The present invention relates to a light-transmitting ceramic sintered body which contains air voids having pore diameters of 1 μm or more but less than 5 μm at a density within the range of from 10 voids/mm3 to 4,000 voids/mm3 (inclusive), while having a closed porosity of from 0.01% by volume to 1.05% by volume (inclusive). With respect to this light-transmitting ceramic sintered body, a test piece having a thickness of 1.90 mm has an average transmittance of 70% or more in the visible spectrum wavelength range of 500-900 nm, and the test piece having a thickness of 1.90 mm has a sharpness of 60% or more at a comb width of 0.5 mm.

As the ceramic sintered body having light-transmitting property, for example, an aluminum oxide (alumina/Al2O3) sintered body and an aluminum oxynitride (Al2+xO3Nx:AlON) sintered body are known. In particular, the crystal structure of the aluminum oxynitride is a cubic structure and therefore, it is theoretically expected that a sintered body having more excellent light-transmitting property than alumina is obtained. Conventionally, a sapphire member having a single crystal structure has been used for a light-transmitting member used in a harsh environment or a light-transmitting member required to be durable against scratches, etc., but since the single crystal sapphire is expensive, studies are being made to use, instead, a light-transmitting ceramic sintered body. It is being studied to apply the light-transmitting ceramic sintered body, for example, to a window member enabling to check the internal state of a semiconductor production apparatus, or a cover member of a watch or an electronic device such as portable digital assistant.
The light-transmitting property of the ceramic sintered body has been conventionally considered to be enhanced by reducing air bubbles as much as possible. For example, aluminum oxynitride is a sintering-resistant material and therefore, it is a common practice to reduce the air bubble amount by applying a hot-press process or an HIP process and in turn, increase the light transmittance. However, when a pressure sintering method such as hot-press process or HIP process is applied, the production cost of the ceramic sintered body increases, and the reflectance is likely to increase as the air bubble amount is reduced. Accordingly, it is being studied to manufacture a light-transmitting ceramic sintered body by applying an inexpensive normal-pressure sintering method. A ceramic sintered body, such as aluminum oxynitride sintered body, manufactured by applying the conventional normal-pressure sintering method has a problem that although the transmittance can be improved to a certain degree in the state of containing air bubbles, visibility through a light-transmitting member can hardly be enhanced.

Light-transmitting ceramic sintered body and method for producing same


A method of providing metallized painted divider lines on paved highways so that drivers will be alarmed of moving out of their lane if sleepy or intoxicated when a sensor comes into the metal field.

The problem of drivers drifting into other lanes when sleepy or under the influence of alcohol or drugs result in many fatal accidents due to head on collisions with oncoming cars. The purpose of this procedure is to provide an interior noise alarm that will alert someone unknowingly changing lanes.


A drive circuit, such as an electronic trip device, is for a shunt trip coil of a network protector. The drive circuit includes an alternating current input adapted to receive an alternating current voltage and a first half-wave rectifier adapted to provide a plurality of direct current voltages from the alternating current input. An energy store, such as a plurality of electrolytic capacitors, is adapted to provide a first direct current output from the direct current voltages of the first half-wave rectifier. A sensor circuit monitors the alternating current input and the first direct current output and provides a second output from one of the alternating current input and the first direct current output. A second full-wave rectifier responds to the second output and the trip signal to provide a third direct current output adapted to drive the network protector shunt trip coil.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to electrical switching apparatus and, more particularly, to network protectors. The invention also pertains to a trip coil drive circuit for a network protector.
2. Background Information
Electric power distribution networks, which supply power to a specified area such as, for example, a section of a city, an industrial complex or a large building, are fed at multiple points through feeders, each of which includes a network protector.
A network protector is a circuit breaker adapted to trip and open the feeder upon detection of reverse power flow, that is, power flowing through the feeder out of the network rather than into the network. Typically, overcurrent protection is provided by other devices, such as fuses in series with the network protector.
The network protector is energized by the voltage on the network at the point of connection of the network protector. Standards require that the network protector be able to trip at network voltages as low as 7% of rated voltage. Conventional network protectors have been able to accommodate sufficiently large trip actuator coils having an impedance capable of limiting coil current at the high end of the voltage range while still being able to operate at the low end.
A known network protector trip circuit includes a half-wave rectifier diode and a single capacitor that provides direct current power to the shunt trip coil of the network protector, in order to trip open the same. When either of the rectifier diode or the capacitor fails, the network protector fails to trip open. The failure of the network protector to open, especially during a primary fault, can be destructive to the network protector and to the corresponding feeder transformer, cables and related equipment. For example, the heat generated during such a fault is proportional to the square of the fault current. Such fault current typically runs in magnitudes of thousands of amperes, thereby causing thermal breakdown on all connected equipment or adjacent equipment due to excessive generated heat. In turn, explosion and fire can cause destruction and excessive damage.
There is a need, therefore, for an improved, increased reliability network protector and trip coil drive circuit.
Accordingly, there is room for improvement in electrical switching apparatus and trip coil drive circuits for electrical switching apparatus.

Trip coil drive circuit and electrical switching apparatus including the same


Power machine bucket implements include a rear wall structure, a bottom wall structure adjoining the rear wall structure at a bend region, and a two-piece brace. The two-piece brace includes a first piece attached to and extending along a portion of the bottom wall structure and a second piece, separate from the first piece, attached to the back side of the rear wall structure.

The present disclosure is related to implements and accessories for implements that are attachable to power machines. More particularly, the present disclosure is related to implements or implement accessories that include a loader bucket.
Power machines, for the purposes of this disclosure, include any type of machine that generates power to accomplish a particular task or a variety of tasks. One type of power machine is a work vehicle. Work vehicles are generally self-propelled vehicles that have a work device, such as a lift arm (although some work vehicles can have other work devices) that can be manipulated to perform a work function. Some examples of work vehicle power machines include loaders, excavators, utility vehicles, tractors, and trenchers, to name a few.
One common type of implement is a bucket which can be mounted on an implement carrier of a power machine such as a loader. In use, buckets frequently encounter contact with obstacles. Such encounters can apply a shock load to the bucket. These shock loads can wear portions of the bucket, cause stress failures of bucket components such as the implement carrier interface, etc. Further, even normal operation such as digging can also cause wear to portions of the bucket and fatigue of the implement carrier interface.
The discussion in this Background is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.


A cover tube concentric about a pressure tube at the opposite end.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to construction tools and particularly to device for cleaning debris from a bore built in concrete.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In construction and remodeling the occasion frequently arises for inserting reinforcement and anchoring dowels which typically requires drilling of bores in concrete foundational or structural side walls. Debris must then be cleaned from the bores for insertion of the dowels and a bonding such as epoxy. This typically involves the insertion of a nozzle or the like in the bore and for the application of high pressured air to swirl the dust and debris about the bore and elevate the particles and chunks by the flow stream generated by high pressure air. This then typically involves release of robust plumes of dust and debris to the atmosphere thus resulting in discomfort and health hazards to the workman on site and, as the dust and dirt settles, coated walkways and a generally untidy and dangerous workplace.
In other areas of the art, efforts have been made to vacuum dust from a masonry drill bit as by utilizing a hollow drill bit and connecting a flex hose to a vacuum pump. A device of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,131,947 to McCarty. Such devices require relatively expensive customized drill bits and manifolding arrangements and, in any event, can be rather ineffective in their application.
Similar problems have been encountered in procedures involving large diameter earth drills wherein efforts have been made to manifold the drill bit and pressurize down hole, purportedly to drive drillings to the earth's surface. A device of this type is shown U.S. Pat. No. 3,655,001 to Hoffman.
Other efforts have been to control dust from a down hole drill bit and have led to a proposal that manifolding be divided down hole for applying high pressure air to drive dust and debris from the hole. Devices of this type are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,890 to Gyongyosi et al.
Other work has been undertaken in the area of hand drills wherein hollow drill bits covering a boot have been proposed. As an example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,036,308 to Dellenberg shows a hollow bit with manifolding for compressed air. U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,561 to May shows a axially collapsible boot for connection on one end with a drill chuck and constructed to coaxial with a drill bit and house swarf from the working bit.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2002/0104687 published Aug. 8, 2002 to Boners-Ambrosius et al. addresses problems with debris from a masonry drill bit for installing dowels but his solution again relied on hollow drill bits and manifolding.
Other efforts to address the debris from drill bit swarfing has led to the proposal of a multi-chamber collection device coupled with a longitudinally compressible tube through which a drill bit might extend. A device of this type is shown in U.S. Patent Application Publication 2007/0243031, published Oct. 18, 2007 to Yun.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the features of the invention.

Debris evacuator for cleaning a masonry bore


Methods and apparatus for an absolute or gauge pressure sensor having a backside cavity with a substantially vertical interior sidewall. The backside cavity is formed using a DRIE etch or other MEMS micro-machining technique. The backside cavity has an opening that is cross shaped, where the dimensions of the cross may be varied to adjust pressure sensor sensitivity. The cross may have one or more rounded corners to reduce peak stress, for example, the interior corners may be rounded. A sensing conductor may be routed over one or more corners including the interior corners to detect breakage.

The present invention relates to the field of silicon pressure sensors, specifically pressure sensors having a frame or sidewall having an inner side that is substantially orthogonal to a pressure sensor diaphragm and a backside opening having a cross shape.
Conventional pressure sensors include a diaphragm supported by a frame or sidewall. The frame or sidewall is typically made from the same silicon block as the diaphragm, and is formed by etching a backside cavity in the silicon block.
FIG. 1 A is a cross-section of a conventional pressure sensor 100 that may be improved by incorporation of embodiments of the present invention. This pressure sensor includes a diaphragm 110 supported by a frame 120. These sensors are conventionally fabricated by selectively etching a <100> silicon wafer using KOH. Specifically, a silicon wafer or block is etched most of the way through resulting in a backside cavity 130 having a backside opening 135.
The backside cavity 130 is defined by the backside opening 135 and an inner sidewall of the frame 120, which has a slope of 54.7 degrees as dictated by the <111> crystal plane. Accordingly, for each micron of depth 125 of the cavity 130, the backside opening 135 is increased by 0.708 microns in width. For example, a 10 microns thick, thousand micron wide diaphragm in a 410 microns thick silicon wafer requires an additional length 137 equal to 283 microns for a total backside opening 135 of 1566 microns. In practice, the actual die size is even larger. This is because the sidewalls require a certain width since these die are conventionally bonded to glass or other type substrate before the die in the wafer are individualized. This additional length 127 in one example is 255 microns. In that case, using the above numbers, the actual die length becomes 2076 microns. In another example, the diaphragm length may be reduced to 250 microns. In that case, the die length is reduced to 1326 microns.
As can be seen from FIG. 1A, a large part of the length of these sensors is due to the sloped edges of the frame 120. Accordingly, if the edge of the frame 120 is made substantially vertical, the overall die length is reduced. For example, if the diaphragm length is maintained at 250 microns and the sidewall width 127 is held at 255 microns, the die length is decreased from 1326 to 760 microns. Given a 0.1 mm line width required for dicing the wafer into individual die, this length reduction means 2.75 times the number of sensors may be fabricated on a wafer. Thus, what is needed are methods and apparatus for extremely low cost pressure sensors having a frame or sidewall that is substantially orthogonal to the sensor diaphragm. It is also desirable that the sensitivity of the pressure sensor be variable by changing a limited number of masks and processing steps.

Pressure sensor adjustment using backside mask


A storage apparatus includes a second volume which stores data serving as a copying source of data to be stored in a first volume, serving as a data copying destination in another storage apparatus, a session establishing unit which establishes a session between the second volume and the first volume, and a copy directing unit which directs a volume, including a free area, in the other storage apparatus such that data equivalent to the data to be stored in the first volume is copied, in response to a copy setting command issued by a server.

Typically, storage apparatuses, which include remote advanced copy functions for the purpose of protecting data from a failure (such as, accidents or the like) and quickly recovering the failure, have a "remote equivalent copy (REC)" function.
The REC is a copying function between storage apparatuses installed on remote sites. With the REC function, a volume may be copied (that is, replication) without a business server interposed between the remote storage apparatuses.
Typically, when a backup site is used as storage for data backup purpose, a server is not installed in the backup site.
However, if the backup site is used such that settings associated with local copying a piece of data, which is received from a main site, are made at the backup site, it is necessary to install a server separately in the backup site and a copy setting command is issued thereto.
However, installing the server only for the purpose of the settings associated with local copying the data will cause a problem in that operating costs increases.
The present invention is made in consideration of the problem discussed above and others existing with respect to typical storage systems. An object of the present invention is to provide a storage apparatus, a backup apparatus, a backup method, and a backup system capable of achieving local copying without installing a server in a backup site.
Moreover, another object of the present invention is to provide a storage apparatus, a backup apparatus, a backup method, and a backup system capable of re-creating a remote backup environment by copying only a necessary area even in a case where a failure has occurred in a disk during a remote backup process.

Storage apparatus, backup apparatus, and backup method


A document storage apparatus for safely storing photographs or other documents includes a first transparent sheet and a second sheet attached to the first transparent sheet along a water or air tight seal. The water or air tight seal defines a pocket between the first transparent sheet and the second sheet and that has an open end. A water or air tight adherent is disposed between the first transparent sheet and the second sheet and across the open end of the pocket, and is adapted to selectively adhere the first sheet to the second sheet to thereby allow the pocket to be sealed in a water or air tight fashion. An attachment section can be disposed along a side of the first and second sheet and can be adapted to mount the storage apparatus within a container.

It is common for people to store documents and collectibles in a fashion that is easy to display and view and that is also easy to store. In particular, people take photographs of events and store these photos in photo album sheets or pages that are disposed in loose leaf books. A person looking at the photos can page through the book to view many pictures. However, there are presently no products available for storing the photos in a photo sheet in a way that ensures the safety of the photos from exposure to smoke and water or other types of detrimental gases and liquids.
Several devices have been used or are in current use for the storage and display of photos in photo albums. In a first example, photo corner supports are glued onto a page. The corners of the photos are then inserted into the corner supports, and the photo is held on the page by its corners. In another example, two transparent sheets are heat sealed together along substantially parallel lines to form at least one pocket with two open ends. The first open end can be blocked by the binder of a loose leaf notebook. A photo can be inserted and retracted through the second open end. These examples are problematic in that the photos are not protected from the environment. Debris and liquid, such as a spilled drink or smoke, can easily contact and damage a photo while a person is looking at the photo stored and displayed in the book. Furthermore, photos stored in these photo albums are subject to water and smoke damage in the case of a fire or flood.
In another example, a paper page is coated in adhesive, and a flexible transparent sheet is releasably disposed on the page. To use this photo page, a consumer must lift the sheet, place a photo on the page with adhesive, and then reapply the sheet to the page to activate the adhesive. In this configuration, if the adhesive is too strong, it will bond too severely to the photo, and the photo can be ripped if the photo is removed. If the adhesive is not strong enough, the sheet will not bond to the page, and the photo can become exposed. In practice, the adhesive generally is too strong at first, then, as the album is used, and some of the adhesive wears away or becomes dirty, the adhesive becomes too weak.
In another example, documents are stored in sheet protectors, generally a pair of 8½″×11″ or 12″×12″ sheets secured along three edges to define a pocket in between. The sheets are typically made from transparent plastic film—either polypropylene or polyvinylchloride. These sheet protectors are also used for memory scrapbooks by crafters, who make creative and intricate items that can be slipped into the pocket between the sheets. The sheets can be fitted for loose leaf binders and have an opening along the top for inserting the document. As with the photo page, there is no protection against water or smoke.
Thus, there is still a need for a page that is easy to use and that can safely store documents in a way that will not cause damage to the documents, but that will protect the document from water and smoke.


A method and a circuit for the detection and the automatic correction of horizontal and vertical errors in image steadiness during the television film scanning of continuously moving motion picture films wherein different frame start pulses are generated and substituted for pulses normally derived during the television scanning of the sprocket holes in case of failure or wrong position of the pulses due to impurities or damage of the sprocket holes.

The invention relates to a method for determining and automatically correcting horizontal and vertical errors in image steadiness during television image scanning of continuously moving motion picture film having a succession of image frames. More particularly, the invention relates to a method of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,131, which issued on Feb. 20, 1990. The disclosure of that patent is incorporated herein by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,131 discloses a method in which video signals produced during image scanning are temporarily stored in an image buffer memory. Vertical image steadiness error signals are used to determine the start of scanning of the first television scan line for each film frame, as well as the start of writing the video signals for the film frame into memory, in dependence upon the vertical position of a film frame relative to the television image scanner. Standard television horizontal and vertical timing pulses are produced in synchronism with studio timing pulses, and video signals are read out of the memory in dependence upon the standard pulse.
Frame start pulses produced from the vertical error signals are released only during a portion of the scanning period, and are blocked during the remainder of the period. The blocking and releasing in each scanning period are determined by a tachometer roll such as a sprocket which engages perforations in the film without slippage. Substitute pulses derived from the tachometer are automatically provided during the release period if frame start pulses are missing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,131 describes the recovery of image frame start pulses and horizontal position values for correcting vertical and horizontal errors in image steadiness. It does not provide a detailed discussion of how vertical and horizontal correction values, respectively, are supplied in case of failure or incorrect position of the frame start pulses and the horizontal position values, respectively.

Method and circuit for the automatic correction of errors in image steadiness during film scanning


An apparatus for connecting strips, in which a rear end portion of a preceding strip and a front end portion of a succeeding strip are cut and brought into contact to each other so that a butt welding of the contacted portions may be carried out to connect both the strips. A carriage is provided for carrying a cutting device for cutting the end portions of both the strips. A finish-machining device is provided for finish-machining the cut end faces of both the strips and a welding device for butt welding both the strips along a contacting line of both the strips is installed so as to be movable in a line substantially parallel with the contacting line of both the strips. Die wears and burrs incidental to cut faces can be prevented from forming and the highly accurate contacted state of strips can be achieved, thereby improving the quality of the welded portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for connecting strips in which a rear end of a preceding strip is connected to a front end of a succeeding strip by butt welding.
2. Description of The Prior Art
A conventional apparatus for connecting strips is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 171590 (1982) is shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 herein in which
FIG. 1 is a front view showing that apparatus;
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the apparatus of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a side view showing a sectioned state of the apparatus of FIG. 2; and
FIG. 4 is a side view showing a welded state of strips.
Referring now to FIG. 1, strips travel horizontally in a direction of from a front side to a back side as seen on the drawing through a transfer frame 2 which will be mentioned later. In addition, referring to FIG. 2, a travelling direction is seen in the up and down direction as seen on the drawing. Referring to FIGS. 3, 4, strips 6a, 6b travel in a direction shown by A in the drawing.
Referring again to FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 designates a base table having a width sufficiently longer than that of the strip and reference numeral 2 designates a transfer frame movable in a direction of a width of the base table 1 or the strip, and said transfer frame 2 being provided with a cutting device 25 and a welding device 16, which will be mentioned later, which are placed thereon. The base table 1 is provided with a groove 1a formed in a direction of width at a central portion in a travelling direction of the strip, the groove 1a being provided with a hydraulic cylinder 3 for moving the transfer frame 2 in a direction parallel thereto at a lower portion thereof, with a tube being fixed to the transfer frame 2 a rod of the cylinder 3 being fixed to the base table 1, the groove 1a is provided with a guide 4 mounted on a side thereof in a direction of width of the base table 1. A lower member of the transfer frame 2 is provided with a groove 2a formed on a bottom surface thereof extending all over the length thereof and a sliding face engaging the guide formed on a front face and a rear face thereof so that the lower member of the transfer frame 2 may be inserted into the groove 1a with the hydraulic cylinder 3 positioned within the groove 2a. Only that portion of the base table 1 in the vicinity of the groove 1a is shown in FIG. 1. Upon operating the hydraulic cylinder 3, the transfer frame 2 is transferred in the direction of width of the base table 1.
Referring again to FIG. 3, 6a, 6b designates a preceding strip and a succeeding strip, respectively, of a base table face 1b at a downstream side of the apparatus and a base table face 1c at an upstream side thereof. The groove 1a is located between the faces 1b, 1c and extends below the faces. The base table face 1b is provided with an outlet side clamping device 5 for clamping the preceding strip 6a. In addition, a tube of a hydraulic cylinder 9 is fixedly mounted on the base table face 1c. A rod of the hydraulic cylinder 9 is connected to a clamp-installing table 42 placed on the base table face 1c, said clamp-installing table 42 being provided with an inlet side clamping device 8 for clamping the succeeding strip 6b, installed in an opposite relation to the outlet side clamping device 5 with the groove 1a positioned between them. The outlet side clamping device 5 and the inlet side clamping device 8 comprise a hydraulic cylinder 7 and a hydraulic cylinder 10, respectively, as a driving source thereof and they are fixedly mounted on an upper fixing device (not shown). The clamping device 5, 8 clamps and releases the strip 6a, 6b by the action of the hydraulic cylinder 7, 10, respectively. In addition, the inlet side clamping device 8 can be transferred in the strip-travelling direction by the action of the hydraulic cylinder 9.
An upper member of the transfer frame 2 is provided with a hydraulic cylinder 21 fixedly mounted thereon with a tube on an upper side and a rod on a lower side, the rod being provided with a movable cutting edge device 20a mounted thereon. The hydraulic cylinder 21 is provided with guide rods 22a, 22b connected to the movable cutting edge device 20a standing on both sides in the direction of width of the base table 1, the guide rods 22a, 22b being engaged with guide rings provided on the upper member of the transfer frame 2 so as to vertically guide the transfer frame 2 up and down. The movable cutting edge device 20a is provided with two pieces of cutting edge with a suitable interval in the strip-travelling direction. The transfer frame 2 is provided with a hydraulic cylinder 23 fixedly mounted thereon with a tube on a lower side at a position opposite to the cylinder 21 of the lower member of the transfer frame 2 and connected to a fixed cutting edge device 20b with a rod on an upper side, the hydraulic cylinder 23 being provided with guide rods 24a, 24b standing on said fixed cutting edge device 20b on both sides in the direction of width of the base table 1, and the guide rods 24a, 24b being put in guide cylinders provided on the lower member of the transfer frame 2 side by side so as to vertically go up and down. The fixed cutting edge device 20b is provided with two pieces of cutting edge with a suitable interval in the strip-travelling direction. A cutting device 25 is composed of the movable cutting edge device 20a, the fixed cutting edge device 20b, the hydraulic cylinders 21, 23 and the guide members 22a, 22b, 24a, 24b. The fixed cutting edge device 20b is raised by the action of the hydraulic cylinder 23 until it is brought into contact with the strip and then the movable cutting edge device 20a is lowered by the action of the hydraulic cylinder 21 to cut the strip at two positions of the rear end of the preceding strip 6a and the front end of the succeeding strip 6b. The cutting device 25 can be transferred to the position, where the clamping device is installed, with the movement of the transfer frame 2.
The upper member of the transfer frame 2 is provided with a rectangular rail-holding plate 40 hanging down therefrom with a plate face thereof in the strip-travelling direction with a suitable distance in the direction of width from the portion where the hydraulic cylinder 21 is installed, the rail-holding plate 40 being provided with a rail 13 arranged horizontally in the direction of width of the strip, and the rail 13 being provided with a carriage 12 carrying a movable processing head 11 hanging down therefrom for emanating laser beams. The carriage 12 is provided with a motor 14 for driving the carriage 12 placed thereon. Laser beams emanated from a light source 41 enter the processing head 11 through a transmission system 15, where an optical path and an energy-density of the laser beams are changed by means of an optical system, and then are emanated downward from the processing head 11. The lower member of the transfer frame 2 is provided with a hydraulic cylinder 18 mounted thereon with a rod turned upward at a position below the rail-holding plate 40, the hydraulic cylinder 18 being provided with a welding back bar 17 connected thereto. The hydraulic cylinder 18 is provided with guide rods 19a, 19b hanging down from the welding back bar 17 on both sides in the direction of width of the base table 1, said guide rods 19a, 19b being put in guide cylinders installed on the lower member of the transfer frame 2 side by side so as to be capable of vertical up and down movement. The welding back bar 17 can be moved in an up and down direction by the action of the hydraulic cylinder 18. A welding device 16 is composed of the processing head 11, the carriage 12, the rail 13, the rail-holding plate 40, the motor 14, the welding back bar 17, the hydraulic cylinder 18 and the guide members 19a, 19b and can be transferred to a position, where the clamping device is installed, with the movement of the transfer frame 2.
In operation, when the rear end of the preceding strip 6a travelling in the direction of an arrow A in FIG. 3 arrives at an appointed position relative to the outlet side clamping device 5, the hydraulic cylinder 7 operates, thereby clamping the preceding strip 6a by means of the outlet side clamping device 5. Also the succeeding strip 6b travels in the same direction as the preceding strip 6a. Upon forming an appointed space between the rear end of the preceding strip 6a and the front end of the succeeding strip 6b, the hydraulic cylinder 10 operates, thereby clamping the succeeding strip 6b by means of the inlet side clamping device 8.
After both the strips 6a, 6b are clamped by means of both the clamping devices 5, 8, the transfer frame 2 is transferred by the operation of the hydraulic cylinder 3, thereby arranging the respective cutting edge devices, 20a, 20b between both the clamping devices 5, 8, as shown in FIG. 3. Under this condition, the fixed cutting edge device 20b is raised by the operation of the hydraulic cylinder 23 so as to be brought into contact with both the strips 6a, 6b. Subsequently, the movable cutting edge device 20a is lowered by the operation of the hydraulic cylinder 21 to cut the rear end of the preceding strip 6a and the front end of the succeeding strip 6b at the same time. Upon completion of the operation of the cutting device 25, the transfer frame 2 is transferred again by the operation of the hydraulic cylinder 3 to arrange the welding device 16 between both the clamping devices 5, 8, as shown in FIG. 4. The succeeding strip 6b is advanced by the operation of the hydraulic cylinder 9 under the condition that it is clamped by means of the inlet side clamping device 8 to bring the rear end of the preceding strip 6a into contact with the front end of the succeeding strip 6b. Upon completion of the operation of the inlet side clamping device 8, the welding back bar 17 is raised by the operation of the cylinder 18 so as to arrive at a position of contact with both the strips 6a, 6b. Subsequently, the carriage 12 is transferred by means of the motor 14 so that the processing head 11 may be located above the position, where both the strips 6a , 6b are brought into contact with each other, and laser beams are incident upon that position from the processing head 11 to weld both the strips 6a, 6b.
The area of the strips which is connected after being welded is dependent upon the shapes of contacting portions of both the strips. In general, a problem has occurred in that the contacting portions of plates cut by means of a cutting device provided with a fixed cutting edge and a movable cutting edge form a very small gap (B in FIG. 5) in the direction of thickness resulting from die wears, burrs and the like, as shown in FIG. 5, and it is difficult to secure the straightness of the end face, so that it is difficult to improve the connected portion in welding quality.


A novel method for preparing cDNA libraries is disclosed.

The present invention provides a novel method for preparing cDNA libraries containing enhanced percentages of full-length cDNA inserts.
Technology aimed at the production of cDNA libraries, which are important tools in the discovery of biologically relevant genetic sequences, often produces cDNA libraries that are far from perfect. cDNA libraries may contain a high percentage of molecules where the cDNA insert within the library vector is not full-length as compared to the naturally-occurring mRNA molecule from which the cDNA was derived. cDNA libraries, even those designed to be xe2x80x9cdirectionalxe2x80x9d or having the cDNA insert present in a particular 5xe2x80x2xe2x86x92 greater than 3xe2x80x2 orientation relative to the vector sequences, often contain a high percentage of xe2x80x9cflippedxe2x80x9d inserts where the cDNA insert is oriented in the opposite orientation from that which is most desirable for characterization and expression of the cDNA insert. In addition, some cDNA libraries demonstrate a high incidence of multiple inserts, where unrelated cDNA molecules are aberrantly ligated into the same vector molecule.
There exists a need for novel methods of cDNA library production, and it is to such methods that the present invention is directed.
Construction of high quality cDNA libraries, with greater than 90% of the inserts being the full-length copy of the corresponding mRNA molecules, is crucial to the success of our effort to clone all the human genes encoding secreted proteins. Several factors contribute to the poor quality of cDNA libraries constructed using the conventional method, i.e., cDNA synthesis followed by ligation into plasmid or phage vectors. First, mRNA molecules may be degraded during RNA isolation and in the process of first strand cDNA synthesis. In addition, most mRNA samples are isolated from total cellular RNA using the oligo-dT capture protocol and, therefore, contaminated with partially-precessed poly(A) containing precursor RNA and partially degrated 3xe2x80x2 portion of mRNA molecules. Second, during first-strand cDNA synthesis, reverse transcriptase tends to prematurely fall off the RNA templates due to RNA secondary structures or insufficient processivity of the enzyme itself. Third, the ligation step after ds cDNA synthesis may result in the following undesirable artifacts: A). Multiple cDNA inserts are ligated into the same vector due to the high insert/vector ratio used to increase the population of clones containing a cDNA insert. B). There is a high percentage (about 10%) of flipped cDNA insert when a unidirectional library is constructed. C). Contaminating DNA can be incorporated into the library. For example, some of the early libraries constructed by Clontech were contaminated by yeast chromosome DNA when yeast tRNA was used to precipitated the cDNA. Another example is that when the full-length cDNA was selected (Carninci, et al., 1996), ligation of contaminating partial cDNA into the vector compromised the quality of library. D). There is a selection for smaller cDNA inserts since they are ligated more efficiently than larger ones.
Numerous efforts have been taken to increase the cloning efficiency from a definite amount of mRNA and/or to increase the proportion of the full-length inserts. Some of the most successful approaches include: A). An engineered reverse transcriptase was designed by GIBCO-BRL to inactivate its Rnase H activity, which causes on-template RNA cleavage and premature termination of transcription when the enzyme stutters before a secondary structure. Thus far, the Superscript II reverse transcriptase (BRL) remains the most popular enzyme for first-strand cDNA synthesis. B). Oligo-dT tailed vectors were used for first-strand cDNA synthesis (Okayama and Berg, 1982); Alexander et al., 1984; Bellemare et al., 1991; Kato et al., 1994). This method dramatically increased the cloning efficiency and the proportion of insert-containing clones. C). Strategies for specific capture (Edery et al., 1995) or labeling of the 5xe2x80x2-end cap of mRNA molecules with oligonucleotides (Fromont-Racine et al., 1993; Liu and Gorovsky, 1993; Maruyama and Sugano, 1994; Kato et al., 1994) or biotin (Carninci et al., 1996, 1997) were used to select for full-length cDNA. Libraries constructed with a selection for the 5xe2x80x2-end cap such as the Kato strategy (Kato et al., 1994, the Protagene protocol) and the biotin capture method (Carcinci et al., 1996) have a high percentage of full-length cDNA inserts ranging from 70% to 95%. However, none of the above mentioned strategies could completely satisfy the requirements for high efficiency, high proportion of full-length cDNA inserts and low contaminating or aberrant DNA inserts due to DNA ligation.

Primers-attached vector elongation (PAVE): a 5xe2x80x2-directed cDNA cloning strategy


An air handling unit having a unique air treatment device, and a method for retrofitting existing air handling units to include the air treatment device. The air handling unit includes a casing defining a space for conditioning air, and forming an inlet and an outlet; a cooling coil supplied by a central chiller system and disposed inside the casing; a sump located below the cooling coil; and a supply air blower for drawing air into the casing, and forcing air through the cooling coil. The air handling unit further includes a spray header secured inside the casing, adjacent the cooling coil; and a pumping system for delivering liquid solution from the sump and pumping the solution onto the cooling coil and the solution flows downward over the cooling coil and into the sump below, and the solution treats the air flowing through the cooling coil. In a preferred embodiment, the liquid solution is an anti-bacteria solution, and the solution kills bacteria in the air forced through the cooling coil structure. The liquid spray air treatment device may be effectively operated to kill even extremely small bacteria such as anthrax.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a liquid flow air treatment device. In a preferred embodiment, more specifically, the invention relates to a highly effective liquid flow air purification device that can be easily installed, on a retrofit basis, on many existing air handling units, and to air handling units provided with such an air purification device.
2. Prior Art
Interior spaces of buildings are typically supplied with automatically controlled temperatures using one or more air handling units that furnish a recirculating flow of air drawn out of the conditioned space, flowed through the air handling unit by an air blower therein, heated or cooled as necessary within the unit, and then flowed back into the conditioned space. In addition to supplying the desired temperature control within the conditioned space, air handing units of this general type may also be provided with the capability of purifying, at least to some extent, air flowing through the units.
The most common device used for this air purification task is the familiar replaceable flow-through air filter element that is disposed within the unit cabinet structure in the path of air being forced therethrough on its way back to the conditioned space served by the unit. Filters of this type are typically formed from a matted fibrous material (such as fiberglass) that serves to trap particulate matter, such as dust, borne in the air entering the unit. Additionally, electrostatic air filters are often incorporated in air handling units and provide improved particulate removal performance due to their electrostatic attraction and trapping of particulates substantially smaller than that which the ordinary fibrous filter can effectively capture.
However, as is well known, undesirable air pollutants are present in a variety of forms other than the relatively easy to capture particulates that the fibrous and electrostatic filter structures are designed to remove from the recirculated air. Another known type of air purification process is the use of a liquid spray, typically a water-based spray, directed against a filter element through which air to be supplied to a conditioned space is flowed. The liquid spray is maintained in continuous contact with the flowing air traversing the filter element, and, depending on the type of air purification system in which it is incorporated, serves to entrain a variety of airborne particulates as well as other types of pollutants such as aerosols, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, carbon dioxides and monoxides, hydrogen sulfides and hydrocarbons. The liquid can then be drained away carrying entrained pollutants with it. This general type of air purification system also desirably serves to humidify the air delivered to the conditioned space.
These prior art air purification devices are suitable for many purposes. Typically, however, these prior art devices are not one hundred percent effective, and thus are not well suited for some important applications. For example, these devices may be inadequate to protect the occupants of a building from an intentional biological attack, where extremely toxic bacteria, such as anthrax, are intentionally introduced into the air inside the building. Also, these prior art devices, in their conventional form, may not provide the desired sterilization for surgical and other environments that require extremely clean air. Moreover, many of the prior art devices are relatively expensive or require relatively expensive maintenance. In addition, these types of systems are designed for smaller applications; not office buildings (air volume).
An object of the present invention is to provide a very simple, yet highly effective liquid spray air treatment device.
Another object of this invention is to provide a very simple and inexpensive method for retrofitting many existing air handling units to include an extremely effective air purification device.
A further object of the invention is to provide an air handling unit with a very simple and highly effective liquid flow air purification system.
A further object of the invention is to deliver a chlorinated solution onto a plate-fin cooling coil of an air handling unit to kill bacteria as air passes over the surface of the cooling coil fins.
Another object of this invention is to provide a control system for an air purification device in an air handling unit that automatically monitors and controls operation of the air purification device.
These and other objectives are attained with an air handling unit having a unique air treatment device, and a method for retrofitting existing air handling units to include the air treatment device. The air handling unit comprises a casing defining a space for conditioning air, and forming an inlet and an outlet; a cooling coil located inside the casing for cooling air therein; a sump located below the cooling unit for collecting liquid condensate on the cooling coil; and a supply air blower for drawing air into the casing, through the inlet, and forcing air through the cooling coil and outward through the outlet. The air handling unit further comprises a spray header secured inside the casing, adjacent to the cooling coil; and a pumping system connected to the sump and to the spray header for drawing chlorinated liquid solution from the sump and pumping the solution to and through the spray header, wherein the spray header sprays the solution onto the cooling coil and the solution flows downward over the cooling coil and into the sump below, and the solution treats the air passing over the surface of the cooling coils.
In a preferred embodiment, the liquid solution is an anti-bacteria solution, and the solution kills bacteria in the air forced through the cooling coil. Also, in this preferred embodiment, the cooling coil is of the plate-fin typexe2x80x94that is, the coil is comprised of a serpentine shaped coil extending between two parallel end plates or supports, with a series of thin, parallel fins pr plates mounted on the coil, and for example, these fins may be spaced apart from xe2x85x9 inch to {fraction (3/32)} inch. With these features, the spray header and the cooling coil may be used to develop and to maintain continuously a liquid flow filter that forces contact between the liquid flow and even extremely small particulates in the air stream. As a result, the liquid spray air treatment device is able to kill even extremely small bacteria such as anthrax.
Further benefits and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description, given with reference to the accompanying drawings, which specify and show preferred embodiments of the invention.

Air purification device for air handling units


A polyphase filter operates to provide capacitive compensation to drive a multiphase network for generating quadrature signals. The polyphase filter can include a capacitive compensation mechanism at internal nodes. The capacitive compensation mechanism includes a first phase lag circuit between a first internal node and a second internal node and a second phase lag circuit coupled between a third internal node and a fourth internal node. The first internal node is coupled to the second internal node via a first inductor coupled to a first resistor, the second internal node is coupled to the third internal node via a second inductor coupled to a second resistor, the third internal node is coupled to the fourth internal node via a third inductor coupled to a third resistor, and the fourth internal node is coupled to the first internal node via a fourth inductor coupled to a fourth resistor.

Adaptive radios capable of dynamically trading off energy for signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) slack can enable significant power savings, but developing a fully reconfigurable analog front-end, which achieves suitable performance in digital-optimized process technology presents a major challenge to building low-power adaptive radios. Two of the major functions of an analog receiver front-end-blocker include rejection filtering and low-noise amplification for digital CMOS processes. However, a challenge remains to implement these functions while reducing manufacturing cost and leveraging the advantages of high-speed process technologies.
In one example, there is ongoing interests in improving resolution and accuracy of microwave circuit phase shifters. This is further motivated by the role of phase shifters covering 360 degrees and maintaining a small footprint area of chips while using different technologies, including delay lines, signal reflection, high pass/low-pass networks, all-pass networks, or vector summation as with vector-sum phase shifters.

Capacitor compensated dual of polyphase filter


A flosser has an elongate configuration with a forked arm at one end and an enlarged opposite end for housing a spool of unused dental floss, and a take-up reel for storing the dental floss as it is used. The dental floss is strung from the spool, across the arm, and back to the reel. There is a free knob having a spindle which connects the reel so that the feed knob and reel rotate in unison to reel in the spent floss. There is a cylindrical crown projection at the housing end that mates with the feed knob and encases the spool of unused dental floss. The feed knob and crown projection have a clutch mechanism allowing the feed knob and take-up reel to rotate in only one direction and to frictionally engage and hold the floss at the spool end and to temporarily disengage the floss when the feed knob is rotated to allow a measured amount of fresh floss to unwind from the freely rotatable spool, while simultaneously reeling in a like amount of spent floss into the take-up reel. The clutch mechanism rotates in incremental steps to advance new floss across the forked arm. The clutch mechanism also prevents the take-up reel from unwinding when the feed knob is at its at-rest position. Additional guide posts and guideways on the frame also provide tautness to the strung dental floss to keep it sufficiently taut while the invention is being used to floss teeth.

1. Field of the Invention
Toilet toothpick; having thread holder, for example, flossing implement; and container or support for thread supply; including rotatably mounted thread spool.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Periodontal disease, or gum disease, is the major culprit in the loss of teeth among adults. Nearly half of all tooth loss by adults is the result of advanced periodontal disease. The chances of developing periodontal disease increases with age so that nearly all elderly people are affected to some degree by it. It is well established among dentists that the cause of periodontal disease is the buildup of plaque on the teeth. The best prevention against periodontal disease is to maintain good dental hygiene by regular brushing and flossing of one's teeth. Regular flossing is just as important as brushing. However, many adults no do not floss because of the inconvenience of having to tautly hold a piece of floss with the fingers while trying to perform the flossing task. Prethreaded flossers and floss holders are available for those people who have limited dexterity, or who prefer the convenience of a flosser or floss holder.


In a shift device (10), a base portion (42) of a collar (40) is accommodated in a mounting hole (50) of a support portion (34), and a thin plate portion (52) of the support portion (34) is disposed at an upper side of an upper face (42A) of the base portion (42). When an impact load of at least a predetermined value is applied to a shift lever, the thin plate portion (52) of the support portion (34) is broken by the base portion (42) and the support portion (34) moves while being guided by the base portion (42). Thus, the impact load is absorbed. Consequently, an impact load absorption mode may be made consistent.

In a transmission control device for a vehicle recited in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2000-289484, a control lever is supported by a transmission control device main body, and the transmission control device main body is supported by a mounting bracket. A plate-shaped portion of the mounting bracket is inserted into an L-shaped member of the transmission control device main body. When an impact load is applied to the transmission control device main body and moves the transmission control device main body, the L-shaped member is broken by a projecting portion (abutting portion) of the mounting bracket, which absorbs the impact load.
In this transmission control device for a vehicle, it is preferable if an impact load absorption mode by the L-shaped member and mounting bracket can be made consistent.


Provided is a lighting device for a refrigerator. A cold air duct is disposed at a rear surface of a storage room of the refrigerator, and the lighting device is disposed at the cold air duct for illuminating the storage room. Therefore, the storage capacity of the refrigerator does not decrease by the lighting device, and the efficiency of the refrigerator can increase. In addition, a user is not dazzled by light emitted from the lighting device.

Refrigerators are home appliances that provide a storage room kept at a temperature lower than the room temperature. Food can be kept cold or frozen in the storage room for long time.
In general, a refrigerator includes a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment. For example, various foods can be kept cold in the refrigerator compartment.
A lighting device may be disposed in the refrigerator for illuminating a storage room of the refrigerator. A door switch may be disposed at a side of a front surface of a main body of the refrigerator for being turned on or off when a door of the refrigerator is opened or closed. The lighting device may be selectively turned on and off according to the on-off operations of the door switch.
The lighting device includes an illumination lamp and a lamp cover. The illumination lamp emits light, and the lamp cover encloses at least a portion of the illumination lamp.
However, the lighting device of the related art has the following disadvantages.
The illumination lamp includes an incandescent bulb as a light source. Incandescent bulb is relatively larger than other light sources such as a light emitting diode (LED). Therefore, the capacity of the storage room of the refrigerator reduces due to the large illumination lamp.
Furthermore, the incandescent bulb generates relatively much heat while emitting light. Thus, food may be inefficiently stored in the refrigerator compartment due to the heat generated by the incandescent bulb.
In addition, the incandescent bulb does not emit directional light. That is, the incandescent bulb emits light radially in all directions. Therefore, when the storage room is opened, light emitted from the illumination lamp can be directly transmitted to a user. Thus, the user may be dazzled by the light emitted from the illumination lamp.

Lighting device for refrigerator and a method of controlling the same


A floating-gate transistor array and method for programming the same. The floating-gate transistor array includes a plurality of transistors having a source, drain, and floating-gate, whereby the plurality of transistors is arranged into multiple rows and columns. Each row of transistors includes a row programming switch having an output connected to each floating-gate within the row, while each column of transistors includes a column programming switch having an output connected to each drain within the column. The source of each transistor is coupled with a source line corresponding to the specific row of the transistor. The row and column programming switches are utilized to select and program a desired floating-gate transistor. In an indirect programming method, two transistors share a floating gate, such that programming a programmer transistor modifies the current of an agent transistor, which is attached to the circuit, thereby permitting run-time programming.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to floating-gate transistors and, more particularly, to programming floating-gate transistors for use in analog circuitry.
2. Description of Related Art
Floating-gate transistors are commonly utilized in non-volatile storage devices, such as flash memory, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), and electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). Floating-gate metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs), the most commonly used floating-gate transistors, are capable of storing an electrical charge for extended periods of time without requiring an additional power supply. A floating-gate MOSFET typically includes a control gate and a floating gate, such that, when provided an electrical charge through hot-electron injection and/or Fowler-Nordheim tunneling, the charge is retained on the floating-gate due to an insulating oxide.
Floating-gate transistors may also be used in more complicated circuitry. For example, a floating-gate MOSFET (FET) may be a desirable switch element for use in a field-programmable analog array (FPAA) crossbar switch network, due to the programmed FET having a resistance similar to that of a transmission gate (T-gate) and the capacitance of a single pass-FET, while requiring no digital memory to store the state of the switch.
Generally, an FPAA is a programmable integrated circuit capable of implementing an enormous range of analog signal processing functions. The FPAA typically comprises a computational analog block (CAB) and an interconnect network, such that an FPAA may be distinguished from another by these two components. For the interconnect structure, an FPAA is most commonly connected by metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor switches driven by digital memory. Such a MOSFET (e.g., pass-FET), however, inherently includes non-linear resistance, thereby dramatically reducing the range of passable signals in comparison to the range of the power supply. Conventional alternatives to pass-FETs and T-gates often provide increased bandwidth and include Gm-C amplifiers, 4-transistor transconductors, and current conveyors. Unfortunately, each of these alternatives trade area for improved switch characteristics and require an additional physical memory element for maintaining connectivity within the FPAA.
As the industry pushes toward shorter design cycles for analog integrated circuits, the need for an efficient and effective FPAA becomes paramount. Indeed, the role of analog integrated circuits in modern electronic systems remains important, even with the advent of digital circuits. Analog systems, for example, are often used to interface with digital electronics in applications such as biomedical measurements, industrial process control, and analog signal processing. More importantly, analog solutions may become increasingly competitive with digital circuits for applications requiring dense, low-power, and high-speed signal processing.
Referring back to FPAA crossbar switch networks, the utilization of a floating-gate switch (e.g., FET) as the transmission element eliminates the need for digital memory and reduces resistance limitations, while maintaining a minimally sized switch element. Unfortunately, programming floating-gate switches within an FPAA crossbar switch network is no easy task. To complicate matters, the programming circuitry for floating-gate circuits is currently off-chip, thereby leading to a large programming time limited mainly by the use of an ammeter for current measurement. The larger capacitance at the board level also prevents running the programming circuitry at higher speeds.
As integrated circuits trend toward the use of lower power and lower voltage, the floating-gate transistor provides promise for switches functioning on a decreased supply voltage (as resistance on a switch increases due to the loss in the gate drive caused by the lower voltage). Floating-gate transistors may also be effectively used for precisely programming a large array of current sources in a circuit. Unfortunately, present floating-gate programming techniques require disconnection of the floating-gate transistor from the rest of the circuit, while the floating-gate is programmed.
Conventionally, floating-gate transistors may be directly programmed with a combination of hot-electron injection and Fowler-Nordheim tunneling, thereby permitting the floating-gate transistors to act as precise current sources. In order to permit programming of these floating-gate transistors, however, T-gates are typically added to the circuit in order to permit the disconnection of each floating-gate transistor from the circuit during a programming phase and to permit the reconnection of the floating-gate transistor to the circuit during a run-time phase. The addition of a 2-to-1 multiplexer for every floating-gate transistor to be programmed can be costly. The process of disconnecting the floating-gate transistor from the circuit may decrease the maximum speed of operation and the overall accuracy of the circuitry. Moreover, the addition of the 2-to-1 multiplexers significantly increases the required die real-estate (e.g., silicon footprint) and necessary supply overhead.
What is needed, therefore, is a system and method of effectively programming a floating-gate array, such as an FPAA crossbar switch network, utilizing programmable floating-gate switches, such that digital memory is not needed to store the state of the switch. Further, what is needed is a system and method for programming floating-gate transistors on-chip to reduce programming delays, without compromising circuitry performance. Moreover, what is needed is a system and method of programming floating-gate transistors that does not require disconnection of the floating-gate transistors from the circuitry and that does not necessarily require the addition of a 2-to-1 multiplexer for every floating-gate transistor to be programmed. It is to such systems and methods that the present invention is primarily directed.

Systems and methods for programming floating-gate transistors


The present invention relates to an adenovirus complex which can be utilized for gene delivery and gene therapy by targeting neurotensin receptors. The complex of the present invention has an excellent antitumor effect because of a high intracellular gene transfer efficiency and target specificity by neurotensin receptor-specific binding, has little hepatotoxicity and immunogenicity, forms a stable complex, has low immunogenicity, and thus has a low loss in blood even in an in vivo environment. Therefore, the complex of the present invention can be effectively used for gene therapy.

Pancreatic cancer has been known to be very aggressive, malignant and difficult to cure. Although the incidence of pancreatic cancer is lower than those of other carcinomas, the pancreatic cancer is the fourth most common cause of death by cancer[1]. Since the pancreatic cancer is non-specific, has early symptoms that appear later and metastasizes early, according to the report by the U.S. National Cancer Institute, the 5-year survival rate of all patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer during 2002 to 2008 is 5.8%, and 90% of almost all patients die within a year after the diagnosis. Thus, the prognosis of the patients with pancreatic cancer is very poor[2, 3].
The poor prognosis of conventional methods for treating pancreatic cancer including immunotherapy, chemotherapy and radiation therapy is due to the abnormal and excessive formation of the extracellular matrix (ECM) that induces very high connective tissue formation around the tumor cells[4-7]. In pancreatic cancer, almost 90% of the entire tumor volume consists of the pancreatic matrix and ECM, and serves as the first obstacle to efficient dispersion of therapeutic agents into tumor tissue[8]. Further, recent studies have revealed that ECM-promoting components such as collagen type I become promoting factors for tumor growth, drug resistance and metastasis[9, 10]. Because of such a disorder and limit of conventional therapies in treatment of pancreatic cancer, a new therapeutic modality for reducing pancreatic cancer by targeting ECM to improve the clinical result of the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
Adenovirus (Ad)-mediated gene therapy is a promising cancer treatment strategy, which is well-proven by articles, due to excellent and potent in vivo gene delivery. Particularly, oncolytic adenoviruses (oAds) have advantageous features for cancer gene therapy such as auto-proliferation in tumors, lysis of infected cancer cells and secondary infection of adjacent cells. An oAd expressing-gene therapy has been widely researched because it is able to induce cancer-selective expression and amplification of a specific gene and secondary infection of cancer cells through viral replication in a target site. However, with wild-type Ads (naked Ads) alone, there are significant limitations in the treatment of late-stage metastatic cancer that extensively spreads. To completely remove cancer that widely spreads in a host, systemic Ad administration is required, but such an approach faces major obstacles. Particularly, naked Ads have high immunogenicity and induce considerable antiviral immune responses, thereby rapidly removing Ads from blood using Ad-specific neutralizing antibodies (Abs), and other blood components such as platelets and red blood cells[13]. In addition, αVβ5- and coagulation factor X-mediated Ad uptake into both Kupffer cells and hepatic cells leads to non-specifically absorption of Ads in the liver, low tumor target efficiency and severe hepatotoxicity[14, 15]. To overcome the limitations of oAd for clinical treatment, a specifically-designed Ad hybrid system in which viral and non-viral vectors are combined is required[18, 19].
The combination of the viral and non-viral vectors may be divided into two types of methods involving either a physical action or chemical conjugation. Both methods can be used to reduce immunogenicity and hide Ad native tropism, which is advantageous in vivo[20]. However, a physically-binding Ad nanocomplex is not ideal for systemic administration due to a non-specific charge interaction between a cationic polymer and an anionic serum protein, which may cause rapid degradation and structural instability in blood, thereby promoting coagulation[21]. Chemically-conjugated Ads may form a more stable nanocomplex which can endure blood circulation, hide the native tropism of an Ad for liver tissue, and thus can reduce an antiviral immune response.
PEGylation of Ads, as a notable example, has been used to protect Ads from protein hydrolysis and host-immune responses since the late 1990s[23-26]. However, such a protection method by PEG may block effective internalization of Ads into host cells due to the masking of endogenous fibers that can inhibit interactions with CAR, thereby reducing Ad entry efficiency[18, 21].
Therefore, since there are still many limits in clinical application of gene delivery and gene therapy using chemically-modified Ads, the development of an Ad complex in which Ads are present for a long time in vivo while maintaining a therapeutic capability, and which does not disappear in a blood circulation environment and has a therapeutic effect due to excellent intracellular intake of Ads without immune responses and side effects such as hepatotoxicity, still remains a challenge in this field.

Adenovirus complex for gene delivery and gene iherapy


A housing apparatus of a fuel neck includes a main housing with a first connecting portion connected to a vehicle body, and a hole with a door connected thereto; and a sub housing with a second connecting portion connected to the main housing by an elastic force. The sub housing is elastically connected to the fuel neck. The first connecting portion is elastically connected to the vehicle body, and includes a first protruding portion secured to the vehicle body; and a second protruding portion at a lower portion of the first protruding portion. The second connecting portion includes a connecting hole to which the main housing is inserted; and at least one protrusion securing the main housing to the sub housing. The main housing further includes a third protruding portion inserted to the connecting hole.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a housing apparatus of a fuel door.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Typically, a fuel injecting hole (fuel neck) is located in a fuel door. The fuel neck is disposed in a housing apparatus mounted in a vehicle body. The housing apparatus is typically made of steel and welded to the vehicle body. In addition, a hole to which the fuel door is connected is provided on the housing apparatus, a nut is welded to the hole, and the fuel door is connected by a bolt connected to the nut.
The housing apparatus may deform during welding. Therefore, because the hole to which the fuel door is connected is deformed, the fuel door is not connected to its desired position.
In addition, because the fuel neck is connected only in a horizontal direction, the assembling process is uncomfortable. Further, because the housing apparatus is made of steel, manufacturing cost and weight are high.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.


The present invention discloses an electricity storing/discharging device with multiple-layer package structure having electrode plate pair with multiple-sided electric conductive terminals converted into single input/output electric conductive interface, which is applied in a multiple-layer package structure with specific single-sided input/output and having electrode plate pair with multiple-sided input/output terminals, thereby allowing the electrode plate pair with multiple-sided electric conductive terminals to be structured as an input/output electric conductive interface through single-sided input/output electric conductive terminals having positive and negative polarities for the purpose of transferring electric energy to the exterior.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention discloses an electricity storing/discharging device with multiple-layer package structure having electrode plate pair with multiple-sided electric conductive terminals converted into single input/output electric conductive interface, which is applied in a multiple-layer package structure with specific single-sided input/output and having electrode plate pair with multiple-sided input/output terminals, thereby allowing the electrode plate pair with multiple-sided electric conductive terminals to be structured as an input/output electric conductive interface through single-sided input/output electric conductive terminals having positive and negative polarities for the purpose of transferring electric energy to the exterior, or further to be connected in series, in parallel or in series and parallel for forming as a module applicable for various requirements.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
In a sealing-type package structure for the electrode plate pair of a conventional electricity storing/discharging device, the input/output electric conductive terminals having positive and negative polarity of the electrode plate pair are processed with a single-sided sealing package operation, then the input/output electric conductive terminals having positive and negative polarity are outwardly extended for forming a single input/output electric conductive interface; however, the sealing package operation for the electrode plate pair of the conventional electricity storing/discharging device is unable to allow the electrode plate pair with multiple-sided input/output electric conductive terminals to be converted into single input/output electric conductive interface.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Electricity storing/discharging device with multiple-layer package structure having electrode plate pair with multiple-sided electric conductive terminals converted into single input/output electric conductive interface


Methods, apparatus, and systems for selecting appropriate gateway servers for user devices with different device capabilities are disclosed. In one example aspect, a wireless communication method includes provisioning multiple wireless electronic devices of a user with a first access point name, and receiving, from a wireless electronic device of the multiple wireless electronic devices of the user, a request for establishing a data session. The method also includes determining, in part based on a capability of the wireless electronic device, a second access point name that is different from the first access point name and selecting a packet gateway server corresponding to the capability of the wireless electronic device using the second access point name. The method further includes establishing the data session between the packet gateway server and the wireless electronic device.

A gateway server is used in telecommunications networks to allow data to flow from one discrete network to another. A user device can have simultaneous connectivity with one or more gateway servers for accessing multiple data networks. Selection of the gateway servers can impact various aspects of the communication, such as reliability, efficiency, and/or latency, thereby affecting the overall user experience.

Packet gateway selection based on device capabilities


Methods for harvesting microalgae, comprise providing water containing microalgae, providing flocculant in an amount to form flocs of microalgae when mixed with the water, generating a mixture of the water and the flocculant and separating the flocs from the mixture.

The present disclosure relates generally to algaculture, and more specifically to culturing and harvesting microalgae.
Microalgae are unicellular, microscopic algae that produce various carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids useful for numerous industrial, nutritional, and medical/pharmaceutical applications. Microalgae are an important starting material for the production of biofuels, nutritional supplements, and pharmaceuticals. (Available at: www.rsisinternational.org/Issue7/313-317.pdf) A cost-efficient, high-yield and reliable means of producing the algal biomass for these applications is critical to the sustainability of algaculture and production of the above-mentioned materials.
Microalgae are photosynthetic organisms capable of growing in diverse aquatic conditions and can be found or cultured in freshwater, saltwater, and brackish water. While microalgae can thrive in a variety of conditions, cultivation conditions impact their growth rate as well as their lipid, protein, and carbohydrate content. For enhanced growth of the microalgae and optimal protein/carbohydrate/lipid content of the microalgae, specific parameters with respect to nutrient quantity and quality, light, pH, turbulence, salinity and temperature must be carefully maintained. (Available at: www.fao.org/docrep/003/w3732e/w3732e06.htm)
Microalgae can be cultivated both indoors and outdoors, in ponds, raceways or closed containers. Isolation of the microalgae from the liquid culture requires separation and concentration of the microalgae from large amounts of water. This can be accomplished through various means. Flocculation and coagulation cause the single-celled microalgae to clump and serve to increase the particle size of the microalgae to facilitate harvesting. While this step is not always necessary, microalgae clumps or flocs can then be more easily separated from the water through centrifugation, floatation or filtering. (Available at: www.rsisinternational.org/Issue7/313-317.pdf and at www.fao.org/docrep/003/w3732e/w3732e06.htm)
Microalgae used to produce extracts for human consumption require especially stringent culturing and harvesting standards. Particularly when grown outdoors in open systems, microalgae can be prone to contamination by other algal species or opportunistic, microbial organisms such as fungi, molds and bacteria. Furthermore, chemical or foreign material contamination whether from outside sources or from the method itself (e.g., chemical flocculants) also should be carefully monitored and steps taken to minimize such potential sources of contamination.
Further to these considerations, any method for microalgae cultivation and harvesting must also account for its long-term sustainability and economic feasibility. The cultivation and harvesting of high-quality microalgae for use, and particularly for producing extracts for human consumption, requires extensive resource investment. There exists a need in the art for an efficient, cost-effective, and reliable method for cultivation and harvesting of microalgae for use towards the production of algal extracts and nutraceuticals.

SHENZHEN QIANHAI XIAOZAO TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


The invention relates to an RF-activated guidewire to electrosurgically pass through occlusive material to allow the use of other vescular therapeutic devices to traverse the guidewire through the occlusive material. More particularly, the invention relates to a catheter system for penetrating occulsive tissue in an arterial lumen, comprising:. a substantially tubular sheath means;. an electrically conductive guidewire, said guidewire having an electrosurgical tip and passing through said sheath means; and. a voltage generating means electrically connected to said electrically conductive guidewire to activate said electrosurgical tip.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an electrosurgical guidewire. More particularly, the invention is directed to a guidewire which is energized by radio frequency current to penetrate occlusive tissue so as to permit the subsequent passage of a therapeutic device for treatment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the U.S., heart disease, stroke and related disorders account for almost as many deaths as all other causes of death combined. The single largest cause of cardiovascular diseases is sclerosis--a build-up of fatty or calcific deposits in the arterial lumen. These deposits can impair, and in severe cases, totally obstruct the flow of blood. A number of medical devices are designed to displace, disperse or extract the occlusive tissue. However, most of these devices operate over or conjunction with a guidewire.
Initial placement of the guidewire is a problem in cases of total occlusion. Although some occlusions can be negotiated by forcible advancement of a blunt catheter (the Dotter technique), or by rotational means (orthogonal displacement of friction), a reliable method is required which will unconditionally traverse a total occlusion to permit guidewire insertion and subsequent passage of a therapeutic device for treatment.
It is well known that electrical currents are able to flow in tissue because of the presence of free electrons and ions in solution within the tissue structure. Many physiological functions are made possible by the electrical conductivity of the body. Passage of the electrical current in the mammalian or similar bodies dissipates some energy in the form of heat because of the finite electrical resistance of the body tissue (power density equalling resistivity "ohm-cm" times the square of current density (amps/cm.sup.2). At low current density values, this product of heat is totally insignificant. If the current density levels are increased, it is possible to vaporize the entrained tissue water. If this vaporization occurs with sufficient speed before the water vapor can diffuse through the tissue, it will locally rupture and incise tissue. Surgically producing such ruptures in a linear fashion is the essence of electrosurgery.
In order not to cause neuromuscular stimulation in electrosurgery, currents at frequencies in excess of 100 kilohertz are used. At these frequencies the muscle fibers are unable to respond. As electromagnetic radiation in this frequency range is used for the broadcast of radio signals, electrical currents in this frequency range are referred to as radio frequency, or RF. Electrosurgery is typically accomplished by passing RF current through a small electrode in the form of a scalpel or needle into the tissue and completing the electrical circuit through the tissue by attaching a much larger electrode plate (indifferent electrode or patient plate) elsewhere on the body. The small electrode in the form of a scalpel or needle is referred to as the active electrode because it is where the surgical effect occurs due to the much higher current density adjacent to the small area of the electrode. Since the total current at any place in the circuit is equal to the total current at any other place in the circuit at any instant of time, the current density (i.e., current divided by area) at the relatively large patient plate is extremely low, so as not to cause any noticeable effect on the patient. Conductive jellies are used to assure good conductance from the patient's body through the patient plate and to avoid hot spots and burns which would result from reduced current flow areas and high current densities.
Under certain circumstances, the patient plate or indifferent electrode can be eliminated. If the patient plate electrode circuit connected to the console line cord ground wirer the electrical energy can be coupled out of the patient's body capacitively to earth ground. Connecting the patient plate electrode circuit to the console line ground places the active electrode at high potential relative to the earth and the building, and thus the patient. The inconvenience of the patient plate is eliminated, and there is no risk of burns at the plate. Although electrosurgery can be performed using RF frequencies from 300 kilohertz to 3 megahertz, the stray capacitance technique benefits from the use of higher frequencies, since a stray capacitance at a given value would effect a lower impedance at a higher frequency. This is based upon the relationship whereby the reactance of a given capacitor is inversely proportional to frequency.
Electrosurgery using a single active electrode is properly defined as monopolar electrosurgery. Monopolar scalpels are commonly referred to as "Bovies" in honor of the person who popularized their use.

Tissue dissipative recanalization catheter


A variable gain amplifier includes an attenuator having a plurality of pairs of tap points, and a plurality of pairs of gm cells, wherein each pair of gm cells is coupled to a corresponding pair of the tap points, and each pair of gm cells is constructed and arranged to operate as a multi-tanh cell.

Low noise amplifiers (LNAs) are used in many systems where low-level signals must be sensed and amplified. For example, LNAs are utilized in ultrasound imaging equipment to amplify the reflected signal sensed by an ultrasound sensor, and in radio receivers to amplify the radio frequency (RF) signal received by the antenna. The dynamic range of an LNA is limited by the noise floor at the low end and by distortion at the high end. Depending on signal frequency, an LNA can be implemented as an open loop or closed-loop amplifier and may also have a requirement to match a specific source impedance. At frequencies sufficiently below the fT-limit of a semiconductor process, closed-loop, negative feedback designs are possible and offer improved distortion performance. Achieving a wide dynamic range and wide bandwidth with minimal power consumption is a chief design goal.
LNA input and output connections can be single-ended or differential. Where possible, differential output capability improves the dynamic range of an LNA and the circuits that it drives. Providing single-ended to differential signal conversion without an external transformer is especially valuable in many LNA applications.
Single-transistor, open-loop LNA designs are very common for RF frequency applications of 900 MHz and beyond, and often employ "local-series feedback" for some improvement in linearity. Narrowband input impedance matching can be accommodated with passive components, but these amplifiers are not well-suited to the voltage swing requirements and broadband matching needed in many non-RF applications. The prior art circuit shown in FIG. 1 uses a variation of the one-transistor amplifier design for non-RF applications, with an active input impedance matching feedback loop. Despite the excellent noise performance, voltage swing and passive component limitations reduce its usefulness in single-supply designs.
The prior art LNA circuit in FIG. 2 uses a non-inverting operational amplifier 11 configured for improved swing performance, with a conventional differential pair input stage. Input voltage noise is limited by input device thermal noise and the noise of the feedback attenuator resistors. Adequate current consumption in the input pair and an output stage capability for driving loads as small as 40 ohms (shown as R5,R6) result in an input referred voltage noise less than 0.70 nv/rt(Hz). Negative feedback reduces distortion of the input differential pair for frequencies within the bandwidth of the feedback loop. This configuration is not easily generalized to differential outputs or active input impedance synthesis, however.
Optimizing a differential amplifier for noise and distortion performance offers another alternative to LNA design. An example of such a prior art circuit is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,118,340, issued Sep. 12, 2000, "Low Noise Differential Input, Differential Output Amplifier and Method," (the '340 patent). In '340, FIG. 5 shows a feedback-linearized input V-I stage driving well-matched resistive loads. The well-defined gain of this approach allows for accurate active input impedance synthesis, which improves noise figure in applications that require input matching. Differential outputs in this circuit can also be driven from a single-ended input.
This design has various embodiments. When driving a very small gain-setting resistor RS to minimize input noise, high standing currents may be needed in the input stage to accommodate full input and output swing range. When driving a transimpedance load, shown in the '340 patent, FIG. 6, the non-linearity of the output stage is not linearized by the central feedback loop.
The prior art circuit in FIG. 3 shows another differential amplifier approach, from "A Programmable Instrumentation Amplifier for 12-Bit Resolution Systems," Wurcer, et al., IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, Vol. SC-17, No. 6, December 1982 (the "Wurcer paper"). This circuit provides a unique means of generalizing the non-inverting feedback amplifier approach, described previously, to a fully differential implementation with only one core amplifier stage required, at a considerable savings in complexity and power consumption.
The input signal is applied to bases of a central differential pair, while negative feedback is taken to the emitters. Constant current biasing of the input stage allows each of the input transistors Q1,Q2,Q3,Q4 to complete a negative feedback loop when fed by a resistor attenuator (R57-RG-R56) connected to the differential outputs. This greatly improves input stage linearity for frequencies within the bandwidth of the feedback loop, and offers the possibility of low noise operation if the input standing current and gain setting resistor, RG, are chosen correctly.
The use of operational amplifiers buffers for amplifiers A1 and A2 described in the Wurcer paper, which is furthermore referenced to a central bias voltage VB, results in bandwidth limitations and additional complexity and power consumption for use as an LNA stage. Also a single-ended signal applied to only one of the two inputs does not produce a balanced differential output signal.

Input system for a variable gain amplifier having class-AB transconductance stages


Four striking panels having wireless sensors are arranged such that at least one striking panel is: in front of an athlete, behind the athlete, to the right of the athlete, and to the left of the athlete. A display is situated in front of the athlete. Randomly, a particular striking panel is presented on the display during an exercise routine. When the athlete strikes the appropriate corresponding panel based on detection of a wireless signal provided by the corresponding wireless sensor, a next randomly selected panel is presented on the display. This continues for a particular number of times or for a particular elapsed period of time. Response time metrics are retained for the routine and provided at the conclusion of routine.

A number of sports require athletes to have quick hands and feet, such as basketball, football, soccer, tennis, lacrosse to name just a few. In addition, quick decision making is needed based on the location of the ball in these sports, such that muscle memory kicks in based on where the ball is located at any given moment during the game and a athlete's hands/feet respond accordingly.
There is a plethora of sports training aids and devices in the industry that attempt to assist in developing quickness and muscle memory in the athletes. Most training aids are non-interactive, meaning the athlete must perform some repetitive self-directed or predefined routine. Furthermore, the training aids are usually focused on one aspect of the athlete's performance and do not provide for improvement of multiple aspects.
Further, the more a training aid attempts to handle multiple aspects of the athlete's performance, the larger and more unwieldy the training devices become. This means that the devices are not portable nor compact, which restricts usage of the device to game fields or courts and which require larger transportation vehicles to transport the devices from location to location for use by the athletes. These more comprehensive devices also tend to be expensive and therefore unobtainable for many athletes.
Additionally, most training aids or devices are geared towards a single sport, such that these devices often provide little value to the athletes outside their designed sport.


A poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate) film obtained by stretching a poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate) sheet containing cross-linked polymer particles which have at least one ethylene glycol unit and have an average particle size of from 0.05 to 3 .mu.m and a spherical ratio of from 1.0 to 1.1, wherein a deformation ratio of the cross-linked polymer particles in the stretching is from 1.2 to 3.0, has excellent runnability, abrasive resistance and strength.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate) film which has excellent runnability, abrasion resistance and strength.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, a small thickness and high strength of a base film are increasingly required, because of a long recording time and a small size of a video tape and an increased capacity of a capacitor. It is difficult to satisfy sufficiently these requirements, when a conventional poly(ethylene terephthalate) film is used as the base film. A poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate) film which is stretched in machine and transverse directions at nigh drawing ratios has developed as a substitute for the poly(ethylene terephthalate) film. The poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate) film has excellent strength, but fine particles contained in the film easily drop off from a film surface because of high draw ratios in machine and transverse directions. The generation of abrasion powder due to dropped particles causes a fault, namely a drop out in the magnetic recording application, and undesirably decreased dielectric strength in the capacitor application.


A communication device includes a modulator, a first encoder and a second encoder, and generates a modulated signal with quadrature amplitude modulation. The modulator generates a modulated signal by mapping each symbol in a data frame that includes data, a first code, and a second code to a signal point among signal points of the quadrature amplitude modulation. The first encoder encodes the data by using a first coding scheme to generate the first code. The second encoder encodes, by using a second coding scheme, a bit string formed from a specified bit in a plurality of bits allocated to each symbol in the data frame to generate the second code. The modulator performs mapping such that each pair of adjacent signal points are different from each other in terms of a value of the specified bit in the plurality of bits.

Error corrections for correcting errors in data in communication systems have been widespread. An error correction is implemented by adding an error correction code to the end of a transmission frame. In particular, a transmission device on the transmission side adds an error correction code to the end of a transmission frame including data. A communication device on the reception side detects whether there is an error in received data by using an error correction code. When an error is detected, the error correction code is used to correct the error.
In the meantime, the number of bits allocated to each symbol has been increasing to allow communication systems to have a larger capacity. However, when many bits are allocated to each symbol, there will be many signal points at which the symbols could be located, and the distances between the signal points will be short. Hence, an error will easily occur. For example, an error could easily occur at the least significant bit (i.e., LSB) of a plurality of bits allocated to each symbol.
Accordingly, multilevel coding may be performed in a communication system in which many bits are allocated to each symbol. As a general rule, a plurality of coding schemes with different correction capabilities are used in multilevel coding. Both data reliability and bandwidth use efficiency are improved using multilevel coding.
In proposed methods, a plurality of bits are encoded using first and second parity bits (e.g., Japanese National Publication of International Patent Application No. 2017-507510).
As indicated above, multilevel coding has attracted attention as one method for improving both data reliability and bandwidth use efficiency. However, the conventional multilevel coding may involve large power consumption.
For example, when 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (16QAM) is used, four bits may be allocated to each symbol. Two bits are allocated to I channel, and the remaining two bits are allocated to Q channel. In this case, LSBs are encoded for the I channel by using a coding scheme with a high correction capability and also encoded for the Q channel by using a coding scheme with a high correction capability.
However, coding schemes with a high correction capability typically involve large power consumption. Especially when a decoding device recovers data by performing iterative processing using soft decision information, the iterative processing will consume a large amount of power. According to the prior art, such iterative processing is performed for both I channel and Q channel. Hence, the conventional multilevel coding may involve large power consumption.

Device and method for transmitting data by using multilevel coding, and communication system