An apparatus and method for providing an adjustable armrest. The adjustable armrest includes a horizontal armrest support, a fixed rear armpad and a slideable front armpad able to translate along the horizontal armrest support in a lengthwise direction. The adjustable armrest also includes a vertical member connected to the horizontal armrest support to bear the horizontal armrest support. The vertical member includes a gas-charged piston to vertically adjust a height of the horizontal armrest support. On the vertical member is a manually operated control used to actuate the gas-charged piston to vertically adjust a height of the horizontal armrest support. Additionally, the horizontal armrest support is configured to pivot around a connection point to the gas-charged piston.

The present invention relates to an improved armrest for a chair that is horizontally and vertically adjustable. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an adjustable armrest that is horizontally extendable, pivotable in a horizontal plane, and vertically adjustable via a control and pneumatic piston.
Chairs have been designed and manufactured in various ways to meet the many needs of consumers and to suit numerous different settings and situations. There are many different categories of chairs including rocking chairs, office chairs, swivel chairs, folding chairs, lawn chairs, etc. One main goal in chair design and manufacture is comfort for a user. An armrest is of utmost importance in a user's determination of the comfort level of a chair. Generally, armrests are in fixed positions relative to the seating portion of the chair, which can cause discomfort and other problems for users that do not fit the fixed position of the chair and armrest.
In an office environment, where workers often are seated at a desk and working with computers or other electronic systems for extended periods of time, a well designed office chair can maximize comfort and efficiency. More specifically, an adjustable armrest on such an office chair can be of great importance to a worker who is performing a variety of computer related functions, such as typing, scrolling and moving a mouse, sorting through paperwork, or performing other typical office tasks. A versatile arm rest can make such tasks easier and can cut down on worker fatigue and discomfort.
While office chairs in the prior art have been designed and constructed to include adjustable armrests, such armrests are often limited in their adjustability, and the means to achieve the adjustments are not ideal. For instance, some prior art armrests have only one or two methods of adjustment, such as vertical or pivotal adjustability. These armrests lack additional modes of adjustment that can further maximize worker efficiency and comfort. Additionally, the mechanisms for adjusting the armrest can be limiting. For instance, the vertical adjustability of an armrest can be limited to only a number of pre-selected vertical positions at which the armrest locks into place. Additionally, some prior art armrests include a horizontal member that can slide horizontally; however, in existing designs, the entirety of the horizontal member is slid to another position. Such a design does not adjust the armrest in such a way as to accommodate users with different size forearms, as the length of the armrest does not change.
In light of the above limitations inherent to current armrest designs, a need exists for an armrest that covers all needed modes of adjustment that a user might desire in an office or other setting and convenient mechanisms for implementing these adjustments. It would therefore be desirable to have a system and method capable of achieving greater armrest adjustability with improved mechanisms for making adjustments to the armrest position.

Adjustable pneumatic armrest for a chair


The monitoring system has a monitoring apparatus and an access point that wirelessly communicates with the monitoring apparatus. The monitoring apparatus sends a wireless signal to the access point. The access point generates a Received Signal Strength Indicator of the received wireless signal. The access point checks for an entrance of an intruder between the monitoring apparatus and the access point based on the Received Signal Strength Indicator generated by the access point. The monitoring systems enables accurate detection of an entrance of an intruder using wireless communication technology.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a monitoring system that detects an indoor intruder and performs other such monitoring.
2. Background Information
Many different indoor monitoring systems that utilize wireless communications technology have been developed. For instance, an unmanned indoor monitoring system shown in Japanese Patent Application Publication H5-176363 takes as a sample a portion of a baseband signal, which is a fraction of the baseband signal divided by an integer. Then, the sample signal is converted into a digital signal, and stored in a memory. This system constantly compares the digital signal of the current period with the digital signal stored in the immediately previous period. When any change is detected, an alarm is activated.
The unmanned indoor monitoring system shown in Japanese Patent Application Publication H5-176363 checks for an intruder by checking for a change in the digital signal from one period to the next. Accordingly, it activates the alarm even when the digital signal changes as a result of something other than an intruder, such as the operation of some kind of electronic device outdoors.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved monitoring system that overcomes the problems of the conventional art. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.


A method, apparatus, system, article of manufacture, and computer readable storage medium provide media content. A web page context for a web page is determined and stored in a database. One or more media content files are analyzed to extract information that is stored in the database. The information is compared to the web page context. A matching media content file is determined from the one of the one or more media content files that matches the web page context based on the comparison. The matching media content file is then provided (e.g., to an internet portal web site).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to delivering relevant media content for web pages, and in particular, to a method, system, apparatus, and article of manufacture for rapidly providing such relevant media content.
2. Description of the Related Art
Media content such as audio-video is often delivered to end-users via web sites. Based on the context in which the media content is presented on the web site, it is often desirable to present customized or relevant media content. To provide customized/relevant media content, prior art implementations require manual configuration by the web site owner as well as the manual determination of relevant content to put into the web site. Such practices are time consuming, impractical, fail to account for changes in the hosting web site, and are prone to error. These problems may be better understood with a description of prior art media content delivery mechanisms.
Media content can be delivered to Internet users through a variety of mechanisms. In one example, a media content web site (e.g., Hulu.com™) may directly stream content to users. In another example, internet portal web sites (e.g., Yahoo™, news web sites, Google™, etc.) may (1) link to, or (2) embed media content (e.g., videos) in their web pages.
Links (e.g., a uniform resource locator—URL) may be displayed on the webpage, and upon selecting a particular link, either: (1) the user may be transported to the URL location where a new webpage is displayed containing the content, or (2) the media content may be displayed to the user within the web page.
With media content that is embedded into the webpage, the location (i.e., URL or local file location) of the media content may be specified within an appropriate command or tag (e.g., hyptertext markup language [HTML], or extensible markup language [XML], Java™, etc.). For example, the <OBJECT> tag and/or the <EMBED> tag may be used to embed content into a webpage. When embedding content using such code/tags, the code must specify an object type (e.g., a plug-in for a media content player) necessary to display/play the content within the web page as well as the location of the media content to be played using the plug-in. Further, the size of the object type may also be specified. Thus, whenever media content is embedded, both the media player/object and the specific location of the media content that is embedded must be specified.
Internet portal web sites often utilize or embed media content from third party media content hosts/owners (e.g., Hulu™). Such content may be emailed by the third party media content host/owner to the internet portal web site. Alternatively, the internet portal web site may simply specify the location of the media content that may be hosted by the third party. Thus, once embedded or linked to, when a user clicks on a thumbnail or link, the media content may be retrieved from the appropriate location and played within the embedded media player on the same web site/page. Alternatively, a new window, in which the media content is displayed, may open for the user.
It is often desirable for the embedded media content to be relevant to, or related to, the information presented in the web page. For example, if the web page contains a news article about an actress that has recently passed away, it may be desirable to link to or embed a clip from a movie starring the actress. In another example, if the web site describes how to cook a certain recipe, it may be desirable to link to or embed a media clip demonstrating a chef following the recipe or a clip about the recipe's author. To provide such content, the prior art requires the manual entry by a programmer of the media content location in the web page. Further, determining which content to place in the web page is a manual operation.
In addition to the above, internet portal web sites (e.g., news web sites or other websites that users access for information, content, data, etc.) may often change their content. For example, recent news items may be displayed and changed on an hourly, daily, and/or weekly basis (e.g., the home page of a news website). With the frequent changes of the web site/page, it is desirable to update and modify the linked/embedded media content on the web site/page. However, as described above, the particular media content (i.e., the location and method of playing the content) that is embedded has to be manually programmed by the web site host/designer. Thus, if a news article describes a grand opening of a large department store with celebrities in attendance, the third party may have to manually embed a link to videos about the department store location, the particular celebrity, etc. Such manual operations are inefficient, and often not possible due to the frequency of changes.
Further to the above, it is desirable to analyze the content of a web site/page in order to find relevant media content that should be embed into the web site/page. For example, if a car or face is found in an image displayed on a web site/page, it may be desirable to embed information or a clip about the car or face. Further, if an event is identified in a media clip (e.g., a person running or sitting), information about the event is desirable. In this regard, internet portal web sites may request a content provider to analyze and provide relevant media content for embedding into the web page. Many prior art content analysis systems exist in the prior art. However, the ability to utilize the information obtained from a content analysis system to provide/deliver relevant additional media content is unavailable in the prior art. Further, the ability to perform such operations dynamically, in real-time is also unavailable in the prior art.
In view of the above, it is desirable to dynamically perform content analysis and to utilize the results of such content analysis to dynamically embed/link media content on a web site/page.


Active grille shutter. In an embodiment of a shutter system of the present disclosure, the shutter system comprises a plurality of moveable louvers, at least one lifter, the lifter including a lifter arm having a plurality of platforms and a plurality of spurs extending therefrom, a plurality of tensioners, and a drive mechanism connected to the lifter arm and structured to reversibly move the lifter arm and the plurality of platforms extending therefrom, wherein the movement of the lifter arm and platforms causes each louver to rotate about a pin extending therefrom, the pin adjacent and offset from the post.

In recent years, automobile manufacturers are more commonly using active grille shutter systems to enable at least some control of the flow of air through the engine compartment. In a conventional, front-engine, water-cooled automobile, air is drawn through the front grille and into the engine compartment, either pulled in by the radiator fan or forced in by the movement of the vehicle in motion through the air. Generally, active grille shutter systems include moveable shutters that can open and close. When open, the shutters allow air to flow through the radiator and into the engine compartment to promote cooling of the engine. Under certain operating conditions when cooling is not needed, the shutters can be closed, thus diverting air around the vehicle to lessen aerodynamic drag and reduce fuel consumption. Moreover, closing the shutters reduces engine warm-up time by reducing the flow of relatively cold air through the radiator and around the engine of the vehicle. Decreased engine warm-up time may improve the emissions performance of certain engines and may further aid in warming the passenger compartment more quickly, including defrosting the windshield.
The front grille of many, if not most, vehicles is a prominent signature feature of a vehicle's design and includes stylized, complex surfaces having curvature and compound angles relative to the principal axes of the vehicle. However, conventional active grille shutter systems require that the grille surface be predominantly flat with shutters that rotated about a single, straight axis. Further, such grille shutter systems are generally not scalable to enable multiple sets of shutters rotating about different angles. Consequently, conventional active grille shutter systems are generally planar, having no curvature relative to the axes of the vehicle. Moreover, conventional active grille shutter systems are separate from the vehicle's stylized front grille and are positioned behind or rearward of that front grille, which may add cost, mass and space requirements to the vehicle. Therefore, there remains a significant need for the apparatuses, methods, and systems disclosed herein.

Flex-N-Gate Advanced Product Development, LLC


Apparatus for promoting blood flow in an extremity is disclosed including a gas source and a bladder assembly including a first bladder and a second bladder independently coupled to the gas source. The bladder assembly may be sized to fit within a shoe of a patient and may include a first bladder encircling a second bladder. A controller is operably coupled to the gas source and is configured to control the flow of gas from the gas source to the first and second bladders in order to periodically commence inflation of the first and second bladders in sequence.

1. The Field of the Invention
This application relates to an apparatus and method for the treatment of deep vein thrombosis, and, more particularly, to devices for applying an external compressive force to the lower extremities to promote blood flow.
2. The Relevant Technology
Contraction and relaxation of the muscles of the calf is responsible for the majority of movement of blood out of the lower extremities through the veins, hence venous circulation becomes stagnant when the calf muscles are at rest, increasing risk for deep venous thrombosis (DVT).
Gravity likewise plays a role in venous circulation. Long periods of sitting or standing create pressure on the valves within the veins of the legs. Over time, these valves can break allowing blood to pool in the veins of the calf. This process known as deep venous insufficiency (DVI) is a lifelong disease process with no surgical solution.
To decrease the risk of venous thrombosis while hospitalized, segmental pressure devices have been created, such as the apparatus marketed under the trade name PLEXIPULSE. These devices are proven to lower incidence of clotting while immobile. However, these devices are bulky, non portable, and expensive, making them impractical for home use or daily wear. These devices are therefore ineffective for aiding in the prevention of DVI through daily use.
Patients with DVI may be treated using medical compression stockings, which are an elastic stocking with graded compression, such as compression stocking offered for sale under the trade name MEDIVEN. These stockings often cause patients discomfort due to the tight compression and thick material. The tight compression also causes the compression stockings to be difficult to put on, requiring in some instances aid from a mechanical device to put the stocking over the heel of the foot.
It is known that both DVI and DVT may be controlled by applying cyclical pressure to a person's lower extremities to aid in venous blood flow. Currently available devices use bulky, non-portable motors and include complex cuffs and bladders that wrap entirely around a person's leg. Devices of this type are not readily portable and are not meant to be worn during a person's normal daily activities. Examples of such devices are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,263,473; 5,014,681 and 5,674,262.
Another example of such a device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,290,662, which describes a boot formed of an inelastic material which completely surrounds the foot and a single-chambered bladder is positioned within the boot. This device is cumbersome and does not permit a person to wear normal shoes. This oversight makes the device impractical for daily wear and will tend to lead to poor patient compliance. Furthermore, surrounding any extremity with a rigid inelastic material inhibits movement and gives no room for swelling thus inhibiting circulation and increasing the risk for DVT, as well as being painful to those with severe DVI and foot swelling.

Apparatus and method for deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis


A method for forming nanometer scale dot-shaped materials is provided. The method includes providing a sub-micrometer scale material and a metallo-organic compound. The sub-micrometer scale material and the metallo-organic compound are mixed in a solvent. Then, the metallo-organic compound is decomposed by thermal decomposition process and reduced to form a plurality of nanometer scale dot-shaped materials on the sub-micrometer scale material, wherein the sub-micrometer scale material and the nanometer-scale dot-shaped materials are heterologous materials. Then, the plurality of nanometer scale dot-shaped materials is melted, such that a plurality of the adjacent sub-micrometer scale materials is connected to each other to form a continuous interface between the sub-micrometer scale materials.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to nanometer scale material, and more particularly to a method for forming nanometer scale dot-shaped material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Flexible electronic technology offers product design flexibility, light weight, low cost products and quick fabrication processes. The substrates and materials used for the flexible electronic technology need to be flexible. Accordingly, flexible electronic materials need to be selected from materials that can be printed and fabricated at low temperatures.
Generally, conventional materials used for printing are conductive metal ink, which is a conductive coating formed by high temperature sintering. Conventional conductive metal ink is usually used for rigid ceramic substrates. The conventional conductive metal ink comprises an organic polymer, conductive metal particles glass and other additions, such as a dispersion agent or a rheology agent. After a degreasing process at a high temperature of 250-450° C. and a co-sintering process at a temperature of 850-1100° C., the organic polymer is removed and the conductive metal particles are transformed into a metal crystal having a continuous phase. The adhesion strength of the conventional conductive coating is provided by the glass softening. However, the conventional metal ink is only applicable for rigid substrates formed by high temperatures.
Generally, conventional flexible electronic materials are low temperature cured epoxy resin type conductive paste, which is made from polymer, used as a major material, having sheet-shaped metal conductive particles therein. Although the conventional conductive epoxy resin can be formed at a temperature lower than 200° C., the conductivity thereof is poor and the conventional conductive epoxy resin can not be soldered. Additionally, the adhesion strength and the conductivity of the conventional conductive epoxy resin, respectfully, decreases due to subsequent processes.
Currently, the method used to enhance the conductivity of a conductive metal ink, is to coat another metal on sub-micrometer scale particles. U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,890 discloses coating a thick silver film on a surface of copper or copper alloy particles and then coating a thin gold film on the silver film. The silver film needs to have a thickness of at least 3.5 μm, and the gold film on the silver film needs to have a thickness smaller than 0.5 μm. The silver film and the gold film both are formed by an electroplating, an electrolytic deposition, an electroless plating or a vacuum vapor deposition process.
Japan Patent No. 2005-267900 discloses a low temperature conductive ink technology. Specifically, a mixture utilizing silver powders mixed with nanometer scale silver oxide is formed and dispersed in an ink. Then, an organic compound with reducing ability is added in the ink to form a high conductive ink which can be cured by a low temperature sintering process. The silver oxide has an average diameter of 5 nm-15 μm. The silver oxide is formed by salting of the silver nitrate, adding a polymer dispersant and a surfactant thereto, dissolving the resulting mixture in water, and adding a water-based oxidant to form a silver oxide precipitate. The silver particles used in the ink have a diameter of about 20 nm-15 μm. The shape of the silver particle may be sphere shaped or a sheet. The ink can be used in a coating process such as a screen printing, a plate printing or a flexible plate printing coating process and can be sintered at a thermal treatment temperature of 200° C.
In addition, K. S. Park et al. disclosed in "surface modification by silver coating for improving electrochemical properties of LiFePO4" in the Solid State Communications, Volume 129, Issue 5, February 2004, Pages 311-314, using silver ions, as a coating on a surface of a positive electrode of a lithium battery made of lithium-iron-phosphorus compound oxide. Specifically, a silver nitrate solution was coated on a surface of a positive electrode by an electrochemical and wetting mixed coating method, such that the capacitance of the lithium battery was enhanced to 140 mAh/g and an initial voltage thereof was reduced to 3.3V.

Method for forming nanometer scale dot-shaped materials

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A method and system for distributed processing of traffic in a telecommunications node includes receiving a traffic stream at a line card of the telecommunications node. The traffic stream includes a plurality of discrete cells. The cells are forwarded from the line card to a centralized switch of the telecommunications node. The centralized switch identifies cells that are of a particular type. Cells of the particular type are returned from the centralized switch to the line card. The returned cells are processed at the line card.

The Internet has dramatically increased the potential for data, voice and video services for customers. Existing circuit-switched telephony systems, however, do not provide the foundation to support the growing need for bandwidth and new services required by both residential and business consumers. As a result, integrated access devices have been introduced to support Internet and related technologies as well as standard telephony service.
Integrated access devices often employ asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) functionality to multiplex data, voice and video traffic together onto a single network. ATM is a connection-oriented packet-switching technology in which information is organized into small, fixed length cells. ATM carries data asynchronously, automatically assigning data cells to available time slots on demand to provide maximum throughput. Compared with other network technologies, ATM provides large increases in maximum support bandwidth, support for multiple types of traffic such as data, video, and voice transmissions on shared communication lines, and virtual networking capabilities, which increase bandwidth utilization and ease network administration.
ATM traffic is routed through a telecommunications network at high speeds using a switching tag included in the ATM cells. The switching tag defines a virtual path (VP) and a virtual channel (VC) in the network through which the cells are routed. The use of virtual path and channel connections allows physical bandwidth in the network to be subdivided and separately utilized.
ATM manages virtual connections through an ATM management layer (M-Plane) that consists of a stream of operation, administration and management (OAM) cells associated with each virtual connection between network elements. The OAM cells may be segment OAM cells communicated between adjacent elements in a virtual connection or end-to-end OAM cells transmitted between source and termination elements in the connection.
As the number of virtual connections supported by a network element rises, the load on the central processor to recognize and provide supplemental processing for OAM cells also rises. The increased load can become cumbersome to manage and can interfere with normal traffic flow. Processor upgrades to handle OAM processing can be prohibitively expensive for many low-cost applications in which access devices are utilized.
One solution to reduce the overall processing load on a central processor is to off-load OAM processing to line cards within the network element. In this case, functionality is added to the line cards to perform header recognition and look-up at line-rates on the incoming ATM cell streams and for processing the OAM cells. While this provides a more scalable architecture, the added hardware complexity and costs are prohibitive for many low rate cards and applications.
The present invention provides an improved method and system for processing asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) operation, administration, and management (OAM) traffic in a telecommunications node. In particular, processing of OAM and other suitable traffic is distributed in the telecommunications node between line cards and a centralized switch processor to provide a low-cost scalable architecture for the node.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a method for distributed processing of traffic in a telecommunications node includes receiving a traffic stream at a line card of the telecommunications node. The traffic stream includes a plurality of discrete cells. The cells are forwarded from the line card to a centralized switch of the telecommunications node. The centralized switch identifies cells that are of a particular type. Cells of the particular type are returned from the centralized switch to the line card. The returned cells are processed at the line card.
More specifically, in accordance with the particular embodiment of present invention, the discrete cells are asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) cells. In this embodiment, the cells of the particular type are operation, administration, and management (OAM) cells having a loop-back indicator. Thus, the OAM cells are identified at the centralized switch and processed by a line card.
Technical advantages of the present invention include providing an improved method and system for processing management and other suitable traffic that is in need of specialized processing in a telecommunications node. In particular, processing of the traffic is distributed between a centralized switch processor and a line card or other suitable element in the telecommunications node. This alleviates the overall processing load on the centralized switch processor and allows other value-added processing to be performed by the centralized switch processor on a traffic stream.
Another technical advantage of the present invention includes providing an improved method and system for transmitting ATM traffic in a telecommunications system. In particular, ATM OAM cells are recognized by a centralized ATM switch and looped back to the receiving line card for processing. As a result, processing of the OAM cells is off-loaded to the line cards while header recognition and look-up on an incoming ATM stream is conventionally performed by the centralized ATM switch in connection with its normal switching activities. Thus, cost and board space on line cards with OAM processing functionality are reduced. In addition, the scalable management layer (M-plane) architecture insures that ATM switching capacity of the node is limited only by switch bandwidth, not processing power.
Still another technical advantage of the present invention includes providing a more scalable architecture for a telecommunications access device. In particular, processing of specified types of traffic is distributed between elements in a node to take advantage of parallel processing power of multiple processors spread across multiple elements. As a result, system cost is more directly proportional to functionality which allows low-cost solutions for low-rate and other limited applications.
Other technical advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, description, and claims.

Method and system for distributed processing of traffic in a telecommunications node


According to one embodiment, an electronic apparatus includes a housing, a switch, a button member and a supporting portion. The housing has an opening. The button member includes an operating portion, a rocker shaft and an acting portion. The operating portion is exposed through the opening. The shaft is coupled to the operating portion and pivotable. The acting portion is coupled to the shaft, configured to face the switch and to pivot about the shaft, thereby pressing the switch. The supporting portion is configured to support the button member, the supporting portion being configured to be elastically deformed by part of the button member and to return the button member.

An electronic apparatus, such as a portable computer, comprises various buttons including a power button. If a user depresses a button, the button presses and activates a switch in a housing. Typically, the switch is located immediately below the button.
If the switch is located immediately below the button, the portable computer tends to be thick. Since other components, such as a circuit board, are accommodated in the housing, moreover, the arrangement of the button and switch is limited. Thus, there is still room for improvement in the arrangement of the buttons in the electronic apparatus.


An electric signal current corresponding to the intensity of the incident light is output by a photodiode PD, electric charge is integrated in an integrating circuit 10 according to this electric signal current, and a signal voltage corresponding to this quantity of electric charge thus integrated is output. In a CDS circuit 20, the signal voltage output by the integrating circuit 10 is input to the capacitor C21, and an electric charge corresponding to the amount of change in the input signal voltage is integrated in the capacitor C22 or C23 selected by switches SW21-SW23. In the differential calculating circuit 30, the differential in the electric charges integrated respectively by the capacitors C22 and C23 or the CDS circuit 20 is determined, and a signal voltage corresponding to this differential is output.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photo-detecting apparatus for detecting only a signal light component by removing background light components from light input to a photodiode.
2. Related Background Art
A photo-detecting apparatus comprises one or more photodiodes, the electric signal current from each photodiode being integrated by an integrating circuit, and a signal voltage formed by the result of this integration being output. Furthermore, depending on the photo-detecting apparatus, the aforementioned signal voltage, which is an analogue signal, may be converted to a digital signal A/D conversion), and this digital signal is then output. If the signal voltage exceeds a prescribed value in this A/D conversion process, then the digital signal output by A/D conversion on the basis of this signal voltage will become saturated at a value corresponding to this prescribed value, and consequently, it will not be possible to perform accurate light detection. Therefore, in the prior art, saturation such as that described above has been prevented from occurring by setting the aforementioned prescribed value to the maximum predictable value of the aforementioned signal voltage, or a value thereabove. Furthermore, in some cases, the dynamic range is expanded by using a technique such as logarithmic compression, or the like.
Photo-detecting apparatuses are for example used in a range sensor incorporated into cameras. In a range sensor of this kind, the reflection of spot light beams projected onto an object by light projection means, such as a light-emitting diode, or the like, is detected respectively by two photo detecting apparatuses, and the distance is measured on the basis of the two detected signal outputs. In this case, since the intensity of the background light is also superimposed and detected when detecting the intensity of the spot light (signal light), then the accuracy of distance measurement can be improved by detecting only the intensity of the background light by means of the two respective photo-detecting apparatuses, whilst no spot light is being projected, and then detecting only the intensity of the spot light by taking the differential readings in either detector
However, in an integrating circuit used in a conventional photo-detecting apparatus, since no measures are taken with respect to noise components which have different values for each integrating operation, such as thermal noise generated by amplifiers, or the like, a noise error may arise. Therefore, if the light intensity detected by the photodiode, in other words, the value of the aforementioned signal voltage, is smaller than the noise component which varies for each integrating operation, then the S/N ratio in the optical detection will be low.
Furthermore, in A/D conversion in a conventional photo-detecting apparatus, the aforementioned prescribed value is set to a large value in order to prevent the signal level from becoming saturated, but if the light intensity detected by the photodiode, in other words, the value of the aforementioned signal voltage, is small, then the resolution of the digital signal output will be decreased.
Moreover, problems of the following kind arise if the intensity of the spot light is selectively detected by subtracting the detection results for the intensity of the background light from the detection results for intensity of the spot light and intensity of the background light, as in the case of a photo-detecting apparatus used as a range sensor.
Specifically, if the intensity of the background light is large compared to the intensity of the spot light, then the aforementioned signal voltage when the intensity of the spot light is detected with the intensity of the background light superimposed thereon will be very large, and hence, in order to prevent saturation of the signal occurring in this case, it is necessary to set the aforementioned prescribed value to an ever greater value. This causes further degradation of the resolution of the digital signal output on the basis of the intensity of the spot light obtained by the subtraction operation.
As described above, in a conventional photo-detecting apparatus, the S/N ratio is poor and the resolution of the digital signal output when A/D conversion is performed, is also poor. Therefore, the present invention was devised with the foregoing in view, an object thereof being to provide a photo-detecting apparatus having an excellent S/N ratio. Moreover, it is a further object of the invention to provide a photo-detecting apparatus which has excellent resolution when performing A/D conversion, even if the light intensity is small, without the signal becoming saturated when the light intensity is large.
The photo-detecting apparatus relating to the present invention comprises, (1) a photodiode for outputting an electric signal current corresponding to the intensity of the incident light; (2) an integrating circuit for integrating electric charge according to the electric signal current output by the photodiode and outputting a signal voltage corresponding to the electric charge thus integrated; (3) a CDS (Correlated Double Sampling) circuit having: a first capacitor and amplifier provided in sequence between an input terminal inputting the signal voltage output by the integrating circuit and an output terminal, a second capacitor and third capacitor having mutually equal capacitance values, provided in parallel between the input and output of the amplifier, and switching means for selecting either one of the second or third capacitors so as to integrate electric charge corresponding to the amount of change in the signal voltage; and (4) a differential calculating circuit for determining the differential between the electric charges integrated respectively in the second and the third capacitors of the CDS circuit, and outputting a signal voltage corresponding to this differential.
According to this photo-detecting apparatus, the electric signal current corresponding to the intensity of the incident light is output by the photodiode, and in the integrating circuit, electric charge is integrated according to the electric signal current output by the photodiode, and a signal voltage is output in accordance with the amount of electric charge thus integrated. In the CDS circuit, the electric charge signal output by the integrating circuit is input to the first capacitor, and an electric charge corresponding to the change in the signal voltage thus input is integrated in either the second or third capacitor as selected by the switches. Thereupon, in the differential calculating circuit, the differential in the electric charges integrated respectively by the second and third capacitors of the CDS circuits is determined and a signal voltage corresponding to this differential is output.
Furthermore, the photo-detecting apparatus according to the present invention is a photo-detecting apparatus further comprising a timing control circuit for controlling the respective operations of the integrating circuit, the CDS circuit and the differential calculating circuit, and the photo-detecting apparatus is used in conjunction with light projecting means for projecting spot light onto an object; wherein the timing control circuit causes: (1) a first electric charge to be integrated in the second capacitor of the CDS circuit on the basis of the amount of change of the signal voltage output by the integrating circuit, when the photodiode detects (receives) a spot light component and a background light component, in a first period wherein the spot light is projected onto the object by the light-emitting means; (2) a second electric charge to be integrated in the third capacitor of the CDS circuit on the basis of the amount of change in the signal voltage output by the integrating circuit when the photodiode detects (receives) the background light component, in a second period wherein the spot light is not projected onto the object by the light-emitting means; and (3) the differential between the electric charges integrated respectively by the second and the third capacitors of the CDS circuit to be calculated by the differential calculating circuit, in a third period after the first and the second periods, the signal voltage corresponding to this differential being output by the differential calculating circuit.
In this case, under the control of the timing control circuit, in the first period, a first electric charge corresponding to the change in the signal voltage output by the integrating circuit when the spot light component and background light component are detected by the photodiode is integrated in the second capacitor of the CDS circuit. Moreover, in the second period, a second electric charge corresponding to the change in the signal voltage output by the integrating circuit when the photodiode detects the background light component is integrated by the third capacitor of the CDS circuit. And during the third period, the differential between the electric charges integrated respectively in the second and third capacitors of the CDS circuit is determined by the differential calculating circuit, and a signal voltage corresponding to this differential is output by the differential calculating circuit. The signal voltage output by the differential calculating circuit corresponds to the spot light component. Either the first or the second periods may come prior to the other.
Moreover, the photo-detecting apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that: (1) N sets (where Nxe2x89xa72) of the photodiode, the integrating circuit, the CDS circuit and the differential calculating circuit are provided; and (2) it further comprises: N hold circuits provided respectively with respect to the N differential calculating circuits, for holding and outputting the signal voltages output by the respective differential calculating circuits; and (3) an A/D converting circuit for successively inputting the signal voltages output respectively by the N hold circuits, converting the signal voltages to digital signals, and outputting the digital signals. In this case, N sets of a photodiode, integrating circuit, CDS circuit, differential calculating circuit and hold circuit are provided. A signal voltage output by the differential calculating circuit in each set is held by the hold circuit. Thereupon, the signal voltage output respectively by the N hold circuits are input successively to the A/D converting circuit, which converts these signal voltages to digital signals and then outputs the digital signals. In other words, a one-dimensional or two-dimensional image is captured, and this imagining result is output as a digital signal.
Moreover, the photo-detecting apparatus relating to the present invention is characterized in that it further comprises: a maximum value detecting circuit for detecting the maximum value of the signal voltages output respectively by the N differential calculating circuits or the N hold circuits; wherein the A/D converting circuit sets an A/D conversion range on the basis of the maximum value detected by the maximum value detecting circuit. In this case, the maximum value of the signal voltages output respectively by the N differential calculating circuits or hold circuits is detected by the maximum value detecting circuit. Thereupon, an A/D conversion range is set in the A/D converting circuit, on the basis of the maximum value detected by the maximum value detecting circuit.


Vacuum cleaner (1) of stick or upright type, which vacuum cleaner (1) comprises a housing (2), a nozzle (3) with an air inlet (4), a dust separation chamber (5), a fan unit (6) and at least one air outlet, whereby the fan unit (6) is adapted to create an air flow in a flow path extending from the air inlet (4) via the dust separation chamber (5) to the air outlet, and whereby the housing (2) comprises two main separate parts (7, 8) connectable to each other, of which one part (7) comprises the dust separation chamber (5) and the fan unit (6), and the other part (8) comprises a handle for the stick or upright type vacuum cleaner. At least one air outlet (15) is placed in the part (8) comprising the handle.

It is known since long that batteries used for driving a vacuum cleaner need to be cooled to be used as efficiently as possible and to last as long as possible. One way of cooling them is to lead the air flow created by the vacuum cleaner past the batteries.
It has also been known since long to make stick or upright type vacuum cleaners in two parts connectable to each other in order to save space when the vacuum cleaner is stored or transported. Different solutions exist, such as making the vacuum cleaner in two separate parts connectable to each other by the user, or to make the vacuum cleaner in two different parts connected to each other via a knee joint such that the user can fold and unfold the cleaner in order to adapt it for cleaning purposes or for storing.
There has also since long been a wish to increase the battery capacity to have a longer running time and to have enough power for the fan unit to create large air flows. Also with new battery technologies is has been difficult to fit enough batteries into the vacuum cleaners to reach the desired levels regarding running time and air flow.


Apparatus for compression encoding video signals, comprising block segmenting circuits for segmenting a vertical interval, such as a field or frame, of video picture elements into a plurality of blocks of picture elements. An orthogonal transformation, such as discrete cosine transformation, of respective blocks is obtained, resulting in a two-dimensional array of transform coefficients of different values, the array being partitioned into respective areas. Each area is quantized with a respective quantizing value that differs for different areas. Preferably, a transform coefficient is quantized by dividing the value of the transform coefficients in an area by a divisor 2.sup.n/2, where n is an integer that differs in different areas. The areas of the two-dimensional array of transform coefficients are formed by partitioning the array in a direction substantially perpendicular to the oblique frequency axis of that array.

This invention relates to compression encoding of digital video signals and, more particularly, to a technique for providing highly efficient encoding using orthogonal transformation, such as discrete cosine transformation.
Digital video recorders, such as digital VTRs, have been developed for recording a digitized video signal on a magnetic medium. Since the bandwidth of a digital video signal is quite wide, it is difficult to record a digital video signal directly on a video tape. Hence, techniques have been proposed for encoding the digital video signal in a manner which reduces its bandwidth. So-called compression encoding techniques include the orthogonal transformation of the digital video signal; and one highly efficient encoding technique utilizes discrete cosine transformation, or DCT. Such encoding also is quite useful in digital video transmission.
When compression encoding a digital video signal using a DCT transform, a frame or field of picture elements is segmented into blocks, sometimes referred to as DCT blocks, formed of, for example, an 8.times.8 array of picture elements. These picture elements are presented as information on a time axis, and DCT transformation transforms this information into data along a frequency axis. That is, DCT-transformed video data generally is represented as a two-dimensional array of coefficients representing different frequency components of the original video data. As is known, the DC component of DCT-transformed video data exhibits the highest level and the coefficients representing different frequency components that vary over a frequency band from lower to higher frequencies are of decreasing levels. Generally, the coefficients associated with the higher frequency components are of relatively low value. This is because of the inherent correlation exhibited by a video signal. Most of the information needed to reproduce a video picture of acceptable visual quality resides in the DC and lower frequency components of the DCT-transformed data.
To provide further data compression of the encoded video signal, the frequency-axis data, that is, the DCT coefficients, are encoded in a variable length code, such as the well-known Huffman code. Still further, to provide good noise immunity when magnetically recording the encoded video data, error correction encoding techniques are used, such as the Reed Solomon code. However, it has been found that, when data produced by DCT transformation or other orthogonal transformation is encoded in a variable-length code, the amount of data which represents the video information of one frame may differ substantially from the amount of data which represents the video information in another frame. That is, by using such variable-length coding, the data length of one frame may be much shorter than the data length of another. This presents a practical difficulty when attempting to edit a digital video tape that has been recorded with such variable-length encoded data.
One proposal for solving this problem proceeds by quantizing the DCT-transformed data by a particular quantizing step and then "rounding off" the quantized DCT coefficients so as to effectively eliminate those quantized coefficients of relatively low value. Quantization is achieved by mathematically dividing a DCT coefficient by a particular divisor. The greater the value of the divisor, the larger the quantizing step, resulting in coarse quantization. Moreover, this proposal for quantizing the DCT coefficients utilizes a non-uniform quantizing step, or divisor, within a two-dimensional DCT array. That is, divisors of a greater magnitude (or larger quantizing step) are used to quantize the coefficients for the higher frequency components and divisors of smaller magnitude are used to quantize the coefficients for the lower frequency components. Since the contribution to a video picture from the higher frequency components are not readily noticeable, coarse quantization of such higher frequency components generally does not result in a noticeable degradation of the picture. Accordingly, by using this variable quantization approach, DCT coefficients of higher frequency components are more highly compressed than the DCT coefficients of the lower frequency components. Stated otherwise, higher frequency data is more strongly compressed than lower frequency data.
This variable quantizing of the two-dimensional array of DCT coefficients can be thought of as being carried out by a quantizing unit having different divisors. If a two-dimensional array of DCT coefficients is thought of as being partitioned into 16 areas, these different areas may be depicted as areas 0, 1, . . . 15 of FIG. 1. The "horizontal" and "vertical" axes represent increasing frequencies in the horizontal and vertical directions, respectively. A single quantizing unit exhibits different quantizing steps, or divisors, for the respective areas into which the two-dimensional array is partitioned. Typically, 16 different quantizing units may be provided, with each such unit exhibiting a different quantizing step, or divisor, for each of the 16 areas. FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of quantizing units 0, 1, . . . 15 and further represents the quantizing step, or divisor value for each area shown in FIG. 1, depending upon which quantizing unit is selected. For example, if quantizing unit 2 is selected, the DCT coefficients in areas 0-3 are divided by the divisor 4, the DCT coefficients in areas 4 and 5 are divided by the divisor 6, the DCT coefficients in areas 6-10 are divided by the divisor 8, the DCT coefficient in area 11 is divided by the divisor 10, the DCT coefficients in areas 12, 13 and 14 are divided by the divisor 16 and the DCT coefficient in area 15 is divided by the divisor 32. FIG. 2 demonstrates that the higher frequency coefficients are divided by larger divisors, resulting in coarser quantization.
Quantization with the divisors shown in FIG. 2 have been implemented by multipliers. That is, rather than dividing a DCT coefficient by a divisor, the DCT coefficient is multiplied by a reciprocal of the divisor, that is, by a fraction. Although multipliers are simpler to construct than dividers, the use of a multiplying device generally adds to the complexity and size of the hardware and results in an increase in the cost of the encoding apparatus.
Relatively simple division of the value of a digital signal can be obtained by use of a shift circuit. It is known that the value of digital data can be divided by 2 simply by shifting that digital signal one place to the right. A division by 4 can be obtained by shifting digital data two places to the right, a division by 8 can be obtained by shifting the digital data three places to the right, and so on. However, although simple shift circuits thus can be used to achieve high speed, low cost division, such shift circuits generally are limited to performing division by the factor 2.sup.N. Consequently, quantization by dividing DCT coefficients by a number that is not a power of 2 cannot be performed by such simple shift circuits. That is, quantization by using the different divisors shown in FIG. 2 cannot be attained. Although quantization can be approximated by dividing a DCT coefficient by the value 2.sup.N, the accuracy obtained by such approximation is not satisfactory.


A supercritical fluid (SCF) extract of a cardiac glycoside-containing plant mass is provided. The extract can be included in a pharmaceutical composition containing an extract-solubilizing amount of solubilizer. Oleandrin is included within the extract when a cardiac glycoside-containing plant, such as Nerium oleander, is extracted by SCF extraction. The extract can also contain one or more other SCF extractable pharmacologically active agents. The composition can be used to treat a wide range of disorders that are therapeutically responsive to a cardiac glycoside.

Nerium oleander is an ornamental plant widely distributed in subtropical Asia, the southwestern United States, and the Mediterranean. Its medical and toxicological properties have long been recognized. It has been used, for example, in the treatment of hemorrhoids, ulcers, leprosy, snake bites, and even in the induction of abortion. Oleandrin, an important component of oleander extract, is a potent inhibitor of human tumor cell growth (Afaq F et al. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 195:361-369, 2004). Oleandrin-mediated cell death is associated with calcium influx, release of cytochrome C from mitochondria, proteolytic processes of caspases 8 and 3, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage, and DNA fragmentation.
It has been demonstrated that oleandrin is the principal cytotoxic component of Nerium oleander (Newman, et al., J. Herbal Pharmacotherapy, vol. 13, pp. 1-15, 2001). Oleandrin is a cardiac glycoside that is exogeneous and not normally present in the body. Oleandrin induces apoptosis in human but not in murine tumor cell lines (Pathak et al., Anti-Cancer Drugs, vol. 11, pp. 455-463, 2000), inhibits activation of NF-kB (Manna et al., Cancer Res., vol. 60, pp. 3838-3847, 2000), and mediates cell death in part through a calcium-mediated release of cytochrome C (McConkey et al., Cancer Res., vol. 60, pp. 3807-3812, 2000). A Phase I trial of a hot water oleander extract has been completed recently (Mekhail et al., Am. Soc. Clin. Oncol., vol. 20, p. 82b, 2001). It was concluded that oleander extracts can be safely administered at doses up to 1.2 ml/m2/d. No dose limiting toxicities were found.
In addition to being selectively cytotoxic for tumor cells, cardiac glycosides may also enhance cell response to cytotoxic actions of ionizing radiation. Ouabain, a cardiac glycoside endogeneous to the body, was reported to enhance in vitro radiosensitivity of A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cells but was ineffective in modifying the radioresponse of normal human lung fibroblasts (Lawrence, Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys., vol. 15, pp. 953-958, 1988). Ouabain was subsequently shown to radiosensitize human tumor cells of different histology types including squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma (Verheye-Dua et al., Strahlenther. Onkol., vol. 176, pp. 186-191, 2000). Although the mechanisms of ouabain-induced radiosensitization are still not fully explained, inhibition of repair from sublethal radiation damage and an increase in radiation-induced apoptosis have been advanced as possibilities (Lawrence, 2000; Verheye Dua et al., 2000; Verheye-Dua et al., Strahlenther. Onkol., vol. 172, pp. 156-161, 1996). The cardiac glycoside oleandrin also has the ability to enhance the sensitivity of cells to the cytotoxic action of ionizing radiation. See U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/957,875 to Newman, et al. and Nasu et al., Cancer Lett. Vol 185, pp. 145-151, 2002).
Chen et al. (Breast Cancer Research and Treatment (2006), 96, 1-15) suggest that cardiac glycosides, such as ouabain and digitalis, might be useful toward developing anti-breast cancer drugs as both Na+, K+-ATPase inhibitors and ER antagonists.
Smith et al. (Biochemical Pharmacology (2000), 62, 1-4) report that ANVIRZEL, and its key cardiac glycoside component oleandrin, inhibits the exportation of fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) from the prostate cancer cell lines PC3 and DU145.
Newman et al. (J. Experimental Therapeutics and Oncology (2006), 5, 167-181) report that incubation of human malignant melanoma BRO cells with oleandrin results in a time-dependent formation of reactive oxygen species, superoxide anion radicals, that mediate mitochondrial injury and loss of cellular GSH pools.
U.S. Pregrant Patent Application Publication No. 20050112059 to Newman et al. discloses the enhancement of radiotherapy in the treatment of cancer by administration of oleandrin.
Extraction of glycosides from plants of Nerium species has traditionally been carried out using boiling water. The process of using boiling water as an extraction method to obtain active ingredients from Nerium oleander yields many products. Among these are oleandrin, nerine, and other cardiac glycoside compounds. The plant extracts are useful in the treatment of cell-proliferative diseases in animals.
Oleandrin extracts obtained by hot-water extraction of Nerium oleander, sold under the trademark ANVIRZEL™, are commercially available and contain the concentrated form or powdered form of a hot-water extract of Nerium oleander. The extract is prepared according to the process developed by Dr. Huseyin Ziya Ozel. U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,745 describes a procedure for the preparation of the extract of the plant in water. The extraction of the plant Nerium oleander involves slicing the leaves, cooking the sliced leaves and stems of the plant in water for 2-3 hours and filtering off the residues. The mixture is heated again. The aqueous extract reportedly contains several polysaccharides with molecular weights varying from 2 KD to 30 KD, oleandrin and oleandrigenin, odoroside and neritaloside. The polysaccharides reportedly include acidic homopolygalacturonans or arabinogalaturonans. Ozel (ibid, and Planta Med. 56 (1990), 668) incorrectly reports that the cardiac glycosides are not responsible for the antitumor activity of the aqueous extract.
Muller et al. (Pharmazie. (1991) September 46(9), 657-663) disclose the results regarding the analysis of a water extract of Nerium oleander. They report that the polysaccharide present is primarily galacturonic acid. Other saccharides include rhamnose, arabinose and galactose. Polysaccharide content and individual sugar composition of polysaccharides within the hot water extract of Nerium oleander have also been reported by Newman et al. (J. Herbal Pharmacotherapy, (2001) vol 1, pp. 1-16).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,869,060 to Selvaraj et al. pertains to extracts of Nerium species and methods of production. To prepare the extract, plant material is placed in water and boiled. The crude extract is then separated from the plant matter and sterilized by filtration. The resultant extract can then be lyophilized to produce a powder.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,565,897 (U.S. Pregrant Publication No. 20020114852 and PCT International Publication No. WO 2000/016793 to Selvaraj et al.) discloses a hot-water extraction process for the preparation of a substantially sterile extract.
Erdemoglu et al. (J. Ethnopharmacol. (2003) November 89(1), 123-129) discloses results for the comparison of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of plants, including Nerium oleander, based upon their anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities.
Organic solvent extracts of Nerium oleander are also disclosed by Adome et al. (Afr. Health Sci. (2003) August 3(2), 77-86; ethanolic extract), el-Shazly et al. (J. Egypt Soc. Parasitol. (1996), August 26(2), 461-473; ethanolic extract), Begum et al. (Phytochemistry (1999) February 50(3), 435-438; methanolic extract), Zia et al. (J. Ethnolpharmacol. (1995) November 49(1), 33-39; methanolic extract), and Vlasenko et al. (Farmatsiia. (1972) September-October 21(5), 46-47; alcoholic extract).
Supercritical fluid extraction involves the use of a supercritical fluid to selectively extract a particular compound. A supercritical fluid is a liquid or a gas at atmospheric conditions, but becomes supercritical when it is compressed above its critical pressure and heated above its critical temperature. Supercritical fluids have increased dissolving power in their supercritical regions. A supercritical fluid exhibits properties between those of a gas and a liquid, and has the capacity to dissolve compounds that may only dissolve poorly or not at all in the gas or liquid state. Supercritical fluids are ideal for extraction of these compounds because they have high dissolving power at high densities and demonstrate good fractionation and separation of the compound from the fluid at lower densities when the pressure or temperature is changed. The general procedure of using supercritical carbon dioxide extraction in food processing industry has been described by Raventos, et al., in 2002 (M. Raventos, et al., Application and Possibilities of Supercritical CO2 Extraction in Food Processing Industry: An Overview, Food Sci. Tech. Int. Vol. 8 (5) (2002) 269-284), the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Raventos et al. report that SCF extraction is not suitable for extraction of polysaccharides from plant material even though he suggests that a modifier such as ethanol may be used to modify the performance of an SCF extraction.
U.S. Pregrant Patent Application Publication No. 20040247660 to Singh et al. discloses the preparation of a protein stabilized liposomal formulation of oleandrin for use in the treatment of cancer.
U.S. Pregrant Patent Application Publication No. 20050026849 to Singh et al. discloses a water soluble formulation of oleandrin containing a cyclodextrin. The '849 Publication suggests the preparation of solid-filled capsules containing the cyclodextrin complex of oleandrin. The oleandrin has been provided as the hot-water extract or the chemical entity and then treated with the cyclodextrin to form the complex.
U.S. Pregrant Patent Application Publication No. 20040082521 to Singh et al. discloses the preparation of protein stabilized nanoparticle formulations of oleandrin from the hot-water extract. The nanoparticles are prepared via formation of a liposomal mixture and subsequent evaporation of the organic solvent therein.
Methods to enhance the relative content of oleandrin from plant material are therefore warranted. While hot water extracts of Nerium oleander may provide oleandrin and related cardiac glycosides in relatively low yield, an improved method for obtaining a concentrated form of cardiac glycosides including oleandrin is needed.
Oleandrin contains a lactone ring that is acid labile and predisposes the material to acid degradation when orally dosed, so care must be taken in the preparation of liquid formulations to ensure minimization of acidic species in solution.
None of the known art discloses a pharmaceutical formulation comprising an extract of Nerium species, in particular, Nerium oleander. None of the art discloses or suggests a supercritical fluid extract comprising a cardiac glycoside, such as oleandrin. A need remains for more dosage forms that provide suitable delivery of the components of an extract of Nerium species for the treatment of various diseases and disorders. A need also remains for improved processes for obtaining cardiac glycosides by extraction from plant material.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

SCF extract containing cardiac glycoside


A foldable screen and a shower room are provided. The foldable screen includes a transmission gear mechanism and a plurality of panel bodies arranged in sequence. End portions of two adjacent sides of two adjacent panel bodies enclose to form a mounting opening into which the transmission gear mechanism is installed for realizing folding and unfolding of the plurality of panel bodies. The transmission gear mechanism includes a housing having a receiving cavity therein, the housing being installed in the mounting opening; a first gear located in the receiving cavity and installed on one of the two adjacent panel bodies; and a second gear meshed with the first gear, the second gear being located in the receiving cavity and installed on the other of the two adjacent panel bodies.

The current foldable door for bathtub includes a plurality of door panels which are sequentially arranged, and two adjacent door panels are drivingly coupled through a meshing gear structure, so as to realize folding and unfolding of the foldable door. However, there is a rotation gap between the meshed teeth of the meshing gear structure, therefore a seal cannot be formed therebetween, and water will reach the outside of the foldable door through the gap.

FUJIAN XIHE SANITARY WARE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD


A semiconductor integrated circuit includes a plurality of input buffers, a plurality of high level signal abnormality detection circuits each connected to an output of a corresponding one of the input buffers, and a plurality of low level signal abnormality detection circuits each connected to an output of a corresponding one of the input buffers. A first concentrating circuit is connected to all the high level signal abnormality detection circuits so as to output a first abnormal signal when at least one of the high level signal abnormality detection circuits detects an abnormal high level signal, and a second concentrating circuit is connected to all the low level signal abnormality detection circuits so as to output a second abnormal signal when at least one of the low level signal abnormality detection circuits detects an abnormal low level signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit, and more specifically a semiconductor integrated circuit capable of simply and easily detecting output abnormality of input buffers. In this specification, the term "input buffer" is used to include all buffers which receive an input signal for the semiconductor integrated circuit, and therefore, should be understood to include not only an input buffer used only for receiving an input signal, but also an input/output buffer or a bi-direction buffer having a function of receiving an input signal from an external device and a function of outputting an signal to an external device.
2. Description of Related Art
In the prior art, an input threshold voltage (Vth), which is one parameter of electrical characteristics of semiconductor integrated circuits, has been tested, for example after a step of manufacturing semiconductor integrated circuits. In one typical test method, a function test has been performed by applying to input terminals, a pattern of input voltages which are determined in accordance with types of the input terminals and which correspond to a maximum input low level voltage (V.sub.ILMAX) or a minimum input high level signal (V.sub.IHMIN), both of which must be ensured for the semiconductor integrated circuit. If a normal operation can be found in the function test, it can be concluded that input buffers are normal.
However, the above mentioned conventional method has encountered a problem in which, since noise mixed into a voltage supply line for a measurement system directly adversely influences stability of the measurement system, integrated circuits which are not defective in characteristics have been often deemed to be defective as the result of the function test. Particularly, recent inclination of increase in the number of connection pins and elevation of performance (such as increase of an operation speed and increase of a driving power) has resulted in an increased transient current appearing at outputs of the integrated circuit. This is one cause for the above mentioned noise. In addition, the increase in the number of connection pins has resulted in an increased impedance of a voltage supply line of a test board (IC tester), which has further aggravated generation of the above mentioned noise, and therefore, the above mentioned problem has become more and more conspicuous.

Semiconductor integrated circuit having therein circuit for detecting abnormality of logical levels outputted from input buffers


A method of preparing an electrically insulating polymer substrate, particularly those containing an aromatic group, for the reception of an electrically conductive pattern, said substrate having a glass transition temperature or a softening temperature, comprises the steps of: performing a first cleaning of the substrate; heating the substrate in a nitrogen atmosphere for about 3 hours at a temperature of about 20.degree. C. below the glass transition temperature or the softening temperature of the substrate; cooling the substrate to room temperature; roughening the surface of the substrate by, for example, etching said substrate in a chromic acid-containing solution for about 3 minutes at a temperature of between 65.degree. C. and 70.degree. C.; and performing a second cleaning and drying of the substrate.

The plating of metallized patterns on electrically insulating substrates is known as attested to by the existence of numerous polymer metallization techniques. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,374,709; 4,560,445; 4,576,685. In spite of these examples, however, the metal-polymer interfacial chemistry is not well understood. The surfaces of two identically prepared samples of a polymer will be different if stored in different conditions of temperature and humidity. The surface condition will also relate to the molding method, stress, local temperature and humidity during the molding process, as well as the inherent porosity of the polymer. Consequently, the polymer-metal adhesion can vary on seemingly identically prepared polymer products. A machined flat surface, plated immediately after machining, presents an ideal surface for reproducible metallization. However, typically, the molded polymer part on which it is desired to plate will have a curved molded surface making machining impractical. Additionally, such parts are often stored for varying lengths of time prior to plating. It is also known to pre-treat materials, particularly plastic materials, to enhance their receptability of the plating materials. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,748,056; 4,775,449; and published EP Patent Application No. 0 272 420 (application no. 87116339.0). Surface treatment immediately before metallization is essential in order to render all surfaces chemically equivalent and to achieve reproducible results. Pretreatments do work to a greater or lesser degree. For example, fine sand blasting prior to, and/or instead of, chromic acid etching, gives somewhat more uniform results; but, the surface quality of the subsequent copper plates is likely to mirror the "rough" blasted surface. In addition, the sand blasting procedure is difficult to standardize. Pretreatment by air plasma (glow discharge), is also a useful replacement for etching, but, again, reproducibility of plating quality is not assured by plasma treatment alone.
It would, therefore, be an advance in the art to provide a pretreatment that would allow high quality, reproducible plating on polymers.
It is believed that this can be accomplished by providing the polymer parts to be plated with, as nearly as possible, identical pristine surfaces, similar to that of the aforementioned machined polymer surface. The time necessary for electroless plating has been found to vary from sample to sample. In some cases, areas will plate rapidly and begin to blister before other areas begin to plate. It is known that polymers retain molding induced stresses and that the surfaces may not be identical either physically or chemically. This variability may explain the differing plating results.


The invention concerns an in vitro method for selecting the therapy for a steroid resistant patient, wherein the method comprises isolating cells from a sample taken from said patient; cultivating said isolated cells in the presence of a steroid, an immunomodulatory oligonucleotide or a mixture thereof; determining an expression level of at least one marker gene in said isolated cells; and comparing said expression level of said at least one marker gene to a value obtained from the cultivation of cells from a healthy person in the presence of a steroid, an immunomodulatory oligonucleotide or a mixture thereof, or to a normalized value obtained from a healthy population. Examples of marker genes are CD163, Tsp1, IL1-R2, TLR2, TLR4, MKP-1 and TXK.

Natural glucocorticoids are steroid hormones that regulate a variety of biological processes and influence many physiological functions by virtue of their diverse roles in the growth, development, differentiation, and maintenance of basal and stress-related homeostasis (Munck, 1984; Clark, 1992). Glucocorticoids affect probably every organ in the mammalian body, yet many of their effects are specific for certain cell types or tissues. In addition, synthetic glucocorticoids are among the most widely prescribed drugs worldwide, used primarily as anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive agents.
Steroid resistance or steroid dependence is still a major clinical concern for a large number of patients afflicted with inflammatory diseases as current therapies rely on the use of potent immunomodulators that can induce serious side-effects. Abnormalities in glucocorticoid sensitivity can be divided into 2 major groups: resistance and hypersensitivity. Resistance to glucocorticoids is characterized by the inability of organism or target tissues to respond to steroid molecules and can be generalized or tissue-specific, transient or permanent, partial or complete, and compensated or non-compensated (Chrousos, 1982; Chrousos, 1993). Complete glucocorticoid resistance is not compatible with life, given that absence of functional glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) in GR−/−knockout mice leads to severe neonatal respiratory distress syndrome and death within a few hours after birth (Cole, 1995).
Treatment with glucocorticoids is the most potent therapy available for acute and chronic asthma especially for patients with severe disease. Unfortunately, a certain fraction of asthmatics are steroid resistant (SR) and do not benefit from standard treatment. A rough estimate is that SR asthma occurs in approximately 15-20% of the asthmatic population. It is critical to identify these patients as early as possible. Patients who do not respond to low steroid doses are often placed on higher doses, which in SR asthmatics can cause significant adverse effects without providing significant benefit (Leung, 1995).
Inflammatory disorders normally treated with the natural or synthetic glucocorticoids, comprise asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease and other disorders. An inflammatory disorder includes complex diseases, which involve many factors and cell types and have a distinct inflammatory cytokine profile. The nature and magnitude of an immune response is largely dictated by the profile of the foreign antigen to which the immune system has been exposed. This event sets into motion a series of events that ultimately lead to the generation of humoral and cell-mediated immunity. These two different effector functions are brought about by the presence of two subpopulations of helper T cells (Th1 and Th2). Under "normal" healthy conditions, there is a delicate balance between the cytokines produced by the cell types Th1 and Th2. If this balance is lost, there will be a polarization resulting in predominantly Th1 or Th2 type inflammation and clinical manifestation of the disease will occur. As also indicated, different inflammatory diseases can be segregated as being either Th1 or Th2, depending on the cytokine profile seen. The cytokine picture indicates that asthma and ulcerative colitis are Th2 type diseases, while rheumatoid arthritis is associated with a Th1 type of inflammation.
New therapeutics have been applied to restore the "in-balance" in Th1 type diseases by reducing the cytokine profile of Th1 and thereby allowing an increase of the Th2 profile (Neurath et al., 1995; Mannon et al., 2004). The bacterial DNA has been shown to have immune stimulatory effects capable of activating B cells and natural killer cells (reviewed in Krieg, 1998) due to the presence of unmethylated CpG dinucleotides (CpG motifs). The vertebrate immune system has evolved the ability to recognize unmethylated CpG motifs and respond with a rapid and coordinated cytokine response leading to the induction of humoral and cell-mediated immunity (Krieg, 1996). For example, human and mouse cells respond to oligonucleotides containing a CpG motif by enhanced secretion of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) (Iho et al., 1999: Cowdery et al., 1996), IL-1, IL-6, IL-12 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) (Stacey et al., 1996; Jakob et al., 1998; Sparwasser et al., 1998). Due to the nature of cytokines induced, CpG containing oligonucleotides are largely considered to induce a Th1 profile both in vitro and in vivo (Zimmermann et al., 1998; Kline, 2000). In addition to the presence of CpG motifs, researchers have also noted that synthesizing CpG oligonucleotides with a full nuclease-resistant phosphorothioate backbone can potentate the stimulatory effects of the oligonucleotides, probably via stimulation of B-cells, whereas the same sequence with native phosphodiester backbone had no effect (Zhao et al., 1996).
The use of CpG motifs containing oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs), or DNA vaccination which induce allergen-specific or unspecific Th1 responses are currently considered as a strategy both for the prevention and therapy of asthma (Wolleben, 2006).
The international patent application WO 2007/004977 concerns the treatment of a steroid refractory or steroid dependent patient afflicted with an inflammatory condition not responding or responding poorly or inadequately to a given anti-inflammatory treatment. The steroid efficacy can be enhanced by administering an effective amount of an oligonucleotide having the sequence 5′-Xm-CG-Yn-3′ to the patient. In the sequence of the oligonucleotide X is A, T, C or G, Y is A, T, C or G, m=1- 100, n=1-100 and at least one CG dinucleotide is unmethylated.
The international patent application WO 2007/004979 concerns a method for enhancing the steroid efficacy in a steroid refractory or steroid dependent patient afflicted with an inflammatory condition not responding or responding poorly or inadequately to a given anti-inflammatory treatment by administering an effective amount of an oligonucleotide having the sequence 5′-TTCGT-Yn-3′ to the patient. In the oligonucleotide sequence, X is A, T, C or G, Y is A, T, C or G, m=1-7, n=1-7 and at least one CG dinucleotide is unmethylated.
The above methods are applicable also in a situation, where weaning down the dosing of the anti-flammatory treatment is ineffective. Another therapy involving the use of oligonucleotides is presented in the international application WO 2002/085308, which discloses compositions, formulations, and kits for the treatment of respiratory and pulmonary diseases including asthma, infectious diseases, cancer and diseases having secondary effects on the lungs. This indicates that the compositions containing both anti-sense oligonucleotides and steroid agents and/or ubiquinones have effects superior to each agent alone and may be used as preventative, prophylactic or therapeutic single therapies or in conjunction with other therapies. The anti-sense oligonucleotide preferably contains about 0-15% of adenosine (A) and is anti-sense to the initiation codon, the coding region, the 5′-end or the 3′-end genomic flanking regions, the 5′ or 3′ intron-exon junctions, or regions within 2-10 nucleotides of the junctions of at least one gene regulating or encoding a target polypeptide associated with lung or airway dysfunction or cancer, or that is anti-sense to the corresponding mRNA.
The multi-gene approach disclosed in the international patent application WO 2004/001073, provides specific marker genes, which allow discrimination of inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. The method compares gene expression profiles in biopsy samples obtained from inflamed, and optionally also from non-inflamed, areas in the intestines.
U.S. 20040197786 presents a method for examining steroid responsiveness in atopic dermatitis patients. In the method the expression levels of the genes RING6 and HLA-DMB are suggested as markers for testing steroid responsiveness and for use in the screening for compounds that may be used to improve steroid responsiveness.
The international patent application WO2003/021261 concerns a method for predicting the efficacy of a drug for treating an inflammatory disease, by analyzing the gene expression profile in a sample isolated from the patient.
Steroid dependency and steroid resistance does also occur in other conditions, such as steroid dependent nephrotic syndrome (SDNS), steroid-dependent corneal inflammation, edema of various etiology etc.
Despite the multitude of available therapies, the individual variations to said therapies remains a challenge to a physician confronting a patient presenting with syndromes related to a disease with no response or a poor response to a given steroid therapy. It would be advantageous for a physician dealing with said problems to have a simple and rapid in vitro test, which would enable a relatively reliable prediction of the response of the individual patient to the chosen therapy.
Therefore, there is a great demand for a simple, straightforward and rapid in vitro method for predicting steroid efficacy in a steroid unresponsive individual and to determine if the steroid efficacy in a steroid unresponsive, i.e. steroid resistant or steroid dependent individual can be enhanced. A method for predicting the response would simplify the choice of anti-inflammatory treatment, help to ameliorate the disease in question and decrease the costs and detrimental side effects of the steroid therapy, thereby increasing the quality and length of life for a large number of patients.

Method for predicting the response to a therapy


Skin care composition comprising a plurality of interference pigments and a dermatologically acceptable carrier. The plurality comprises at least a first interference pigment which reflects a first color, and at least a second interference pigment which reflects a second, complementary color. The total amount of interference pigments is from about 0.1% to about 10%.

A variety of products are available to consumers that aid in providing a more uniform appearance to the skin and to other keratinous tissue. One way to accomplish this is through the use of compositions comprising colored pigments. For example, cosmetic foundations containing colored pigments can closely imitate the skin's natural color. One drawback of such compositions, however, is that to provide better coverage, increased amounts of pigments are required. This may result in an artificial, or "mask-like," appearance. Another drawback is that the compositions may be highly colored, and thus unsuitable for certain applications. For example, consumers tend to prefer lotions and moisturizers that are either white or relatively uncolored. In addition, the skin may exhibit many types of discoloration, for example brown age spots and/or redness due to dry skin or rosacea. It would be advantageous to be able to apply a single composition that can improve the appearance of a variety of visible discontinuities. There exists a need, therefore, for a skin care composition that has minimal color, and that can improve the appearance of a variety of visible discontinuities in skin, while maintaining a more natural appearance.
Interference pigments long have been used in personal care compositions, and provide an alternative to colored pigments for diminishing the appearance of imperfections. Interference pigments typically are thin, plate-like particles, comprising two or more layers of controlled thickness. The layers have different refractive indices, and reflect a color resulting from the constructive or destructive interference of reflections of light from the different layers. The color may be determined by selecting an appropriate thickness of the layers. Thus, in contrast to colored pigments, interference pigments are themselves colorless, yet reflect a desired color. The same interference pigment also transmits a color complementary to that which is reflected. For example, blue interference pigments reflect a blue color, yet transmit to the skin a complementary yellow color. Compositions comprising such pigments may appear blue in color when applied to the skin, which consumers may find undesirable for many applications. In addition, the applied composition would transmit a yellow color, which may be ineffective in improving the appearance of certain types of discoloration. Therefore, whereas interference pigments may be suitable to address certain skin care issues, their use as described to date fails to fulfill the needs identified herein.


A method, apparatus and computer program product is provided for verifying an association between a phone number provisioned by a voice network and a phone device. The verification is useful on a synthetic communication network that reuses the phone number to transmit text and other media types over a data network such as the Internet between phone devices registered on the synthesized network. One implementation receives a request to add a phone device previously registered with a voice network to the synthesized communication network. With respect to the synthesized network, the phone number is presumed to be unconfirmed even though it may have been previously provisioned from the voice network. Implementations of the invention attempt to transmit a verification message addressed to the phone device through a data channel within the voice network. If the phone number is in fact associated with the phone device then the verification message returns back to the phone device over the data channel on the voice network. If the verification message is received by the phone device, the phone number is confirmed as associated with the phone device. Once the phone number is confirmed, the synthetic network authorizes communication between the phone device and other phone devices registered on the synthetic communication network.

Widespread use of wireless phones has made them an indispensable tool to businesses and individuals alike. Many individuals carry their wireless phone almost everywhere they go just in case they need to make a call. As a result, friends and colleagues have come to reasonably expect they can get a hold of each other almost immediately with a single phone call.
While talking on a wireless phone is generally preferred, it is sometimes not possible as one party may be busy or in a meeting. Instead of a voice conversation, people may instead use their wireless phone to type a short text message and send it to another user. The short text message is sent over a specially provisioned data channel within the voice network called Short Messaging Service (SMS). SMS addresses messages using the same phone number provisioned to the wireless phone for voice communication but sends them over the data channel on the voice network. This data channel for SMS is generally limited to 140 text characters since it relies upon unused bandwidth made available when a control channel within the voice network is idle and not occupied setting up or managing voice calls.
Operators of the voice networks discovered they could charge users an additional fee for using SMS even though it cost very little for them to implement. The voice networks effectively charge for each message sent thus making the SMS communication a source of revenue. Even higher fees apply to users who send international messages to people outside their country.
Unfortunately, SMS communication remains a relatively closed and proprietary system as it is controlled by the operators of the voice network. Little has been done to increase the features associated with SMS messaging or decrease the costs as there are no competing systems. People sending text messages generally accept the 140 character limitation for sending each transmission and the relatively costly fee structure. Despite these limitations, the popularity of SMS communication on wireless devices continues to attract new users and grow in popularity. There is a need to develop an easy to use messaging system with lower costs and more features.

Phone number verification method and system


A trailer and vehicle restraining apparatus therefore providing secure attachment of at least one vehicle to the trailer. The apparatus has a body with a flange extending outwardly therefrom with a restraining member being received for slidable movement along at least a portion of the body between a receiving position and a restraining position. A finger extends outwardly from the restraining member for movement relative to the flange. When the restraining member is in its receiving position, a first gap is defined between the finger and the flange, and when the restraining member is in its restraining position, a second gap is defined between the finger and the flange. The second gap is less than the first gap to facilitate restraining the vehicle to the trailer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to trailers for transporting recreational vehicles, and more particularly to devices for restraining recreational vehicles to trailers.
2. Related Art
Trailers are often used to transport recreational vehicles, such as snowmobiles or all-terrain vehicles (ATV's), for example. In the case of snowmobiles, typically a bar spans across the tops of the snowmobile skis to clamp the skis to a platform of the trailer. The bar is commonly clamped on the skis with the use of a threaded rod extending upwardly from the platform between the skis. A nut is generally fastened to the rod to draw the bar toward the platform to pinch the skis between the bar and the platform of the trailer. Typically, the threaded bar becomes corroded, often causing the threads to become cross-threaded and nonfunctional. In addition, as a result of the main body of the snowmobile being able to bounce in relation to the fastened skis, typically the rear end of the snowmobile requires additional fastening to secure the snowmobile to the trailer.
In the case of an ATV, it is common to tie down the front and back of the ATV with a series of straps or chains. Straps tend to stretch over time, thereby causing the ATV to shift or move in relation to the trailer, while chains typically become corroded and can cause damage to the ATV, such as by scratching or denting the vehicle. In addition, the straps and chains can be cumbersome and time consuming while attempting to fasten the vehicle to the trailer. Further, to avoid a potential hazard, the straps and chains must either be removed from the trailer while not in use, or otherwise secured so that they do not move freely about when not in use.

Vehicle restraint apparatus and trailer incorporating the same


Disclosed are devices and methods for generating an image. A device according to an aspect of an example embodiment includes: a first camera configured to acquire a first black-and-white image; a second camera configured to acquire a first color image; a first electronic circuit configured to generate a second black-and-white image using the first color image; a second electronic circuit configured to determine information representing positional relationships between pixels in the first black-and-white image and pixels in the second black-and-white image; and a third electronic circuit configured to generate a third black-and-white image based on the first black-and-white image, the second black-and-white image, and the determined information.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for generating images.
2. Description of Related Art
As camera-equipped mobile devices such as smartphones become more popular, the use of a camera in a smartphone, rather than a digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera or a general digital camera, to photograph an object is increasing. However, the size or thickness of the camera in the smartphone is limited by the size or thickness of the smartphone itself. Accordingly, the camera in the smartphone has to employ an image sensor and lenses smaller than those of the DSLR camera or the general digital camera, which results in lower image quality. As demand for thinner and lighter mobile devices increases, the necessity for technologies capable of generating high quality images by using thin smartphones is also increasing.


A method for enabling a function module of a terminal, and a terminal device. The method includes detecting a touch operation that is performed by a user on a sensor, where the sensor is disposed in an area on an outer surface of the terminal except on a touchscreen; generating touch information according to the touch operation; and when the generated touch information meets a condition of enabling a function module of the terminal or enabling a function type of the function module, enabling the function module or the function type of the function module.

With the popularity of smartphones, more and more user interaction operations are performed inside a screen. At present, for enabling of functions of function modules on most terminals (such as a photographing function of a camera, a lighting function of a camera, a videotaping function of a camera, and a loudspeaker function for a call), an operation needs to be performed after entering a terminal interface above more than one level, to implement corresponding enabling. For example, when a screen of a terminal is in a sleep mode, a user at least needs to unlock a lock interface of the terminal to enter a desktop interface, to enable a photographing function of a camera of the terminal by touching a shortcut icon on the desktop interface. Even in some cases, when there is no functional shortcut icon on the desktop interface, the user further needs to enter an icon interface of an application to enable a corresponding function of a function module of the terminal. Therefore, at present, for an enabling manner of enabling, based on a touchscreen, a function of a function module, a dependency on the touchscreen and complexity of operations on multiple levels of interfaces exist to some extent.

Method for enabling function module of terminal, and terminal device