 110a is a light ray in a perpendicular direction to the organic light-emitting layer 102 that is a light-emitting plane, which is transmitted through the transparent substrate 104 to be extracted to a light extraction side (air side). The light ray 110b is a light ray that has entered an interface between the transparent substrate 104 and the air at a shallow angle not more than a critical angle and is refracted at the interface between the transparent substrate 104 and the air to be extracted to the light extraction side. The light ray 110c is a light ray that has entered the interface between the transparent substrate 104 and the air at an angle deeper than the critical angle and is totally reflected off the interface between the transparent substrate 104 and the air, thus failing to be extracted to the light extraction side. A loss attributable to this is referred to as a substrate loss, and due thereto, there is typically a loss on the order of 20%.
The light ray 110d is a light ray satisfying a resonance condition among light rays that have entered an interface between the transparent electrode 103 and the transparent substrate 104 at an angle deeper than a critical angle. The light ray 110d is totally reflected off the interface between the transparent electrode 103 and the transparent substrate 104, which establishes a waveguide mode in which the light ray 110d is trapped inside the organic light-emitting layer 102 and the transparent electrode 103. A loss attributable to this is referred to as a waveguide loss, and due thereto, there is typically a loss on the order of 20 to 25%. The light ray 110e is a light ray that enters the metal electrode 101 to interact with a free electron in the metal electrode 101, which establishes a plasmon mode that is one form of the waveguide mode, in which the light ray 110e is trapped in the vicinity of a surface of the metal electrode 101. A loss attributable to this is referred to as a plasmon loss, and due thereto, there is typically a loss on the order of 30 to 40%.
As described above, in the conventional organic light-emitting element 100, there are a substrate loss, a waveguide loss, and a plasmon loss, and hence it has been sought to reduce these losses so as to extract a maximum possible amount of light.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an organic EL (electro luminescence) device in which a light scattering portion constituted by a lens sheet is provided on a light extraction surface side. Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a substrate for a light-emitting device and a light-emitting device. The substrate for a light-emitting device disclosed therein is composed of a high refractive index convexo-concave layer having a refractive index of not less than 1.6 and an average surface roughness of not less than 10 nm, which is provided on a surface of the substrate at least on one side thereof, and one or more base material layers each having a refractive index of not less than 1.55, and is used on a light-emitting surface side of the light-emitting device.


A surgical bone screw includes an elongate body having a proximal end, a distal end, a threaded portion on the circumference of the body, and a passage extending between the proximal and the distal ends of the body. An electrical conductor is disposed in the passage between the proximal and the distal ends of the screw body. The conductor has a first terminal at the proximal end and a second terminal at the distal end. The conductor and both of the terminals are electrically insulated from surrounding portions of the screw body. When the screw is driven into bone tissue and a stimulating current is applied to the first terminal, the current is directed substantially through the conductor to flow into tissue adjacent to the second terminal at the distal end, without shunting by other tissue that surrounds the screw body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns surgical implants, particularly bone screws.
2. Discussion of the Known Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,558 (Dec. 12, 1995) discloses a procedure and system for spinal pedicle screw insertion, wherein pedicle screws can be inserted into vertebrae of the spine in a way that reduces the likelihood of nerve damage due to improper screw placement. See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,196,015 (Mar. 23, 1993). Basically, as a screw opening is formed in the pedicle, an electric potential is applied to the inside wall of the opening while the patient is observed for a nervous reaction such as, e.g., leg twitching. Formation of the opening is continued while the electric potential is applied, until a desired hole depth is obtained without monitoring a nervous reaction. If a reaction occurs, the direction in which the opening was then being formed, is changed. The mentioned '558 and '015 U.S. patents, and U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2006/0173374 (Aug. 3, 2006), disclose a system and tools for carrying out the foregoing procedure.
Conventional pedicle screws available from, e.g., Biomet, Inc., of Warsaw, Ind., and SpineUniverse, LLC, of Montclair, N.J., are made from titanium, stainless steel, or other strong medical grade alloy. The screws are typically provided with so-called polyaxial or mobile cup-shaped head extensions for seating and locking associated rods once the screws are properly located and driven into the spine. The screw heads usually have hexagonal or slotted recesses for receiving a matching drive tool bit.
An expandable screw for spine fixation offered by Biomet, Inc., under the mark Biomet® Omega21™, is cannulated to accept an expansion peg. A lower (distal) threaded portion of the screw body is formed into four quadrants or fins that expand radially outward to lock the screw in bone tissue when the peg is inserted through a central passage in the screw. Withdrawing the peg allows the fins to collapse for easy removal of the screw when necessary, according to the manufacturer.
Other cannulated screws available from Synthes®, Inc., of West Chester, Pa. and identified as Pangea® pedicle screws, have central bores that are open at both ends of the screws. To insert a screw into bone, the tip of a guide (Kirschner) wire is first seated at a certain depth in a spinal pedicle using a cannulated awl. The awl is removed, and a pedicle probe is guided over wire to prepare a screw channel. After an optional channel threading step, the free end of the wire is inserted through the bore of a selected pedicle screw, and the screw is driven 2-3 rotations into the bone using a cannulated screwdriver shaft. The wire is then removed, and the screw driven further to a desired depth in the bone. A tutorial on use of the Synthes cannulated screws is available on the Internet at <http://www.synthes.com/site/fileadmin/Shared/shop/Printed_Materials/Techique_Guide/Spine—2007—08/036.000.941.pdf>.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,218,232 (May 15, 2007) discloses a bone fastener having a threaded engaging portion and a head portion. In one embodiment, the fastener has a cavity formed in the head portion, and a storage device such as a RFID tag is embedded in the cavity. According to the patent, the device may carry information that is specific to both the fastener and the patient.
There remains a need for a bone screw that is constructed to cooperate with the earlier mentioned systems and tools, and thus reduce substantially the possibility of nerve damage resulting from an improperly placed screw.


A system and method for using an automated process to identify bugs in software code. The system can be used to assist with the development of large and complex software products. File-level and/or line-level code coverage information is used to automatically trace-test failures to development changes within the product source code over a specified period of time. Information as to the health of a software product and the test criteria it passes or fails is compared at a first time, when the product may have satisfied all test criteria, with the health of the product at a second time when the same criteria may be failing. This information can then be used to narrow down and/or identify specific product failures to a particular change or set of changes in the software code, before any manual analysis need be done.

Modern computing systems often utilize large-scale and/or complex software systems. Typical examples of these software systems include operating systems, application servers, and other complex software applications. A key factor in developing and successfully marketing a complex software application is maintaining the quality of that application through a process of quality control. This typically includes tracking and fixing any inconsistencies, faults, or "bugs" that arise in the software code during the development process. In most companies the quality control activity is the responsibility of a Quality Assurance (QA) team. Software fault analysis is often one of the more costly endeavors of the QA cycle of a product, both in terms of human and machine resources. Particularly on large and complex software products defects can take hours or days to track down, often requiring 30%-40% of the QA teams efforts. Any system which can be used to speed up the bug identification and resolution process can lead to great improvements in development time and produce economic efficiencies for the company.

System and method for identifying bugs in software source code, using information from code coverage tools and source control tools to determine bugs introduced within a time or edit interval


Pentacyclic triterpene weight loss agents are provided herein. Also provided are pharmaceutical formulations containing a therapeutically effective amount of one or more of the weight loss agents, or pharmaceutically acceptable salts or prodrugs thereof, in combination with one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipients. The pharmaceutical formulations can be administered to a pre-obese, obese, or morbidly obese patient to induce weight loss, reduce body fat, reduce food intake, improve glucose homeostasis, prevent obesity, or a combination thereof. The weight loss agents can also be co-administered with leptin or a leptin analog.

Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems. Body mass index (BMI), a measurement which compares weight and height, defines people as overweight (pre-obese or overweight) if their BMI is between 25 and 30 kg/m2, and obese when it is greater than 30 kg/m2. Obesity is a leading preventable cause of death worldwide, with increasing prevalence in adults and children, and authorities view it as one of the most serious public health problems of the 21st century.
Obesity increases the risk of many physical and mental disorders. Excessive body weight is associated with various diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus type 2, obstructive sleep apnea, certain types of cancer, and osteoarthritis. These diseases are either directly caused by obesity or indirectly related through mechanisms sharing a common cause such as a poor diet and/or a sedentary lifestyle. One of the strongest links is with type 2 diabetes. Excess body fat underlies 64% of cases of diabetes in men and 77% of cases in women. Increases in body fat alter the body's response to insulin, potentially leading to insulin resistance.
Obesity is most commonly caused by a combination of excessive energy intake, lack of physical activity, and genetic susceptibility, although a few cases are caused primarily by genes, endocrine disorders, medications or psychiatric illness. Since the discovery of leptin in 1994, many other hormonal mechanisms have been elucidated that participate in the regulation of appetite and food intake, storage patterns of adipose tissue, and development of insulin resistance, including ghrelin, insulin, orexin, PYY 3-36, cholecystokinin, and adiponectin.
Adipokines are mediators produced by adipose tissue; their action is thought to modify many obesity-related diseases. Leptin and ghrelin are considered to be complementary in their influence on appetite, with ghrelin produced by the stomach modulating short-term appetitive control (i.e., to eat when the stomach is empty and to stop when the stomach is stretched). Leptin is produced by adipose tissue to signal fat storage reserves in the body, and mediates long-term appetitive controls (i.e., to eat more when fat storages are low and less when fat storages are high). Although administration of leptin may be effective in a small subset of obese individuals who are leptin deficient, most obese individuals are thought to be leptin resistant and have been found to have high levels of leptin. This resistance is thought to explain in part why administration of leptin has not been shown to be effective in suppressing appetite in most obese people.
While leptin and ghrelin are produced peripherally, they control appetite through their actions on the central nervous system. In particular, leptin and ghrelin and other appetite-related hormones act on the hypothalamus, a region of the brain central to the regulation of food intake and energy expenditure. There are several circuits within the hypothalamus that contribute to its role in integrating appetite, with the melanocortin pathway being the most-well understood. The circuit begins with the arcuate nucleus, an area of the hypothalamus that has outputs to the lateral hypothalamus and ventromedial hypothalamus, the brain's feeding and satiety centers, respectively.
The arcuate nucleus contains two distinct groups of neurons. The first group co-expresses neuropeptide Y (NPY) and agouti-related peptide (AgRP) and has stimulatory inputs to the LH and inhibitory inputs to the VMH. The second group co-expresses pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) and cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) and has stimulatory inputs to the VMH and inhibitory inputs to the LH. Consequently, NPY/AgRP neurons stimulate feeding and inhibit satiety, while POMC/CART neurons stimulate satiety and inhibit feeding. Both groups of arcuate nucleus neurons are regulated in part by leptin. Leptin inhibits the NPY/AgRP group while stimulating the POMC/CART group. Thus a deficiency in leptin signaling, either via leptin deficiency or leptin resistance, leads to overfeeding. This may account for some genetic and acquired forms of obesity.
Dieting and physical exercise are the mainstays of treatment for obesity. To supplement these activities, or in case of failure, anti-obesity drugs may be taken to reduce appetite or inhibit fat absorption. In severe cases, surgery is performed or an intragastric balloon is placed to reduce stomach volume and/or bowel length, leading to earlier satiation and reduced ability to absorb nutrients from food. Maintaining this weight loss is frequently difficult and often requires making exercise and a lower food energy diet a permanent part of a person's lifestyle. Success rates of long-term weight loss maintenance with lifestyle changes are low, ranging from 2-20%.
A limited number of medications are available for the treatment of obesity. Concerns about side effects have diminished enthusiasm for appetite-suppressant drugs, particularly fenfluramine, sibutramine, and phentermine, which carry serious risks and have been withdrawn from the market. Phentermine is approved only for short-term use. Orlistat (Xenical) is a medication that blocks the absorption of dietary fat and is also approved for longer-term use. However, it causes unpleasant side effects (greasy stool), and requires supplementation with fat-soluble vitamins.
Although surgery (such as gastric bypass) is the last resort for the treatment of obesity, it can be extremely effective. However, it should be performed at an experienced surgical center, because such operations can carry significant risks, especially in the post-operative period. Consensus recommendations are to limit surgical therapies to patients with morbid obesity (BMI>40, BMI>35 plus co-morbidities, or BMI>30 with uncontrollable diabetes).
A number of weight-loss pills are available at local drugstores, supermarkets or health food stores. Even more options are available online. Most have not been proved effective, and some may be dangerous. Table 1 (below) shows common weight-loss pills and what the research shows about their effectiveness and safety.
Herbal extracts are often impure and contain so many different substances, that it is difficult to assess if the mixture as a whole is efficacious, much less what constitutes an effective dosage. With hundreds or more different compounds in the mixture, it could be more than one compound required for activity, or one compound inhibiting activity of another compound, so the source and processing of the original source material may result in an inactive or even dangerous product.
TABLE 1Anecdotal Products for Weight Loss. Sources:U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2010; NaturalMedicines Comprehensive Database, 2010ProductClaimEffectivenessSafetyAlli - OTCDecreasesEffective; weight-FDAversion ofabsorption ofloss amountsinvestigatingprescriptiondietary fattypically less forreports of liverdrug orlistatOTC versusinjury(Xenical)prescriptionBitter orangeIncreases caloriesInsufficientPossibly unsafeburnedreliable evidenceto rateChitosanBlocks absorptionInsufficientPossibly safeof dietary fatreliable evidenceto rateChromiumIncreases caloriesInsufficientLikely safeburned, decreasesreliable evidenceappetite andto ratebuilds muscleConjugatedReduces body fatPossibly effectivePossibly safelinoleic acidand builds muscle(CLA)CountryDecreasesInsufficientLikely unsafe andmallowappetite andreliable evidencebanned by FDA(heartleaf)increases caloriesto rateburnedEphedraDecreasesPossibly effectiveLikely unsafe andappetitebanned by FDAGreen teaIncreases calorieInsufficientPossibly safeextractand fatreliable evidencemetabolism andto ratedecreases appetiteGuar gumBlocks absorptionPossiblyLikely safeof dietary fat andineffectiveincreases feelingof fullnessHoodiaDecreasesInsufficientInsufficientappetitereliable evidenceinformationto rate
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide safe, well characterized and efficacious compounds for effecting weight loss, and methods of use thereof.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide dosage forms, such as oral dosage forms, for the promotion of weight loss, and methods of use thereof.

Compounds for the treatment of obesity and methods of use thereof

The Children's Medical Center Corporation


A random access memory cell in a register file having multiple independent read ports and multiple independent write ports that support parallel instruction execution. The RAM cell consumes low power and conforms to a tight layout pitch to meet the needs of the random access memory. A single column line is used, with the storage latch device (M 11, M 12) increased in size to provide for the noise margin loss with reference to the prior art two-column design. A single n-device (M 1) is attached to the opposite side of the cell latch (M 11, M 12) to clear the cell prior to writing zeros into the cell. The registers that are to be written are first cleared in the PH2 of the first clock cycle, with the data written in PH1 of the second clock cycle which writes the ones. The zero bits are also written at this time, but they find a cell that already is in the zero state, having been cleared in PH2 of the first clock cycle.

Copending application Ser. No. 07/486,407; describes a register file that provides a high performance interface to registers through a multi-ported access structure, allowing four reads and two writes to occur in the same machine cycle on different registers.
Since both register and memory types of instructions are allowed to execute in the same cycle, six possible register requests could be executing. Thus, a 6-port register file design is required to correctly implement these parallel functions.
The RAM design approach of the prior art using true and bar column lines is not desirable because it requires too large a die size. Since the RAM cell must be six-way ported, the true-and-bar-column-lines design would require too much space dedicated only to the metal pitch of the column lines.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a random access memory cell that consumes low power and conforms to a tight layout pitch to meet the needs of a random access memory of a register file having multiple independent read ports and multiple independent write ports that support parallel instruction execution.


The present invention relates to the detection of analyte(s) of interest in a test sample using a rupturable microcapsule biosensor. In general, the microcapsule biosensor includes a microcapsule comprising a shell encapsulating a detectable agent and further includes a probe that is joined to the shell of the microcapsule. The present invention contemplates generally using the microcapsule biosensor to determine if a test sample contains an analyte of interest by exposing the microcapsule biosensor to the test sample and allowing the probe to potentially bind to the analyte. External force is applied to the microcapsule to rupture the shell releasing the detectable agent and thereby indicating the presence of the analyte of interest in the test sample.

Life sciences research including biological, biomedical, genetic, agriculture, chemical, and environmental research demands the ability to detect, identify, and often quantify biological agents. Conventional methods of detecting biological agents include using fluorescent dyes to label such agents. Fluorescent labeling normally involves the use of an organic dye molecule bound to a moiety, which, in turn, selectively binds to a particular biological agent, the presence of which is then identified by excitation of the dye molecule to cause the dye molecule to fluoresce. Radioimmunoassays (RIA) have also been used to quantify biological agents using high-specific radioactive isotopes as tracers. RIA normally involves the use of a radioactive isotope bound to a moiety, which, in turn, selectively binds to a particular biological agent. The radioactive isotopes emit small amounts of radiation which are detected by a "gamma camera" thereby indicating the presence of the biological agent. Radioactive isotopes and fluorescent dyes, however are disadvantageous in that handling, storing, and disposing of these tracers are troublesome. Therefore, alternative analytical methods have been employed in place of these techniques.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,128,241 describes a microcapsule with a lipid molecular membrane (e.g. a lyposome) encapsulating a labeling substance and having an antibody attached to the surface thereon. After an antigen is introduced to the microcapsule, a reagent is added that has lytic activity in the presence of an antigen-antibody complex. The microcapsule thereby undergoes lysis by the reagent and releases the labeling substance. This method however, requires the step of adding a reagent to lyse the microcapsule and requires the specific presence of an antibody-antigen complex and a reagent that reacts to the antibody-antigen complex.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an indicator that can be readily handled and conveniently stored and that has broad applicability to different analytes.

Microcapsule biosensors and methods of using the same


An acoustic material can be electromagnetically tuned to produce alterations in its acoustical properties without physical contact. The acoustic material should contain a periodic structure and a medium that has acousto-elastical properties that can be altered through the application of electromagnetic radiation. Changes in volumetric properties such as density result in changes to the velocity at which sound passes through the material. The acoustic material can be a phononic crystal that undergoes a change in its acoustic bandgap after being subjected to electromagnetic radiation. This electromagnetic tuning ability results in the ability to change the acoustic properties of various phononic devices without physical contact.

This invention pertains to methods and devices for controlling the propagation of sound and particularly to electromagnetically tunable acoustic devices.
Propagation of sound waves through various media has been studied for centuries. Propagation of sound waves through periodic media dates back to the late 1800's and the word of Gerhard Floquet. The groundwork for understanding wave propagation in three-dimensional periodic media as it is currently understood was established by Felix Bloch in 1928. The Bloch-Floquet theorem describes how a wave can travel through a periodic medium without scattering. Using the Bloch-Floquet theorem, developments in electronics, which deal primarily with the flow of electrons through a structure, and photonics, which deals the propagation of photons through a periodic structure, were made. Especially important was the development of theories to create electronic and photonic bandgaps. The theoretical and experiment development of photonic bandgaps lead directly to the development of a theory for phononic bandgap structure.
A phonon is a quantized vibration of a material analogous to the photon being a quantized oscillation of an electromagnetic field. Sound is a vibration of air and can thus be described in phononic terms. For example, sound is an audible vibration of air, and can thus be quantified as phonons. Earthquakes are non-audible vibrations of Earth's crust, and can similarly be quantified as phonons. The vibrations felt while driving a car are vibrations of the material structure of the car and can thus be characterized and described by phonons. Any vibration of a medium, whether audible, mechanical, or otherwise can be described by a phonon. Acoustics is the generalized term used for the behavior of any type of phonon. Thus the acoustic behavior of a tuning fork would characterize the sound emitted by the tuning fork, and how it vibrates and responds to vibrations. The acoustic behavior of a bridge would characterize the response of the bridge to vibrations including what types of vibrations could cause the bridge to collapse. The dynamics of the propagation of phonons through structures can be determined by applying the appropriate version of the wave equation. A bandgap is a range of phonon frequencies where no phonons can be transmitted through a material. A material exhibiting phononic bandgap behavior is also referred to as a phononic crystal.
Whereas photonic waves possess only a transverse component, phononic waves can have both longitudinal and transverse components. Using similar techniques to those used for photonic crystal, a structure exhibiting an acoustic bandgap could be made.
Tunable phononic crystals were first theoretically presented in 2003 (Khelif et al. 2003). The first tunable phononic crystal was tuned by physically changing the size of scatterers in the lattice. Tuning of a bandgap by changing the physical dimensions of the structure is difficult in practice. Physical tuning can result in unwanted defects in the lattice that would modify the bandgap or path of sound in the phononic crystal. In recent years, other methods for tuning phononic crystals have been introduced including electric (Tang and Lee 2007) or magnetic fields (Robillard et al. 2009), rotation of the crystal (Goffaux and Vigneron 2001), or by physically combining or taking apart two periodic structures (Wang et al. 2009).
Ideally, a method for tuning photonic crystal should be developed which does not require physical contact.

Methods and devices for electromagnetically tuning acoustic media


A flexure plate accelerometer system includes a flexure plate and two fixed plates on either side of the flexure plate. The flexure plate generates a flexure plate signal as a function of reference signals received in the fixed plates. A precision transformer generates the reference signals from a precision sine wave generated by a symbol generator controlled by a microprocessor. The microprocessor controls the symbol generator and activates an analog-to-digital converter in response to a signal coincident with a positive and negative peak of the precision sine wave. The analog-to-digital converter generates a digital word from the flexure plate signal, which is processed further in the microprocessor.

It is well known that capacitive accelerometers measure the acceleration, vibration, and the inclination of objects to which they are attached. These objects typically include missiles, spacecraft, airplanes and automobiles.
In general, capacitive accelerometers change electrical capacitance in response to acceleration forces and vary the output of an energized circuit. Capacitive accelerometer systems generally include sensing elements, such as capacitors, oscillators, and detection circuits.
The sensing elements include at least two parallel plate capacitors functioning in differential modes. The parallel plate capacitors generally operate in sensing circuits and alter the peak voltage generated by oscillators when the attached object undergoes acceleration.
When subject to a fixed or constant acceleration, the capacitance value is also a constant, resulting in a measurement signal proportional to uniform acceleration.
This type of accelerometer can be used in an aerospace system or in a portion of an aircraft or spacecraft navigation or guidance system. Accordingly, the temperature in the operating environment of the accelerometer changes over a wide range. Consequently, acceleration must be measured with a high accuracy over a wide range of temperatures and temperature gradients. This is often a difficult and inefficient process.
The disadvantages associated with current accelerometer systems have made it apparent that a new accelerometer is needed. The new accelerometer should substantially minimize temperature-sensing requirements and should also improve acceleration detection accuracy. The present invention is directed to these ends.

Extended accuracy flexured plate dual capacitance accelerometer


Coatings for implantable medical devices comprising non-fouling moieties or polymers chemically bonded to the surface of the device via chelating structures, and methods of fabricating the coatings are disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to biologically compatible, non-fouling coatings for implantable medical devices such as stents.
2. Description of the State of the Art
Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) is a procedure for treating heart disease. A catheter assembly having a balloon portion is introduced percutaneously into the cardiovascular system of a patient via the brachial or femoral artery. The catheter assembly is advanced through the coronary vasculature until the balloon portion is positioned across the occlusive lesion. Once in position across the lesion, the balloon is inflated to a predetermined size to radially compress against the atherosclerotic plaque of the lesion to remodel the lumen wall. The balloon is then deflated to a smaller profile to allow the catheter to be withdrawn from the patient's vasculature.
A problem associated with the above procedure includes formation of intimal flaps or torn arterial linings which can collapse and occlude the conduit after the balloon is deflated. Moreover, thrombosis and restenosis of the artery may develop over several months after the procedure, which may require another angioplasty procedure or a surgical by-pass operation. To reduce the partial or total occlusion of the artery by the collapse of arterial lining and to reduce the chance of the development of thrombosis and restenosis, a stent is implanted in the lumen to maintain the vascular patency. Examples in patent literature disclosing stents which have been applied in PTCA procedures include stents illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,665 issued to Palmaz, U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,882 issued to Gianturco, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,062 issued to Wiktor. Biological therapy can be achieved by medicating the stents. Medicated stents provide for the local administration of a therapeutic substance at the diseased site. In order to provide an efficacious concentration to the treated site, systemic administration of such medication often produces adverse or toxic side effects for the patient. Local delivery is a preferred method of treatment in that smaller total levels of medication are administered in comparison to systemic dosages, but are concentrated at a specific site. Local delivery thus produces fewer side effects and achieves more favorable results. One proposed method for medicating stents involves the use of a polymeric carrier coated onto the surface of a stent. A solution which includes a solvent, a polymer dissolved in the solvent, and a therapeutic substance dispersed in the blend is applied to the stent. The solvent is allowed to evaporate, leaving on the stent surface a coating of the polymer and the therapeutic substance impregnated in the polymer. Once the stent has been implanted at the treatment site, the therapeutic substance has a sustained release profile from the polymer.
As a result of the implantation of bare metal stents, a low incidence of stent thrombosis can occur, even when the anticoagulation therapy is administered before, during, and after stent implantation. Although thrombosis is only a low incidence problem for the average patient, patients having problems with blood hyper-coagulation, e.g., patients having small vessels, or those suffering from diabetes, are expected to benefit from less thrombogenic stents. Therefore, improved means of tethering anti-thrombogenic and non-thrombogenic moieties to stents is desirable.
In addition, once a bare metal stent is implanted, a thick, denatured layer of protein typically tends to accumulate on a stent surface as a result of the body's reaction to a foreign material. Such accumulation, or "fouling" of the stent surface, is undesirable from the point of view of the stent's long-term tissue compatibility. Surfaces treatments, which can reduce this chronic, foreign body reaction, to make the stent surface non-fouling or at least less fouling are, thus, beneficial. Therefore, improved means of tethering anti-fouling and non-fouling moieties to stents is also desirable.
Although local administration of therapeutic agents via stents has shown favorable results in reducing restenosis, improvements can be made to the coatings. One improvement is to have drug eluting stent coatings, and biologically compatible stent coatings that are firmly anchored to the stent surface. The embodiments of the present invention provide, among other advantages and improvements, a means of tethering biologically compatible or non-fouling polymers to bare metal stents. In addition, incorporating the compounds described in the present invention into a stent primer allows to have improved adhesion of the stent coatings to the stents.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A system, method and program product for providing cognitive behavior security control (CBSC). A system is disclosed that includes: a repository having a plurality of challenges each including an interactive graphical task; a user interface for graphically presenting challenges to users; an enrollment system for assigning challenges to users and determining an authentic response for each user; an authentication system that collects an observed response from a user presented with an assigned challenge and determines a security control result based on a closeness of the observed response with the authentic response of the user.

Effective security controls that are put in place to control access to secure resources (e.g., servers, email accounts, bank accounts, applications, data, etc.) remain a critical challenge as the threat of hackers and like become more and more commonplace. Current security controls rely heavily on password based mechanisms. Examples include: (a) preventive controls that use password authentication to block out unauthorized people; (b) detective controls that detect incorrect passwords and, e.g., send out warnings and/or disable access if entered incorrectly multiple times; and (c) corrective controls that use additional alternative accounts (with passwords) to store/retrieve information for recovery.
Unfortunately, password based systems are vulnerable to various types of breaches, including brute force attacks, fishing attacks, spoofing, social engineering, etc. In addition, a user may write down and/or share their passwords, or use the same password for many accounts, which exposes potential breaches. Because of these inherent vulnerabilities, the ability to compromise password based security controls of others remains relatively high.
Password storage applications are useful in managing and generating unique passwords for users, but suffer from the same inherent vulnerabilities since they require a master password that can be compromised. Biometric controls, such as fingerprint and retina scanner, while effective, require additional hardware and hence may not be adoptable in all environments. Other techniques include pattern based authentication where a user touches or draws patterns on a screen. However, similar to character based passwords, patterns can be copied by and/or shared with others.

International Business Machines Corporation


An optical information recording medium is provided. This medium at least stores information that indicates a maximum recording linear velocity Vh. The medium comprises a substrate having a concentric circular guide groove. This guide grove has land portions and groves portions. At least a phase change type recording layer is formed on the substrate. The recording layer has such a composition and thickness that a dislocation linear velocity V satisfies the relation V≧Vh×0.85.

As one of optical information recording media capable of recording information ("recording"), reproducing information ("reproducing"), and erasing information ("erasing") based on an irradiation of a laser beam, what is called a phase change type optical information recording medium has been known well. The phase change type optical information recording medium make use a phenomenon of phase transition between a crystalline and an amorphous phases or between the crystalline and the crystalline phases. Particularly, because of easiness in overwriting information ("overwriting") by using a single laser beam, that is difficult to achieve in case of the optical magnetic recording, and because of a simple optical system of the apparatus used for recording/reproducing, the demand for the phase change type optical information recording medium has been increasing. As a result, CD-RWs, DVD-RWs, and DVD-RAMs have already been commercialized.
In general, if more information is to be recorded at a faster speed, then it becomes necessary to develop recording media having higher density and higher linear velocity.
Likewise, the linear velocity at which information can be recorded ("recording velocity" or "recording liner velocity") with an optical information recording apparatus has also been increasing day-by day. At present, maximum recording linear velocities of different media belonging to the CD family are as follows. In case the CD-R, the maximum recording linear velocity is twelve times faster than that of the CD. In case the CD-RW, the maximum recording linear velocity is ten times faster than that of the CD. Moreover, the recording liner velocity of the CD-RW has always been higher than that of the CD-RW. For example, when the CD-RW had the recording velocity that is four times faster than that of the CD, the CD-R had a recording velocity of eight, ten or twelve times faster than that of the CD.
As a result, although a spindle, a semiconductor laser, and a control system that meet high recording velocity have been installed on the optical information recording apparatus, this optical information recording apparatus has recorded at a low velocity onto a CD-RW. This is mainly for the following reasons. The CD-RW stores information that indicates the standard recording linear velocity or the maximum recording linear velocity of the CD-RW. The optical information recording apparatus recognizes this information and then performs the recording based on a linear velocity that is in line with the read information. Therefore, it was not possible to achieve a higher recording velocity than the maximum recording linear velocity indicated by the information stored in the CD-RW.
Furthermore, the CD-RW disk also stores information indicating the minimum recording linear velocity. Recording on the CD-RW is performed at a recording linear velocity that is determined in such a manner that the recording linear velocity is between the minimum and the maximum recording linear velocities. Consequently, it is difficult in the optical information recording apparatus to perform matching at high-velocity recording. Therefore, such matching has never been realized.
In a phase change type optical information recording medium, usually, it is necessary to optimize a dislocation linear velocity of the medium so that it matches the recording linear velocity.
The dislocation linear velocity is defined as follows. As shown in FIG. 18, the optical information recording medium is rotated at various linear velocities. A semiconductor laser beam is traces a guide groove formed on the optical information recording medium. Because of the irradiation of the laser beam, a material of a recording layer in the optical information recording medium is heated to a melting point or above of that material. Reflectivity, i.e. the light intensity of the light reflected from the optical information recording medium, is measured. An example of the result of such a measurement are shown in FIG. 19. The linear velocity (shown by an arrow mark in FIG. 19) at which the reflectivity starts declining when the linear velocity is increased is called as the dislocation linear velocity.
As disclosed in detail in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 11-115313, it is important to control the dislocation linear velocity of the phase change type optical information recording medium, in order to the maintain the quality. Further, it has been disclosed in this publication, that the optimum dislocation linear velocity at two times to four times the linear velocity of the CD-RW (i.e. 2.4 to 5.6 m/s) is 2.5 to 5.0 m/s.
However, when the groove of the optical information recording medium has been narrowed, when the laser beam wavelength has been decreased, and when NA (number of apertures) have been increased for the purpose of increasing the density, the thermal properties of the optical information recording medium change drastically. Therefore, in order to carry out recording on to a phase change type optical information recording medium in a high-density and high-linear velocity area like two or more times the linear velocity of the DVD and eight or more times the linear velocity of the CD, the following becomes necessary. That is, it becomes necessary to examine the material of the recording layer, the layer structure of the medium, and conditions under which the medium is manufactured once more, and redesign the dislocation linear velocity that satisfies the factors such as the recording linear velocity, track pitch of the guide groove, wavelength of the laser beam, and NA.
Under the above circumstances, conventionally, the recording linear velocity of the CD-RW disk has been designed so as to be between the minimum and the maximum recording linear velocities. Moreover, the dislocation linear velocity is designed so as to be smaller than 0.85 times the maximum recording linear velocity. Thus, conventionally, it was not possible to increase the speed of recording.
As the material ("phase change recording material") for forming the recording layer in the optical information recording medium, there are materials like GeTe, GeTeSe, GeTeS, GeSeS, GeSeSb, GeAsSe, InTe, SeTe, SeAs, Ge—Te—(Sn, Au, Pd), GeTeSeSb, GeTeSb, and AgInSbTe. Particularly, AgInSbTe has high sensitivity and has clear outline at an amorphous portion, and has been developed as a recording layer for a mark edge recording (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 3-231889, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 4-191089, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 4-232779, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 4-267192, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 5-345478, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 6-166266.)
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 3-231889 discloses a recording layer that is expressed by a general composition expression of a I·(III1-rVr)·VI2 type, where I represents a I-group element, III represents a III-group element, V represents a V-group element, and VI represents a VI-group element. However, according to this recording layer, a repetitive recording characteristic is not always sufficiently satisfactory.
Further, in the recording layer used in the optical information recording medium disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 4-191089, an improvement in erasing ratio and a high-speed recording can be achieved. However, there was a problem, in the disclosed technology, that when recording is performed repeatedly the recording characteristic ("repetitive recording characteristic") gets degraded. Further, regarding an information recording medium disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 1-303643, it has been reported that it is possible to provide a medium having a high C/N ratio and repetitive recording characteristic and excellent preservation characteristic by employing a new crystalline structure. However, there is a drawback that the recording sensitivity and repetitive recording characteristic are not sufficient.
The portion where no information is recorded (i.e. the portion that is crystalline) of the recording layer used in an information recording medium disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 4-232779 has a structure that a stable phase (AgSbTe2) and an amorphous phase existing around this stable phase coexist. Therefore, although the disclosed medium had improved repetitive recording characteristic, a boundary of fine crystals is generated around the crystalline portion that became a cause of an occurrence of noise.
Existence of the boundary of fine crystals does not produce a seriously bad effect on the recording characteristic of an optical information recording medium that has a relatively low recording density like the CD-RW that uses a laser beam having a recording/reproduction wavelength of about 780 nm. However, the boundary of fine crystals becomes a hindrance in realizing a high-density recording of the DVD that uses a laser beam having a wavelength of 680 nm or below and has a recording density of about four times that of the CD-RW or the DVD-RW that have higher densities. Moreover, the problem of the repetitive recording characteristic remains unsolved.
A crystalline portion of the recording layer used in a recording medium disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 4-267192 has a structure that a phase of AgSbTe2 isolated from a uniform amorphous phase and other phase (a stable phase or an amorphous phase) coexist. When other phase is an amorphous phase, a problem similar to that of the information recording medium disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 4-232779 occurs. On the other hand, when the other phase is a stable crystalline phase, there is a problem that it is not possible to obtain satisfactory recording characteristic, as described later.
The technologies disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 5-345478 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 6-166268 have problems similar to those described above. Namely, in an optical information recording medium that has a phase change recording material of an AgInSbTe system or this system with an expanded Ib group element, IIIb group element, Vb group element, and the VIb group element as a recording layer, there is no knowledge about a recording medium that prescribes coordination numbers of elements that constitute the recording layer. Therefore, there is no conventional techniques that make clear the roles of functions as a recording material of each constituent element. As a result, there is no detailed improvement carried out, based on a particular theory, in the repetitive recording characteristic of the AgInSbTe recording layer and information recording and erasing sensitivities.
Further, as phase change recording materials for forming the recording layer of the optical information recording medium, there are what are called chalcogen system alloy materials like GeTe, GeTeSn, GeTeS, GeSeS, GeSeSb, GeAsSe, InTe, SeTe, and SeAs, as disclosed in the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 3,530,441.
Further, for the purpose of improving stability and high-speed crystallization, there has been proposed a material having a GeTe system that is added with Au (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 61-219692), SnandAu (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 61-270190), and Pd (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 62-19490) respectively. Further, for the purpose of improving repetitive performance of recording/erasing, there have been proposed materials having specified composition ratios of GeTeSeSb, and GeTeSb (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 62-73438, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 63-228433).
None of the above-described technologies has been able to satisfy all the characteristics required for a phase change type optical information recording medium. Particularly, there are important problems to be solved, such as the improvement in recording sensitivity and erasing sensitivity, the prevention of a reduction in an erasing ratio due to a remaining of a portion not erased at the time of an overwriting, and the increase in the life of a recorded portion and an unrecorded portion.
In the mean time, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 63-251290, there has been proposed a recording medium that is equipped with a recording layer consisting of a multi-dimensional compound single layer having a crystalline state in substantially three or more dimensions. In this case, the multi-dimensional compound single layer having a crystalline state in substantially three or more dimensions is defined as a one that has a compound (for example, In3SbTe2) having a stoichiometric composition of three or more dimensions by 90 atom % or more in a recording layer. It has been disclosed that it is possible to improve the recording and erasing characteristics by using such a recording layer. However, this has a drawback in that the erasing ratio is small, and laser power required for erasing a recording has not yet been lowered sufficiently.
Further, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 1-277338, there has been proposed an optical information recording medium that has a recording layer consisting of an alloy of a composition as represented by (SbaTe1-a)1-yMy. Here, 0.4≦a≦0.7, and Y≦0.2, and M is at least one element selected from a group consisting of Ag, Al, As, Au, Bi, Cu, Ga, Ge, In, Pb, Pt, Se, Si, Sn, and Zn. The base of this system is Sb2Te3. By adding Sb as a surplus, high-speed erasing and repetitive recording characteristic are improved. Moreover, by adding M, the high-speed erasing is further promoted. In addition, it has been disclosed that the erasing ratio due to a DC light is large. However, in this document, there is no description about the erasing ratio at the time of overwriting. Moreover, the recording sensitivity is insufficient. Inventors of the present invention carried out a study on the erasing ratio at the time of overwriting of the disclosed medium, and they found that non-erased portions were disadvantageously remaining.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 60-177446 discloses a recording layer that uses an alloy of (In1-xSbx)1-yMy. Here, 0.55≦x≦0.80, and 0≦y≦0.20, and M is at least one element selected from a group consisting of Au, Ag, Cu, Pd, Pt, Al, Si, Ge, Ga, Sn, Te, Se, and Bi. Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 63-228433 discloses a recording layer that uses an alloy of GeTeSb2Te3Sb (where Sb is surplus). However, none of the disclosed media posses satisfactory sensitivity and erasing ratio characteristics.
In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 4-163839 discloses an optical information recording medium in which a recording thin film is formed by including N in a TeGeSb alloy. Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 4-52188 discloses an optical information recording medium in which a recording thin film is formed by including at least one of components of a TeGeSe alloy as an a nitride in this alloy. Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 4-52189 discloses an optical information recording medium in which a recording thin film is formed by making a TeGeSe alloy adsorb N. However, none of the disclosed optical information recording media posses satisfactory characteristics.
As mentioned above, it is required in case of the conventional optical information recording media to solve important problems such as the improvement in the recording sensitivity and the erasing sensitivity, the prevention of a reduction in an erasing ratio due to a remaining of a non-erased portion at the time of an overwriting, and the increase in the life of a recorded portion and an unrecorded portion.
In the mean time, in recent years, along a rapid popularization of the CD, there has been developed a compact disk into which data can be written only once (i.e. the CD-R). Such CD-Rs have already appeared in the market. However, in case of the CD-R, it is not possible to edit once the data is written. Therefore, when there is an input error in this CD-R, this disk cannot be used, and it has to be abandoned. Consequently, there has been desired a rewritable compact disk that can solve all these problems.
As a result of researches and developments to obtain such a disk, there has been developed a rewritable compact disk that utilizes an optical magnetic disk. However, the optical magnetic disk has drawbacks in that it is difficult to overwrite and that it is difficult to obtain compatibility between the optical magnetic disk and the CD-ROM or the CD-R. Therefore, the phase change type optical information recording medium is being researched because it has an advantage in securing compatibility in principle.
As researches made into a rewritable compact disk that uses the phase change type optical information recording medium, there are examples that have been announcedby Furuya and others in the lecture draft at the fourth phase change recording study symposium, 70 (1992), Jinno and others in the lecture draft at the fourth phase change recording study symposium, 76 (1992), Kawanishi and others in the lecture draft at the fourth phase change recording study symposium, 82 (1992), T. Handa and others in Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 32 (1993), Yoneda and others in the lecture draft at the fifth phase change recording study symposium, 9 (1993), and Tominaga and others in the lecture draft at the fifth phase change recording study symposium, 5 (1993). However, none of them have sufficiently satisfied a total performance including a securing of compatibility with the CD-ROM or the CD-R, recording and erasing performance, recording sensitivity, possible repetitive number of rewriting, number of reproduction, preservation stability, etc. These drawbacks are mainly due to a composition of recording materials and a low erasing ratio attributable to a structure.
Because of the above reasons, it has been expected to develop phase change recording materials that are suitable for high-sensitivity recording and erasing, and to develop a phase change type compact optical information recording medium having high performance and capable of rewriting.
The present inventors have found and proposed that an AgInSbTe system recording material is the material that solves almost all the drawbacks. As representative examples of the publication by the present inventor there are: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 4-78031, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 4-123551, H. Iwasaki and others in Jpn. J. Appl. Phys, 31 (1992) 461, Ide and others in the lecture draft at the third phase change recording study symposium, 102 (1991), and H. Iwasaki and others in Jpn. J. Appl. Phys, 32 (1993) 5241.
The Orange Book part III (version 1.0) was published in October 1996 as a standard of a rewritable compact disk (CD-RW). As the Orange Book part III (version 1.0) is a standard of a CD-RW two-time linear velocity recording (2.4 to 2.8 m/s), a recording time becomes too long based on this low linear velocity. Therefore, an advent of a high-speed recording rewritable compact disk has been expected.
In the mean time, various kinds of recording compensation systems have been disclosed as systems for improving the quality of recording signals in the phase change type recording system.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 63-266632 discloses, that a system for recording an amorphous mark by using a pulse string is effective in a PWM recording using a recording film having a high crystallization speed.
Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 63-266633and U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,351 disclose, that jitter is improved by restricting a positional fluctuation of a mark edge, by increasing laser energy at the head or tail of a pulse string or by increasing an irradiation time. Further, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 63-29336, there has been known a method of scanning while irradiating an optical spot like a laser beam onto an optical disk in an optical disk recording apparatus, and recording an information signal onto the optical disk by strongly or weakly modulating the optical spot like a laser beam with the information signal. There has also been known a method of reproducing an information signal recorded on an optical disk, and monitoring an amplitude of a reproduction signal and a length of a recording mark, thereby to adjust recording conditions like recording optical power and a width of a recording optical pulse in an optimum state, and set these conditions.
Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 9-138946, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 9-138947, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 9-219021 have disclosed the following. In the case of recording information onto an information recording medium according to a PWM recording system, a recording wave at the time of recording or rewriting a 0 signal having a signal width n×T after modulation (where T is a clock time) is a continuous electromagnetic wave having a power level e. Then, a recording wave pulse string at the time of recording or rewriting a 1 signal having a signal width n×T after modulation is an electromagnetic wave pulse string that has a pulse portion fp having a time width x and a power level 'a', a multi-pulse portion mp in which a low-level pulse of a power level b having a time width T in total and a high-level pulse having a power level c alternately continue by (n−n′) times in total at a duty ratio y, and a pulse portion op having a time width z and a power level d, where x, y, and z are in relationships of T×0.5≦x≦T×2.0, 0.4≦y≦0.6, and T×0.5≦z≦T, n′ is a positive integer of n′≦n, and a & c≧e≧b & d.
Based on the conventional techniques, there have been substantial improvement in the quality of a recording signal and the stability at the time of repeating an overwriting, and improvement in reliability and general applicability. However, in recent years, a technique for making it possible to record at a plurality of linear velocities (a multi-speed recording) in one information recording medium has been required in a rewritable information recording medium, particularly, in the phase change type optical information recording medium.
Further, a high-speed recording has also been required, and a CAV recording that is advantageous in a high-speed recording has also been required. The technologies in the above-described Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 9-138946, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 9-138947, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 9-219021 have not been able to meet these technical requirements. For example, it has been tried to carry out a recording at an eight-time linear velocity and at a ten-time linear velocity respectively, based on the recording strategy having fp, mp, and op where it is possible to record at four times the linear velocity of the CD. In this case, it has not been possible to obtain sufficient signal quality in the recording at the eight-time linear velocity and at the ten-time linear velocity respectively. Furthermore, there has been a problem of degradation in the signal quality in the overwriting at a different recording linear velocity. For example, there has been a problem of degradation in the signal quality in the case of overwriting at ten times the linear velocity of the CD on a portion recorded at four times the linear velocity of the CD, and overwriting at four times the linear velocity of the CD on a portion recorded at ten times the linear velocity of the CD. Moreover, there has also been a problem of degradation in the signal quality in the overwriting based on a different recording system, such as overwriting in a CAC recording at a CLV recorded portion, and an overwriting in a CLV recording at a CAV recorded portion.

Optical information recording medium, method of manufacturing the optical information recording medium, and method of and apparatus for recording/reproducing optical information


A shut-off device for a fluid includes a housing conducting the fluid, an inflow opening provided in the housing, an outflow opening provided in the housing, a flow channel formed in the housing between the inflow opening and the outflow opening, and a blocking device arranged in the flow channel. The blocking device has a blocking body receptacle and a blocking body movable in the blocking body receptacle. The flow cross-section for the fluid in the blocking device, and thus in the flow channel, can be changed by moving the blocking body in the blocking body receptacle. A reliable detection of the position of the blocking body is ensured in that an ultrasonic measuring device is arranged in or aligned on the housing such that the position of the blocking body can be determined by means of the ultrasonic measuring device.

Shut-off devices for fluids, essentially for gaseous or liquid media, have been in use for a long time in very different technical designs, whether in processing plants (e.g. food industry, chemicals, petroleum processing) in building installations or, for example, also in medical technology and in automotive engineering including aerospace. The blocking devices of the shut-off devices are often controlled automatically in order to adjust the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the shut-off device as part of a higher-level control or regulation system. The blocking device or the blocking body of the shut-off device is then moved by an electrically, hydraulically or pneumatically driven actuator. By deflecting the blocking body in the blocking body receptacle of the shut-off device, the flow cross-section in the area of the blocking device is varied and with it the flow resistance, so that the desired effect of adjusting the flow rate is achieved.
The secure, reliable and fail-safe operation of the shut-off devices described is of great interest, especially if they are used for control purposes. In this case, for example, the blocking device is subject to particular stress, as the blocking body can be in continuous motion. The position of the blocking body can only be partially assessed from the outside, for example if an actuating device (e.g. in the form of a plunger) protrudes from the housing of the shut-off device. Another indication of the position of the blocking body can also be provided by an electric actuating device via a displacement transducer, an encoder or similar. However, this is always only indirect information which can ultimately be faulty due to various conceivable interference situations.


An optionally extending or retracting display panel assembly, comprising a horizontally elongated support bracket configured for support at an upper portion of a relatively large first container, or the like, primary magnetic apparatus carried to magnetically attract the bracket toward the container, for removable bracket attachment to the container, and the display panel assembly and associated connections configured for horizontal displacement guiding by the bracket during panel extension and retraction relative to the container, while the panel remains generally vertically proximate a vertical side of the container. A counter-weight system assists panel leveling as well as extension and retraction.

This invention relates generally to display devices movable between selected positions, and more particularly a display panel assembly and associated means enabling its extension into visual display positions and retraction into non-display position, as for example out from between two large containers or the like extending in generally side-by-side, gap separated relation.
There is need for simple, compact, easily manipulable, and readily storable visual display apparatus, particularly in connection with use in conjunction with large objects such as containers, refrigerators being one example. There is also need for the apparatus and its uses and results as disclosed herein.

Retractable and extendable display apparatus


When one base station to which a terminal is to connect is determined from a plurality of base stations in a wireless communication system, the best base station is selected according to the communication quality or the content of communication services. In the wireless communication system, the plurality of base stations are classified into a plurality of groups. Indexes of communication quality between the base stations and the terminal are obtained and, for each group, the characterizing quantities of the indexes of communication quality are calculated. The base station group with which the terminal is to communicate is specified based on the characterizing quantities. One of the base stations in the specified group is determined as a communication destination base station.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for selecting one wireless base station, with which a terminal is to communicate, from multiple base stations in a wireless system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, wireless communication systems are becoming an infrastructure essential for the society. Wireless communication systems are classified roughly into two: one is a public network such as mobile phones and PHS where corporations provide facilities such as base stations and the other is a private network such as a wireless LAN, Bluetooth (registered trademark), and Zigbee (registered trademark)) where users prepare facilities such as base stations. Wireless communication devices for a private network, which are easy to install and low in cost, are being widely installed to allow users to communicate wirelessly wherever they are.
Wireless communication standards such as a wireless LAN and Bluetooth (registered trademark) were created with focus on data communication via personal computers and information communication terminals. Recently, however, there is a rapidly increasing need for various types of service other than data communication with the result that the wireless communication standard in a private network sometimes does not satisfy the communication quality required for those services. One typical example is the IP phone service. An IP phone is a service in which voice data is sent to the packet communication network, instead of the conventional switched telephone network, to implement the function equivalent to that available in the conventional telephone network. Wireless LAN standards such as IEEE802.11b are used to implement the IP phone function using a wireless terminal. Those standards, originally designed for data communication, involve problems such as a tendency to interrupt communication. A problem is generated also in handoff carried out for changing the connection destination from the current base station to another. In a wireless LAN, a terminal that connects to a base station before starting the communication selects a destination base station, for example, by selecting a base station from which a beacon (broadcast base signal) with the largest received power is received. Handoff is carried out in such a way that, if the received power of the signal received from the base station currently in communication falls below a predetermined threshold, the base station is changed to the next connection destination (finding a beacon with larger received power). At this time, if a low power state exists for a long time before the terminal is successfully connected to the next base station, the communication quality deteriorates. In addition, to solve the problem that the call is interrupted after the communication is once broken and before the next connection destination is found, a technology is developed for non-interrupted handoff. A service for wirelessly delivering a moving image in streaming mode also involves a problem that the moving image tends to be interrupted.
There is also a wireless-LAN-based position detection service disclosed in JP-A-2004-101254 (Patent Document 1). In this service, a wireless terminal must connect to a base station called a master base station. Although the master base station is installed in a good electric wave environment to ensure good position detection accuracy, the position detection accuracy is decreased if the terminal connects to a base station other than the master base station. Another problem is that, when hand off occurs, the terminal cannot connect to the next master base station.
As described above, a wireless communication method used in a private network has a problem that the method cannot satisfy the communication quality required for the wireless communication services that are diversified recently. Especially, though the installation positions of base stations are determined in a public network by calculating the electric wave range, such a calculation is not usually carried out in a private network. Instead, the installation positions of base stations in a private network are determined in many cases based on the ease of connection to a wired communication network or on the arrangement of furniture and fixtures. Therefore, a simple method, in which a wireless terminal connects to a base station from which the maximum received power is received, does not sometimes satisfy the quality required by services. For example, assume that, in a building where wireless base stations are arranged randomly, a wireless terminal has been connected to a base station on another floor from which a strong signal was received at a particular time. In this case, if the wireless terminal is moved even for a short distance, the quality of communication with that base station deteriorates greatly and communication with the base station is sometimes broken. To prevent such a problem from occurring, it is necessary to select a base station, with which a wireless terminal connects, according to the services that are used or according to the communication quality that is required.


A smoke detector with a transmitter (4) for a radiation that can be detected by a receiver (5), the transmitter (4) and the receiver (5) are to be assigned a monitored region (11).

The present invention relates to a smoke detector with a transmitter for a radiation that can be detected by a receiver.
Smoke detectors are known and on the market in various forms and configurations. The present invention relates in particular to smoke detectors that are flush with a ceiling, as described in particular in DE 199 51 403 B4. There, a radiation is emitted from a transmitter in a ceiling through a covering into free space, this radiation is reflected at least partly by the smoke and is registered by a receiver behind the covering. A control program detects a deviation of the reflection and analyzes whether the deviation originates from smoke or from a foreign body, a multitude of detection processes being carried out within a unit of time and an alarm only being set off when a specific number of detection processes are positive in succession and, to distinguish between smoke and foreign bodies, a distinction is established between a continuous increase in the reflection, as in the case of smoke, and an abrupt increase in the reflection, as in the case of a foreign body. Furthermore, for the self-monitoring of this smoke detector, the transmitter is assigned a receiver of its own for receiving a radiation reflected from the covering and the receiver is assigned a transmitter of its own in front of the covering.
The present invention addresses the problem of further improving such smoke detectors and, in particular, monitoring better the surroundings of the smoke detector itself.


A pivoting assembly for an electronic device, being a clickable-open and clickable-shut cover or shield with click-step positioning includes a pivoting shaft extending along an imaginary axis, an inner movable member, an intermediate movable member, and an outer stationary member concentrically surrounding the imaginary axis. First positioning structures and first engaging structures are connected to one of the inner movable member and the intermediate movable member and a number of second positioning structures and second engaging structures are also so connected. When the pivoting shaft is rotated in an opening direction, the first positioning structures compress and slide across the first engaging structures. When the pivoting shaft is rotated in a closing direction, the second positioning structures compress and slide across the second engaging structures.

Electronic devices usually have multiple slots for connecting peripheral units. Being exposed to the outside of the electronic device, the device is vulnerable to dust and other contaminants. Therefore, a cover can be connected to the housing of the electronic device, and the cover covers the slot when the slot is not utilized, and the cover is opened when the slot is utilized by peripheral units.
The user experience when opening or closing or positioning the cover can be improved.

Clickable pivoting cover and shield assembly and electronic device using same


A consumable ground poultry product is obtained from spent laying hens using a mechanical deboning machine equipped with a filter and temperature and pressure controls. The leghorn is produced to have an appearance and texture similar to ground beef.

This application involves a new use for a spent laying hen which prior to this invention was either discarded as waste, rendered for animal consumption, or limitedly utilized, for pull meat. Specifically, this application is directed to a process for obtaining ground meat product for human consumption from spent egg laying hens.
The chicken industry is made up of meat production chickens and egg production chickens. These are very distinct types of chicken. The modern meat-type chicken is derived from the deep-breasted Cornish breed and has been selected with an emphasis on the production of meat rather than eggs. For meat production, the majority of the poultry market consists of broilers. Broiler chickens are genetically bred for meat consumption and are usually used for whole and cut meat products. Accordingly, through genetics these broilers have developed large breasts and have a large quantity of muscle meat. With the abundant quantity of meat existing on broilers, it is economical to process broilers through a typical processing line. A typical process involves slaughtering the chicken, defeathering the chicken, eviscerating the chicken and then separating the chicken into multiple parts. This process is labor intensive, but due to the amount and quality of meat produced is cost effective. A typical broiler chicken may produce 4.7 pounds and a typical line can run 8400 chickens per hour. The typical production costs for processing the chicken is 8 cents per pound. The current wholesale price per pound per broiler meat varies depending on the ultimate consumer product sold with a price ranging from $1.35 to $1.75 per pound of breast meat.
Egg production chickens however, constitute an entirely distinct industry from meat production chickens. Egg production chickens are primarily birds of the White Leghorn breed. The leghorns have been genetically breed for producing eggs, not meat. Consequently, these leghorns have smaller, skimpier bodies than broilers, and typically only weigh 2.3 to 3 pounds and yield very small amounts of meat. Because of the differences in body size and tissue and bone composition when compared to broilers, leghorns that are no longer useful for egg production, also referred to as xe2x80x9cspent hens,xe2x80x9d are typically not as desirable for use as whole or cut meat products. As genetic selection for efficient egg production has progressed, the quantity of meat from a leghorn has substantially decreased. Additionally, the genetically superior egg laying hens suffer from extremely fragile bones, resulting in broken bones upon any handling of the birds. The fragility also makes processing spent hens difficult since broken bones are likely to be found in the meat yield. Accordingly, the cost of processing a spent hen far outweighs the value of the yield of meat obtained, making the process inefficient and cost prohibitive for obtaining edible poultry. Consequently, it is not feasible to process leghorns or spent hens for their meat once they have completed their use as egg layers.
One of the only alternatives for processing spent hens is through a rendering plant. This fact has been published by the Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development which has published the following:
What do they do with spent layers anyway? As genetic selection for more effacing egg production progresses, meat yield of leghorn chickens has reduced substantially. Because of the high calcium requirement in producing eggshells, the laying hen has very fragile bones, which break easily during handling. Because of the low yield, and processing difficulties due to fragile bones, spent hens are of very little value to processors. Developments in poultry by-products rendering technology has allowed for larger number of birds to be rendered. Poultry Research Center Newsxe2x80x94Vol. 6 No. 1, April 1997.
The problem with spent hens has also been reported by the University of Florida Department of Dairy and Poultry Sciences which has published the following:
Spent hen meat has traditionally come from leghorn chickens which are table egg layers. These birds only weight 2.5 to 3 pounds and yield very small amounts of meat, and have been traditionally used in canned soups and in some school lunch products. However, today there is a large supply of broiler breeding hens available that weigh 7 to 8 pounds each and yield significantly more meat than the leghorn layers. This has created a large volume of leghorns with no available market. The poultry industry is faced with the dilemma/challenge of finding markets for the leghorn layers. (emphasis added).
Accordingly, disposal of spent hens has also become a costly and inefficient operation for poultry farmers. Some egg producers have difficulty finding a processing plant that will take a spent flock, even with payment for disposal. Most spent hens are crated, transported to slaughter then buried or incinerated at a location remote from the production facility. The cost associated with gathering and transporting the hens is not recoverable. In addition, the issue of providing humane treatment is complicated due to the breakable, fragile bones of the leghorns, making hen disposal a potential public relations problem.
As a result of the economic, welfare and public relations issues described above, more an d more egg producers are disposing of spent hens on site at the laying production facility. After slaughtering, the hens are incinerated or buried in large pits or composted. In Georgia, alligator farms have been established for disposing the spent hens. Because poultry farmers raise hundreds of thousands of birds at a time, and because the life cycle of a laying hen is only about one year, carcass disposal quickly becomes unmanageable. Land used for burial sites is quickly depleted, and the biological hazards resulting from decaying birds can create unhealthy conditions. Currently, over 100 million spent hens are disposed of each year.
This problem not only exists for commercial egg producing facilities, but also for state penitentiaries. For instance, in Georgia, the state penitentiaries raise leghorns in order to produce table eggs used in the penitentiaries. However, these penitentiaries also have the dilemma of disposing of the leghorns once their useful live as egg layers has expired. Yet, unlike the commercial egg producing companies, these state penitentiaries do not have adequate means of disposing of the leghorns i.e. they lack landfill space, don""t have incinerators on site, or don""t have composts on site. Consequently, these leghorns must be moved off-site for disposal. This method is not cost-effective and the costs associated with disposing the leghorns impinges on the purpose of raising the leghorns in the first place at the penitentiaries, namely to be economically self-sufficient when possible.
Alternative methods for dead bird disposal are vitally important to the poultry farmer and the environment. Researchers are investigating processing leghorns for use in creating animal feed, pet foods and for use in zoos, and as a nitrogen source for artificial soils. However, the use of spent hens for poultry food products would be the most desirable solution, since less biological material would be buried and poultry farmers would realize an income from this current waste commodity.
One use of spent hens for food is accomplished via the use of mechanical deboning machines which results in a class of food product known as mechanically separated meat. Typically, mechanically separated poultry is produced by high pressure machinery that separates bone from skeletal muscle tissue and other edible tissue by first crushing the bone and then forcing the bone through a sieve or screen The result is a blend of soft tissue with a paste-like consistency and cake batter form The resulting product differs materially from other poultry products that arc deboned by hand. Because of its texture and consistency, mechanically separated poultry is well-suited for use as an additive in hot dogs, bologna, nuggets, patties, sausages and lunch meat products. However, mechanically separated meat is a lower meat quality and accordingly receives a lower price in the marketplace.
While attempts in the past have been undertaken to mechanically debone leghorns this has not been done in a large scale manner. Mechanical deboning has generally been done only in a limited area as a means to identify some utilization of the leghorn meat. Processing of leghorns is not cost efficient since the costs to prepare the leghorn for rendering processing is 25 cents per pound, and the price received for mechanically separated meat is 18 cents per pound. Consequently, processing of leghorns is not actively conducted by meat producers unless subsidized either by the government or the egg-laying industry to compensate for the cost difference. The costs associated with preparing the leghorn carcass for processing is greater than the price received for the low quality mechanical separated meat product and consequently, the meat producing industry has no incentive to receive the leghorn into their processing plants.
Thus, while it is know how to process leghorns in plants, this knowledge is insufficient to establish a solution to the problem associated with the utilization of leghorns. Consequently, as both the respective agricultural departments of Alberta and University of Florida have stated the poultry industry is faced with the dilemma/challenge of finding markets for the leghorn layers. What has genetically been developed as a superior egg layer, is now primarily a bio-hazard.
Accordingly, there is a need for an economical means of disposing of spent hen/leghorns;
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of cost-effectively processing leghorns;
It is still another object of the present invention to produce from leghorns consumable ground poultry product;
It is another object of the present invention to produce a consumable ground poultry product from spent laying hens using a mechanical de-boning machine equipped with a filter and temperature and pressure controls.
The above objectives are accomplished according to the present invention by providing a method of processing leghorns which enables the leghorns to be utilized in ready to eat markets. Briefly described, the present invention comprises a process for forming consumable ground poultry product from spent laying hens. The ground leghorn has an appearance of ground beef and a calcium content less than 0.175 %. The temperature and pressure of the process is optimized to separate the bone and meat from the leghorn carcass while maintaining the texture and form of the meat to resemble ground beef.

Process for preparing consumable ground meat products from leghorn hens