The present invention relates to Astrocyte Enhanced Genes (AEGs), the expression of which is upregulated in human astrocytes grown in primary cell cultures that are exposed to either the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) or to the HIV-1 glycoprotein gp120.

Glial cells are the predominant cell type in the brain, constituting more than 50% of the total cell count and outnumbering neurons 10-fold (Schubert, 1984, Developmental Biology of Cultured Nerve, Muscle, and Glia. Wiley and Sons, New York; Rutka et al., 1997, J. Neurosurg. 87, 420-430). Two major subtypes of glia are distinguished by their distinct functions in the nervous system: oligodendrocytes, which form myelin sheaths around nerve cell axons, and astrocytes, which maintain brain homeostasis and respond to pathogens and brain injury (Benveniste, 1992, Am. J. Physiol. 263, C1-16; Verkhratsky et al., 1998, Physiol. Rev. 78, 100-130).
Historically, astrocytes were considered to provide mostly passive support to neurons and the overall function of the nervous system. Recent studies question this hypothesis and suggest that astrocytes also play a critical role in several aspects of signal transmission and that defects in these functions may lead to neurodegeneration (Choi, 1988; Neuron 1, 623-634; Rothstein et al., 1996, Neuron 16, 675-686; Verkhratsky et al., 1998, Physiol. Rev. 78, 100-130; Anderson & Swanson, 2000, Glia 32, 1-14). For example, the high-affinity excitatory amino acid transport systems acting through astrocyte-specific transporters EAAT1 and EAAT2 are thought to be primarily responsible for maintenance of low levels of free intrasynaptic L-glutamate, the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain (Choi, 1988; Neuron 1, 623-634; Benveniste, 1992, Am. J. Physiol. 263, C1-16; Anderson & Swanson, 2000, Glia 32, 1-14). Defects that specifically abrogate this function result in accumulation of extracellular glutamate in synaptic clefts and overexcitation and death of neurons, a phenomenon referred to as excitotoxicity (Choi, 1988; Neuron 1, 623-634; Gegelashvili, G. & Schousboe, A. (1997). Molec. Pharmacol., 52, 6-15; Tanaka et al., 1997, Science 276, 1699-1702).
At least one neurodegenerative disease, Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), has been linked to a significant decrease of high-affinity sodium-dependent glutamate transport in synaptic membranes (Rothstein et al., 1992, New Engl. J. Med. 326, 1464-1468) and a selective loss of the transporter EAAT2 (Bristol & Rothstein, 1996, Ann. Neurol. 39, 676-679). Similar defects are implicated in Alzheimer's disease, stroke/ischemia, epilepsy, and HIV-1-associated dementia (HAD) (Choi, 1988, Neuron 1, 623-634; Kaul et al., 2001, Nature 410, 988-994; Maragakis & Rothstein, 2001, Arch. Neurol., 58, 365-370).
In addition to their role in glutamate removal from synapses, astrocytes significantly increase the number of synapses and enhance synaptic efficacy by altering pre- and post-synaptic functions in vitro (Oliet et al., 2001, Science 292, 923-926; Ullian et al., 2001, Science 291, 657-660). Finally, astrocytes appear to share many properties with neurons, including expression of functional neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nACHRs) and competence for Ca++-dependent glutamate release, thus permitting intercellular signaling between astrocytes and neurons and, possibly, modulation of neuronal signal transmission by astrocytes (Iino et al., 2001, Science 292, 926-929; Sharma & Vijayaraghavan, 2001, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98, 4148-4153; Ullian et al., 2001, Science 291, 657-660).
Overall, these studies suggest that astrocytes and neurons are functionally integrated and that pathogenic stimuli that adversely affect astrocytes will directly or indirectly impact on neuronal function and survival.
Studies have focused on investigation of HIV-1 infection in neural cells and the potential contribution of such infections to neurodegeneration and HAD. The pathogenic events triggered by HIV-1 in the brain, which ultimately result in neuronal loss and CNS dysfunction (Navia et al., 1986a, Ann. Neurol. 19, 525-535; Navia et al., 1986, Ann. Neurol. 19, 517-524; reviewed in Lipton & Gendelman, 1995, New Engl. J. Med. 233, 934-940), have not been fully resolved. Neurons are rarely infected in vivo (Wiley et al., 1986, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 83, 7089-93) and it is unlikely that neuronal loss in HIV-1 dementia is caused by cytopathic infection of these cells.
Numerous neuropathology, immunocytochemistry, in situ hybridization, and virus isolation studies indicate that macrophages and microglial cells are the primary host cells for productive HIV-1 infection in the CNS (Koening et al., 1986, Science 233, 1089-1093; Brew et al., 1995, Ann. Neurol. 38, 563-570; reviewed in Lipton & Gendelman, 1995, New Engl. J. Med. 233, 934-940). It has been suggested that HV-1 infection and subsequent activation of infected cells causes neuroinflammatory responses involving production of chemokines, cytokines, nitric oxide, and other factors, some of which were shown to be neurotoxic in vitro (reviewed in Lipton & Gendelman, 1995, New Engl. J. Med. 233, 934-940; Kaul et al., 2001, Nature 410, 988-994). Viral products secreted by infected cells, including gp120 and Tat, can also induce neurotoxicity in vitro and in animal models (Lipton & Gendelman, 1995, New Engl. J. Med. 233, 934-940; Kaul et al., 2001, Nature 410, 988-994).
Astrocytes also can be infected with HIV-1 in vitro and in vivo, although with lower efficiency than T cells and macrophages (Dewhurst et al., 1987, J. Virol. 61, 3774-3782, J. Virol. 61, 3774-3782; Tomatore et al., 1991, J. Virol. 65, 6094-6100; Saito et al., 1994, Neurology 44, 474-481; Tomatore et al., 1994, Neurology 44, 481-487; reviewed in Brack-Wemer, 1999, AIDS 13, 1-22). The limited infection of astrocytes has been attributed to various mechanisms including intracellular restrictions to virus expression (Tomatore et al., 1994b, J. Virol. 68, 93-102; Gorry et al., 1999, J. Virol. 73, 352-61; Ludwig et al., 1999, J. Virol. 73, 8279-8289) or, as has been shown recently, inefficient virus entry (Bencheikh et al., 1999, J. Neurovirol. 5, 115-124; Canki et al., 2001, J. Virol. 75, 7925-7933). There is general agreement, however, that HIV-1 can persist in astrocytes for prolonged periods in a low productive, non-cytolytic state, from which it can be induced by physiologic stimuli such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) (Tornatore et al., 1991, J. Virol. 65, 6094-6100; Shahabuddin et al., 1992, Pathobiology 60, 195-205).
Surveys of autopsy tissues using in situ PCR and sensitive immunocytochemistry techniques indicate that the frequency of HIV-1-positive astrocytes in selected tissue sections from brains of patients with dementia can achieve 1% (Saito et al., 1994, Neurology 44, 474-481; Tomatore et al., 1994a, Neurology 44, 481-487; Takahashi et al., 1996, Ann. Neurol. 39, 705-711). Considering that the number of astrocytes in the brain is between 1011 to 1012 cells (Verkhratsky et al., 1998, Physiol. Rev. 78, 100-130), these cells clearly constitute a major target for HIV-1 infection in the brain.
The consequences of this infection with respect to HAD pathogenesis are unknown but they may be significant. Persistent, non-cytolytic HIV-1 infection in culture alters gene expression in lymphocytes (Shahabuddin et al., 1994, AIDS Res. Hum. Retroviruses 10, 1525-1529; Geiss et al., 2000, Virology 266, 8-16) and astrocytes (Schneider-Schaulies et al., 1992, Virology 191, 765-772; He et al., 1997, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94, 3954-3959), indicating that such infections may affect cell function. Exposure of astrocytes to recombinant HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein gp120 alters cell physiology (Benos et al., 1994a, Adv. Neuroimmunol. 4, 175-179), including a potential effect on glutamate transport as indicated by increased D-aspartate efflux in astrocytes treated with gp120 (Benos et al., 1994b, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91, 494-498). Impairment of glutamate transport was also observed after incubation of human astrocytes with TNF-α (Fine et al., 1996, J. Biol. Chem. 271, 15303-15306) or co-cultivation with T cells infected with human T cell leukemia virus type I (HTLVI) (Szymocha et al., 2000, J. Virol. 74, 6433-6441), and similar defects were found in feline astrocytes after infection with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) (Yu et al., 1998, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95, 2624-2629).
More recent studies indicate that ligation of the HIV-1 coreceptor on astrocytes, CXCR4, by either stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1) or gp120 can stimulate a novel signaling pathway that involves Ca2+-dependent release of glutamate (Sharma & Vijayaraghavan, 2001, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98, 4148-4153) in a process including activation of the CXCR4 receptor, an autocrine/paracrine TNF-α-dependent signaling, and prostaglandin (Bezzi et al., 2001, Nat. Neurosci. 4, 702-710). These results suggest that HIV-1, gp 120, and other neuropathogenic agents can alter specific signaling pathways in astrocytes in a way that may impair important physiological functions of these cells in neuronal signal transmission and response to brain injury.

Astrocyte modulated genes and uses thereof


A system and method for injecting bailer content utilizing a dump bailer having an elongated, flexible bailer receptacle secured between a head assembly and an injection assembly. Disposed within the dump bailer are first and second piston assemblies, each of which includes a piston having a central fluid passage with a pressure actuated flow control mechanism in the form of a rupture disk disposed along the fluid passage of the piston. An electric, positive displacement pump within the head assembly draws wellbore fluid into the dump bailer assembly to drive the first piston assembly towards the second piston assembly so as to release bailer content into a wellbore. The elongated flexible bailer receptacle may be a hose stored on a bailer receptacle reel, which hose may be paid out by the reel to a length that corresponds with a volume of bailer content to be released into the wellbore.

A dump bailer is a wellbore tool use to deposit bailer content in the form of a fluid or material, typically cement slurry, in a wellbore. Dump bailers are typically lowered into the wellbore on a conveyance vehicle such as wireline, a slickline, coiled tubing or the like. For example, a dump bailer can be used to deposit cement slurry onto a mechanical plug or packer in the wellbore. More specifically, a dump bailer can be utilized to isolate pressure between two regions in a well by deploying a cement plug. In certain installations, this is accomplished by first installing a mechanical plug, packer or bridge plug in a well at the desired location of the cement plug base and then lowering a dump bailer carrying a cement slurry into the casing on a conveyance vehicle. Once the dump bailer is positioned in the desired location proximate the mechanical plug, the dump bailer is actuated to release the cement slurry. The cement slurry is deposited on a platform formed by the mechanical plug and is supported by this plug during curing. Other means of temporary cement plug support can also be applied.
In one type of dump bailer, gravity is used to dispense the cement slurry from the dump bailer. The bailer may be spring loaded. In another type of dump bailer, explosive components are used to generate pressure to urge the cement slurry from the dump bailer. In a further type of dump bailer, a drive motor rotates a screw to dispense the cement slurry from the dump bailer.
Current dump bailers either have a limitation on maximum practical length or they rely on free fall of the bailer content into the wellbore below. This may limit the volume of content that can be released in one run. Moreover, this can render the effectiveness of the bailer sensitive to gel strength and viscosity, such that a dump bailer may not properly drain all of its content, particularly if the wellbore is oriented at a high inclination. Further, in such dump bailers, there is no control of the drain rate recognizing that too rapid of a drain rate causes turbulence and intermixing with brine or water in the wellbore, which can impact the properties of the bailer content due to dilution and loss of viscosity. In this regard, currently, long cement plugs require multiple dumps, extending the time of the overall cementing operation and creating new dilution potential for each dump such that the final cement plug is not homogenous since the cement of each dump may have different curing times.


The invention relates to a method for producing compositions containing unsaturated compounds, wherein (A) one or more unsaturated monocarboxylic acids having 10 to 24 C-atoms or esters of said monocarboxylic acids and optionally (B) one or more compounds having at least one C═C double bond (wherein the compounds (B) are different from the compounds (A)) are subjected to a tandem isomerization/metathesis reaction sequence in the presence of a palladium catalyst and a ruthenium catalyst, providing that the palladium catalysts used are compounds that contain at least one structural element Pd—P(R1R2R3), wherein the radicals R1 to R3, independently of one another, each comprise 2 to 10 C-atoms, which may be aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic or heterocyclic respectively, providing that at least one of the radicals R1 to R3 contains a beta-hydrogen, wherein the palladium catalyst is used as such or is produced in situ, providing that the method is carried out in the absence of substances that have a pKa value of 3 or less.

Processes for preparing unsaturated alpha,omega-dicarboxylic diesters proceeding from unsaturated carboxylic acids are described in the prior art. Ngo et al. (JAOCS, Vol. 83, No. 7, p. 629-634, 2006) describes the metathesis of unsaturated carboxylic acids with the aid of first and second generation Grubbs catalysts.
WO 2010/020368 describes a process for preparing unsaturated alpha,omega-dicarboxylic acids and alpha,omega-dicarboxylic diesters, in which unsaturated carboxylic acids and/or esters of unsaturated carboxylic acids are converted in the presence of two specific ruthenium catalysts.

Method for producing unsaturated compounds


Vessel occlusion method including the steps of positioning a coil anchor in a large diameter blood vessel, wherein the coil anchor includes a radially expandable sidewall, a proximal opening dimensioned to receive an embolic coil, a distal opening, and the coil anchor further comprising at least one coil retaining element configured to retain an embolic coil within the blood vessel. The vessel occlusion method further including the steps of expanding the coil anchor within the blood vessel; and delivering at least one embolic coil into the blood vessel, wherein the retaining element prevents the at least one embolic coil from migrating downstream of the coil anchor.

Various medical conditions call for partial or complete occlusion of blood vessels or vascular formations. Aneurysms can be treated by filling a defect with embolic coils, polymers, or other materials to promote thrombus formation and relieve vessel wall pressure. Similarly, cardiac septal defects may be treated with occlusion devices configured to expand to fill the defect and block unwanted blood flow. Also, cancer can be treated using occlusion devices to restrict blood supply to tumors.
Embolic coils have proven popular for vessel occlusion owing to the ability to place such coils in aneurysms and other vascular formations using percutaneous techniques. Improved deployment technology has permitted enhanced positioning of embolic coils using readily available imaging systems, such as fluoroscopy. In addition, the occlusive effectiveness of embolic coils has been furthered by incorporating thrombosis-promoting fibers in the coil structure, and by adopting space-filling coil conformations.
While embolic coils have undergone significant development, there remains room for further improvements. Currently, the use of embolic coils in large diameter blood vessels is limited due to the risk of coil migration caused by higher blood flow. Unlike coils delivered into a recessed anatomical feature (e.g., an aneurysm), embolic coils placed in high-flow blood vessels risk being swept downstream of a target location, and potentially lodging at other locations. Such unwanted coil movement can lead to incomplete vessel occlusion at the target location and necessitate additional procedures to remove a migrated coil.
The coil anchor system of the present disclosure solves one or more of the problems set forth above.


Disclosed is a fluorescence microscope for imaging a specimen containing a fluorescent substance, the fluorescence microscope including an excitation light source configured to emit an excitation light that excites a fluorescent substance to emit fluorescence; a de-excitation light source configured to emit a de-excitation light that de-excites the fluorescent substance excited by the excitation light emitted from the excitation light source; an optical body configured to overlap a light emitted from the excitation light source and a light emitted from the de-excitation light source, and to discharge the overlapped light toward the specimen; and a solid immersion lens to which the light discharged from the optical body is incident, and configured to refract the light discharged from the optical body toward the specimen. A total internal reflection of the light incident to the solid immersion lens occurs on a bottom of the solid immersion lens.

1. Technical Field
At least one example embodiment relates to a total internal reflection fluorescence microscope (TIRFM), and more particularly, to a TIRFM that may cause a stimulated emission depletion (STED) phenomenon through a de-excitation light source to acquire a resolution beyond a diffraction limited feature in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction by including an aperture that allows a light emitted from an excitation light source for exciting a fluorescent substance and a light emitted from the de-excitation light source for de-exciting the fluorescent substance to be overlappingly incident to an object lens using a high refractive solid immersion lens (SIL) and adjusts an angle at which a total internal reflection occurs on the SIL due to the excitation light source.
2. Related Art
In the related art, an optical microscope has been used to image a specimen such as a bio-sample. However, an optical microscope as shown in FIG. 1A has an issue in that a resolution is relatively low in a vertical direction.
A total internal reflection fluorescence microscope (TIRFM) as shown in FIG. 1B is a microscope using an evanescent wave that occurs due to total internal reflection. The TIRFM refers to a fluorescent imaging scheme by an evanescent wave occurring due to total internal reflection by allowing a light to be incident to a contact interface between a high refractive index medium and a low refractive index medium at a threshold angle or more.
In general, the TIRFM uses an oil immersion lens. In this case, a transmission depth of the evanescent wave is 100 nm or less, which is significantly less than a transmission depth of a general optical system. Accordingly, the TIRFM may acquire a further high resolution in a vertical direction (hereinafter, also referred to as a vertical resolution).
In particular, since the TIRFM is the fluorescent imaging scheme by the evanescent wave, the TIRFM may be easily applicable to image the surface of a specimen. Accordingly, the TIRFM may be utilized to many researches, such as membrane dynamics, a single module imaging field, etc., using a relatively high vertical resolution and a surface imaging characteristic.
While the TIRFM may increase a vertical resolution, a resolution in a horizontal direction (hereinafter, also referred to as a horizontal resolution) may be limited by a diffraction limited feature. In particular, due to a characteristic of the oil immersion lens that a refraction index of an immersive material is limited, a numerical aperture (NA) of the lens is limited to 1.49. Thus, a horizontal resolution is slightly less than a vertical resolution.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy that is one of ultra-high resolution technologies according to the related art relates to a scheme of overlappingly emitting two lights of different modes to a specimen to be observed. Once a fist light is emitted toward the specimen, energy is absorbed at the specimen and fluorescence is generated. Here, if a second light in a donut shape having a nanometer-sized empty center is emitted and overlaps the first light, the fluorescence is observed at the central space with the fluorescence being prohibited in a remaining area excluding the central space. A nanometer-unit image may be acquired by minutely moving the light and emitting the light toward the overall specimen in the above manner. If many images acquired as above are merged into a single image, a final image may be configured to have a resolution less than 0.2 μm.

Total internal reflection fluorescence microscope (TIRFM)

INDUSTRY-ACADEMIC COOPERATION FOUNDATION, YONSEI UNIVERSITY


A method of separating oxygen from an oxygen containing feed and reacting the oxygen with a reactive substance and an oxygen ion transport membrane element utilized for such purposes. The oxygen ion transport membrane element has a self-supporting dense layer and a surface porous feature in contact with and supported by the dense layer. The porous surface feature may be a layer, a layer having discontinuities or a series of repeating geometrical forms. The dense layer and the porous surface feature are capable of conducting oxygen ions and electrons. The porous surface feature at least in part forms the anode side of the oxygen ion transport membrane element at which the reactive substance reacts with the separated oxygen and has a thickness less than that of the dense layer and a greater surface area than that of a surface of the dense layer adjoining the porous layer. Pores within the porous surface feature have a pore aspect ratio of pore size to pore length of between about 0.1 and about 5.

Oxygen ion transport membrane elements are utilized to separate oxygen from an oxygen containing feed. Such elements are fabricated from ceramics that are capable of conducting oxygen ions at elevated temperature. Oxygen within the feed is ionized on a surface of the membrane designated as the cathode surface to form oxygen ions. The oxygen ions are conducted through the element to an opposite anode side where the oxygen ions recombine to form elemental oxygen. The electrons released from the ions during the formation of elemental oxygen are conducted to the cathode side of the membrane element to ionize the oxygen.
The oxygen ion transport is driven by an oxygen partial pressure differential between the cathode side and the anode side. This pressure differential is created or facilitated with the use of a reactive substance that reacts with permeated oxygen to consume the oxygen at the anode side and thereby to produce a decrease in oxygen partial pressure. The exact mechanism of such a reaction is unknown in that it is not known whether the oxygen ions recombine to form elemental oxygen which in turn reacts with the reactive substance or whether the reactive substance reacts with the oxygen ions.
In addition to facilitating oxygen ion transport the reaction of permeated oxygen with the reactive substance will function to at least contribute to the heating of the membrane to its operating temperature. Further, the reaction can have other purposes, for example, the reaction can oxidize the reactant substance to a desired product such as a synthesis gas. A yet further purpose for the reaction is that the heat liberated from the reaction, in addition to heating the membrane, can also act to heat a heat transfer fluid such as water within a boiler.
The ceramic material forming the oxygen ion transport membrane element can be mixed conducting and therefore capable of transporting both oxygen ions and electrons. Additionally, the ceramic material can also be a dual phase of an ionic conductor and an electronic conductor to transport both oxygen ions and electrons. Triple phase mixtures of mixed conductors, ionic conductors and electronic conductors have been used for such purposes. Mixed conductors are typically formed from perovskites such as lanthanum strontium cobalt iron oxide and typical ionic conductors are yttria stabilized zirconia and gadolinium doped ceria.
As can well be appreciated, a desirable oxygen ion transport membrane element produces a maximum flux of oxygen. It is known that oxygen permeance increases proportionally with decreasing thickness. Hence, oxygen ion transport membrane elements are typically fabricated with a thin, gas tight dense layer. Such dense layers typically have a thickness of less than 0.5 mm and as such, are supported on structural porous supporting layers.
For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,480, composite membrane structures are disclosed having a dense layer thickness of 10 microns supported by one or more porous supporting layers having pore diameters that are less than 20 micrometers. The theory behind such a membrane design is to minimize the bulk diffusion resistance through the dense layer by making it as thin as possible.
The problem with such conventional membrane architectures, as have been discussed above, is that such thin dense layers are fragile and the porous supports, by virtue of their porosity, are also fragile so that the resultant oxygen ion transport membrane element is not particularly durable in service.
As will be discussed, the present invention provides an oxygen separation and reaction method utilizing an oxygen ion transport membrane element that is more durable than prior art elements by virtue of the provision of a relatively thick dense layer that acts to structurally support the element.

Separation and reaction method utilizing an oxygen ion transport element


An incremental measuring system comprises a scale member provided in one track with a measuring scale, and an optoelectronic scanning unit for generating measured-valve signals in response to a scanning of the scale. The scale member is provided in an additional track with two or more reference marks and the scanning unit is operable to scan the reference marks and to generate reference signals in response to the scanning of the additional track at one or more selectable reference points provided with such reference marks. The scale member and the scanning unit are encapsulated in an enclosure, which is formed with a slot, which is covered by a seal. An actuating member for the scanning unit extends through the slot past the seal. Covers for covering at least part of the reference marks are provided and are adapted to be inserted and/or removed into and from the enclosure or shifted along the tracks by a positioning member, which extend through apertures formed in the enclosure. The covers are used to select the reference points which are entirely exposed for being scanned by the scanning unit. The apertures are closed and sealed or are adapted to be closed and sealed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an incremental measuring system, particularly to a system for measuring lengths, comprising a scale member, which is provided with a scale, which is adapted to be scanned by an optoelectronic scanning unit for generating measured-value signals and is provided in at least one additional scannable track with two or more reference marks for a generation of reference signals at one or more selectable reference points, wherein the scale member and the scanning unit are encapsulated in an enclosure, which is formed with a slot, which is covered by sealing means and through which a member for actuating the scanning unit extends past said sealing means.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Measuring system of that kind are mainly used for a measurement of lengths with high accuracy and in a modified form as an angular position indicator for a measurement of angles with high accuracy. The scale consists in most cases of incremental elements consisting each of a bright field and a dark field with a pitch which may be as small as 0.004 mm. The scanning of the scale results in the generation of basically sinusoidal analog measured-value signals and a complete waveform of said signals is generated as a result of the scanning of a complete increment of the scale. In most cases at least two measured-value signals are produced, which may be displaced in phase, e.g., by 90.degree.. The measured-value signals are converted to countable signals and/or are fed to computers for interpolating computations so that measurements or indications having an accuracy of 0.0001 mm can be achieved. The direction of the scanning movement and the counting sense are determined in dependence on the phase-displaced signal trains. The countable digital signals may be used as control signals for use in control systems for machines or robots. To establish a definite relation between the analogue measured-value signals and that portion of the scale which is being scanned, it is necessary to set the evaluating means and the counting means to certain values, such as zero, when the scale is being scanned at preselectable points. Such setting operations must be performed before the measuring system is put into operation for the first time and in most cases at the beginning of each working day. For that purpose, reference signals are employed, which have been generated in response to the scanning of reference marks. The reference marks are provided on the scale member together with the measuring scale, in most cases by photolithography. Care must be taken that the proper phase relations are obtained between the reference signals and the analog measuredvalue signals which are generated and between the edges of the reference pulses and the digital countable signals which are derived from said measured-value signals. It may often be necessary to provide reference signals in response to the scanning at different locations on scale members which are equal in other respects. It would not be economical to manufacture each scale member with the specific reference marks which are required thereon. For this reason a practice which is often adopted resides in that a large number of reference marks having a uniform or non-uniform spacing are provided on the scale member as it is manufactured and one or more reference marks which is or are required are selected from the reference marks which have originally been provided. A removal of reference marks or a sticking of a covering on reference marks can usually be effected only in the plant in which the scale members are manufactured and in any case cannot be effected in most cases by the user of the encapsulated measuring system because such user would have to remove the scale member and to scratch off or cover certain reference marks and such work might often result in damage to the scale member or the scanning unit or in an ingress of foreign matter into the enclosure or in a change of the adjustment of the scanning unit. It must be borne in mind that the performance of measurements with high accuracy often requires the use of correction tables for the measuring system and such tables are prepared by the manufacturer of the measuring system as a result of a comparison of the results of the measurements performed by the measuring system with the results of measurements performed by a higher-ranking measuring system, such as a laser interferometer. Such tables may be stored in correcting memories of the evaluating unit. It may also be necessary to operate the measuring system in an inert gas atmosphere or under a superatmospheric pressure. In view of such difficulties, other methods have been adopted for a selection of reference marks used to generate reference signals. In one method which may be used, individual reference marks are identified by additional means, such as additional indentifying features, so that a reference mark which is being scanned can be identified and a reference signal will be transmitted only when it has been generated at a selected reference mark. Selecting systems which may be employed may consist of mechanical on-off switches for enabling an activating circuit only in response to scanning of preselected reference marks, or magnets which serve to operate reed relays may be provided on the scale member at preselectable locations. But the mounting of such magnets requires an ingress into the encapsulated measuring system. It is also known to provide the reference marks in a plurality of reference tracks, to provide a scanning unit in association with each reference track and to select a reference mark in that the scanning unit which is associated with the respective reference track is selectively enabled for a generation of reference signals. In that case too a change of the selection of specified reference marks and the adjustment of the selection requires considerable work and time and such work can be performed only by a skilled person and the means required for that purpose add to the costs of the system. When it is contemplated to erase reference marks which are not required, as stated hereinbefore, reference marks may be provided in two sets with a uniform spacing and duplicate scanning units may be arranged in an antiparallel connection so that their signals will offset each other unless an existing reference mark and a region in which a reference mark has been erased are scanned at the same time. In the previous practice an ingress into the measuring system has been required for an erasing of reference marks. Besides, reference marks which have been released cannot be reinstituted in practice. For this reason an initial selection of reference marks to be employed cannot subsequently be altered.


A funnel wind turbine has a horizontal funnel, rotor blades in the narrower end of the funnel, the rotor blades coupled to a rotor, a shaft coupling the rotor to a generator, and a support tower. The funnel wind turbine may have bearings or a yaw system to allow rotation of the horizontal funnel on the support tower. The funnel wind turbine may have wind direction and speed sensors, an electronic control unit, and a communication device (e.g., cellular antennas, radio transmitters/receivers, etc.) for transmitting information such as wind speed and direction, power generation, and efficiency to a distant receiver.

Energy consumption increases daily, creating a constant need for energy development. Due to the limitations and harm of fossil fuels, the need to utilize other means for energy is apparent. As a result, there has been a steady increase in energy production using water, solar, wind, and other renewable sources. In particular, the use of wind turbines has increased due to the low environmental impact required and their relatively high efficiency. Further, wind turbines do not emit greenhouse gases or waste product, making them even more desirable. However, despite the benefits of using wind turbines, there are several drawbacks and limitations. For example, horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWTs) are used commercially throughout the world. These turbines are usually three-bladed and are used in wind farms. These turbines are generally quite large, with the blades ranging from 66 feet to 262 feet in length. As appreciated, the length of the blades requires that the support tower be very tall as well. Due to the size of these machines, transportation, construction, and use are restricted. Not only do they require large open spaces for use due to the diameter of the blades, they can often be unsightly and the topic of debate. Vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) generally do not require the same clearance, but have been shown to produce much less energy over time.
Further, low wind conditions also render wind turbines in the art useless due to the conservation of mass (the amount of air entering and exiting the turbine must be equal). Recently, attempts have been made in the art to produce wind turbines that can produce energy in low wind conditions by increasing the air passing over the blades. For example, a Minnesota-based company called Sheerwind designed a wind turbine coined the Invelox. This wind turbine is a vertical funnel with air intakes around the top sides of the funnel. As wind enters, it is forced downward through the funnel and past turbine blades, where the air exits near ground level. However, this system creates a large footprint, is unsightly, and requires a level of pressure for the wind to be forced down the funnel instead of being reflected off the intake opening.
Therefore, despite attempts in the prior art, there remains a need for a wind turbine that is highly efficient, requires less space than traditional wind turbines, and that can be used in a variety of settings. The present disclosure seeks to solve these and other problems.


A heat dissipation device includes a heat conducting base, a heat sink on the base and two heat pipes thermally contacting with the heat sink and the base. The heat sink is made of metal extrusion and includes a heat conducting cylinder at a periphery of the heat sink and a plurality of fins extending from and surrounded by the cylinder. The cylinder includes four interconnected sides. The fins of the same side are parallel to each other. The two heat pipes thermally surround the cylinder of the heat sink and wholly contact the heat sink.

1. Field
The present invention relates to a heat dissipation device for use in removing heat from electronic devices, and more particularly to a heat dissipation device incorporating a heat pipe for improving heat dissipation efficiency of the heat dissipation device.
2. Prior Art
During operation of an electronic device such as a computer central processing unit (CPU), a large amount of heat is often produced. The heat must be quickly removed from the electronic device to prevent it from becoming unstable or being damaged. Typically, a heat dissipation device is attached to an outer surface of the electronic device to absorb heat from the electronic device. The heat absorbed by the heat dissipation device is then dissipated to ambient air.
Conventionally, a heat dissipation device comprises a solid metal base attached on the electronic device, and a plurality of fins arranged on the base. The base is intimately attached on the electronic device thereby absorbing the heat generated by the electronic device. Most of the heat accumulated at the base is transferred firstly to the fins and then dissipated from the fins. However, since the electronics technology continues to advance, amount of the heat generated by the electronic devices increases enormously. Many conventional heat dissipation devices are no longer able to efficiently remove heat from these electronic devices.
In order to overcome the above disadvantages of the heat dissipation device, one type of heat dissipation device used for the electronic device includes a heat pipe which can quickly transfer heat from a position to another position of the heat dissipation device. A heat pipe is a vacuum-sealed pipe that is filled with a phase changeable fluid, usually being a liquid, such as water, alcohol, acetone and so on, and has an inner wall thereof covered with a capillary configuration. As the electronic device heats up, a hot section usually called evaporating section of the heat pipe, which is located close to the electronic device also heats up. The liquid in the evaporating section of the heat pipe evaporates and the resultant vapor reaches a cool section usually called condensing section of the heat pipe and condenses therein. Then the condensed liquid flows to the evaporating section along the capillary configuration of the heat pipe. This evaporating/condensing cycle repeats and since the heat pipe transfers heat so efficiently, the evaporating section is kept at or near the same temperature as the condensing section of the heat pipe. Correspondingly, heat-transfer capability of the heat dissipation device including such the heat pipe is improved greatly.
As disclosed in China patent No. CN 2599756Y, a heat dissipation device comprises a heat pipe thermally contacting a base for absorbing heat from a heat generating electronic device and a plurality of fins for dissipating the heat. However, due to small thickness of each fin, the heat pipe has a very limited area contacting the fins. Additionally, it is difficult to achieve intimate combination between the heat pipe and the fins. As a result, the heat exchange between the fins and the heat pipe is considerably limited. Furthermore, the fins can not be stably stacked on the heat pipe due to the same reason. TW patent No. 547002 discloses another heat dissipation device comprising a heat pipe combined to two heat sinks. The heat pipe is substantially U-shaped, and comprises two parallel portions and a middle portion connecting the two parallel portions. The two heat sinks are disposed to have fins thereof face to face and two rectangular bases thereof positioned at top and bottom sides of the fins. The two parallel portions of the heat pipe are respectively combined to the two bases of the two heat sinks. In use, heat generated by the electronic device is absorbed by the base of one heat sink contacted thereto, then delivered by the heat pipe to the fins and the base of the other heat sink to be dissipated to ambient air. However, the heat pipe only has the two parallel portions combined to the heat sinks, such that contacting area of the heat sinks and the heat pipe is still small; thus, the heat pipe is not fully utilized. So, with development of computer industry, the heat dissipation device needs further improvement to meet with high heat dissipating demand of the electronic device. In the meantime, it is preferred that the heat dissipation device has a low cost. Metal extrusion is a method for forming a heat sink with a low cost. Furthermore, it is desired that when an electric fan is used, an airflow generated by the electric fan can smoothly flow through fins of the heat sink to effectively take heat away from the heat sink.

Heat dissipation device with a heat pipe

Bao'an District, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province

Fu Zhun Precision Industry (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.


A mechanism is described for facilitating slimming of neural networks in machine learning environments. A method of embodiments, as described herein, includes learning a first neural network associated with machine learning processes to be performed by a processor of a computing device, where learning includes analyzing a plurality of channels associated with one or more layers of the first neural network. The method may further include computing a plurality of scaling factors to be associated with the plurality of channels such that each channel is assigned a scaling factor, wherein each scaling factor to indicate relevance of a corresponding channel within the first neural network. The method may further include pruning the first neural network into a second neural network by removing one or more channels of the plurality of channels having low relevance as indicated by one or more scaling factors of the plurality of scaling factors assigned to the one or more channels.

Deep neural networks have been on the rise in various application domains; however, conventional machine or deep learning-based recognition systems typically require a large amount of memory and computing power. For example, neural networks can require large amounts of model size, runtime memory, and number of floating point operations per second (FLOPs), which can severely paralyze certain resource-limited applications, runtime applications, and low-end or smaller computing devices that are incapable of deploying such resource-consuming neural networks.

Slimming of neural networks in machine learning environments


A double seat valve for separating media includes a housing having a first connector for a first pipeline and a second connector for a second pipeline, a first closing member of the first connector and a first closing member seat assigned thereto, the first closing member in closed position cooperating in sealing manner with the first closing member seat via at least one sealing element, a second closing member of the second connector axially spaced from the first closing member, and a second closing member seat assigned to the second closing member, the second closing member in closed position cooperating in sealing manner with the second closing member seat via at least one sealing element. The two closing members can be lifted independently of one another from their respective closing member seats. A leakage space is also provided between the two closing members and discharges into a leakage outlet.

The invention generally relates to double seat valves used for separating media. More specifically, the invention relates to a type of a double seat valve, which comprises a valve housing, which has connectors for a first pipeline and a second pipeline, a first closing member and a first closing member seat assigned thereto, wherein the first closing member in its closed position cooperates in a sealing manner with the first closing member seat via at least one sealing element, and comprising a second closing member axially spaced from the first closing member, and a second closing member seat assigned to said second closing member, wherein the second closing member in its closed position cooperates in a sealing manner with the second closing member seat via at least one sealing element, wherein the two closing members can be lifted independently of one another from their respective closing member seat, wherein a leakage space is provided between the two closing members and discharges into a leakage outlet.
Double seat valves of the above-mentioned type are used for example in the food processing industry in product-conveying processing systems.
With double seat valves of this type, there are high requirements on the reliable separation of the media conveyed through the at least two pipelines. The two closing members in their closed position separate the two connectors tightly with respect to one another on the inner side of the housing, and in the common open position of the two closing members the pipelines connected to the two connectors can communicate with one another via the housing interior.
A further fundamental requirement of such double seat valves lies in the fact that the closing members, including their closing member seats and the leakage space located between the closing members, can be thoroughly cleaned.
In order to avoid the need to switch off all processes in a processing system, in which such a double seat valve is used, for the purpose of cleaning the closing members, the closing members seats and the leakage space, which would reduce the productivity of such a processing system, it is desirable if the cleaning process is carried out for example via one of the two pipelines, whereas a product process continues in the other pipeline. For this purpose, the two closing members can be lifted independently of one another from their closing member seat. The term "lift" is to be understood with such double seat valves to mean that one of the two closing members is moved far enough from its closing member seat by a short stroke that there is no longer any sealing contact between the sealing element of this closing member and the associated closing member seat. Here, the other closing member remains in sealed contact with its closing member seat. A cleaning medium, normally a cleaning liquid, can then be fed into the leakage space through the pipeline and the connector to which the lifted closing member is assigned, via the gap between the closing member and the associated closing member seat, such that the cleaning medium thoroughly rinses the closing member seat of the lifted closing member and the sealing element thereof and the leakage space. The cleaning medium supplied through the connector associated with the lifted closing member is normally under a very high pressure during this process, which may sometimes be 10 bar or more.
The cleaning medium runs via the leakage space to the leakage outlet and, from here, into the surrounding environment of the double seat valve.
Document DE 10 2005 057 103 A1 describes the problem that, when feeding the cleaning medium, no additional overpressure may form in the leakage space in accordance with the provisions of more recent standards, said additional overpressure, in the extreme case, possibly causing the other closing member located in the closed position to be moved away from its closing member seat, such that cleaning medium could enter the other pipeline, in which a product process is currently being carried out.
To solve this problem, it is proposed in that document to provide a closing member with an inclined drainage portion, of which the total opening cross section is at least approximately as large as the opening cross section of the larger of the two connectors. The problem of an overpressure build-up in the leakage space as a result of an excessively low discharge of cleaning medium from the leakage space during the cleaning process is thus avoided, wherein the leakage outlet has a passage cross section corresponding to the cross section of the leakage space in order to satisfy this provision.
However, only the problem of avoiding an overpressure in the leakage space is solved thereby. A further provision of more recent standards is that, when the leakage space is impinged after lifting of one of the two closing members, the at least one sealing element or the closing member seat of the other closing member, which is located in its closed position, is not impinged directly by cleaning medium, because cleaning medium could then also enter the other pipeline, because the cleaning medium as already mentioned is under a high pressure. With the previously mentioned known double seat valve, this provision is not satisfied. If, for example, the lower closing member of the known double seat valve is lifted, and if pressurized cleaning medium is fed into the leakage space in the gap between the closing member and the closing member seat thereof, the cleaning medium, due to its substantially axial direction of flow, initially contacts the closing member seat and the sealing element of the upper closing member located in the closed position, whereby cleaning medium could flow past the sealing element of the upper closing member and infiltrate the valve housing region, through which a product medium currently flows.
The above-mentioned problem is overcome in the case of the double seat valve known from document DE 10 2007 038 124 A1, by a flow barrier element, which, when one closing member is lifted and as the leakage space is impinged by cleaning medium, shadows the at least one sealing element and/or the closing member seat of the other closing member, which is located in its closed position, against direct impingement by the cleaning medium entering the leakage space. The flow barrier element thus prevents the cleaning medium, as it enters the leakage space, from directly impinging the seal and/or the closing member seat of the other closing member located in its closed position.
Various embodiments of the flow barrier element are disclosed in the cited document. In all these embodiments cited in said document of the flow barrier element, it is necessary for the leakage outlet adjoining the leakage space to have at least the same cross section as the leakage space in order to satisfy the provision already mentioned above, in accordance with which no pressure may build up in the leakage space. However, this has the disadvantage that the leakage outlet pipe adjoining the leakage space has to have an accordingly large diameter and therefore a wall with a large circumference. This leads to a greater material outlay and therefore to greater initial costs of the known double seat valve.


A method, system, and non-transitory computer readable medium are disclosed for recommending merchants. The method includes storing a first tip amount and a second tip amount corresponding to a first merchant and a second merchant, respectively. Then, categorizing the first tip amount and the second tip amount into a lower weighted category or higher weighted category. The method also includes generating, using a weighted model that includes machine learning logic: a first score for the first merchant based on the first tip amount and the category of the first tip amount; and a second score for the second merchant based on the second tip amount and the category of the second tip amount. Tip amounts in the higher weighted category carry more weight in generating scores than those in the lower weighted category. Then, either the first merchant or the second merchant is recommended based on the scores.

When potential customers seek recommendations for restaurants, they often desire that the recommendations they receive accurately reflect the true value of the restaurant in terms of customer experience from other customers. The same may be applicable to other merchant types such as house-cleaners, mechanics, plumbers, health-care providers, travel companies, etc. However, current metrics for making such recommendations have several confounding variables. As a result, recommendations made on the basis of such metrics are often inaccurate.

Recommendation engine based on tip amounts


A system and method of controlling a fuel system on an aircraft includes selectively supplying fuel from either a main fuel tank or at least one wing fuel tank to a fuel consumer by varying a speed of at least one main fuel tank pump associated with the main fuel tank relative to a speed of at least one wing fuel tank pump associated with the at least one wing fuel tank.

Aircraft fuel systems can be designed in many ways. In larger aircraft the fuel is stored in tanks located both in the wings and in the center fuselage. Each wing typically includes two electric motor driven fuel pumps that supply fuel to the engine on the same side of the plane. Depending upon the operating condition, one or both wing fuel tank pumps can be operational at the same time. The center fuel tank usually has two electric motor driven fuel pumps that also supply fuel to the engines; one pump for each engine. The center fuel tank pumps are connected by a cross feed valve in the event one center fuel tank pump fails and the remaining center fuel tank pump needs to feed fuel to both engines.
Normal aircraft operating procedures require fuel from the center fuel tank to be used before the fuel in the wing fuel tanks. After the center fuel tank is depleted, the center fuel tank pumps are turned off and the fuel from the wing tanks is delivered to the engines. The wing fuel tank and center fuel tank pumps are both operational during most phases of flight (unless they are turned off per operating procedure), so a key issue is how to deplete fuel from the center fuel tank before the wing fuel tanks. Conventionally, this is accomplished by using pumps having different performance characteristics. For example, the discharge pressure of the center fuel tank pump may be greater than the discharge pressure of the wing fuel tank pumps. Thereby, the center fuel tank pump overrides the wing fuel tank pump.
To maintain override when the center fuel tank pumps are operating at points where the flow is large, and the pressure is low, a Pressure Regulating Valve (PRV) is added on the discharge side of the wing fuel tank pump. This valve opens at a pressure lower than the discharge pressure of the center fuel tank pump and recirculates the fuel from the wing fuel tank back into the tank, instead of delivering it to the engine. When the center fuel tank is depleted of fuel and the pump is turned off, the regulating valve closes and allows fuel from the wing fuel tank to be delivered to the engine.


A lumped constant non-reciprocal circuit element includes an insulator substrate, a predetermined number of conductor layers formed on a top surface of the insulator substrate for forming electrostatic capacitors, a shielding conductor layer formed on a top surface of the insulator substrate, and a conductor layer formed on a bottom surface of the insulator substrate and electrically connected to the shielding conductor layer. A magnetic member is disposed on the shielding conductor layer formed on the insulator substrate, and a predetermined number of mutually insulated central conductors are disposed on the magnetic member such that one end of each central conductor is connected to the shielding conductor layer and the other portion of each central conductor is connected to each electrostatic capacitor-forming conductor layer. Also means are provided for applying a dc magnetic field to the magnetic member.

The present invention relates to lumped constant non-reciprocal circuit elements such as circulators and isolators for use in VHF, UHF and microwave frequency bands.
A circulator can be converted into an isolator if one port is closed with a dummy resistor, and an isolator can be converted into a circulator if one port is used as a connection port for external networks. Namely, they are of the same structure, though they are called differently depending on how they are used. Thus, lumped constant circulators and isolators have the same technological basis. Hence, it should be noted that though isolators are explained mainly hereinafter, substantially the same explanations are applicable to circulators.
A typical prior art isolator is shown in FIG. 8. The isolator has three sets of central conductors 401 positioned between two garnet plates 402, 402 which are insulated from the conductors by means of an insulator, and these elements are covered with a shielding plate 403. They are placed in the central bore of a ceramic substrate 404 with one end of each conductor 401 connected to a corresponding electrode [not shown]provided on the ceramic substrate 404. A permanent magnet 406 coated with an iron plate 405 is provided above the garnet plate 402. All of these elements are housed by the casing 407 and 408. Other elements such as hollow coils and capacitors may be implemented therein if required. Two ceramic substrates are often laminated.
Such prior art isolators have been made compact following the miniaturization of other microwave elements. For example, a very small isolator having an area of 20 mm.times.20 mm and a height of 10 mm has been realized, which uses garnet plates of 10 mm in outer diameter and 0.9 mm in thickness, and a permanent magnet of 13 mm in outer diameter and 4 mm in thickness.
Although prior art isolators have been made very compact, they are still much larger than other microwave elements. In particular, they are too high, protruding above surrounding elements.
In view of these circumstances, Nippon Ferrite previously filed a patent application for a lumped constant non-reciprocal circuit element comprising a set of mutually insulated central conductors, only a single garnet plate not more than 0.6 mm in thickness, a ceramic substrate having a central bore and a planar surface with patterned electrodes formed thereon, the set of mutually insulated central conductors being positioned within the central bore, and a permanent magnet positioned proximate the garnet plate for applying a dc magnetic field to the garnet plate, wherein each of the mutually insulated central conductors is folded to wrappingly enclose the garnet plate when received in the central bore of the ceramic substrate, and wherein the substrate is further provided with a plurality of terminals connected to the patterned electrodes to which terminal portions of the central conductor are operatively connected [Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-107203 published May 12, 1988, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,787 issued March 14, 1989].
This lumped constant non-reciprocal circuit element will be described by an example of an isolator referring to FIGS. 9-12.
This lumped constant isolator comprises a circular shielding plate 501, three central conductors 502, a magnetic member 504, insulating sheets 505, an insulator substrate 506, three electrostatic capacitor-forming conductor layers 507, a conductor layer 508 formed on a bottom surface of the insulator substrate 506, a dummy resistor layer 509 and a ground electrode 510.
The three central conductors 502 extend radially from the circular shielding plate 501 and have terminals 503 at their tip ends. The magnetic member 504 is disposed on the shielding plate 501, and a first central conductor 502 is folded. After disposing an insulating sheet 505 thereon, a second central conductor 502 is folded and another insulating sheet 505 is disposed. Finally, a third central conductor 502 is folded to constitute a central conductor means. The insulator substrate 506 is provided with three electrostatic capacitor-forming conductor layers 507, a dummy resistor layer 509 and a ground electrode 510 for the dummy resistor layer 509 on a top surface thereof. The insulator substrate 506 is also provided with a conductor layer 508 over an entire bottom surface thereof. The ground electrode 510 on the top surface and the conductor layer 508 on the bottom surface are electrically connected to each other via a through-hole. The insulator substrate 506 has a central bore for receiving the central conductor means.
The insulator substrate 506 is disposed on a ground base 511, and the central conductor means is disposed in the central bore of the insulator substrate 506. Each of the terminals 503 of the central conductors 502 is connected to each electrostatic capacitor-forming conductor layer 507 formed on the insulator substrate 506 to constitute this lumped constant isolator. Incidentally, a magnet for applying a dc magnetic field to the central conductor means is disposed above the central conductor means.
In this lumped constant isolator, if the dummy resistor layer 509 and the ground electrode 510 are omitted, the isolator can be converted to a lumped constant circulator.
As described above, in each of these lumped constant isolators and lumped constant circulators, the central conductors and the shielding plate are formed integrally. Accordingly, the assembling is conducted by folding the central conductors to wrap the magnetic member. However, when the central conductors are folded, they tend to open due to their resilience, so that insulating sheets inserted between the central conductors are likely to be displaced. This might cause short-circuiting between the central conductors. In addition, the folding of the central conductors is sometimes troublesome. Also, if the central conductors are not folded precisely at predetermined angles, the desired characteristics of the insulator or circulator cannot be achieved.

Lumped constant non-reciprocal circuit element


A subsea production system and method includes a wellhead field having multiple wellheads and utilizes a stackable guide funnel system for sequential tying back of those wellheads. A storage frame retains several guide funnels that are nestably stacked one upon the other. The frame is made up of a plurality of guide members that are secured to the exposed tubular conductor of a wellhead. A pair of annular rings surrounds portions of each of the guide members. A riser having a riser connector is lowered to the central location. The riser connector latches onto the uppermost guide funnel within the frame. The riser, together with the affixed funnel, is then lifted upwardly, removing the affixed funnel from the frame. The riser is then moved laterally through the sea until the funnel and riser are proximate a second wellhead within the wellhead field.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to systems and methods for landing and tying back riser strings in subsea wellhead fields containing multiple wellheads.
2. Description of the Related Art
Prior art methods are known for landing and tying back risers using funnels to land the riser onto a subsea wellhead housing. The funnels are helpful in docking the riser onto the wellhead housing and guiding the riser into the center of the docking opening on the housing. However, these methods are problematic since the funnel must normally be disposed though the moonpool of a floating vessel, and this can be quite difficult, particularly where the floating vessel is very long, such as in the case of a spar. This may result in damage to the funnel and make it difficult to ultimately land and dock the riser.
A subsea production system is described. The system includes a wellhead field having multiple wellheads and utilizes a stackable guide funnel system for sequential tying back of those wellheads. In a preferred embodiment, at least one of the wellheads is provided with a storage frame that retains several guide funnels that are nestably stacked one upon the other. The guide funnels may be sequentially removed from the frame by a riser connector having a complimentary latching mechanism. In a preferred embodiment, the frame is made up of a plurality of guide members that are secured to the exposed tubular conductor of the wellhead. A pair of annular rings surrounds portions of each of the guide members. The upper end of the frame is outwardly flared to assist in landing of the riser connector. The lower ring assists in landing the stackable guide funnel structure onto the wellhead.
A method is also described for sequential completion of wellheads within a wellhead field. In the method, a plurality of guide funnels are propositioned at one or more central locations upon the sea floor. The guide funnels are configured at the central location to permit sequential retreival. In a presently preferred embodiment, the guide funnels are nestably stacked one upon the other and retained within a storage frame for ease of retreival. A riser having a riser connector is lowered to the central location. The riser connector latches onto the uppermost guide funnel within the frame. The riser, together with the affixed funnel, is then lifted upwardly, removing the affixed funnel from the frame. The riser is then moved laterally through the sea until the funnel and riser are proximate a second wellhead within the wellhead field. The riser next is lowered to mate the riser connector with the tubular conductor of the second wellhead. The skirt of the guide funnel assists in this mating operation by guiding the tubular conductor toward the riser conductor. A second riser can then be lowered from the surface and latched into the next guide funnel available at the central location.

Stackable guide funnel system and method


A system for making closed vessels unsinkable. The separate parts of the system are at least one air compressor, a compression chamber, a compressor/propeller clutch, at least one airbag, heating elements, and a diameter restrictor/gauge track. Additional features of this invention include sonar equipment for warning to avoid potential harm to the vessel and a re-entry system which transfers air from the inflated airbags to the inside of a repaired vessel. Upon activation, the air compressor charges the compression chamber, which, by way of a timed valve, distributes compressed air into inflatable bags.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to systems which render ships and boats unsinkable.
2. Description of the Related Art
The prior art is aware of supplementary devices which inflate automatically or manually to provide additional buoyancy in the event of water leakage into the vessel. The following is a brief description of the prior art which is pertinent to the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,121,888 to Morgan et al discloses a protected inflatable member present along the top of the outside surface of the hull. When needed, this inflatable member is filled with gas from a pressurized air cylinder in order to provide a buoyant bag along the top of the boat to keep the boat afloat
U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,275 to Drumm discloses a boat which is unsinkable because it is made of polyethylene foam, which will not sink even though the hull becomes filled with water.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,555 to Meinen discloses a boat containing a canister of compressed air which is automatically actuated by the rising of a float inside the boat. Upon opening of the canister, longitudinal bags along the top of the hull outside the boat are inflated to keep the boat afloat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,864,961 to Slonski discloses an auxiliary flotation apparatus for vessels which comprises canisters connected to a source of compressed air, an inclinometer, and an independent power source. When needed, the compressed air is released into the canisters. When pressurized air enters the canisters, a projectile is propelled away from each canister. The projectile ruptures a frangible membrane located flush with the hull of the vessel. The projectile goes beyond the vessel and carries with it an attached inflatable tubular sheath. One end of the tubular sheath is attached to the hull of the vessel. The sheath becomes filled with air from the source of compressed air, providing a buoyant bag on the outside of the vessel to maintain the vessel afloat.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,888 to Insinna discloses a vessel having an elongated inflatable buoyancy tube located on the outside of the hull. The tube is connected to a source of compressed air which, when automatically or manually activated, provides air to the buoyancy tube to keep the vessel afloat.
Of the above patents, one prevents boats from sinking because the boat is made from foam plastic. The other patents disclose buoyant bags fitted to the outside of the craft. These bags can do nothing to affect the entry of water into the craft, and they do no more than merely provide buoyancy.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,618 to Tufflier is the prior art of which the inventor is aware which is the closest to the present invention. This patent discloses vessels having enclosed areas such as cabins. The vessels are equipped with three inflatable envelopes. A compressed air container is attached to the three envelopes so that, when needed, the envelopes may be automatically or manually inflated to render the boat buoyant. If the event causing water within the craft is a hole in the hull, the inflated envelopes do nothing to keep the water from continuing to come in. Also, repeated contact with the original cause of the damage could cause puncture of one of the envelopes, causing the boat to be capsized.
A common cause of sinking in vessels is a rupture in the hull. As a result of the rupture, water enters the hull or the space between a double-walled hull and replaces the air. The added weight of the water eventually causes the vessel to weigh more than its volume of water, and sinking results. A way to avoid sinking is to provide bags of air either within the confines of the hull of the vessel or between the walls of a double-hulled vessel. These bags may provide the necessary buoyancy to keep the vessel afloat and/or apply sufficient pressure against the hull as to prevent the entry of water. It is the purpose of the present invention to provide three alternative systems for performing these functions. The time required for a ship to sink is related to the size of the ship and the size of rupture. According to the present invention, while water is filling the hull, air is being forced into air bags by a compressor. Ultimately, the buoyant effect of the filling air bags will meet with the sinking effect of the incoming water. As the compressor is able to compress air at a higher pressure than the incoming water, the bags will begin to expand into areas occupied by water and to push water back out of the rupture. According to the present invention, the air bags are mounted so that when inflated to a maximum pressure, they will be six inches from the inner wall of the hull. This distance reduces the possibility of a piercing of the bags by jagged edges of the rupture while rendering the vessel sufficiently buoyant to remain afloat and operative. The system of the present invention thus gives the crew adequate time to repair the rupture and render the vessel seaworthy.


Methods, apparatus and computer system for efficiently utilizing a conference bridge capacity in order to support a multipoint conference call are described. Each conference bridge within multiple communication groups determines which local communication unit is a dominant local communication unit, quantizes that dominant local communication unit""s signal, and transmits the quantized signal of the dominant local communication unit via signaling channels to the other conference bridges. Each conference bridge then compares the various quantized signals of the various dominant local communication units to determine an overall dominant communication unit of the multipoint conference. Then the signal of the overall dominant communication unit is then transmitted to all communication units participating in the conference call in various ways for different embodiments of the invention.

The invention generally relates to the fields of computer systems and computer conferencing. More particularly, the invention is directed to methods and apparatus for efficiently utilizing multipoint conference bridge capacity.
Telephone conferencing systems have been available for many years. These systems have primarily focused on providing audio conferencing. A typical conference includes a group of individuals who are telephonically connected into a discussion by an operator at a central locality. In recent years, however, the addition of video capabilities as well as the use of multimedia applications has greatly increased the bandwidth required to establish a multipoint audio-video conference. Multimedia applications typically involve different application types such as control data, video, images, and audio, which are exchanged between the various participants in the multipoint videoconference.
A multipoint conference bridge (also known as a multipoint control unit, or MCU) is a logically centralized service that performs data combination and conference management, such as adding and dropping clients. The multipoint conference bridge has multiple physical ports, each of which can support a logical connection to a client to the conference. Each port of the bridge represents a certain amount of available digital signal processing (DSP) power in the conferencing fabric of the bridge. In the present discussion, only the audio portion of the conference is discussed for simplicity. Typically, the multipoint conference bridge accepts audio signals from each of the clients via respective logical connections, selects a signal to output (e.g., the strongest signal received from the clients) to all clients, and transmits this signal, thereby enabling multipoint communication.
However, a multipoint conference bridge always has a limited capacity. That is, a multipoint conference bridge may have four ports, which is sufficient only to support four conferees. A conventional approach used to increase the conference capacity is referred to as xe2x80x9cchaining.xe2x80x9d In chaining, multiple conference bridges are interconnected in order to increase the overall number of ports available to meet either anticipated or actual demand. As shown in FIG. 1A, two four-port multipoint conference bridges are shown chained together to increase the number of conferees able to participate in the conference to six. In particular, FIG. 1A shows a first four-port multipoint conference bridge 102 interconnected to a second four-port multipoint conference bridge 104 in support of a multipoint conference between six conferees (A, B, C, D, E, and F) that are logically connected to remaining ports of the bridges. Although the clients are shown connected to the ports of the bridges via direct lines, it should be noted that these direct lines indicate the logical connections, rather than the physical connections. Physically, the clients and bridges may each be connected to a network over which the logical connections are made as shown in FIG. 1A. This will also apply for FIG. 1B. Conventionally, this bridge-to-bridge interconnection is accomplished by connecting together one port from each conference bridge 102 and 104. By connecting the ports 102-4 and 104-1 for the dedicated bridge-to-bridge connection, the necessary number of ports is thus made available to connect the six conferees. Each multipoint conference bridge accepts audio signals from each of the clients connected via its logical connections. Each bridge then determines, e.g., the strongest signal received from its connected clients. Each bridge""s strongest signal is exchanged to the other bridge over ports 102-4 and 104-1. Each bridge selects the strongest of its strongest signal and the other bridge""s strongest signal to then be output to all clients. However, the total number of available ports for the two bridges is now reduced from a total of eight to six (a reduction of 25%), in order to provide for the shared multipoint conference having six conferees.
FIG. 1B illustrates the situation where an additional conferee G wishes to join the conference call with the conferees (A, B, C, D, E, and F). In order to accommodate the seventh conferee G, a third conference bridge 106 must be interconnected to the conference bridges 102 and 104. Since one additional port from bridge 104 must now be used to connect the bridge 104 to the bridge 106, one of the conferees coupled to bridge 104 must now be logically reconnected to the bridge 106. By way of example, the bridge 106 is connected to the bridge 104 by coupling the ports 106-1 and 104-4. However, the conferee F that was coupled to the port 104-4 must now be moved to the port 106-2. Even though chaining the conference bridges 102, 104, and 106 as shown in FIG. 1B provides the necessary number of increased ports to support the desired conference call, at least one port from each of conference bridges must be used to provide this bridge interconnection. This arrangement substantially reduces the number of ports from a maximum of 12 ports between three four-port bridges to only a maximum of 8 ports, a reduction of 33%.
Therefore, the user investment in providing multiple conference bridges for larger conferences is wasted to the extent that the dedicated bridge-to-bridge connection of ports results in the reduction of available ports for the conference clients. In addition to being expensive, additional conference bridges also increase the complexity of interconnects between the various bridges and any network, such as a LAN, to which the bridges are coupled.
Therefore, an improved method and apparatus for efficiently interconnecting multimedia conference bridges for a conference call are desirable.
Broadly speaking, the invention relates to an improved method, apparatus and computer system for reducing the number of interconnections between multimedia conference bridges in support of a multipoint conference. The multipoint conference is established by each multimedia conference bridge participating in the conference call determining which of its local clients is a local dominant client. In a preferred embodiment, audio signals are processed in such a way that resource intensive digital signal processing is not required to be performed. A global dominant client is then determined based upon a comparison of quantized values of all local dominant client""s signals against each other. The signal of the global dominant client is then transmitted, in either a multicast or unicast mode, to all clients participating in the conference call.
Various specific embodiments and other advantages of the present invention will discussed in further detail in the following detailed description in conjunction with the following drawings.

Method and apparatus for efficiently utilizing conference bridge capacity

Siemens Information and Communication Networks, Inc.


In a semiconductor laser element, a lower cladding layer, a lower optical waveguide layer, an InGaAs compressive-strain quantum-well active layer, an upper optical waveguide layer, and an upper cladding layer are formed in this order in a stripe-shaped region on a substrate. A current-blocking layer is formed on both sides of the compressive-strain quantum-well active layer so that the compressive-strain quantum-well active layer is sandwiched between two portions of the current-blocking layer, and trenches extending along the direction of the laser resonator are formed through the current-blocking layer. Instead of providing the trenches, the widths of the layers formed above the substrate are reduced so as to form a ridge structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor laser element, and in particular to a semiconductor laser element which can be used as a light source in an information processing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
The personal computers have penetrated into offices and homes, and progressed so that the processing speeds of the current personal computers are comparable to the supercomputers of tens of years past. In particular, the increase in the processing speeds of the CPUs is remarkable, and the clock frequencies of some of the currently available CPUs exceed 3 GHz. It is considered that the clock frequencies of CPUs can be increased to about 10 GHz by using only the currently known techniques.
However, even when the processing speeds of the CPUs per se are increased, the substantial processing speeds of computers do not increase unless the data transfer rates between each CPU and other elements, such as memories and LSIs (large-scale integrated circuits) for image processing, increase. Therefore, an attempt to increase the data transfer rate by connecting a CPU and LSIs and memories with optical wiring has been made. For example, Osamu Ibaraki et al. ("Low-Cost Opto-Electronic Packaging Technology for High-Speed IT Appliances," Osamu Ibaragi, et al., Technical Research Report, Vol. 102, No. 284, pp. 37-42, IEICE, 2002) disclose a technique in which LSIs, driver/receiver ICs, submount substrates, surface-emitting semiconductor lasers, and photodetectors are three-dimensionally mounted, and through-holes are formed in the semiconductor lasers and the photodetectors, and arranged in proximity to optical waveguides so that the semiconductor lasers and the photodetectors are optically coupled.
The light sources used for optical transfer between LSIs are required to be arranged in proximity to the LSIs. Therefore, there is concern about the influence of the heat generated by the LSIs. For example, in the case of the Pentium, which is currently widely used as a CPU in a personal computer, it is said that the surface temperature of the package base reaches 70° C. during use. (Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation.) Therefore, the light sources used for optical transfer between LSIs are required to stably operate in a high temperature environment, and maintain their performance regardless of the ambient temperature.
Currently, the surface-emitting semiconductor lasers are the most promising device as light sources used for optical wiring connecting LSIs. However, the surface-emitting semiconductor lasers have structural constraints which increase resistance. Therefore, the surface-emitting semiconductor lasers per se generate great heat, and raise the ambient temperature, so that the optical output characteristics deteriorate. If such surface-emitting semiconductor lasers are arranged in proximity to the LSIs, the driving currents can vary with the ambient temperature. Further, the temperature rise can stop the oscillation of the semiconductor lasers, and make transmission of optical signals impossible.
On the other hand, use of the edge-emitting semiconductor lasers as light sources for optical wiring is currently being considered. Since the semiconductor lasers in the 0.6, 1.3, and 1.55 μm bands do not have satisfactory temperature characteristics, the 0.8 μm-band semiconductor lasers are considered as potential devices. However, the temperature characteristics of the 0.8 μm-band semiconductor lasers do not indicate that the 0.8 μm-band semiconductor lasers are suitable for use immediately under LSIs. Therefore, further improvement in the temperature characteristics of the 0.8 μm-band semiconductor lasers is required.

Semiconductor laser element having InGaAs compressive-strained quantum-well active layer


A communication control apparatus (1) is connected to a router (6) and a terminal device (4), and upon receiving prefix information transmitted from the router (6) by a router advertisement, stores the prefix information. In a case where prefix information of a transmission source address or a destination address, which is included in the received communication packet, is different from the stored prefix information, the communication control apparatus (1) blocks the communication packet, and in a case where the prefix information of the transmission source address or the destination address, which is included in the received communication packet, is the stored prefix information, the communication control apparatus (1) allows passing of the communication packet. In such a way, an unauthorized communication packet can be blocked appropriately under an IPv6 network environment.

Heretofore, in an IP (Internet Protocol) v4 network, a terminal device has assigned an IPv4 address thereto from a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server. In this environment, a DHCP packet has been monitored and captured by a firewall. In the case where the terminal device makes communication by using an address other than the IPv4 address assigned thereto from the DHCP server, then the IPv4 packet concerned is blocked by the firewall.
For example, in the following Patent Literature 1, it is described that an IPv4 packet of which IPv4 address is not the IPv4 address assigned from the DHCP server is not allowed on communication by a switching hub. Moreover, as another example, in the following Patent Literature 2, it is described that the IPv4 packet of which IPv4 address is not the IPv4 address assigned from the DHCP server is regulated by a network apparatus.

Communications control device, communications system, and program

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.


A trailer alignment system is provided. The system comprises a sensor disposed within a housing. The system also comprises a processor configured to determine a location of a vehicle on a trailer based on data received from the sensor and in response to the vehicle location determination, the processor generates a notification. The system further comprises a notification element configured to display the generated notification to a driver of the vehicle.

Auto racing is a growing sport, having many racing events nationwide. Also auto shows have become an American staple. Participants may be attending an event that is a substantial distance from their garage. To prevent wear on their participating vehicle when attending an event the participants do not drive their vehicles to the event. Instead, the participants transport their vehicles in a trailer when transporting them to the event. Typically, participants use an enclosed trailer to prevent any road damage to their competition vehicles. However, other trailers can also be used.


A conveyor device includes a drive roller that conveys a tray or a sheet through a conveying path, a rotating shaft that rotates between a first position and a second position, a spur roller that moves between a fourth position, in which the spur roller approaches the drive roller, and a fifth position, in which the spur roller separates from the drive roller at a distance greater than a thickness of the tray, an elastic shaft that supports the spur roller and urges the spur roller toward the drive roller, a first contacting portion that contacts one surface of the tray passing through the conveying path when the rotating shaft is in the second position; and a second contacting portion that deforms the elastic shaft and that moves the spur roller to the fifth position when the rotating shaft rotates from the first position to the second position.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a conveyor device of an image forming apparatus configured to convey a sheet or a tray on which a recording medium is placed, and an inkjet recording apparatus configured to eject ink droplets onto the sheet or the recording medium which is conveyed by the conveyor device.
2. Description of Related Art
A known inkjet recording apparatus is configured to record an image onto a sheet or a tray on which a recording medium, e.g., a CD or a DVD, and convey the sheet or the tray by a conveyor device.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Conveyor device and inkjet recording apparatus