A computer-implemented system and method for protecting a software installation after certification are disclosed. The system includes components to determine if a cryptographic value of a digital content set matches with a stored cryptographic value of a validated digital content set, to determine if a cryptographic value of a validation rule set matches with a stored cryptographic value corresponding to a validation requirement, and to display a certification message if the cryptographic value of the digital content set matches with a stored cryptographic value of a validated digital content set and the cryptographic value of the validation rule set matches with a stored cryptographic value corresponding to a validation requirement.

1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to distribution of digital content. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to protecting a software installation after certification.
2. Related Art
The conventional Microsoft Windows Installer (previously known as the Microsoft Installer) is an engine for the installation, maintenance, and removal of software on Microsoft Windows computer systems. The installation information, and often the files themselves, are packaged in installation packages, loosely relational databases structured as OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) Structured Storage Files and commonly known as "MSI files", from their default file extension. The acronym MSI is derived from Microsoft Installation package.
During an installation process, the target system uses an executable file, sometimes called the bootstrap, to start the process of installing an MSI file. The bootstrap can facilitate the downloading and installing of the Windows Installer engine files. Then, the bootstrap can pass the necessary information to start the Windows Installer service and install an MSI package. The bootstrap may also contain the MSI files themselves, which can be extracted and run when the bootstrap is run. This allows the MSI and bootstrap to be carried together as a single file.
Typical computer system security procedures demand that some kind of validation be performed on the bootstrap and MSI files prior to installation. Un-validated installation files can damage a computer system on which they are installed. MSI validation rules are designed to prevent entries in the MSI database records that may be valid when examined individually, but that may cause incorrect behavior in the context of the entire MSI database.
It would be beneficial to be able to certify that MSI files meet certain pre-defined standards of validity. This is important because poorly created MSI files could affect the stability of a computer system and/or cause software conflicts with other software on the computer system. A certification process for MSI files could also be used to detect spyware, viruses, or other malware in an MSI package. Ideally, the MSI file certification could be performed by the software creator/publisher, without the need for a 3rd party vendor. This process would allow the software creator/publisher to quickly fix any certification errors and release their products to the market much faster. This process would also allow the software creator/publisher to certify multiple versions of their product without having to constantly go back to a 3rd party provider for verification/certification.
One problem with certifying an MSI file is that the MSI structure and process is an open standard. Anyone can open and edit an MSI database with freely available tools (e.g. Microsoft's Orca.exe). Thus, the MSI files and the related MSI certification rules used to validate those MSI files are vulnerable to unauthorized modification.
Thus, a computer-implemented system and method for protecting a software installation after certification are needed.

Computer-implemented method and system for protecting a software installation after certification


Embodiments of the disclosure are drawn to apparatuses and methods for managing access counts of wordlines of a memory. Repeated access to an aggressor wordline may cause increased data degradation in nearby victim wordlines of the memory. The access count of a given wordline may be stored in counter memory cells positioned along that wordline. When the wordline is accessed, the counter memory cells may be read out to refresh circuit, which may determine the access count based on the values stored in the counter memory cells. If the access count is below a threshold, the access count may be incremented and written back to the counter memory cells. If the access count is above the threshold, the refresh circuit may signal that the accessed wordline is an aggressor, and may reset the value of the access count before writing it back to the counter memory cells.

Information may be stored on individual memory cells of the memory as a physical signal (e.g., a charge on a capacitive element). The memory may be a volatile memory, and the physical signal may decay over time (which may degrade or destroy the information stored in the memory cells). It may be necessary to periodically refresh the information in the memory cells by, for example, rewriting the information to restore the physical signal to an initial value.
As memory components have decreased in size, the density of memory cells has greatly increased. Repeated access to a particular memory cell or group of memory cells (often referred to as a 'row hammer') may cause an increased rate of data degradation in nearby memory cells. It may be desirable to identify addresses which are repeatedly accessed so that the nearby memory cells may be refreshed.

Apparatuses and methods for managing row access counts


To allow performance monitoring of the end-to-end path from the Ingress node to the Egress node of the GFP network by an FCS (Frame Check Sequence) check in a GFP (Generic Frame Procedure) frame, the FCS generation target area is set in the payload field of the GFP frame, no FCS recalculation is performed at the relay node and the GFP frame is transferred to the next node with the FCS added when the GFP frame is received even if an error is detected by the FCS check.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a GFP (Generic Frame Procedure) frame transfer apparatus and GFP frame transfer method for transferring GFP frames, and more particularly, to a GFP frame transfer apparatus and GFP frame transfer method enabling performance monitoring of an end-to-end path in a GFP frame transfer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the rapid spread of the Internet, traffic of data systems such as IP (Internet Protocol) packets is expanding drastically in recent years. Realizing an efficient transfer of such data system traffic requires a network configuration and equipment designed in conformance with a conventional voice network such as a telephone network to be changed to a mode suitable for transferring data system traffic, above all, a mode suitable for transferring variable-length packets.
Conventionally, there is SONET/SDH (Synchronous Optical NETwork/Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) as a digital network for WAN (Wide Area Network). The SONET/SDH adopts a data structure suitable for accommodating voice signals, and with the expansion of data system traffic in recent years, technologies for efficient transfers of data system traffic on the SONET/SDH are under study.
One of such technologies is GFP (Generic Frame Procedure). This GFP is a general-purpose encapsulation technology or adaptation technology to accommodate variable-length packets with various protocols in an OTN (Optical Transport Network) using WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) in addition to SONET/SDH. The technical content of the GFP is disclosed in a document "T1X1.5/2000-209 "Generic Framing Procedure (GFP) Specification" (hereinafter referred to as "document (1)"), by T1X1.5, one of the technical committees of the U.S.A. T1 Committee.
FIG. 1 shows a protocol stack of the GFP. The GFP consists of a GFP payload dependent sub-layer and a GFP payload independent sub-layer, and is a technology for accommodating various user protocols (user network protocols: Ethernet, HDLC, Token Ring, etc.) at edge nodes that interface with this user network and transferring these user protocols transparently.
FIG. 2 shows a basic frame format of the GFP. The GFP frame shown in FIG. 2 consists of a 4-byte core header field, a variable-length (4 to 65535 bytes) payload area field and a 4-byte FCS (Frame Check Sequencer) field.
As shown in FIG. 3, the above-described core header includes two PLI (PDU Length Indicator) fields each having two bytes and two cHECs (core Header Error Control) fields. The PLI indicates the length (number of bytes) of the above-described payload area and the cHEC indicates the result of a CRC16 calculation carried out on the PLI field and is intended for protecting integrity of the information in the core header.
As shown in FIG. 4, the payload area consists of a payload header and payload field (hereinafter simply referred to as "payload"). The payload header has a variable length of 4 to 64 bytes and the payload has a variable length of 0 to 65535 bytes. The payload in this payload area stores information to be transferred.
The FCS field is a 4-byte fixed length field shown in FIG. 5. The FCS field indicates the result of an FCS calculation (a kind of CRC32 calculation) conducted on the whole of the above-described payload area and used to protect the content of the payload area.
FIG. 6 illustrates the payload header in a GFP point-to-point frame (linear frame) (GFP frame used in a point-to-point connection (connection between two nodes)). The payload header of the linear frame has Type fields, tHEC (type Header Error Control) fields, DP (Destination Port) and SP (Source Port) as extension headers and eHEC (extension Header Error Control) fields. The Type indicates the type of a GFP frame format and the type of protocol of a higher layer of data stored in the payload field. The tHEC indicates the result of a CRC16 calculation on the Type field and is used to protect integrity of information in the Type field. The DP (destination port number) indicates one of 16 ports owned by the GFP edge node on the Egress side and indicates the output destination from the GFP edge node on the Egress side of a user packet stored in the relevant GFP frame. The SP (source port number) indicates one of 16 ports owned by the GFP edge node on the Ingress side and indicates the output destination from the GFP edge node on the Egress side of a user packet stored in the relevant GFP frame. The eHEC indicates the result of a CRC16 calculation carried out on the above-described extension header (Type and tHEC are not included) and is used to protect integrity of information in the extension header.
FIG. 7 illustrates the payload header in a GFP ring frame (GFP frame used in a ring connection). The payload header in the GFP ring frame includes Type fields, tHEC fields, a DP field, an SP field and eHEC fields as in the case of the payload header of the linear frame in FIG. 6 and further includes in its extension header (octet #5 to #20 in FIG. 7), DE (Discard Eligibility) as a Priority field and COS (Class Of Service), TTL (Time To Live) field, destination MAC (Destination Media Access Control) address (DST MAC) and source MAC (Source Media Access Control) address (SRC MAC). The above-described DE indicates priority in discarding the GFP frame. The specific method of use of COS (Class Of Service) is under study. The TTL is an 8-bit area indicating the remaining count of GFP transfers (GFP hops) and, for example, TTL=0 indicates that the GFP frame is terminated at the next GFP node. The destination MAC address is a 6-byte field indicating the address of the destination GFP node and the source MAC address is a 6-byte field indicating the address of the source GFP node.
In the GFP, the type of adaptation is specified by the Type field in the payload header and it is also possible to define information according to individual adaptations in the payload header. Adaptations assuming a point-to-point frame and ring frame are currently proposed as shown above these adaptations include features as shown below.                Point-to-point frame . . . Multiplexes streams of a plurality of user protocols at the SONET node of Ingress and transfers it to the SONET node of Egress. To identify the multiplexing of streams, port addresses (SP, DP) are provided in the payload header. Since no address information to identify the SONET nodes exists in the payload header, at the relay node routing cannot be performed in GFP frame units.        Ring frame . . . Constructs a ring similar to a shared bus on the topology of the SONET ring and provides the client with an Ethernet-like packet transfer. To provide a transfer within the ring, MAC addresses to identify SONET nodes are provided in the payload header.
The adaptation method for accommodating Gigabit Ethernet, ESCON, Fiber Channel, FICON, etc. in the above-described GFP is reported in the above document (1) and document: "T1X1.5/2000-210, A Proposed Format for the GFP Type Field, October 2000" (hereinafter referred to as "document (2)") and document "T1X1.5/2000-197, Transparent GFP Mappings For Fiber Channel and ESCON, October 2000" (hereinafter referred to as "document (3)").
As a method for carrying out performance monitoring of a path to be set between two nodes in a ring connection, a method whereby a node, which has received a GFP frame, uses an FCS field check at the end of the GFP frame may be available. FIG. 8 illustrates a conventional target area for generating an FCS. As described above, the FCS field (4 bytes) added at the end of this GFP frame is the result of an FCS calculation (a kind of CRC32 calculation) carried out on the whole payload area and as a generating function G(X) in a CRC32 calculation, the following is used:G(X)=1+X+X2+X4+X5+X7+X8+X10+X11+X12+X16+X22+X23+X26+X32
The fields of TTL and congestion control/priority (DE, COS) in the payload header of the ring frame are rewritten for every SONET node that terminates the GFP frame. Furthermore, in a "GFP bypass frame" that the present inventor et al. are proposing as a mode of the GFP frame in order to provide flexible routing, etc. in the GFP, some of labels in the payload header and control fields may be rewritten for every SONET node that terminates the GFP frame. That is, in many cases, in the SONET node, part of the payload header is updated and FCS recalculated. Therefore, it is possible to perform monitoring in ring units using the FCS field, but it is not possible to perform monitoring of the end-to-end path from the SONET node of Ingress to the SONET node of Egress. For example, when an error occurs in the data of the payload area, the node that has received this GFP frame can detect the error by an FCS field check, but if this node discards the GFP frame, the GFP frame and FCS are not transmitted to the subsequent nodes and it is impossible to perform performance monitoring of the above-described end-to-end path using the FCS field. Even if the node cannot discard the GFP frame containing the error, FCS is recalculated (re-created) and the GFP frame with the recalculated FCS added will be transmitted to the subsequent nodes, which causes the next node to judge the FCS check result as "correct", making it impossible to realize performance monitoring of the end-to-end path using the FCS field.
The present invention is intended to solve the above-described problems and it is an object of the present invention to provide a GFP frame transfer apparatus and GFP frame transfer method capable of providing performance monitoring of an end-to-end path using the FCS field of a GFP frame in a GFP frame transfer.

Apparatus and method for GFP frame transfer


An integrated circuit arrangement includes a pin photodiode and a highly doped connection region of a bipolar transistor. A production method produces an intermediate region of the pin diode with a large depth and without auto-doping in a central region.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an integrated circuit arrangement with a diode. In particular, the present invention relates to an integrated circuit arrangement with a pin diode and a corresponding production method.
2. Background Information
A pin diode is a diode having a layer sequence p, i and n, p denoting a highly p-doped region, i denoting an intrinsically conducting or intrinsic or else only weakly n-doped or p-doped intermediate region and n denoting a highly n-doped region. The pin junction differs from a pn junction, in particular, by virtue of the intrinsic or weakly doped intermediate region. As a result of the fact that the reverse current through the pin diode primarily depends on the charge generation in the i zone, this diode is used as a radiation detector, for example in nuclear technology, or as a pin photodiode, in particular for detecting light in the wavelength range of between approximately four hundred nanometers and approximately one micrometer. In particular, pin diodes have high sensitivity and a high detection speed.
Integrated pin diodes have a wider possible frequency bandwidth than individual semiconductor components since they are directly monolithically connected to integrated circuits. In particular, there is no need for any bonding wires between the pin diode and a preamplifier, with the result that radio-frequency applications at frequencies of greater than 500 megahertz or greater than 1 gigahertz can be realized using silicon, for example in optical telecommunication with the aid of glass fibers or plastic fibers or in optical data storage. The pin diode is integrated, in particular, in a Bipolar Complementary Metal Oxide Silicon (BICMOS) circuit. The pin diode is sensitive, in particular, to light in the range from 400 nanometers to 800 nanometers and is thus sensitive to light of a wide bandwidth.

Integrated circuit arrangement comprising a pin diode, and production method


A method for controlling a wind turbine comprising inputting an actual value of rotational speed and a rotational speed setpoint into a control and outputting a set point value for a generator torque from the control. Inputting the set point value for the generator torque into a limiter with a predefinable upper and lower limit and outputting a limited torque value that is fed into a converter control. Increasing the actual value of the fed-in electrical power by an additional amount of power in response to a boost signal, wherein the fed-in electrical power and the additional amount of power are combined into an aggregated power setpoint value. Determining the set point value for the generator torque from the aggregated power setpoint value and applying the set point value for the generator torque in the boost operation to the limiter both as the upper limit and as the lower limit.

The present invention relates to a method for controlling a wind turbine in which electrical power fed into an electrical transmission network is increased in boost operation via a generative deceleration of the generator.
The present invention relates to the control of a wind turbine for a mode of operation referred to as "virtual inertia." For the purpose of grid support, an excessive amount of power, in particular effective power, is hereby fed into the electrical transmission network at short notice. For this purpose, the wind turbine emulates an underfrequency response of conventional synchronous generators. From the perspective of the energy balance, for feeding in the excessive power value, the rotational energy stored in the rotating mass of the wind turbine is converted at short notice and for a short time into electrical power via the generator and fed into the electrical transmission network. This process leads to more electrical power being fed into the transmission network in boost operation than is converted and can be converted from the wind at short notice in the form of mechanical power. This leads to a decrease of the rotational speed and, linked therewith, of the stored rotational energy. At the end of the boost phase, the wind turbine is at an operating point with regard to rotational speed and torque that is not suitable for continuous operation. In a recovery phase, the wind turbine is then transferred to an operating point at which the rotational speed and torque are at a predetermined ratio that is optimal for taking up power from the wind and at which the wind turbine can be operated continuously. The method and procedure for virtual inertia are difficult to perform from a control engineering perspective.
A control arrangement for virtual inertia operation on a wind turbine is known from EP 2 532 888 A1, in which a two-state control (bang-bang control) is used to control the power generation while providing a power boost operation control.


Expanded articles of biodegradable plastic material having a closed pore structure and a density of from 0.01 to less than 0.1 g/cm.sup.3 are produced by extrusion of a composition including starch and a synthetic polymer selected from ethylene-vinyl alcohol, ethylene-acrylic acid, and mixture thereof.

In recent years, many attempts have been made to produce biodegradable molded articles. Among the various materials proposed for producing such articles, the starches are certainly the most desirable since they are cheap, natural products which are very abundant in nature and are completely biodegradable.
European Patent Application No. EP-A-304,401 describes a method for the injection-molding of capsules from destructurized starch. The articles produced by this process, however, have poor mechanical properties as well as being very soluble in water.
Unpublished Italian Patent Application No. 41002-A/89 and the corresponding published International Application No. WO 90/10671 describe a method for producing molded articles with improved mechanical properties in which the starch is mixed with an ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer, possibly with the addition of urea and/or ammonia, in an extruder heated to a temperature of between 90.degree. and 150.degree. C. In this method, the water content of the extrusion is brought to less than 6% by weight, preferably less than 2% by weight, and the resulting composition is then extruded at a temperature of between 130.degree. and 160.degree. C.
European Patent Application No. EP-A-0 87 847 describes a process for preparing foamed gelatinized products made of starch by heating granular or pulverized starch in an extruder press at a temperature of from 60.degree. to 220.degree. C in the presence of 10-30% by weight of water and a gas-forming or gas-generating expanding agent. The obtained foamed material has open pores and high water solubility, which make it suitable for use only as packing material for the protection of fragile articles, as a sound-absorbing or thermal-insulating material, or as a foodstuff.

Expanded articles of biodegradable plastic materials


Systems and methods are provided herein relating to audio matching. Adaptive weighting of popular reference content can be used to more efficiently allocate space in a weighted reference index used to match audio signals. An audio reference index can be maintained that contains a set of audio references wherein each audio reference in the set of audio references is associated with a score. A weighted reference index can be generated based on the audio reference index and the score associated with each audio reference wherein respective audio references are up-weighted or up-scored based at least in part of user popularity. The benefits in using adaptive weighting of popular reference content can improve the accuracy of an audio matching system.

Audio samples can be recorded by many commercially available electronic devices such as smart phones, tablets, e-readers, computers, personal digital assistants, personal media players, etc. Audio matching provides for identification of a recorded audio sample by comparing the audio sample to a set of reference samples. To make the comparison, an audio sample can be transformed to a time-frequency representation of the sample by using, for example, a short time Fourier transform (STFT). Using the time-frequency representation, interest points that characterize time and frequency locations of peaks or other distinct patterns of the spectrogram can then be extracted from the audio sample. Descriptors can be computed as functions of sets of interest points. Descriptors of the audio sample can then be compared to descriptors of reference samples to determine the identity of the audio sample.
When comparing the descriptor of an audio sample to descriptors of reference samples, it is desirable to have a database containing enough reference samples to make the comparison. The audio sample could come from any of a large number of sources, and be of any of a variety of content types (e.g., from music, from a movie, or from a television show). Consequently, a database of reference samples that contains sufficient music samples, movie samples, and television samples to afford for accurate matching could contain millions of samples.
Thousands of interest points can be generated for a reference sample. Reference descriptors can be computed as functions of sets of interest points. In general, reference descriptors do not contain the entire set of interest points generated for a reference sample. Varying amounts of interest points, depending on the characteristics of a reference sample, can be generated for each reference sample. Reference descriptors, in general, contain a constant number of interest points in each descriptor. Thus, every interest point generated for a reference sample will likely not be in a single descriptor associated with the reference sample; instead, only a subset of generated interest points will be included in each descriptor. In general, reference samples in a reference database can have multiple descriptors associated with the reference sample, where the multiple descriptors are different subsets of interest points generated from the reference sample. The more descriptors generated and stored in a reference database for each reference sample, the larger the reference database can become. In addition, an audio matching system that is robust to distortion is also desirable. Therefore, there exists a need to effectively allocate space amongst a large database of a plurality of reference sample descriptors while also being robust to distortions.

Adaptive weighting of popular reference content in audio matching


The invention is directed to controlled release formulations containing drugs which are preferably considered sparingly soluble to insoluble and which are suitable for administration to a patient in need of treatment related thereto, and methods of manufacturing the same.

It is known in the pharmaceutical art to prepare compositions which provide for controlled release of pharmacologically active substances contained in the compositions after oral administration to humans and animals. Such slow release compositions can be used to delay absorption of a medicament until it has reached certain portions of the alimentary tract. Such sustained-release of a medicament in the alimentary tract further maintains a desired concentration of said medicament in the blood stream for a longer duration than would occur if conventional rapid release dosage forms are administered. Such controlled release dosage forms are believed to lead to improvement in patient therapy.
For example, typical dosing regimens for a class of antibiotics called macrolide antibiotics are two, three or four times per day. These dosing regimens have proved disadvantageous for macrolide antibiotics, as well as other medicaments, because of lack of convenience, and more importantly, lack of compliance. Thus, many techniques have been used to provide controlled and extended-release pharmaceutical dosage forms in order to maintain therapeutic serum levels of medicaments and to minimize the effects of missed doses of drugs cause by a lack of patient compliance.
It is typically the goal of all sustained-release preparations to provide a longer period of pharmacologic response after the administration of the dosage form than that which is ordinarily experienced after the administration of the rapid release dosage forms. However, it is often not possible to readily predict whether a particular sustained release formulation will provide the desired sustained release for a relatively sparingly soluble to insoluble drug, and it has generally been found that it is necessary to carry out considerable experimentation to obtain sustained release formulations of such drugs having the desired bioavailability when ingested.
Generally, it is known that the absorption and bioavailability of any particular therapeutic agent, including sustained release formulations containing therapeutic agents can be affected by numerous factors when dosed orally. Such factorstypically include, but are not limited to, the presence of food in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The presence of food in the GI tract usually causes the gastric residence time of a drug to be significantly longer than if administered in the fasted state. If the bioavailability of a drug is affected beyond a certain point due to the presence of food in the GI tract, the drug is said to exhibit a "food effect".
When a drug exhibits an adverse food effect, there is possible risk associated with administering it to a patient who has eaten recently, including but not limited to, the potential that absorption into the bloodstream may be adversely affected to the point that the patient risks insufficient absorption to treat the condition for which the drug was administered. Additionally, drugs which are decomposition-sensitive to pH can be affected as the pH of the stomach varies, between the fed and fasted state, with the amount of food therein. Numerous other factors can also be involved in the absorption and bioavailability of a particular drug, and there usually is no way to predict, in the absence of actual testing, whether a particular drug will exhibit a "food effect". Toothaker and Welling, Ann. Rev. Pharmacol. Toxicol., 1980, 173-99, discuss various drugs whose absorption is delayed in the presence of food (cephalexin, cefaclor, metronidazole, aspirin, alclofenac, indoprofen, digoxin, cimetidine), whose absorption may be unaffected by food (ampicillin, erythromycin estolate, spiramycin, propylthiouracil, oxazepam, bendroflumethiazide), and whose absorption is increased in the presence of food (erythromycin ethylsuccinate, nitrofurantoin, 8-methoxsalen, propranolol, metoprolol, dicoumarol, diazepam, hydrochlorothiazide).
Generally it is known in the art that certain sustained release formulations exhibit a "food effect." Often to avoid such food effect, enteric coatings may be used, allowing the drug to pass through the full (fed) stomach and be absorbed in the intestine. These formulations do not release significant amounts of active ingredient until the dosage form is in the higher pH environment of the small intestine. However, certain active ingredients may have decreased solubility in higher pH's, and are therefore not absorbed well in the intestine.
In view of the aforementioned, there exists a need in the art to provide a controlled release formulation for sparingly soluble to insoluble drugs. In addition, a further need exists to provide a controlled release formulation for sparingly soluble to insoluble drugs which does not exhibit a significant food effect. Accordingly, the present invention provides a novel controlled release formulation comprising a drug which has a solubility of less than about 1 part drug in 30 parts water, which provides for a gradual release of the drug without a substantial or significant fed effect and methods for preparation of the same.


A modular hip implant for left or right side installation as a femoral implant portion of a hip prosthesis. The implant is preferably utilized in a surgical procedure addressing fractures of the femoral neck and may inclue a lateral opening formed through a proximal portion of the implant for receiving a fenestration plug for installation thereover. Which fenestration plug is for use where the implant is to be cemented in place, and is not installed when the implant is for friction seating implantation. For ease of installation, the implant includes a stem that tapers inwardly along three sides, the anterior, medial and posterior, to the implant end, the corners or junctions of which sides are rounded. The implant is also tapered at the proximal portion, inwardly from its lateral straight side to its medial side, for providing, when press fitted into a prepared medullary channel, a wedging therein. The proximal portion of which implant may be roughened to encourage cancellous tissue growth thereto, and includes a lateral hole therethrough that is to receive a tool for turning and lifting the implant for its removal. Adjacent to which hole is arranged a collar that is tapered inwardly from a wide circular circumference to above the opposite surfaces of the implant proximal portion, which taper allows for passage of a tool along the implant that is used for cutting through bone growth or cement to facilitate implant removal. A tapered neck extends at approximately a right angle from the surface of which collar that is for mounting a head thereon. Which neck is offset medially to where a selected head mounted on the neck will match the normal anatomy of a particular patient.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to femoral components for implantation in a hip arthroplasty.
2. Prior Art
Despite some early successes in utilizing bone ingrowth implants in hip arthroplasty, an implant commonly known as an AUSTIN-MOORETM.TM. femoral stem, and more recently a BIO-MOORETM.TM. modular endoprosthesis system, have continued to be used for the treatment of elderly patients who suffer femoral neck fractures. Certain problems and short term complications, however, are inherent with the use of both the AUSTIN-MOORETM.TM. and BIO-MOORETM.TM. femoral stems. For example, the implant is only available as an endo prosthesis and as such it is not modular for options as a total hip or biarticular. Also, there is often progressive acetabular cartilage resorption and protrusion of the endoprosthesis into the pelvis. Further, neck length adjustability is lacking in this device, thereby often necessitating a change in the patient's leg length with an alteration of abductor function. Finally, these earlier appliances come in both fenestrated and solid design, requiring the maintenance of a greater inventory than is required utilizing the implant of the present invention that is selectively configured as fenestrated or solid.
Additional to its being alternatively configured to be fenestrated or solid, it can also be press fitted or cemented in place. Further, it is not anteverted and thus the same unit can be utilized as either a right or left implant; it has a tapered neck that affords the surgeon, by an appropriate head selection, with the ability to adjust for both leg lengths and abductor tension; and it can be used as a bipolar, as an endoprosthesis, and, as necessary, with an acetabular component as a total hip. While the present invention utilizes new instrumentation, their use by a surgeon requires only slight alterations from their current surgical techniques.


The invention relates the pharmaceutical use of kaurene compounds of formula (1) in treating and preventing coronary disease, stroke, cerebral ischemia and arrhythmia etc. The said compounds also have significant protecting effects against cerebral ischemic infarction.

Coronary disease is one of the most prevalent diseases caused by coronary stenosis or obstruction. It can result in angina pectoris, arrhythmias, myocardial ischemia or infarct and heart failure. Myocardium injury also occurs during reperfusion when the obstructed coronary are suddenly reopened by clinic procedures such as coronary angioplasty, stent or thrombolytic therapy. Reperfusion can results in serious arrhythmias and cardiac failure. A number of drugs have been developed for treating myocardium injury or arrhythmia caused by ischemia or reperfusion. However, the therapeutic benefits of these drugs are limited due to either toxicity or poor efficacy.
Brain stroke including either ischemic stroke or hemorrhagic stroke is one of the leading causes of death in US. It can lead to neuronal injury and cerebral dysfunction as results of ischemia and hypoxia. Brain ischemia may also occur during head trauma or hemorrhagic shock. Since the metabolite rate and oxygen consumption are much higher in brain and central nerve system comparing to other issues, they are more susceptible to ischemia or hypoxia, which may lead to death or irreversible injury. It is desirable to find better medicine to protect against cerebral ischemic injury and preserve brain function.
Compounds of nature origin have been proved to be efficacious and less toxic. For instance, nature digitalis glycoside now plays important roles in treating heart failure and arrhythmia. It has to be used with great caution, however, because the toxic dose of digitalis is very close to its therapeutic dose. To further improve the drug therapy in treating of coronary disease, arrhythmia, heart failure and cerebral stroke, an important approach is discovery more desirable drug from nature source.
Kaurene compounds of formula (I) have been widely studied for their possible biological and pharmacological effects. Most of the studies in art concern their roles in metabolite mechanism. (Kinghorn, A D. 2002, Stevia, by Taylor & Francis Inc.) For instance, it was reported that the said compounds affects cellular metabolite, glucose absorption in intestine and carbohydrate metabolism, energy metabolism in mitochondria of hepatic cells, and metabolite of carbohydrate and oxygen in renal cells. It was also reported that the said compounds cause vasodilation and hypotension. However, the effects of said compounds on cardiac function received litter attention. No study in art has documented the effects of said compounds on cardiac and cerebral ischemia or arrhythmia and myocardium contractility.

wherein                ii. R1: hydrogen, hydroxyl or alkoxy        iii. R2: carboxyl, carboxylate, acyl halides, aldehyde, methylhydroxyl, and ester, acylamide, acyl or ether group hydrolysable to carboxyl.        iv. R3, R4, R5, R6, R8: independently, hydrogen, oxygen, hydroxyl, methylhydroxyl, and ester or alkyloxymethyl group hydrolysable to methylhydroxyl        v. R7: methyl, hydroxyl, and ester or alkyloxymethyl hydrolysable to methylhydroxyl,        vi. R9: methylene or oxygen.
Natural stevioside has a kaurene skeleton as aglycone; it has a sweetening potency 300 times that of sucrose and has long been used as food sweetener in many countries. It has been shown that stevioside can lowering blood sugar (Gregersen S et al., 2004) and lowering blood pressure (Chen P at el., 2000), but has no effects on heart rate and other parameters related to cardiac function (Hseih M H et al., 2003). In animal studies, it has been shown that stevioside is diuretic, stimulating the secretion of insulin (Jeppesen P B, 2000) and inhibition of energy metabolite in mitochondria (WHO, 1999). However, the possible role of stevioside on cardiac or cerebral ischemia has not been reported previously.
Two well-known kaurene compounds related to stevioside are compound A (as shown in formula (II)) and compound B (as shown in formula (III)).

As aglycone of stevioside, compound B has received great attention and its biological and pharmacological effects have been reported from various animal studies. These includes stimulating the secretion of insulin, inhibiting the absorption, transport, metabolite of carbohydrates, inhibiting energy metabolite (Jeppesen b P, 2000); and inhibiting tubular transport of some xenobiotics and facilitating the excretion of sodium and water in renal. (Chatsudthipong et al., 2001). It was also shown that compound B has certain mutagenic effects (Puzzuto J M et al 1984). However, in the prior art, no study has reported of any effects of compound B on normal cardiac function or of any therapeutic effects on cardiac ischemia and reperfusion injury, arrhythmia, and brain stroke. Compound B can not be catalyzed and cleaved from stevioside by peptic enzymes, but may be by the action of bacteria in animal intestine, then be absorbed. Stevioside can not be metabolized into compound B or A when administered by intravenous injection. Therefore, Results obtained from stevioside studies may not useful in interpreting the effects of its aglycone, i.e. compound B or compound A.
Compound A and compound B have relatively low bio-toxicity. For compound A, the minimum oral lethal dose is 5060 mg/kg in mice and 3160 mg/kg in rats, the median lethal dose (LD50) by intravenous injection is 503 mg/kg in rats. The major symptoms of toxicity at lethal dose are vasodilation and renal failure (Zhongguo et al., 1994). For compound B, the oral median lethal dose (LD50) is 1500 mg/kg in rats (WHO, 1999). Compound A and compound B is relatively safe comparing with common drugs according to the lethal doses.
To our knowledge in art, compound A and compound B have not been used in pharmaceutical compositions for therapeutic use.
In short, coronary disease and brain stroke pose a serious threat to human health. Although drugs of natural origin available are efficacious in treating these diseases, for instance digitalis, but their clinic benefits are limited due to toxicity, Kaurene compounds of formula (I) represent a class of natural compounds, some of which have subjected to a widely studies as a sweetener and revealed a good safety profile. However, the possible therapeutic roles of kaurene compounds on coronary disease or brain stroke have not been determined previously. To overcome the shortcomings, in the invention we have first determined and reported the therapeutic use of kaurene compounds of formula (I) and its preferred compounds in treatment of cardiac and cerebral ischemic diseases by utilizing well-characterized rat models and by more specifically and thoroughly screening and testing.

Use of kauranes compounds in the manufacture of medicament

Abstract: Wherein        R1: hydrogen, hydroxyl or alkoxy        R2: carboxyl, carboxylate, acyl halides, aldehyde, methylhydroxyl, and ester, acylamide, acyl or ether group hydrolysable to carboxyl.        R3, R4, R5, R6, R8: independently, oxygen, hydroxyl, methylhydroxyl, and ester or alkyloxymethyl group hydrolysable to methylhydroxyl,        R7: methyl, hydroxyl, and ester or alkyloxymethyl hydrolysable to methylhydroxyl,        R9: methylene or oxygen.


Creation of a virtual machine in a hypervisor unusable by a license for use in creating a virtual machine is provided. At least one tenant including at least one tenant terminal, a management data base which stores resource information of the tenant, at least one data center on which a virtual machine to be used by the tenant operates, and a management server including a virtual machine creation management unit which selects a hypervisor in which the virtual machine can be created based on resource information of the tenant stored in the management data base and a virtual machine creation request including predetermined requirement information for creating the virtual machine which is received from the tenant terminal are provided.

In recent years, a DaaS (Desktop as a Service) system in which a hypervisor is shared by a plurality of tenants has been attracting much attention among virtual machine creation systems. DaaS systems have advantages such as mitigation of loads on a client side and improvement of security because processing of a virtual desktop is executed on a server side.
On the other hand, the system has a shortcoming that even when a license for use in creating a virtual machine is not allowed on a hypervisor on which a virtual machine of other tenant operates, a virtual machine might be created by using the license on the hypervisor on which the virtual machine of other tenant operates.
Another problem is that even when a virtual machine is created by using the above-described license on a hypervisor on which no virtual machine of other tenant exists, a virtual machine of other tenant might be created thereafter.
Under these circumstances, recited as related art in Patent Literature 1, for example, is a technique having a mechanism of approving a software license in a virtual machine environment. The technique recited in Patent Literature 1 enables license check on a virtual machine basis.    Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2006-018815.
Although the technique recited in Patent Literature 1 enables license check on a virtual machine basis, since the license check is executed for a virtual machine already created and not executed at the time of creation of a virtual machine, application of the technique recited in Patent Literature 1 fails to solve the above-described problems.

Thin client system, management server, virtual machine creation management method and virtual machine creation management program


A bit extracting tool, used to pull rotatable cutting bits from bit pocket holders. The bit extractor tool comprises two concentric pipe sleeves: an inner tension sleeve with fingers to slide over and hook the rotatable cutting bit's exposed annular ring at the bit end, and a threaded hole at the pulling end which receives the tension bolt; a tension bolt which, when tightened, pulls the tension sleeve away from the pocket and pushes on the capped pulling end of the outer compression sleeve; and, a compression sleeve, open on the bit end which pushes on the face of the pocket holder surface, is capped on the pulling end to bear the force of the tension bolt as it pulls the inner sleeve, and locks the finger hooks into the annular bit ring, which tow the bit out of the bit pocket.

This invention is directed toward the maintenance of rotating cutting tool assemblies that use bullet shaped cutting bits, typically seated in pocket holders which are affixed to the surface of a rotating member, such as an auger or other drill head apparatus. This tool extracts the rotatable cutting bits from the bit pockets.
Bullet bits are the teeth of these rotating cutting assemblies and wear out at different rates depending on the particular substrate being cut. These bullet bits wear and must be replaced to avoid uneven cutting, vibrations, damage to the pockets, and damage to the other components of the auger assembly.
These seated bullet cutting bits have an exposed annular groove near the surface of the bit pocket, the pocket holds the bullet bit at an angle to the surface of the auger head, and the pocket has an open back such that the shank of the bullet bit is visible from the back of the pocket holder.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,752,515, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,851,758, disclose a solution to the problem of bit retaining, and the mechanism for keeping the bullet bit seated in the pocket while allowing it to rotate, via a collar which is wrapped around the shank of the cutting bit, and engages an internal annular ring within the pocket holder. Heretofore, the art, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,478,383, has focused almost exclusively on bit pocket design and retainer methods rather than safe bit extraction tools. Removing these bullet bits is currently performed by either punching the back of the shank through the open back of the pocket holder, ejecting the bullet bit, or by sliding a two pronged fork (referred to as a 'crow's foot') across the bits' external annular groove, at the surface of the pocket, and prying the bit out of the pocket.
Consistent with this articulation of the state of the art in bit extraction, is the recital in paragraph nine of the Background of the Invention section of, U.S. Pat. No. 6,851,758; the state of the art in bit extraction is dynamic punching. Currently drillers hammer-punch the bit out from the back of the pocket holder, or pry the bit out with a "crow's foot" fork ended pry bar, when the back of the pocket is not accessible. These are the only two means for bit extraction until now. These dynamic, awkward, and often unsafe methods are often ineffective leading to many hours of lost productivity, equipment damage, and often operator injury.
Depending on the size of the auger head, and the pocket holder arrangement, some bits cannot be punched out because the back of the pocket holder is not easily accessible. Often the angle of the bit, and the difficulty in prying the bit out, leads to hours of lost productivity, injuries resulting from mishaps with hammers, forks, and punches, and when operators cannot remove the bit, they often continue to drill with unevenly worn bits, which can seriously damage the drilling rig and lead to other injuries and equipment damage.


A one-piece wall mountable wig holder comprising of a long back wall plate with multiple protruding extensions for the wig head to sit onto a dowel. The unit is configured to accommodate multiple heads and attach to the wall thus eliminating the need of occupying floor space and installing additional racks. In an embodiment of the present invention, the long back wall plate has pair of holes drilled for hanging the wig holder on a wall. The long back wall plate has plurality of holes for screwing and attaching the protruding extensions that support the dummy wig head. The protruding extensions have dowels affixed on their surface on which dummy wig heads can be kept.

The present invention is a wall mountable multiple wig holder comprising a long back wall plate with holes configured to attach multiple extensions protruding for accommodating wig head to sit unto a dowel.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the wig holding rack is designed to hang on wall and has multiple protrusions each able to accommodate a dummy head, thus offering both storage and inventory display abilities while preventing tangling of the wig hairs. Wigs often get tangled, matted, or even dirty when not stored properly thus requiring more grooming and maintenance. Some people group them together in a storage drawer, closet, or bag as a result they end up detangling them each time they wish to wear the wig. A wig head sitting on a piece of a furniture or on the floor does not work effectively for long hair wigs because the hair length and weight of the hair make the wig head slip and fall over again and again. All of these problems lead to losing of the wig hair thus requiring the need to cut mangled hair and the wig lose style in the process of washing and cutting mangled hair. There are specialized wigs that are expensive for their use by person suffering from alopecia, cancer, hereditary hair loss and many other purposes including hair protection styling, work, team appearances, new looks or even fun.
Over the time the wigs have become increasingly common, but the storage solutions are not. The present invention offers a hanging wig rack that solves the problem of both storing the wig and displaying them as inventory at the same time without requiring any floor space.
Several prior attempts to deal with such problems have been utilized as set forth below:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,658,283A discloses a rack device for supporting a wig; which includes a base plate from which a lower shaft extends in one direction for receiving an upper shaft therein, and from which a plurality of stub shafts extend in the opposite direction to provide support therefor; said device further including a tapered spindle mounted on an angular extension of the upper shaft; which has an adjustment for the upper shaft for varying the amount of extension and rotation with the lower shaft; and which has an adjustment for the tapered spindle for varying the amount of rotation with the angular extension of the upper shaft.
Japanese Patent Publication No. JP3117707U discloses a holder for holding a wig when the wig is mounted and dried, and can also be used as a holder for storing a wig. A holder body having a curved surface that can be attached to the back side of a wig to hold the wig, and is sized to be housed in a wig case together with the wig while holding the wig. A holder body mounting portion that can be detachably attached to the holder body, and a holder that is provided on the opposite side of the holder body mounting portion and that can be detachably fixed to the ground surface It consists of an attachment.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,653,563A discloses a wig holder for mounting on a table and in a wig box. The holder simulates a head and neck and has a plastic housing assembly secured to it which slidingly receives a rack assembly and a plunger assembly. The housing assembly has a vertically extending tube integrally joined to a horizontally extending tube. A top plate is secured to the bottom of the vertical tube. A rack is mounted on top of a bottom plate, and is positioned in the vertically extending tube. A plunger is slidable in the horizontal tube, engaging and locking the rack in position. A handled rod is mounted to the plunger. A hole is provided through the top and bottom plates for mounting the holder in a wig box.
Japanese Patent Publication No. JP3161054U discloses an assembly-type wig holder that requires a small volume when storing and transporting an instrument that holds a wig or the like is provided. A wig holder for holding a wig for display is made of a relatively light and hard paper, acrylic or plastic having a head-shaped, round, or semi-circular and planar shape with a cut. It consists of members 1 to n. A wig holder is formed by inserting members into the notch, and when the wig holder is not used, the members can be detached from each other to form a portable wig display device.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,563,528A discloses a mechanical wig holder comprising a housing carried in a head form and having catch means pivotably mounted therein, and control means for controlling the movement of the catch means between an operative and an inoperative position.
All of the above prior art references disclose wig holders with complex shapes and not so easy to use mechanisms. Additionally, many of them are not suitable to be use in small spaces when many wigs have to be assorted and stored in a manner that they don't tangle and also offer inventory display facility.
The present invention disclosed here offers a wall mountable multiple wig holder wherein the dummy wig head sits onto a dowel thus offering a storage and display rack without taking any floor space.


An assembly for insertion into the cardiovascular system of a patient comprising a catheter having first and second lumens and a distal port. The first lumen opens at the distal port. A probe is received in the second lumen. The probe includes a sensor responsive to a constituent of blood for providing a signal which is related to the constituent. The catheter has a window for allowing the constituent of blood to pass from outside the catheter to the sensor while substantially preventing other constituents of blood from passing from the outside of the catheter to the sensor.

It is sometimes necessary or desirable to measure the presence and/or concentration of blood constituents, such as blood gases, hydrogen ions other electrolytes, glucose, red blood cells and the like. This can be accomplished continuously and in real time in a patient undergoing surgery or intensive care by utilizing a catheter and a probe. The probe includes one or more sensors which are responsive to the constituent or compositional parameter of interest to provide a signal related to such constituent. One such system is shown in Maxwell U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,013.
According to the Maxwell patent, the accuracy of the blood constituent measurement system can be improved by keeping the sensor from contacting the wall of the vessel into which the catheter and probe are inserted. In one form illustrated in the Maxwell patent, this is accomplished by positioning the sensor within the lumen of the catheter and adjacent the distal opening of the catheter.
In another blood gas measurement system shown in Nestor et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,933, a dual-lumen catheter is provided with one lumen being used for fluid infusion and the other lumen being used for the probe. In the Nestor et al construction, the probe and the sensor of the probe are located outside the lumen distally of the distal end of the lumen. Accordingly, this sensor would appear to be subject to providing inaccurate readings as a result of contact with the wall of the vessel into which it is inserted and also appear to be subject to thrombus deposition of, for example, protein and platelets. In addition, the sensor would also appear to be relatively difficult to clean.

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


A method and a device for spectrally shaping nonlinear intersymbol interference (NLISI) in an oversampling digital-to-analog converter are disclosed. At least one higher-order shaper circuit is provided, so as to shape NLISI, causing energy associated with NLISI to fall outside a signal band. The signal-to-noise ratio achieved is better than signal-to-noise rations obtained in prior art NLISI reducing methods and devices.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to digital-to-analog converters (DACs), and in particular to an oversampling DAC and to a method for shaping nonlinear intersymbol interference (NLISI) in an oversampling DAC.
2. Related Art
Oversampling DACs are becoming increasingly prevalent due to the favorable position they achieve in the trade-off among bandwidth, dynamic range and implementation complexity. These converters may be broadly classified into discrete-time and continuous-time implementations. The latter are usually favored in high frequency and high bandwidth applications such as the processing of radio and radar signals. See, for example, S. Norsworth, R. Schreier & G. C. Temes (Editors), Delta-Sigma Data Converters, IEEE Press, New Jersey, 1997.
A typical prior art oversampling DAC comprises (i) a digital signal processor that spectrally shapes quantization noise using delta-sigma modulation, (ii) one or more unit-elements that perform the digital-to-analog conversion function, and (iii) an analog filter. The unit elements, together with being components of the overall DAC, are also DACs themselves. The precision of the input to each unit element DAC is one bit. The dynamic range of the overall converter is limited by the characteristics of the individual unit element DACs.
In implementations that use more than one unit element, methods have been used to spectrally shape the mismatch between unit elements in such a way that it does not affect the dynamic range of the overall converter.
For example, FIG. 1 shows an oversampling DAC implemented in accordance with the prior art. The DAC of FIG. 1 comprises: a digital signal processor 1 that spectrally shapes quantization noise using delta-sigma modulation. The digital signal processor 1 comprises: a quantizer 4 that converts a multi-bit digital input signal to a single-bit representation; a first digital filter H1(z) 5 that performs the spectral shaping, i.e. filtering, of the quantizer output; a second digital filter G(z) 6 that performs the spectral shaping of the input signal x[n]; and a summer 7 that combines the filtered input signal with the filtered quantizer output. The oversampling DAC also comprises a unit-element DAC 2 that performs the digital-to-analog conversion function. See, for example, Su and Wooley: "Semi-digital reconstruction filter", ISSCC 1993, pp. 230-231. The oversampling DAC also comprises an analog filter V(s) 3 that attenuates the out-of-band quantization noise.
For a more detailed explanation of delta-sigma modulation, reference can be made to John G. Proakis, Masoud Salehi: "Communication Systems Engineering", Prentice Hall 1994, pp. 279-282. More specifically, delta-sigma modulation is a combination of oversampling and feedback, leading to suppression of quantization noise at the low-frequency end of the spectrum. Further prior art details on oversampling DACs can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,005,505 and in the references cited therein.
The error mechanism that limits the performance of each of the prior art unit element DACs, and thus the dynamic range of the overall converter, is nonlinear intersymbol interference (NLISI). NLISI arises from nonidealities in the DAC that cause its present output to depend not only on the present sample but also on previous samples of its input.
The primary sources of NLISI are 1) asymmetric rise and fall times in the output waveform, and 2) variation in transition times resulting from the residual effects of prior symbols. NLISI can be accurately represented by the Volterra model, in which the output of the DAC at specified sample times y(nT) is expressed as a function of the present and previous samples of the one-bit quantized signal, u[n], u[n−1], u[n−2], . . . .y(nT)=a·u[n]+b·u[n−1]+c·u[n−2]+d·u[n]·u[n−1]+e·u[n]·u[n−2]+f·u[n−1]·u[n−2]+g·u[n]·u[n−1]·u[n−2]+  (1)where a, b, c, d, e, f and g represent coefficients whose value depends on the specific implementation of the DAC. The first three terms of equation (1) have a linear dependence on the input and do not degrade the performance of the modulator. The additional terms represent nonlinear intersymbol interference (NLISI), which degrades the performance of the modulator. For notational convenience, the two possible values of the one-bit quantized signal u[n] are represented by +1 and −1. A reference expressing NLISI in terms of a Volterra model is, for example, Nonlinear System Theory: The Volterra/Wiener Approach, Johns Hopkins University Press 1981, pp. 253-255.
The simulated output spectrum of a prior art oversampling DAC with NLISI in the unit element is shown by the solid curve of the graph in FIG. 2, which relates to a quiescent input (zero input) case. The horizontal axis of the graph represents frequency and is scaled logarithmically. The vertical axis represents spectral density in decibels. The dashed curve shows, for comparison, what the output spectrum would be in the absence of NLISI. The magnitude of the NLISI in the calculations used to generate FIG. 2 would result from approximately a 1% asymmetry between rise and fall times in the output of the unit element DAC. In this example, NLISI reduces the dynamic range of the converter by approximately 60 dB.
A known method of addressing NLISI makes use of various "return-to-zero" waveforms to increase the spacing between adjacent symbols. For example, nonlinear intersymbol interference caused by asymmetric rise and fall times has been addressed by R. Adams in "A 113 dB SNR oversampling DAC with segmented noise shaped scrambling", IEEE J. Solid State Circuits, vol. 33 no. 12, pp. 1871-1878 (December 1988). A "dual return-to-zero" scheme is described therein, which generates two data streams from the input data stream. Both data streams represent the same data word, but are offset from each other by half clock cycle. During the opposite half cycle each data stream is returned to zero. Each of the two data streams is applied to a separate digital/analog converter and the results are summed together. This mechanism separates adjacent data words by half cycle within each data stream and thereby reduces NLISI from the adjacent sample.
However, a first disadvantage of the methods using "return-to-zero" waveforms is that they reduce NLISI only insofar as it originates in the immediately preceding symbol and have no effect on longer-term interference. A second disadvantage is that these methods generate high frequency tones in the output spectrum. A further disadvantage is that these methods result in an increased sensitivity to clock jitter. In particular, with reference to the half cycle separation between adjacent data words, this is not sufficient to reduce NLISI to an acceptable level in systems with a very high clock rate. The clock rate used in the prior art is 2.56 MHz, which is very low when compared to the clock rates greater than 1 GHz required in radio and radar applications. Furthermore, the prior art does not provide any correction for the mismatch between the digital/analog subconverters. This mismatch generates a tone that is sufficiently far out-of-band in the example described by the prior art. In other applications, however, the tone generated by mismatch can be problematic.

Oversampling D/A converter and method for shaping nonlinear intersymbol interference in an oversampling D/A converter


The present invention provides a semiconductor integrated circuit capable of testing a high-speed memory at the actual operation speed of the memory even when the operation speed of the built-in self-test circuit of the integrated circuit is restricted. In order to test a memory operating on a first clock, the integrated circuit is provided with a first test pattern generation section, operating on a second clock, for generating test data, and a second test pattern generation section, operating on a third clock, the inverted clock of the second clock, for generating test data. Furthermore, the integrated circuit is provided with a test data selection section for selectively outputting either the test data output from the first test pattern generation section or the test data output from the second test pattern generation section depending on the signal value of the second clock, thereby inputting the test data to the memory as test data. The frequency of the second clock is lower than, for example, one quarter or one half, the frequency of the first clock.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit capable of testing a memory by carrying out a built-in self-test, and more particularly to a semiconductor integrated circuit capable of testing a memory operating at high speed. The present invention also relates to a memory test method.
2. Related Art
In recent years, as LSI technology has progressed, the operation speeds of memories included in semiconductor integrated circuits have been increasing. In order to test these memories, a built-in self-test (the so-called BIST) is generally used.
FIG. 21 shows a circuit block for carrying out a BIST. In FIG. 21, numeral 401 designates a BIST circuit, and numeral 402 designates a memory to be subjected to a BIST. A first clock (memory clock) is input to the memory 402, and a second clock (BIST clock) is input to the BIST circuit 401. The memory 402 is classified into an ordinary data rate memory operating in synchronization with the rising edge or the falling edge of a clock and a double data rate memory operating in synchronization with both the rising and falling edges of the clock.
From the BIST circuit 401 to the memory 402, addresses and data are input, and control signals, such as a write enable signal, are also input. In addition, the output (Data-Out) of the memory 402 is input to the BIST circuit 401 and an ordinary logic circuit. Furthermore, an expected value comparison circuit inside the BIST circuit 401 compares the data input from the memory 402 with an expected value, thereby carrying out a pass/fail judgment.
FIG. 22 shows clock timing at the time when a BIST is carried out for the memory 402 in the case when the memory 402 is a double data rate (DDR: Double Data Rate) memory. In addition, FIG. 22 shows the first clock (Memory Clock), the second clock (BIST Clock) and the data output (Data-Out) of the memory 402.
The memory 402, a DDR memory, can operate in synchronization with both the rising and falling edges of the first clock (Memory Clock). Hence, in the case when a read operation is carried out, for example, data is output at the rising edge of the first clock (Memory Clock) at time t1 of FIG. 22, and the next data is output at the falling edge of the first clock (Memory Clock) at time t2.
In the BIST circuit 401 for testing this kind of memory 402, by setting the rising edges of the second clock (BIST Clock) at times t1, t2, . . . , tn, the DDR memory can be tested at its actual operation speed.
In the BIST circuit 401 for testing the high-speed memory 402, it is necessary to increase the operation speed of the BIST circuit 401 itself depending on the operation speed of the memory 402.
In the case when a memory operates at the double speed of the clock frequency, just like the above-mentioned DDR memory, or in the case when a memory that operates at very high speed is tested at its actual operation speed, the BIST circuit itself is required to be operated at the high speed. However, since the operation frequency of the memory is very high, it is difficult to attain a BIST circuit capable of operating at such a high operation frequency, thereby causing a problem of attaining such a BIST circuit.
In addition, cells having high drive capability are required for high-speed operation, thereby causing a problem of increasing the area of the BIST circuit. Furthermore, the clock frequency of the BIST circuit is required to be raised for high-speed operation, thereby causing a problem of increasing the power consumption of the BIST circuit.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Semiconductor integrated circuit and memory test method

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Provided are a tape package and a flat panel display device including the tape package. The tape package includes a base film, a semiconductor chip mounted on one surface of the base film, a wire pattern including an input wire pattern and an output wire pattern formed on one surface of the base film and electrically connected with the semiconductor chip, a solder resist covering the remaining portion, except for an end of the wire pattern, and a protection film provided on an edge at one side of the solder resist facing an end of the output wire pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
An embodiment of the present invention relates generally to a tape package and a flat panel display device including the same, and more particularly, to a tape package capable of suppressing generation of a crack and a short circuit of a wire pattern due to bending, and a flat panel display device including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a flat panel display device, a display panel and a printed circuit board are connected by using a tape package, which is a driving chip (drive IC) component. The tape package includes a tape carrier package (TCP) and a chip on film (COF) package. Among them, the chip on film package has a structure in which a semiconductor chip is mounted in a tape wire substrate having no window by a flip chip bonding method.
The general chip on film package includes a semiconductor chip in which an electrode bump is formed, and a tape wire substrate to which a semiconductor chip is bonded through the electrode bump. The tape wire substrate includes a base film, a wire pattern formed on one surface of the base film, and a solder resist covering the wire pattern to protect the wire pattern. One end of the wire pattern is electrically connected with the semiconductor chip through the electrode bump, and an opposite end is exposed to the exterior of the solder resist.
A portion exposed to the exterior of the solder resist in the wire pattern is electrically connected with a display panel or a printed circuit board by an anisotropic conductive film (ACF). The tape package is attached to the display panel and then is bent in an opposite direction of a display surface, so that the printed circuit board overlaps the display panel.
In this case, in the tape package, the wire pattern and the solder resist may be bent so as to face the exterior of the tape package according to a light emission method of the display panel. In this case, the wire pattern and the solder resist have a structure vulnerable to a crack. Further, a failure may occur when the wire pattern becomes in contact with a structure which causes a short circuit while the solder resist peels off during a process of fastening the structure, such as a chassis, to an external side of the tape package.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the described technology and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Tape package and flat panel display device including the same


The application relates to long acting injectable (LAI) formulations for combating ectoparasites and endoparasites in mammals. In particular, this invention provides for a LAI formulation comprising a subcutaneously volatile solvent, a biologically acceptable polymer, a bioactive agents and optionally one or more anti-ectoparasitically or anti-endoparasitically acceptable additive or excipient. Surprisingly, the liquid long acting injectable formulations of the invention solve the problems associates with previous injectable formulations by having long term stability, being able to accommodate smaller needle diameters and achieving long acting effects in the control of pests in a mammal. The unique formulations of the invention also allow for combating ectoparasites and endoparasites which have become resistant to macrolide antibiotics.

The bioactive agents which are used in the inventive formulations are well known to the practitioner to which this invention pertains. Classes of bioactive agents contemplated by the inventive antibiotic formulations include anthelmintics, insecticides, acaricides, parasiticides, growth enhancers, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). Specific classes of compounds which fall within these classes of bioactive agents include, for example, avermectins, milbemycins, nodulisporic acid and its derivatives, estrogens, progestins, androgens, substituted pyridylmethyl derivatives, phenylpyrazoles, and COX-2 inhibitors.
The avermectin and milbemycin series of compounds are potent anthelmintic and antiparasitic agents against a wide range of internal and external parasites. The compounds which belong to this series are either natural products or are semi-synthetic derivatives thereof. The structure of these two series of compounds are closely related and they both share a complex 16-membered macrocyclic lactone ring; however, the milbemycins do not contain the disaccharide substitutent in the 13-position of the lactone ring. The natural product avermectins are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,519 to Albers-Schonberg, et al., and the 22,23-dihydro avermectin compounds are disclosed in Chabala, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,569. For a general discussion of avermectins, which include a discussion of their uses in humans and animals, see "Ivermectin and Abamectin," W. C. Campbell, ed., Springer-Verlag, N.Y. (1989). Naturally occurring milbemycins are described in Aoki et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,950,360 as well as in the various references cited in "The Merck Index" 12th ed., S. Budavari, Ed., Merck & Co., Inc. Whitehouse Station, N.J. (1996). Semi-synthetic derivatives of these classes of compounds are well known in the art and are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,077,308, 4,859,657, 4,963,582, 4,855,317, 4,871,719, 4,874,749, 4,427,663, 4,310,519, 4,199,569, 5,055,596, 4,973,711, 4,978,677,and 4,920,148.
European Patent Application 413,538 relates to an injectable formulation containing an avermectin compound and triacetin. European Patent Application 535,734 relates to an injectable formulation containing an avermectin compound and hydrogenated castor oil in a hydrophobic carrier such as triacetin. The formulations in both European Patent Applications are said to provide efficacy against external and internal parasites in animals only for up to 42 days. Neither of these applications suggests or teaches how to manipulate the composition of the formulation in order to achieve efficacy beyond 42 days.
Nodulisporic acid and its derivatives are a class of acaricidal, antiparasitic, insecticidal and anthelminitic agents known to a practitioner of the art. These compounds are used to treat or prevent infections in humans and animals. These compounds are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,582 and WO 96/29073. Additionally, the compounds can be administered in combination with other insecticides, parasiticides, and acaricides. Such combinations include anthelminitic agents, such as those discussed above which include abamectin, doramectin, emamectin, eprinomectin, ivermectin, latidectin, lepimectin and selamectin, as well as other agents such as thiabendazole, febantel or morantel; phenylpyrazoles such as fipronil; and insect growth regulators such as lufenuron. Such combinations are also contemplated in the present invention.
Generally, all classes of insecticides are provided for in this invention. One example of this class include substituted pyridylmethyl derivatives such as imidacloprid. Agents of this class are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,060 or in EP 892,060. It would be well within the skill level of the practitioner to decide which individual compound can be used in the inventive formulation to treat a particular infection of an insect.
Phenylpyrazoles are another class of insecticides which possess excellent insecticidal activity against all insect pests including blood-sucking pests such as ticks, fleas etc., which are parasites on animals. This class of agents kills insects by acting on the gamma-butyric acid receptor of invertebrates. Such agents are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,567,429, 5,122,530, and EP 295,117. It would be well within the skill level of the practitioner to decide which individual compounds can be used in the inventive formulations.
Insect growth regulators are another class of insecticides or acaricides, which are also provided for in the inventive formulations. Compounds belonging to this group are well known to the practitioner and represent a wide range of different chemical classes. These compounds all act by interfering with the development or growth of the insect pests. Insect growth regulators are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,748,356; 3,818,047; 4,225,598; 4,798,837; 4,751,225, as well as in EP 179,022 or U.K. 2,140,010. Again, it would be well within the skill level of the practitioner to decide which individual compounds can be used in the inventive formulation.
Estrogens, progestins, and androgens refers to classes of chemical compounds which are also well known to a practitioner in this art. In fact, estrogens and progestins are among the most widely prescribed drugs and are used, for example, alone or in combination for contraception or hormone replacement therapy in post menopausal women. Estrogens and progestins occur naturally or are prepared synthetically. This class of compounds also includes estrogens or progesterone receptor antagonists. Antiestrogens, such as tamoxifen and clomiphene, are used to treat breast cancer and infertility. Antiprogestives are used as contraceptives and anticancer drugs, as well as to induce labor or terminate a pregnancy.
The androgens and antiandrogens structurally related to the estrogens and progestins as they are also biosynthesized from cholesterol. These compounds are based on testosterone. Androgens are used for hypogonadism and promote muscle development. Antiandrogens are used, for example, in the management of hyperplasia and carcinoma of the prostate, acne, and male pattern baldness as well as in the inhibition of the sex drive in men who are sex offenders. Estrogen, progestins, and androgens are described, for example, in "Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics," 10th ed., J. G. Hardman and Limbird, eds., Chapters 58 and 59, pp. 1597-1648, McGraw-Hill, N.Y. (2001) or in "Principles of Medicinal Chemistry," ed., W. O. Foye, ed., Ch. 21, pp. 433-480, Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia (1989).
Estrogens, progestins and androgens are also used in animal husbandry as growth promoters for food animals. It is known in the art that compounds of these classes act as growth-promoting steroids in animals such as cattle, sheep, pigs, fowl, rabbits, etc. Delivery systems to promote the growth of animals are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,401,507, 5,288,469, 4,758,435, 4,686,092, 5,072,716 and 5,419,910.
NSAIDS are well known in the art. The classes of compounds which belong to this group include salicylic acid derivatives, para-aminophenol derivatives, indole and indene acetic acids, heteroaryl acetic acids, arylpropionic acids, anthranilic acids (fenamates), enolic acids, and alkanones. NSAIDS exert their activity by interfering with prostaglandin biosynthesis by irreversibly or reversibly inhibiting cycloxygenase. Also included are COX-2 inhibitors which act by inhibiting the COX-2 receptor. Compounds of this group possess analgesic, antipyretic and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory properties. Compounds belonging to these classes are described, for example, in Chapter 27 of Goodman and Gilman on pages 687-731 or in Chapter 22 of Foye on pages 503-530 as well as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,896,145; 3,337,570; 3,904,682; 4,009,197; 4,223,299; and 2,562,830, as well as the specific agents listed in The Merck Index.
While the individual bioactive agents are well-known in the art, there has been difficulties in the art to provide for a viable, easy to use, long acting injectable formulation containing these bioactive agents. Particularly problematic is the use of biologically acceptable polymers (e.g. poly(lactic-co-glycolic)acid copolymer (PLGA)) for injectable formulations which are useful for inducing long term release of the bioactive agent.
European Patent Application 0537559 concerns polymeric compositions having a thermoplastic polymer, rate modifying agent, water soluble bioactive material and water-miscible organic solvent. Upon exposure to an aqueous environment (e.g. body fluids) the liquid composition is capable of forming a biodegradable microporous, solid polymer matrix for controlled release of water soluble or dispersible bioactive materials over about four weeks. The thermoplastic polymer may be, among many listed, polylactide, polyglycolide, polycaprolactone or copolymers thereof, and is used in high concentration (45 to 50%). The rate modifying agent may be, among many others listed, glycerol triacetate (triacetin); however, only ethyl heptanoate is exemplified; and the amount of the rate modifying agent is no more than 15%.
Indeed, with respect to the patent literature, reference is made to:
4,150,108Graham4,329,332Couvreur et al.4,331,652Ludwig et al.4,333,919Kleber et al.4,389,330Tice et al.4,489,055Couvreur et al.4,526,938Churchill et al.4,530,840Tice et al.4,542,025Tice et al.4,563,489Urist4,675,189Kent et al.4,677,191Tanaka et al.4,683,288Tanaka et al.4,758,435Schaaf4,857,335Bohm4,931,287Bae et al.5,178,872Ohtsubo et al.5,252,701Jarrett et al.5,275,820Chang5,478,564Wantier et al.5,540,912Roorda et al.5,447,725Damani et al.5,599,852Scopelianos et al.5,607,686Totakura et al.5,609,886Wantier et al.5,631,015Bezwada et al.5,654,010Herbert et al.5,700,485Johnson et al.5,702,717Berde et al.5,711,968Tracy et al.5,733,566Lewis4,938,763Dunn et al.5,077,049Dunn et al.5,278,201Dunn et al.5,278,202Dunn et al.5,288,496Lewis5,324,519Dunn et al.5,324,520Dunn et al.5,340,849Dunn et al.5,368,859Dunn et al.5,401,507Lewis5,419,910Lewis5,427,796Lewis5,487,897Polson et al.5,599,552Dunn et al.5,632,727Tipton et al.5,643,595Lewis5,660,849Polson et al.5,686,092Lewis et al.5,702,716Dunn et al.5,707,647Dunn et al.5,717,030Dunn et al.5,725,491Tipton et al.5,733,950Dunn et al.5,736,152Dunn et al.5,744,153Yewey et al.5,759,563Yewey et al.5,780,044Yewey et al.
These documents tend to provide compositions that form a solid, gel or coagulated mass; for instance, a significant amount of polymer is contemplated in these documents, akin to European Patent Application 0537559, which makes them wholly unsuitable for injectable formulations.
Shah et al (J. Controlled Release, 1993, 27:139-147), as relating to formulations for sustained release of bioactive compounds containing various concentrations of poly (lactic-co-glycolic)acid copolymer (PLGA) dissolved in vehicles such as triacetin; Lambert and Peck (J. Controlled Release, 1995, 33:189-195), as a study of the release of protein from a 20% PLGA solution in N-methylpyrrolidone exposed to aqueous fluid; and Shivley et al (J. Controlled Release, 1995, 33:237-243), as a study of the solubility parameter of poly(lactide-co-glycolide)copolymer in a variety of solvents, and the in vivo release of naltrexone from two injectable implants (5% naltrexone in either 57% PLGA and 38% N-methylpyrrolidone or 35% PLGA and 60% N-methylpyrrolidone).
Controlled release of hydrophobic bioactive substance in vivo over an extended period of time is referred to in U.S. Pat. No. 6,733,767 which includes a polymer such as PLGA with a mixture of hydrophilic and lipophilic solvents. However, these formulations also suffer from problems of long term shelf stability and also with plugging of the needles used to inject the formulation.
An additional problem in the art is that some strains of ectoparasites and endoparasites have become resistant to antiparasitic agents administered in conventional formulations rendering them unsuitable for combating ectoparasites and endoparasites.
There is still a need in the art for long acting formulations which are suitable for injection and which have long term shelf stability. In addition, an ideal injectable formulation would not only be usable with smaller needle diameters but would have a long acting effect that would have a season long effect during the breeding perior for livestock mammals such as cattle, sheep and pigs or minimize the number of injections when applying to domestic mammals such as dogs and cats. It would also be beneficial if formulations could be developed which are able to treat ectoparasites and endoparasites which have become resistant to antiparasitic agents including macrocyclic lactones.
Citation or identification of any document in this application is not an admission that such document is available as prior art to the present invention.


Embodiments of the subject invention relate to a method and apparatus for providing a low-power AC/DC converter designed to operate with very low input voltage amplitudes. Specific embodiments can operate with input voltages less than or equal to 1 V, less than or equal to 200 mV, and as low as 20 mV, respectively. Embodiments of the subject low-power AC/DC converter can be utilized in magnetic induction energy harvester systems. With reference to a specific embodiment, a maximum efficiency of 92% was achieved for a 1 V input, and efficiencies exceeding 70% were achieved for a 200 mV input. A specific embodiment functioned properly when connected to a magnetic energy harvester device operating below 200 mV input.

Efficient AC/DC rectification of low voltages is important for the realization of fully-functional vibrational energy harvesting systems. Microwatt to milliwatt motional/vibrational energy harvesting systems can utilize low-power power management circuits. Vibrational energy harvesters can utilize ac/dc converter circuits that can operate at low input power and low voltage with acceptable efficiency (>80%). Attention has been given to circuits for piezoelectric harvesters [Ottman, G. K., Hofmann, H. F., Bhatt, A. C. and Lesieutre, G. A., 2002, Adaptive piezoelectric energy harvesting circuit for wireless remote power supply, IEEE Trans. Power Electronics, 17, 669-76; Guan, M. J. and Liao, W. H., 2007, On the efficiencies of piezoelectric energy harvesting circuits towards storage device voltages, Smart Mater. Struct., 16, 498-505; Lefeuvre, E., Audigier, D., Richard, C., Guyomar, D. K. 2007, Buck-Boost converter for sensorless power optimization of piezoelectric energy harvester, IEEE Trans. Power Electronics, 22, 2018-25], whose output voltage level is generally higher (typically >1 V) than similarly sized magnetic harvesters (typically <1 V). Accordingly, there is a lack of suitable low-voltage rectification solutions for magnetically based vibrational energy harvesting systems [Mitcheson, P. D., Yeatman, E. M., Rao, G. K., Holmes, A. S., and Green, T. C. 2008, Energy harvesting from human and machine motion for wireless electronic devices, Proceedings of the IEEE, 96, 1457-86].
Passive junction-based semiconductor diode bridges are generally not suitable for input voltage levels under 0.5 V, due to the forward-bias voltage drop associated with the diodes. Active MOS-based synchronized rectification is possible, where the rectification is implemented by controlling the conduction of MOSFET with a clock signal that is in phase with the input signal [Ghovanloo, M. and Najafi, K. 2004, Fully integrated wideband high-current rectifiers for inductively powered devices, IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits, 39, 1976-84]. Active MOS-based synchronized rectification typically utilizes a drive voltage (control signal) that is higher than the threshold voltage of the MOSFET (typically ˜0.4 V). In order to make available this drive voltage, complicated driving circuitry is commonly utilized.
Alternatively, in an attempt to avoid the inherent forward-bias voltage drop of semiconductor diodes, active diodes have been used in wireless power transmission [Lam, Y-H, Ki, W-H and Tsui, C-Y, 2006, Integrated low-loss CMOS active rectifier for wirelessly powered devices, IEEE Trans. Circuits Systems-II: Express Briefs, 53, 1378-82] and medical areas [Lehmann, T. and Moghe, Y., 2005, On-chip active power rectifiers for biomedical applications, IEEE Intl. Symp. Circuits Sys. ISCAS, 2005, 732-5]. Active diode can refer to a comparator-controlled switch that replaces junction-based diode. Recently, a combination of a synchronized rectifier and an active diode for energy harvester application has been investigated [Peters, C., Spreemann, D., Ortmanns, M. and Manoli, Y. 2008, A CMOS integrated voltage and power efficient AC/DC converter for energy harvesting applications, J. Micromech. Microeng., 18, 104005-13]. However, this approach can suffer from the same voltage threshold limit of other self-driven synchronized rectifiers, and the minimum rectifiable input voltage was reported in the Peters et al. reference to be only 1.25 V.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for high efficiency AC/DC conversion of low voltage inputs.

Method and apparatus for high efficiency AC/DC conversion of low voltage input

University of Florida Research Foundation, Inc.


Embodiments of the present invention include a method of processing time series metrics (TSM) data. The method includes receiving a TSM data point for a metric, the TSM data point indicating an identifier (ID) of the metric, getting a persistence policy associated with the metric, selecting a first resolution database according to the persistence policy, storing the TSM data point in the first resolution database, selecting a second resolution database according to the persistence policy; and when the second resolution database is defined, storing the TSM data point in a staging file for the second resolution database.

A time series is a series of numeric data points of a metric over time. Each time series consists of the metric plus metadata associated with this metric. A metric is any particular measurement of data to be tracked over time. For example, a metric in the context of a cloud computing server may be determining the number of operations accessing a system resource by a set of users per unit time.
Time series metrics data points are often stored in a computer database. The database may be resident on a storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD). A typical write strategy for storing the time series metrics data points results in highly random disk input/output (I/O) operations. When the number of time series metrics data points per unit time grows very large, as in the case for some cloud computing data center metrics, the random nature of these I/O operations causes the storage of the time series metrics data points to scale poorly and become unsustainable.


Provided is an assembled battery which is downsized and in which a fastening force between a busbar and an external terminal cable at a fixing part is improved. Provided is an assembled battery including: a group of cells in which a plurality of cells, each having electrode terminals, is stacked; plate-shaped members arranged at ends of the group of cells; and cell holders arranged between the plate-shaped members and the group of cells, in which each of the cell holders is provided with a terminal fixing part of the assembled battery, and each of the plate-shaped members has a fitting part to be fitted to the terminal fixing part.

In recent years, development of assembled batteries in which multiple lithium ion batteries are connected is in process especially for use of charging/discharging with a large current such as a power supply device of hybrid vehicles. It is necessary that this assembled battery is connected with thick external terminal cables with a low resistance since a large current flows therethrough. For that purpose, external terminal cables are fastened and connected to the assembled battery with a strong fastening force. However, since an electrode terminal of a unit cell may be damaged by the fastening torque of connection when an external terminal cable is directly connected to a positive electrode terminal or a negative electrode terminal of the unit cell included in the assembled battery, a method is adopted in which a busbar is provided at an electrode terminal of the unit cell and the busbar and the external terminal cable are bolted to each other at a fixing part provided separately from the electrode terminal of the unit cell. The fixing part receives a force in the rotational direction with respect to the axis of the bolt. However, if the fixing part rotates by the force in the rotation direction, the fastening force of the bolt cannot be sufficient, and thus the magnitude of the fastening force of the bolt is dependent on the strength of the fixing part. Here, in order to secure the strength of the fixing part, a certain volume is required for the fixing part, which disadvantageously increases the size of the assembled battery.
PTL 1 discloses a structure in which a fixing part is integrated with an end plate made of resin.


Rear lateral detection (RLL) ECU 10 determines whether or not a lane change assist control (LCA) is being performed. The RLDECU 10 sets a performing condition for performing a rear-end pre-crash safety control (rear PCS control) to a moderate performing condition when the LCA is being performed, and sets the performing condition of the rear PCS control to a normal performing condition when the LCA is not being performed. The moderate performing condition is set such that the rear PCS control is performed more easily compared with the normal performing condition. For example, in the moderate performing condition, a detection area of a target vehicle which is a vehicle subject to the rear PCS control is expanded compared with the detection area in the normal performing condition.

A rear-end pre-crash safety system which performs a rear-end pre-crash safety control which is a control to detect an approaching vehicle approaching an own vehicle from rear and to enhance safety against a collision of the approaching vehicle with the own vehicle has conventionally been known. The rear-end pre-crash safety control is a control to prevent the approaching vehicle from rear from colliding with the own vehicle, or a control to secure a safe posture for a driver in advance in preparation for a case where the approaching vehicle collides with the own vehicle.
For example, following controls, that is, a control to issue a warning to a driver of the approaching vehicle by blinking hazard lamps (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 2010-201951), a control to adjust a front-rear position of a headrest, and a control to retract a seatbelt (eliminate a looseness of the seatbelt) have been known.