In VBR connections, control cells are inserted into the stream of ATM cells. These control cells are fed back to the transmitting device. In order to allow control to be carried out efficiently, the stream of ATM cells associated with the VBR connections is measured and is supplied to a control method. The result of this control method is then, if required, entered in the information portion of control cells that are transmitted back.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for optimizing the load level on connection sections for VBR traffic that has ATM cells which are associated with VBR traffic and are transmitted between at least one transmitting device and at least one receiving device via common connection sections, and whose frequency is measured on a connection specific basis.
2. Description of the Related Art
A number of connection types are defined for connections via which information is transmitted using an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM). For example, connections which are used to transmit information at a constant bit rate (CBR) are distinguished from connections via which information is transmitted at a variable bit rate. VBR connections are connections via which low-priority information is transmitted between a transmitting device and a receiving device.
To achieve this, one might implement a system in whichxe2x80x94therefor; control cells are inserted in a timed pattern into the stream (originating from the transmitting device) of ATM cells associated with a connection. As a rule, the control cells could be inserted for every 32nd ATM cell. The ATM cells are then supplied together with the control cells to the receiving device in question. The latter removes from the cell stream those ATM cells carrying the wanted information. In addition to this, the control cells are removed and are fed back to the transmitting device together with connection-related data as well as data described in the current status of the connection sections. In the transmitting device, the connection-related information is removed from the control cells and, if necessary, the transmission rate is adapted.
In order to control these processes, the information portion of the control cells contains a field ER (Explicit Rate Field) to which information is written which is determined from a specific control method.
The proposal to the ATM Forum 96-1172 proposes that ATM cells associated with VBR traffic be controlled on the basis of a control method (ERICA) disclosed there. This is based on a minimum cell rate of MCR=0. This means that the explicit rate ER calculated by the control method (ERICA) is independent of the minimum cell rate MCR although this is actually a special case for a large number of transmissions.
The document xe2x80x9cMeasurement-Based Flow Control for VBR Services in ATM Networks, Nasir Ghani, John W. Mark, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1-Canada, Vol. 8, No. 1, January-February 1997xe2x80x9d discloses a method describing how the measurement of ATM cells allows the network to be utilized better. In this case, fairness is desired, although this is not proportional to the minimum cell rate MCR. However, this results in a specific type of fairness, which is not always efficient in practical situations.
The document xe2x80x9cAllocating Fair Rates for Available Bit Rate Service in ATM Networks, Ambalavanar Arulambalam and Xiaoquiang Chen, Bell Laboratories Nirwan Ansari, New Jersey Institute, of Technology; IEEE Communications Magazine, November 1996xe2x80x9d, likewise discloses a method for bandwidth assignment. Once again, the known Erika algorithm is referred to, which is useable only to a limited extent in overload situations.

Method for optimizing the use of connecting sections in VBR traffic


A three-dimensional geometric puzzle comprised of elongated members, each having a rectangular cross-sectional shape. The members are arranged in pairs in side-by-side abutting relationship. In addition, each pair of members intersects the other pairs perpendicularly and substantially at its midpoint, thus forming a star-shaped configuration. The members can be assembled to and disassembled from the star-shape configuration in a number of predetermined order.

The present invention relates to puzzles, and more particularly, to three-dimensional puzzles containing a number of parts which fit together with mortised joints.
Three-dimensional geometric puzzles have long been known and enjoyed as a challenge of one's wits. These devices provide a problem in the form of a puzzle which requires ingenuity of thought for the puzzler to arrive at the correct solution. A typical "burr" puzzle is comprised of a plurality of rectangular blocks, notched and mortised, which are assembled through the interlocking of grooves and cavities to form a three-dimensional figure. Such puzzles are typically comprised of a plurality of pieces having a wide variety of sizes, shapes and notches. These pieces will fit together in a single predescribed manner and thereby interlock to form the desired geometric figure.
These puzzles, therefore, suffer the limitations of having a single configuration wherein all of the members interlock in a single predefined pattern to form the single predescribed three-dimensional geometric figure. Some prior devices, such as the puzzle taught in Turner #2,836,421, suggest the use of extra pieces to enable the puzzle solver to form a wider variety of geometric shapes. Even given the teachings of Turner, the pieces must still fit together in a predescribed manner because of the unique notching of each member. Therefore, while the supplying of extra pieces allows for new geometric figures, the new geometric figures are inherently limited by configuration of the extra substituted pieces.


A front body structure of a vehicle and a method of assembling the front vehicle body in such a manner that a nose unit having at least both a shroud panel and a shroud upper is mounted to a front vehicle body having on both right and left sides front fenders. A mounting portion is provided further inboard or lower than a mounting portion for the front fender. A fixing portion fixed to the mounting portion is formed on both ends of the shroud upper constructing the nose unit. Furthermore, a step portion which is a mounting portion for the nose unit is formed on the upper portion of the engine room and on further front and lower than the monting portion for the front fender mounted to the vehicle body.

This invention relates to a front body structure of a vehicle, wherein a nose unit having at least a shroud panel and a shroud upper is mounted to a front part of a vehicle body, and an assembling method of it.
In the conventional art of the vehicle assembling line (main line), since each component to be fitted to a front part of a vehicle body such as a bumper, a radiator grille, head lumps, and a radiator is fitted at each different station, the number of stations increased and accordingly, the line becomes longer and more complicated. It also has an operational problem since the operator on a mixed flow line, in which a various type of vehicles are assembled, needs to make a decision whether the components should be fitted to the body depending on a vehicle type.
By incorporating several components into one unit, easing the operation on the assembling line and reducing the number of stations can be planned. By this, better precision for fitting components to the unit can also be improved since the whole unit is assembled in a separate line.
Considering the above aspects, the Japanese Patent Application Laying Open Gazette No. 63-103771 proposes to incorporate components such as a radiator, head lumps, a bumper, and a radiator grille to one unit by fitting them to a radiator core support and mount this unit to a front part of a vehicle body.
However, under such a structure that the unit is inserted from the front, it may not be applied for such contemporary vehicles that a front fender curves to the inboard greatly and consequently they have a narrower front end of a vehicle. In other words, as shown in FIG. 26, both ends b.sub.1 of the shroud upper b which is a mounting portion for the unit to the vehicle body (wheel apron reinforcement a) at inserting a unit may interfere with the front end portion c.sub.1 of the front fender positioned in the inner side of the vehicle body. The vertical line Q designates an inserting line of the unit and the dotted lone P designates a mounting position of the unit.

Front body structure of a vehicle and assembling method


A magnetostatic wave resonator includes a YIG thin film. On one main surface of the YIG thin film, three circular conductors having different radii are disposed on concentric circles whose centers are the center of the YIG thin film. Furthermore, on the YIG thin film, two transducers are disposed so as to intersect with each other at right angles at the center of the YIG thin film and to connect magnetically to the YIG thin film.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetostatic wave resonator, and particularly to a magnetostatic wave resonator used, for example, in a band-pass filter or the like.
Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a conventional band-pass filter which is a background of the present invention, and is shown in the "Magnetostatic Wave and Magnetostatic Wave-Optic Filter Technology" in MICROWAVE JOURNAL, NOVEMBER, 1990. Though 4-stage magnetostatic wave resonators 1a, 1b, 1c and 1d are used in the band-pass filter shown in FIG. 9, its basis is, for example, a single-stage magnetostatic wave resonator shown in FIG. 10.
The magnetostatic wave resonator 1 shown in FIG. 10 includes a GGG (gadolinium gallium garnet) substrate 2 having a square plane, on one main surface of the GGG substrate 2, a YIG (yttrium iron garnet) thin film 3 is formed, for example, by means of LPE (liquid phase epitaxy). Furthermore, on the YIG thin film 3, two single-wire transducers 4a and 4b are disposed so as to intersect with each other at right angles and to connect magnetically to the YIG thin film 3.
Next, the operation of the magnetostatic wave resonator 1 shown in FIG. 10 is described.
To the YIG thin film 3 of the magnetostatic wave resonator 1, a d.c. magnetic field is applied from the outside, in a direction z shown in FIG. 10 or in a direction intersecting at right angles with the surface of the YIG thin film 3. When a high-frequency signal is inputted to one transducer 4a at this state, a high-frequency electric current flows through the transducer 4a and a high-frequency magnetic field is excited around thereof. By the high-frequency magnetic field, a magnetostatic wave is excited in the YIG thin film 3. At this time, the magnetostatic wave starts to resonate at a frequency decided by the size, the thickness and the saturated magnetization of the YIG thin film 3 and the intensity of the d.c. magnetic field applied thereto. The other transducer 4b converts the magnetostatic wave excited in the YIG thin film 3 inversely into a high-frequency signal and outputs the high-frequency signal. Thus the magnetostatic wave resonator 1 operates as a resonator.
In the magnetostatic wave resonator 1, however, as showing its frequency characteristic in FIG. 11, not only a main mode but also an unnecessary higher mode is excited. The excitation of the unnecessary higher mode is due to the resonance of higher standing wave of the magnetostatic wave, thus when the magnetostatic wave resonator 1 is operated as a filter, the attenuation quantity outside a passband is deteriorated.
As means for suppressing the unnecessary higher mode, a magnetostatic wave resonator wherein the higher mode is suppressed is disclosed in "Magnetostatic wave resonator using microstrip disk" of C-99 at all Japan Spring Session 1991 of Japan Electronic Information and Communication Association.
FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the conventional magnetostatic wave resonator wherein the higher mode is suppressed. In the magnetostatic wave resonator 1 shown in FIG. 12, on a surface of a YIG thin film 3, a metal disk 5 is formed, for example, by means of etching. In the magnetostatic wave resonator 1, a magnetostatic wave energy is confined by the metal disk 5 in the YIG thin film 3 thereunder, thereby operating as a resonator. In this case, in the magnetostatic wave resonator 1, the confining operation is weak against the higher mode, as a result, the higher mode is suppressed.
In the magnetostatic wave resonator 1 shown in FIG. 12, however, as showing its frequency characteristic in FIG. 13, though the higher mode is suppressed than that of the magnetostatic wave resonator shown in FIG. 10, a higher mode level is still high.
On the other hand, when neglecting an increase of insertion losses, though it is possible to suppress the higher mode, usually the increase of insertion losses is not desirable.

Magnetostatic wave resonator having at least one ring conductor


A preferred carbon nanotube-based device (1) includes a substrate (10), a catalyst layer (30) disposed on the substrate, and a plurality carbon nanotube arrays (50, 51) extending from the catalyst layer. The catalyst layer includes a plurality of catalyst blocks (33, 34), a thickness of the catalyst block is varied gradually from a first end thereof to an opposite second end thereof, and the catalyst block having a region with a thickness approximate to an optimum thickness for growing carbon nanotubes. The carbon nanotube arrays are arc-shaped, and bend in respective directions deviating from the region of optimum thickness. A preferred method for making the carbon nanotube-based device is also provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to carbon nanotube-based devices and methods for making such carbon nanotube-based devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Carbon nanotubes are very small tube-shaped structures essentially having the composition of a graphite sheet rolled into a tube. Carbon nanotubes produced by arc discharge between graphite rods were first discovered and reported in an article by Sumio Iijima entitled "Helical Microtubules of Graphitic Carbon" (Nature, Vol. 354, Nov. 7, 1991, pp. 56-58). Carbon nanotubes have very good electrical conductance due to their structure. They are also chemically stable, and have very small diameters (less than 100 nanometers) and large aspect ratios (length/diameter). Due to these and other properties, it has been suggested that carbon nanotubes can play an important role in fields such as microscopic electronics, materials science, biology and chemistry.
Although carbon nanotubes promise to have a wide range of applications, better control is needed over the building and organization of nanotube-based architectures. Normally, the orientation of growing nanotubes is controlled such that the nanotubes are rectilinear and parallel to each other. Chemical vapor deposition has been used to produce nanotubes vertically aligned on catalyst-printed substrates. A method for controlling the growth of aligned nanotubes in several directions on a substrate in a single process is reported in an article by B. Q. Wei et al. entitled "Organized Assembly of Carbon Nanotubes" (Nature Vol. 416, Apr. 4, 2002, pp. 495-496).
Another method for controlling the growth of carbon nanotubes by means of electric fields is reported in an article by Yuegang Zhang et al. entitled "Electric-Field-Directed Growth of Aligned Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes" (Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 79, Nov. 5, 2001, pp. 19).
However, carbon nanotubes of all the carbon nanotube based structures obtained by the above-mentioned methods are aligned along a linear direction, and/or extend perpendicularly from the substrates. Furthermore, the method of using an external electric field to control a direction of growth of the carbon nanotubes is difficult to apply in generating localized complicated structures with plural orientations of the carbon nanotubes. Accordingly, the range of diversity of different kinds of carbon nanotube-based devices is limited.
What is needed, therefore, is a carbon nanotube-based device with plural orientations of the carbon nanotubes and a method for making the such device.

Carbon nanotube-based device and method for making the same


A method of adjusting the operation of optical networks in terms of propagation constants of guided modes in integrated optical devices, allowing a considerable number of out of tolerance devices to be recovered by depositing on the surface where the optical guides are manufactured, once the normal fabrication process is completed, a further layer of transparent material of suitable size and refractive index.

The fabrication of integrated optical devices demands very accurate technological methods to cope with very restrictive tolerances in the chemical, physical and geometric characteristics of the manufactured devices. In fact even small errors can cause considerable variations in the required optical characteristics, e.g. a different spectral interval of operation, different splitting ratios in beam splitters or in directional couplers, and the like. These disadvantages can derive not only from inaccuracies in successive steps of the technological process of fabrication, but also from errors or insufficiencies of the design techniques, especially when all the boundary conditions and their possible variations were not taken into account.
Since the guiding structures forming the integrated optical devices are expensive and difficult to produce (e.g. in case of semiconductor materials, from special crystals, and the like) manufacturing rejects highly affect the final cost. Hence it can be convenient to adjust the optical characteristics of the obtained device to return its performance to the required specifications.
If the device is made of electrical-field-sensitive material, e.g. of lithium niobate (LiNbO.sub.3), or of certain semiconductor materials, its optical characteristic modification can be obtained by using the method described in the paper entitled "Waveguide Electrooptic Modulators" by Rod C. Alferness, page 1121 of IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, August 1982.
According to this method suitable electrodes are placed on the device for applying a potential difference of convenient value. The potential difference generates an electrical field permitting a change in the optical characteristics of the device in its operation phase. The method requires further steps in the process of fabrication to manufacture the electrodes and, once the device is fabricated, it requires permanent application of a voltage of controlled value, even through the operation conditions are always the same.

Method of adjusting the operation characteristics of integrated optical devices

CSELT-Centro Studi E Laboratori Telecomunicazioni S.p.A.


An intermediate transfer member including an optional supporting substrate, and in contact with the supporting substrate in the configuration of a layer a polyarylsulfone, a polyetheramine, and nano-size zinc oxide particles.

A number of problems are associated with intermediate transfer members, such as belts. For example, their black color results in minimal or substantially no optical properties, which in turn adversely impacts visual observation of defects. The lack of transparency also does not readily enable the identification of bubbling during the preparation and manufacturing of the intermediate transfer members. This bubbling causes xerographic image defects and poor image resolution. It is also difficult to monitor the cleaning of residual toner from non-transparent intermediate transfer members. There has also been a problem in enabling the economical formation of suitable stable dispersions with minimum settling of solids, when conductive fillers of carbon black, metal, or metal oxides are used in amounts exceeding about 20 percent by weight. These and other problems are minimized or substantially eliminated with the synergistic effect of nano-size zinc oxide and a polyetheramine.
Thus, there is a need for a transparent intermediate transfer member with excellent transfer capabilities, and suitable conductivity in the absence of, or with a minimum amount of carbon black or similar conductive materials.
Further, there is a need for transparent intermediate transfer members (ITM) that have excellent wear and abrasion resistance, excellent mechanical properties, and which primarily because of the ITM optical density permits one to visually observe any defects in the members, and permits the use of a number of different forms of light sources to detect bubbling, settling of solids and other defects in the ITM.
There is also a need for a process to incorporate zinc oxide, a semiconductor, that is difficult to uniformly disperse, into a polymeric material.
These and other needs are achievable in embodiments of the present disclosure.

Transparent intermediate transfer members containing zinc oxide, polyarylsulfone, and polyetheramine


A fastening apparatus for fastening a component to a carrier component includes a housing device having a receiving recess, at least one actuating element and at least one latching element for latching in a carrier component, and a pin device which can be arranged so as to be displaceable in the receiving recess of the housing device in an assembly direction and which has at least one movable pin arm with a pin latching structure for transmitting an assembly force, which acts in the assembly direction, to a rigid housing latching structure which is integrally formed on the housing device, in order preferably to arrange the fastening apparatus in an intermediate assembly position, wherein the housing latching structure is formed in a corresponding manner to the pin latching structure, and wherein the actuating element is designed to actuate the at least one pin arm.

DE 10 201 0034 006 A1 discloses the provision of a fastening clip having a spring clamp, which is provided for latching in a carrier, and having a bolt, which is provided for locking the spring clamp in the carrier. The spring clamp has at least one latching element which is movable elastically between a starting position, an intermediate assembly position and an assembly position. The bolt has at least one securing element which interacts with the latching element in such a way that the bolt can be displaced from a starting position into a locking position only when the latching element is situated in the assembly position. With the spring clamp in the nonassembled state, the latching element of the spring clamp is situated in an unloaded position, which is defined here as the starting position. While the spring clamp is being inserted into a carrier, the spring elements are pushed away from the edge of the opening such that they can be displaced into a preloaded intermediate assembly position. With the spring clamp in the completely inserted state, the latching elements latch on the carrier in an assembly position. Depending on the shape of the carrier, this assembly position can also correspond to the starting position. The bolt serves to fix the latching elements of the spring clamp after the fastening clip has been mounted in the assembly position, with the result that disassembly of the fastening clip is possible only with very high pull-out forces, if at all. In order to prevent a situation in which the bolt is inserted into the spring clamp prior to assembly, the bolt has a securing element which interacts with the latching element in such a way that insertion of the bolt into the spring clamp is prevented both in the starting position and in the intermediate assembly position. It is only when the spring clamp has been completely mounted and the latching elements are latched in the assembly position that the bolt is released such that insertion of the bolt into the locking position is possible. Premature insertion of the bolt is thus reliably ruled out. On the other hand, a visual inspection can occur as to whether the fastening clip has been completely mounted since, in the case of the fastening clip not being correctly mounted, insertion of the bolt is not possible, with the result that the bolt projects out of the spring clamp.
DE 102 018 006 297 A1 discloses a multipart clip for fastening one element to another element. The clip comprises a first component and a securing means, wherein the first component has a head and a shank which extends away from the head along a shank axis and which has a tip, wherein the shank has a basic body and a latching element, wherein the latching element has a contact surface facing away from the tip, and the head has a contact surface facing the tip, wherein the latching element is movable between a first position and a second position, wherein part of the latching element projects out of the basic body of the shank in the first position, and, in the second position, the latching element either projects out of the basic body less than in the first position or does not project out of the basic body at all, wherein the basic body of the shank has provided therein a checking region in which no portion of the latching element is situated when the latching element is situated in the first position, and in which a portion of the latching element is situated when the latching element is in the second position, wherein the securing means has an outer part which is provided to remain outside of the component, and has an inner part which can be inserted into the basic body in an insertion direction up to an end position, wherein the inner part has a securing pin which has a portion which reaches into the checking region when the inner part is inserted up and into the end position, and the securing pin has a lug which extends at an angle to the insertion direction and which engages through an opening in the basic body in an intermediate position, in which the inner part is partially inserted into the basic body, but has not yet reached the end position, and comes into contact with an edge of the opening, with the result that a further insertion of the securing means beyond the intermediate position is prevented, wherein the lug can be pressed in the direction of the interior of the basic body to such an extent that further insertion of the securing means beyond the intermediate position can occur, characterized in that, in the intermediate position, the securing pin does not contact a latching element situated in the first position.
Such fastening apparatuses are additionally known from US 2015/0300388 A1, DE 601 26 229 T2 or DE 102 55 902 A1. They serve to fasten components in a vehicle.

Fastening device for fastening a component to a carrier component


A method for determining the fatigue of the pump rotor of a gas turbopump comprises the following method steps:                continuous determination of the rotational speed (n) of the pump rotor,        determination of the local rotational speed maxima and minima of a temporal rotational speed profile under consideration,        association of the rotational speed maxima and minima with each other to form pairs,        determination of a pair fatigue value (L) for each of the rotational speed pairs, and        accumulation of all pair fatigue values (L) to form a total fatigue value (Ltot).In this manner it is possible to determine the cyclic stress for the pump rotor of a vacuum pump and to include it in the calculation of a total fatigue value.

The invention relates to a method for determining the fatigue of a pump rotor of a fast rotating gas turbopump.
Gas turbopumps and especially turbo molecular pumps are operated at rather high rotational speeds of 10,000-100,000 rpm. Because of the great centrifugal forces, temperature influences etc., the pump rotor is subject to me-chanical fatigue. In particular with gas turbopumps, narrow gaps are provided between the pump rotor and the pump stator so as to obtain as high a capacity as possible. After a certain time, the pump rotor fatigue causes a failure of the pump rotor or a collision of the pump stator and the pump rotor. In order to avoid this, the pump rotor is replaced prior to the estimated time of collision.
A chronologically constant maintenance interval may be provided that schedules maintenance work or a replacement of the pump rotor after a certain time or a certain operation period.
From DE 101 51 682 A1, a method is known wherein a dynamic maintenance interval is calculated from the absolute rotational speed and the temperature of the pump rotor. The so-called creep stress of the pump rotor is thus determined and is included in the calculation of the dynamic maintenance interval. Studies have shown that, in this manner alone, a practice-oriented dynamic maintenance interval cannot be determined with sufficient accuracy, given certain operational conditions.

Method for determining the fatigue of a pump rotor of a gas turbopump


Systems, methods and computer storage media for operating a scalable computing platform are provided. A service description describing a requested service is received. Upon receiving the service description a determination of the required resources and the available resources is made. An instance description is produced. The resources required to sustain the deployment of the service are mapped to the available resources of the computing platform so the service may be deployed. The instance description is amended with each deployment of the service to allow for sustained deployment of the service.

Computer applications are developed to operate on a particular computing platform. Traditionally, computing platforms are designed to control a single computer and, as a result, the applications designed for the computing platform also are designed to operate on a single computer. The Internet has introduced new ways in which computer programs are deployed to computers. While the method of deployment has changed, the end users still expect computer applications to operate the same regardless if they are deployed over the Internet or residing on the end user's computer.

System and method for describing applications for manageability and efficient scale-up deployment


A motorcycle tire having a transverse curvature ratio f/C≧0.2 and a sidewall height ratio (H−f)/H≦0.7, has a belt structure provided with a belt layer including at least one filiform reinforcing element arranged to form a plurality of windings parallel to one another at a substantially zero angle relative to the equatorial plane of the tire. The available elongation of the belt in an intermediate zone between the equatorial plane, and the shoulder is greater than the available elongation corresponding to the equatorial plane. The aforementioned intermediate zone extends at least in a range centered on a camber angle of ±35°.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to tyres for motor vehicles. In particular, the present invention relates to tyres intended for fitting on the front wheel and/or on the rear wheel of sports/touring motor vehicles of large cylinder capacity (for example 1200 cm3 or more), and/or high power (for example 140-150 BHP or more).
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a tyre for vehicle wheels comprises a carcass structure essentially composed of one or more carcass plies formed according to a substantially toroidal configuration and having the actual side edges axially opposed engaging with respective annular reinforcing structures incorporating metallic circular inserts, usually called "bead wires". Each annular reinforcing structure is embedded in a so-called "bead" for anchoring the latter to a corresponding fitting rim.
A belt structure comprising one or more belt layers shaped as a closed ring, essentially composed of textile or metal cords suitably oriented relative to one another and relative to the cords belonging to the adjacent carcass plies, is applied on the carcass structure, in a radially external position.
A tyre tread, normally comprising a band of elastomeric material of adequate thickness, is further applied in a position radially external to the belt structure. The term "elastomeric material" typically comprises at least one elastomeric polymer and at least one reinforcing filler. Preferably, the elastomeric material further comprises additives, such as crosslinking agents and/or plasticizers. Owing to the presence of the crosslinking agents, on heating, said material can be crosslinked, so as to form the final article.
A pair of sidewalls each of which covers a lateral portion of the tyre between a so-called shoulder zone, positioned close to the corresponding side edge of the tyre tread, and the corresponding bead, can be applied on the opposite sides of the tyre.
Relative to the tyres for four-wheeled vehicles, the tyres for two-wheeled vehicles have to meet quite particular requirements, involving numerous structural differences. One of the most important differences arises from the fact that while travelling along a curve, a motorcycle must lean considerably relative to the position while travelling in a straight line, forming, with the perpendicular to the ground, an angle (called the camber angle) that can reach 45°, or even 65° in extreme driving conditions. Therefore, when the motorcycle goes into a curve, the area of contact of the tyre is displaced progressively from the central zone of the tread towards the axially outermost zone in the direction of the centre of the curve. For this reason the tyres for two-wheeled vehicles are characterized by their accentuated transverse curvature. This transverse curvature is normally defined by the particular value of the ratio of the distance between the radially outermost point of the tread and the line passing through the laterally opposite ends of the tread itself, measured on the equatorial plane of the tyre, to the distance measured along the chord of the tyre between said ends. In tyres for two-wheeled vehicles, the value of the curvature ratio is, in general, not less than 0.15, and is normally of the order of about 0.3 in the case of rear tyres, and even higher, up to about 0.45, in the case of front tyres, compared with a value only of the order of about 0.05 in motor vehicle tyres.
In tyres for motor vehicles, moreover, the belt structure can be provided by one or more continuous cords wound as turns axially close together and substantially parallel to the direction of circumferential development of the tyre itself (so-called "zero-degrees belt").
Recently there has been a trend for motor vehicles for sports/touring use with ever increasing cylinder capacity and/or power to be marketed. In fact, for example, motor vehicles for road use with cylinder capacity of 1250 cm3, with power of 140-150 BHP, are already on the market.
The tyres fitted to the wheels of such motor vehicles must possess excellent qualities of road grip, for the high torque to be able to be transmitted to the ground, whether while travelling in a straight line, or especially while accelerating when coming out of a curve, as well as guaranteeing an effective braking action. Grip becomes a really critical point in conditions of driving on a wet road surface.
Together with excellent road grip, tyres must guarantee stable behaviour in particular while travelling in a straight line and the ability to last a high mileage. Stable tyre behaviour is in fact an indicator of its capacity for efficiently damping the perturbations transmitted from the irregularities of the road surface while travelling, so that these perturbations are not transmitted to the motor vehicle, compromising driving stability.
For better grip on the road surface it is possible to use soft compounds, which are able to adapt to the profile resulting from the asperities of the road surface and/or penetrate said asperities. These compounds are characterized by low elastic modulus and/or high hysteresis.
However, compounds that are too soft lead to reduced straight-line stability and lower mileage.
To overcome the aforementioned problems, tyres have been proposed with treads comprising various compounds.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,988,520 describes a motor vehicle tyre comprising a tread reinforced with a belt structure that has, in its normally inflated conditions, a curvature value C/L between about 0.5 and 0.7, a reinforced carcass ply that extends radially inwards relative to the belt stack and between the two bead regions and wound in each bead region around an annular bead wire from inside to outside in the axial direction to form a carcass that is backfolded and with the sidewalls of the tyre arranged between the edges of the tread and the bead regions. The belt structure comprises two belt plies comprising reinforcing cords inclined relative to the circumferential direction of the tyre, characterized in that the tread comprises two different compounds, the first compound that extends in a first layer between the edges of the tread and the second compound arranged in a second layer radially external relative to the first layer in the central portion of the tread.
EP 0,774,367 describes a motorcycle tyre that has, when normally inflated, a curvature value C/L of about 0.5 and 0.7. In the right axial section the tread comprises two tread rubber components of different compound, joined together by a scarf joint, said scarf joint having a width (JW) less than the tread width (TW) and an intertread ply comprising reinforcing cords interposed between the two tread rubber components of different compound.


A thick film electrode for a lithium secondary battery is provided. The lithium secondary battery includes a thick film electrode including a cathode including a cathode active material and an anode including an anode active material. The cathode and the anode have a thickness in a range of 250 μm to 1500 μm, and are laser-etched such that one or more grooves are formed in the cathode and the anode.

The present disclosure relates to a lithium secondary battery and a thick film electrode for the same, capable of realizing a higher-energy density and high performance as the surface of a thick electrode is etched and structuralized.
Recently, the demand and interest in a battery for a higher-energy device have been rapidly increased, and research and studies have been developed on components of the battery and a design of the battery to realize the desired performance.
Manufacturing an electrode to have a thick thickness, that is, manufacturing the electrode in the form of a thick film is a manner to hold components of the battery while effectively increasing an energy density.
However, when the thickness of the electrode becomes thick, the moving path of a lithium ion in the electrode is extended or blocked. Accordingly, Problems such as a decrease in ion conductivity in an electrode and an increase in electrical resistance occur. Such a phenomenon causes the reduction in a charge capacity or discharge capacity of the battery and a lower output characteristic. Accordingly, commercializing the thick film electrode may be difficult.
Therefore, there is needed a manner to resolve the higher electrical resistance of the thick film electrode and to enhance the conductivity of the lithium ion.

Lithium secondary battery and thick film electrode for the same

GWANGJU INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


Disclosed is an invention related to the preparation and use of vaccines against pathogenic organisms, such as herpes virus. The vaccines hereof are based upon the use of truncated, membrane-free derivatives of a membrane-bound polypeptide from the pathogen. These polypeptides when incorporated into a vaccine composition afford protection against pathogenic challenge after administration.

Analysis of the immune response to a variety of infectious agents has been limited by the fact that it has often proved difficult to culture pathogens in quantities sufficient to permit the isolation of important cell surface antigens. The advent of molecular cloning has overcome some of these limitations by providing a means whereby gene products from pathogenic agents can be expressed in virtually unlimited quantities in a non-pathogenic form. Surface antigens from such viruses as influenza (1), foot and mouth disease (2), hepatitis (3), vesicular stomatitis virus (4), rabies (5), and herpes simplex viruses (6) have now been expressed in E. coli and S. cerevisiae, and, in the future, promise to provide improved subunit vaccines. It is clear, however, that the expression of surface antigens in lower organisms is not entirely satisfactory in that potentially significant antigenic determinants may be lost by virtue of incomplete processing (e.g., proteolysis, glycosylation) or by denaturation during the purification of the cloned gene product.
This is particularly true in the case of membrane proteins, which, because of hydrophobic transmembrane domains, tend to aggregate and become insoluble when expressed in E. coli. Cloned genes coding for membrane proteins can be expressed in mammalian cells where the host cell provides the factors necessary for proper processing, polypeptide folding, and incorporation into the cell membrane (7,8). While these studies show that membrane proteins can be expressed on the surface of a recombinant host cell, and, for example (8), that a truncated membrane protein lacking the hydrophobic carboxy-terminal domain can be slowly secreted from the host cell rather than be bound to it, it is not clear that either the membrane-bound protein thus expressed or the truncated protein thus secreted will be able to act, in fact, to raise antibodies effective against the pathogen from which the protein is derived.
Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) is a large DNA virus which occurs in two related, but distinguishable, forms in human infections. At least four of the large number of virus-encoded proteins have been found to be glycosylated and present on the surface of both the virion and the infected cells (9). These glycoproteins, termed gA/B, gC, gD, and gE, are found in both HSV type 1 (HSV1) and HSV type 2 (HSV2), while in the case of HSV 2, an additional glycoprotein (gF) has been reported to be found (10). Although their functions remain somewhat of a mystery, these glycoproteins are undoubtedly involved in virus attachment to cells, cell fusion, and a variety of host immunological responses to virus infection (11). Although HSV 1 and HSV 2 show only ˜50 percent DNA sequence homology (12), the glycoproteins appear to be, for the most part, type-common. Thus, gA/B, gD, and gE show a large number of type-common antigenic determinants (13-16), while gC, which was previously thought to be completely type-specific (17,18), has also been found to possess some type-common determinants. Type-specific antigenic determinants can, however, be demonstrated using monoclonal antibodies for some of the glycoproteins (10,19), showing that some amino acid charges have occurred since HSV1 and HSV2 diverged.
One of the most important glycoproteins with respect to virus neutralization is gD (11). Considerable evidence has been adduced strongly suggesting that the respective gD proteins of HSV-1 and HSV-2 are related. For example, recombination mapping has localized the respective genes to colinear regions in both virus genomes. Amino acid analysis showed gross homology between the two proteins. The gD proteins induce neutralizing antibodies to both type 1 and type-2 viruses in a type-common manner (19-21). In addition, most monoclonal antibodies generated to these glycoproteins are type common, also suggesting a high degree of structural relatedness between the two types of glycoproteins (20). Some monoclonal antibodies, however, were found to react type-specifically, suggesting significant differences between the proteins (19). Peptide maps of the proteins also unambiguously revealed such differences (22a). These results although suggesting that these polypeptides are related, are insufficient to indicate exactly how close the relationship is.
In order to examine the nature of the type-commonality of HSV-1 and HSV-2 gD proteins, the DNA sequences of the gD genes from HSV1 and HSV2 were determined. The derived amino acid sequences showed similarity. The resultant derived protein sequences were also analyzed for structural differences by using a program designed to determine hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions of the protein. This analysis demonstrated a high degree of conservation on a gross structural level. Although several amino substitutions were found between the two glycoproteins, the vast majority of these substitutions were conservative, suggesting an important structural requirement of this glycoprotein to the virus.
In contrast to HSV-1, HSV-2 appears to encode yet another glycoprotein, termed gF (22b,10,22c,22d). Although the HSV-2 gF had an electrophoretic mobility which was much faster than HSV-1 gC, mapping studies with recombinant viruses revealed that this protein was encoded by a region of the HSV-2 genome which was approximately colinear with the gene for HSV-1 gC (22c, 22d). In addition, it has been recently demonstrated that a monoclonal antibody against HSV-2 gF will cross-react weakly with HSV-1 gC (22f) and that a polyclonal antiserum made against HSV-1 virion envelope proteins precipitated gF (22d), suggesting a possible structural homology between the two glycoproteins. Thus, it appeared that a possible homologue to HSV-1 gC was the HSV-2 gF protein. This relationship was investigated in accordance with the present invention.
To examine the relatedness between HSV-1 and HSV-2, it has been determined herein that a DNA sequence of a 2.29 kb region of the HSV-2 genome is colinear with the HSV-1 gC gene. Translation of a large open reading frame in this region demonstrates that a protein which has significant homology to HSV-1 gC is encoded in this region. It is suggested that this region encodes the HSV-2 gF gene and that the gF protein is the HSV-2 homologue of HSV-1 glycoprotein C.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Immunogenic composition based on a truncated derivative of a membrane bound protein and process for making it


Devices and methods are disclosed for the direct visualization and localization of a target area within a body lumen through the optically clear walls of a graduated catheter. An elongated catheter has proximal and distal ends, an anchor, graduated markings, and outer and inner surfaces defining a catheter wall. The anchor establishes a secure relationship between the catheter and an anatomical feature. The graduated markings are disposed along a length of the catheter. The outer surface of the catheter wall is configured for contacting a body lumen and the inner surface of the catheter wall defines a main lumen disposed along a length of the elongated catheter. The catheter wall is transparent along a length to provide visualization of the graduated markings via a visualization tool positioned in the main lumen. In one embodiment, a catheter may have a substantially circular cross-section and include an arc-shaped transparent window.

Brachytherapy is the delivery of a course of radiation therapy to a body site by placing the radiation source into the body site. Usually, an implantable device (e.g., catheter, cannula, or applicator) is inserted into the body site and later a radiation source is inserted through the catheter and into the body site. Radiation therapy may be administered through one of several methods, or a combination of methods, such as interstitial or intercavity brachytherapy. Brachytherapy may also be administered using radioactive sources or electronic sources, such as x-ray sources, for example.
Conventional methods of determining the precise location that the radiation source(s) should be inserted into the catheter include inserting a calibrated marker wire into the catheter and using external imaging (e.g., radiographic, MRI, or ultrasound). From the resultant images, the precise position of the target tissue relative to the catheter and the inserted calibrated wire may then be determined. Once the position of the target tissue is known relative to the catheter and the calibrated wire, the location for positioning the radiation source within the catheter may then be calculated. The optimal dwell times for source treatment position are also determined using commercially available software. These activities are collectively called treatment planning.
Determining the precise location of the target tissue (i.e., the position of the radiation source(s)) is a critical step in the treatment planning process. Use of conventional methods using external imaging to determine target tissue location have several disadvantages including increased time and cost, as well as problems arising from miscalculation of offset distances and problems arising from slipping or movement of the catheter after the external imaging has been completed but before the treatment has been completed.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have devices and methods for precisely locating the position of the catheter relative to the target tissue (i.e., position of the radiation source(s)) to enhance treatment planning. Disclosed herein are graduated transparent catheters, and methods for using same, configured to provide direct visualization and identification of target tissues (i.e., position of the radiation source(s)).

Transparent catheters for endoscopic localization


Methods are disclosed for transporting viscous slurries, especially at high pressures, using fluid injection, especially steam injection.

There are many processes for converting biomass into useful products, such as fermentable sugars and other chemicals. Some of these biomass conversion processes require pumping biomass slurries to high pressures, such as about 500 psi to about 4000 psi or even higher. Processing biomass slurries at higher solids contents is more economical, because higher solids contents provide a higher output for a given plant size, as well as a lower processing cost, such as in heating, cooling, and concentration costs, because there is less water present. However, high solids content slurries typically are thick and viscous, and therefore are difficult, or sometimes impossible, to pump efficiently or effectively using conventional methods.
There are a limited number of high pressure pump technologies that can pump high solids content slurries to high pressure. These limitations are further exacerbated by the need for the pumps to handle high solids content slurries, which typically have high viscosities. Some have attempted to address these shortcomings by preheating the high solids content slurries in indirect contact heat exchangers. However, this solution often leads to fouling of the heater exchangers, thereby lowering operability, and has high attendant capital costs for the equipment. Furthermore, it is difficult to maintain a uniform temperature within the slurry in the heat exchangers. In addition, there is a significant pressure drop across the heat exchangers, which requires additional pumping power in an already difficult application.
Thus, there is an ongoing need for methods for pumping slurries to high pressures, especially for slurries having high solids contents or high viscosities. The methods of the present invention are directed toward these, as well as other, important ends.


There are provided insecticidal and acaricidal diaryl(pyridinio and isoquinolinio)boron compounds having the structural formula ##STR1## Further provided are compositions and methods comprising those compounds for the protection of plants from attack by insects and acarina.

Insects and acarina destroy growing and harvested crops. In the United States alone, agronomic crops must compete with thousands of insect and acarid species. In particular, tobacco budworms, southern armyworms and two-spotted spider mites are especially devasting to crops.
Tobacco budworms cause tremendous economic losses in agronomic crops. In particular, budworms devastate cotton crops by feeding on green bolls. Control of budworms is complicated by their resistance to many common insecticides, including organophosphates, carbamates and pyrethroids. Also, budworm larvae are difficult to control with currently available insecticides once they reach the third instar.
Two-spotted spider mites attack many plant species, raspberry plants for example, by removing sap from leaves. When raspberry plants are heavily infested, canes and leaves become stunted. With a severe infestation, fruiting canes are damaged, resulting in reduced yield and fruit quality.
In spite of the commercial insecticides and acaricides available today, damage to crops, both growing and harvested, caused by insects and acarina still occurs. Accordingly, there is ongoing research to create new and more effective insecticides and acaricides.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method for controlling insects and acarina by contacting said insects and acarina, their breeding ground, food supply or habitat with an insecticidally or acaricidally effective amount of a diaryl(pyridinio or isoquinolinio)boron compound.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method for protecting growing plants from attack by insects and acarina by applying to the foliage of said plants or to the soil or water in which they are growing an insecticidally or acaricidally effective amount of a diaryl(pyridinio or isoquinolinio)boron compound.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description thereof set forth below.

Diaryl (pyridinio and isoquinolinio) boron insecticidal and acaricidal agents


A method of enhancing the quality of laser ablation by controlling the laser repetition rate during the ablation process, wherein the method enhances the quality of laser ablation of a photomask in order to improve the optical quality thereof. Also provided is a system employing the method of enhancing the quality of laser ablation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to laser ablation, and more particularly pertains to a method and system for enhancing the quality of laser ablation by controlling the laser repetition rate.
When using femtosecond lasers to ablate materials used in photomasks, such as Molybdenum Silicide (MoSi), the material, and therefore the photomask, can be irreversibly damaged by the ablation process. This damage can occur extending across the entire ablated region, resulting in damaged material that cannot be subsequently ablated. Even with implementing a careful control of the ablation process, the edges of the ablation region are usually damaged.
In the process of removing defects from photomasks, the damage caused by the ablation process prevents iteratively trimming the edges of the region which are to be repaired. This limits the spatial resolution of the ablation process, and the ability of tool operators to accurately position a repair. In addition, the ablation process often results in the redepositing of material around the repaired region. This redeposited material can appear in the form of large particles, particularly at the edges of the repaired region. When material is redeposited in this manner, this may result in a "new" mask defect, whereby this new mask defect is difficult to remove.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
The foregoing issues have been addressed to some extent in the technology, with varying degrees of success, as set forth in the hereinbelow listed prior art publications. However, none of the publications have fully met the requisite intent of the present invention. These publications are as follows: Grenon, et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,190,836; 6,165,649; 6,156,461; 6,090,507; and Haight, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,333,485.
This aspect is also discussed in various further publications, such as, for instance, the following articles: "Laser Induced Periodic Surface Structure: Experiments on Ge, Si, Al, and Brass", Young, Preston, vsn Driel, and Sipe, Physical Review B, Vol. 27, No. 2, pgs. 1155-1172 (1983); "Ultraviolet Laser Induced Periodic Surface Structures", Clark and Emmony, Physical Review B, Vol. 40, No. 4, pgs 2031-2041 (1989); "Femtosecond Laser Induced Periodic Surface Structure on Diamond Film", Wu, Ma, Fang, Liao, Yu, Chen, Wang, Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 82, No. 11, pgs 1703-1705 (2003); and "Self Organized Nanogratings in Glass Irradiated by Ultrashort Light Pulses", Shimotsuma, Kazansky, Qui, Hirao, Physical Review Letters, Vol. 19, No. 24, pgs 247205-1 to 4 (2003).

Enhanced quality of laser ablation by controlling laser repetition rate

International Business Machines Corporation


A filled abradable seal component, an associated method of manufacturing, and a turbomachine including the filled abradable seal component are disclosed. The method includes positioning the abradable seal component including a plurality of honeycomb cells, applying a filler material on the abradable seal component to fill the plurality of honeycomb cells, and curing the filler material at a temperature below 250 degrees Celsius to produce the filled abradable seal component. The filler material includes an abradable material, a binder material, and a fluid catalyst. The abradable material includes at least one of nickel chromium aluminum-bentonite, cobalt nickel chromium aluminum yttrium-polyester, cobalt nickel chromium aluminum yttrium-boron nitride, aluminum silicon-bentonite, aluminum bronze-polyester, nickel graphite, or aluminum silicon-boron nitride. The binder material includes at least one of aluminum, nickel-aluminum, aluminum thiophosphate, or aluminum thiosulfate. The fluid catalyst includes a solvent having hydroxyl groups.

Embodiments of the disclosed technique relate to turbomachines, and more specifically to a filled abradable seal component, an associated method of manufacturing, the turbomachines including the filled abradable seal component, and regulating windage heating in turbomachines.
Seals are often used to minimize leakage of fluid in a clearance defined between a stationary component and a rotatable component of a turbomachine. Typically, seal includes teeth formed on the rotatable component thereby obstructing a flow of the fluid and minimizing the leakage of the fluid through the clearance. However, during certain transient operational conditions of the turbomachine such as startup, the rotatable component may move along an axial direction or a radial direction in relation to the stationary component. Such movement of the rotatable component may cause the teeth to rub against the stationary component, resulting in damage of the teeth and the stationary component. To address such problems, in the art, an abradable honeycomb seal component including a plurality of honeycomb cells is coupled to the stationary component. Thus, during such movement of the rotatable component, the teeth may rub against the abradable honeycomb seal component, without damaging the teeth and the stationary component. However, the plurality of honeycomb cells in the abradable honeycomb seal component may entrap some portion of the fluid, resulting in losing swirling motion of the fluid along the clearance and increasing tangential slip between the fluid and the rotatable component, thereby increasing windage heating along the clearance. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved abradable seal component, an associated method for manufacturing the improved abradable seal component, and regulating windage heating of fluid in a clearance of a turbomachine.

Filled abradable seal component and associated methods thereof


In one embodiment, an access instrument for creating a surgical working portal includes a body having a first end and a body length, a first slot having a first slot length running along the length of the body from the first end, and a second slot having a second slot length running along the length of the body from the first end, wherein the first slot length and the second slot length are less than the body length.

Different surgical procedures utilize different surgical access devices depending upon the type of surgery being performed and the approach desired by the surgeon. For instance, spinal surgeries may be performed as open or minimally invasive surgeries. In the former, large scale incisions are utilized to open a patient's body to directly expose the spine. This type of surgery may be desired due to a variety of considerations, including the complexity of the procedure and level of access to the spine that is required. On the other hand, minimally invasive surgery ("MIS") in the spine generally involves making smaller incision(s) and conducting most of the surgery within the patient itself. This often results in less trauma to the soft tissue of the patient as compared to an open surgery, which can result in quicker healing, less scarring, and less risk of intra- and post-operative complications.
Although MIS has many benefits, it often requires a different set of instruments than those used in an open surgery. For instance, in a spinal MIS, a surgical access instrument (e.g., cannula or retractor) is typically inserted within the smaller incision to provide a working portal for the surgery. This access instrument holds back a patient's tissue so that visualization can be maintained and tools can be inserted into the working portal without the fear of damage to surrounding tissue from those inserted tools (e.g., tools that have sharp or abrasive edges). However, due to the restricted size of the incision (which can be as small as 2 cm), the size of the working portal is minimized; thus, limiting the visibility and range of movement of those tools.
Current solutions to this problem can lead to an increased risk of complexity in the surgery and trauma to the patient. For instance, one solution would be to constantly loosen the mounting arm and access instrument so that the access instrument can be readjusted according to the surgeon's needs at any given time. However, such readjustments are time consuming and can lead to tissue creeping within the working portal during each readjustment. Alternative solutions may involve the use of a larger access instrument. However, as the size of the access instrument increases, the size of the working portal increases; thereby increasing trauma to the patient and potentially requiring larger and larger incisions. Oval-shaped access instruments can partially increase the angular access and visibility to a working portal but is still restricted to a certain size and shape; thus, providing similar access to a non-oval-shaped access instrument but with greater tissue disruption. Full-length slot access instruments do not solve the problem of contra-lateral angular access and visibility, and runs the risk of decreasing structural strength and increasing tissue creep. Alternative access instruments such as split-tube and mini-open retractors also suffer defects in time consumption, as well as increasing the complexity of the surgery and increasing the size of the incision to the patient.
This present application includes an improved surgical access instrument that can provide a working portal for surgical tools to be inserted within a patient's body while also increasing the mobility and visibility of those tools within the patient.


Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for performing intra coding predictions. An intra-coding process applied to pixels in a frame of media is determined. The intra-coding process is determined whether to corresponding to at least one of most probable modes. In response to determining the intra-coding process does not correspond to the at least one of the most probable modes, four angular prediction modes are extracted from a list of prediction modes. A set of candidates based on the four angular prediction modes are determined. A pre-defined order of the set of candidates is determined, wherein each candidate mode of the set of candidate modes is included in a ranked order and signaled with a particular fixed length coding, and wherein a length of the particular fixed length coding increases based on the pre-defined order of the set of candidate modes.

In video coding, High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) introduced 35 intra prediction modes. It employed a three most probable modes (MPM) based method to improve intra mode coding. This method significantly improved the performance by extracting three MPMs out of the 35 intra modes. Joint Video Exploration Team (JVET) defines 67 intra prediction modes for a possible future video coding standard. In the latest JVET development, six MPMs are chosen, and the remaining sixty-one modes (called Non-MPM modes) are divided into 16 "selected" and 45 "non-selected" modes.

Non-MPM mode coding for intra prediction in video coding


A replacement forward clutch control valve assembly including a primary control land, which is designed to properly align the valve piston within its mating bore in the valve body of an automatic translate is disclosed. The primary control land has a substantially increased axial length in comparison to the original equipment manufacture valve piston without exceeding the overall length of the original valve piston. The present forward clutch control valve assembly provides a substantially improved control land-to-bore surface contact ratio and also provides a more durable end surface area for contact with the retaining clip during operation. As a result the present forward clutch control valve assembly is substantially less prone to bending and/or seizure within its mating bore during operation.

The present invention relates generally to the field of automatic transmission systems and, more particularly, to an improved forward clutch control valve assembly for use in Ford AX4N transmissions and other similar transmissions.
Automatic transmission systems of the prior art have a hydraulic circuit subsystem which includes at least a hydraulic pump, a valve body having fluid conducting passages or circuits, input and exhaust ports formed within the fluid circuits, and a plurality of spool valves so-called because of their resemblance to sewing-thread type spools. Such valves are comprised of generally cylindrical pistons having control diameters or lands formed thereon, which alternately open and close the ports to the fluid circuits to regulate the flow and pressure of automatic transmission fluid (hereinafter xe2x80x9cATFxe2x80x9d) in order to charge the fluid circuits and actuate the hydraulic components of the transmission. It will be understood that in describing hydraulic circuits, ATF usually changes names when it passes through an orifice or control valve in a specific fluid circuit.
In the Ford AX4N automatic translate (hereinafter xe2x80x9cFord translatexe2x80x9d), the forward clutch control valve regulates the flow of ATF from the pump to operate the forward clutch via the 1-2 shift valve circuit and the 3-4 shift valve circuit. The original equipment manufacture (hereinafter xe2x80x9cOEMxe2x80x9d) forward clutch control valve is an aluminum spool valve, which is configured with a pair of control lands interconnected by a valve stem and terminates in a narrow front valve stem whereon a compression spring resides. During operation the front valve stem typically strikes against a steel retaining clip that secures the valve within the valve body when the forward control valve is stroked. This striking action between the front valve stem and retaining clip causes the OEM valve to bend and eventually the valve can become seized in the bore causing a malfunction of the forward clutch.
Thus, the present invention has been developed to resolve this problem and other shortcomings of the prior art.
Accordingly, the present invention is a forward clutch control valve assembly for the Ford AX4N translate and similar transaxles including a primary control land having an increased outside diameter and axial length, which replaces the narrow forward stem of the OEM valve piston. The increased axial length of the primary control land on the present valve piston is based on the limits of axial travel of the piston within the cylindrical bore wherein the valve piston resides during operation.
The present forward clutch control valve assembly provides a substantially increased control land-to-bore surface contact ratio and also provides an increased end face surface area for contact with the aforementioned steel retaining clip. As a result the present forward clutch control valve assembly is substantially less prone to bending and/or seizure within its mating bore during operation.
The present forward clutch control valve assembly is provided in kit form including a replacement compression spring, which is substituted for the OEM spring when the present forward clutch control valve assembly is installed. A bore-sizing tool is also provided to resize the mating bore in the valve body to retrofit the present valve to the Ford AX4N translate.
Other features and technical advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a study of the following description and the accompanying drawings.


A method of global optimization of complex, highly nonlinear, multivariant systems is described. An artificial neural network (ANN) is trained to create an approximate inverse model. The desired behavior for a particular system is then input to the inverse model to derive approximate model parameters for the particular system. Optimization of the approximate model parameters yields optimal model parameters. The method is applied to the synthesis of mechanical linkages where examples of a type of linkage mechanism are used to train an ANN and derive the approximate inverse model. Inverse models for a number of linkage mechanism types are derived and stored. For a linkage mechanism with unknown linkage parameters, a power spectrum representation of the coupler curve is developed and the inverse model for the type of linkage mechanism retrieved. The representation of the desired coupler curve is input and the approximate linkage parameters derived. Optimization further refines the linkage parameters.

The problem of global optimization in multi-dimensional, highly nonlinear systems is a difficult and challenging task. The objective function may exhibit many local optima whereas the global optimum is sought. A solution to the optimization problem may be obtained that is less satisfactory than another solution elsewhere in the region. The better solution may be reached by initiating the search for the optimum from a starting point closer to the global optimum.
Representing and utilizing knowledge for design synthesis is a type of global optimization problem. In some domains, structured design synthesis techniques can generate designs automatically from functional specifications. But in many domains, these techniques are not practical and/or possible. For example, mechanical devices may have equations of motion that are complex, highly nonlinear, and difficult to comprehend, thwarting structured design methodologies. In such domains, a designer often proceeds by building and/or simulating devices, analyzing these designs, and gaining intuition about the device behavior over the course of many design modifications.
1. Mechanical Linkages
Mechanical linkages are collections of rigid bodies connected by joints that allow restricted relative movement. They are found in a variety of everyday objects. Some examples are: the hinge for an automobile hood, an automobile suspension, aircraft landing gear, cranes, and bicycle derailleurs. The general problem is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,043,929 (incorporated by reference).
The simplest mechanical linkage is the four-bar, planar linkage shown in FIG. 3. One link, called ground, serves as the reference frame for describing all relative movement. The other three links are called the crank, coupler, and follower. The crank and follower are attached to the ground link, and rotate about it on revolute joints. The other ends of the crank and follower are constrained to move relative to each other via the coupler link, which is the source of the nonlinearity in the four-bar's behavior. The tracer point is a point rigidly attached to the coupler. The path in space traced by the tracer point is called the coupler curve. These are closed curves; FIG. 3 shows only a portion of the coupler curve. FIG. 4 illustrates a coupler curve.
Linkages are used for three main purposes: path, motion, and function generation. See, Sandor, G. N. and A. G. Erdman. Advanced Mechanism Design: Analysis and Synthesis, Volume 2, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J. (1984). In path generation, the linkage is used to guide an object through space; no attention is given to the object's orientation. Motion generation is similar to path generation, but the orientation of the object is also controlled. In function generation, the nonlinear behavior of the linkage is utilized to approximate a desired functional relationship between the input and output cranks of the mechanism.
Analytic methods for linkage synthesis are based on the work of Burmester, see, Burmester, L. Lehrbuch tier Kinematic. A. Felix, Leipzig (1888), which involved graphical analysis of finite displacements of rigid-body planar linkages. This work, which handles a subset of purely analytic, exactly-constrained design problems, was later analyzed in the context of algebraic geometry and translated into computer programs. See, Erdman, A. G. Computer-aided design of mechanisms: 1984 and beyond. Mechanism and Machine Theory, 20:4,245-249 (1985).
Some techniques have been developed to handle overconstrained synthesis problems. Chebychev polynomials were developed specifically for kinematic synthesis and provide a good approximate fit to the overconstrained problem. See, Sarkisyan, Y. L., Gupta, K. C. and B. Roth. Chebychev approximations of finite point sets with application to planar kinematic synthesis. Journal of Mechanical Design, Trans. ASME, 101:1.32-40 (January 1979). A similar least-squares approach is found in Sutherland, G. H. and B. Roth. An improved least-squares method for designing function-generating mechanisms. Journal of Engineering for Industry, Trans. ASME Ser. B, 97:1,303-307 (February 1975).
Because of the limitations of algorithmic design methodologies, iterative design is commonplace among practicing engineers. Iterative synthesis describes a process in which the design is analyzed to determine how well it meets the design specification. If the behavior matches specification well enough, the design is complete; otherwise, some design variables (dimensions) are modified in order to make the behavior more closely match the specification, and the process is repeated. This style of design relies heavily upon the designer's experience, particularly in the initial selection of a mechanism.
Choosing design parameters requires an inverse model of behavior of the device; when such models are unavailable, designers must rely on experience. One way for a designer to overcome a lack of experience is to make use of past similar designs, by choosing a mechanism from a catalog. See, Artobolevsky, I. Mechanisms in Modern Engineering Design. USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow, (1947-1952). Translated and reprinted by Mir Publishers, Moscow (1975). In the microcosm of four-bar linkages, the Hrones and Nelson atlas of four-bar coupler curves provides over 7300 different examples of four-bar crank and rocker mechanisms, along with guidelines for analysis and for synthesis of more complex linkages built upon the four-bar. See, Hrones, J. A. and G. L. Nelson. Analysis of the Four-bar Linkage. The Technology Press of MIT and John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York (1951). However, finding an appropriate coupler curve in the catalog can be difficult.
The utility of design catalogs in the synthesis of linkages can be improved by automating the process of searching the catalog and retrieving appropriate past designs. Once such technique is described in Kramer, G. A. and H. G. Barrow. A case-based approach to the design of mechanical linkages. In Artificial Intelligence in Engineering Design, 2, 443-466, Academic Press, San Diego, Calif. (1992) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,043,929. However, the size of the catalog can be very large, and automated search is time-consuming. Furthermore, no interpolation between catalog entries is done.
2. Artificial Neural Networks
A great deal of recent research has been published relating to the application of artificial neural networks in a variety of contexts. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,134,685, 5,129,040, 5,113,483, and 5,107,442 (incorporated by reference). Artificial neural networks are computational models inspired by the architecture of the human brain. As a result three constraints are usually imposed on these models. The computations must be performed in parallel, the representation must be distributed, and the adjustment of network parameters (i.e., learning) must be adaptive. From an engineering perspective ANNs are adaptive, model-free estimators that estimate numerical functions using example data. While many different types of artificial neural networks exist, two common types are radial basis function (RBF) and back propagation artificial neural networks.
Radial basis function ANNs have the capability to synthesize an approximation to a multivariant function (or its inverse) by using a representative set of examples characteristic of the functions input-output mapping.
RBF ANNs are single hidden-layer, feedforward networks that use radially-symmetric basis functions as the activation functions for nodes in the hidden layer. The approximation learned by the RBF ANN is given by ##EQU1## where R.sub.j is a radially-symmetric basis function, x is the input vector, and w.sub.kj is the weight connecting the jth hidden node to the kth output node.
Typically, the basis function R for node j is the Gaussian function with unit normalization: ##EQU2## Equation (2) indicates that the output for node j peaks with a value of unity when the input vector equals the mean vector, x.sub.j, and falls off monotonically as the Euclidean norm between input and the mean vector of a node increases. .sigma..sub.j, the width of the response field of the basis function, determines the rate of decay of the Gaussian function R.
The nonpatent references cited herein are incorporated by reference for background.

System and method of global optimization using artificial neural networks


In a circuit arrangement for amplifying a television signal, having, arranged between an input (2, 3) and an output (6) , a differential amplifier (1) comprising two emitter-coupled transistors (101, 102), high linearity and stability is obtained in spite of a low supply voltage, a high drive and manufacture in a method which produces transistors with a comparatively low "Early-voltage", by a combination of at least one ohmic resistor (103, 104; 202) arranged in the emitter branch of the transistors (101, 102) and a resistive feedback network (7) for feeding back a signal from the output (6) to the input (2, 3).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a circuit arrangement for amplifying a television signal, having, arranged between an input and an output, a differential amplifier comprising two emitter-coupled transistors.
2. Description of Related Art
Circuit arrangements of this type are known and are used, more specifically, in integrated circuits, for example to amplify a television signal in the baseband. These integrated circuits are standardized for a power supply of 12 V and amplify the television signal on a voltage swing of, typically, 1 to 2 V. Such arrangements must satisfy high requirements as regards their gain factor, linearity and stability, their assembly must be effected in an integrated circuit production method which is easy to maintain and consequently must be inexpensive, and the circuit arrangements themselves must be of a simple space-saving construction. In the known circuit arrangements, these requirements are satisfied in that the voltage swing of the television signal remains small relative to the supply voltage.
To reduce the power consumption of television receivers and like apparatus, it is desirable to reduce the supply voltages for circuit arrangements incorporated therein for the processing of television signals, to a value which is located in the order of magnitude of the voltage swing of the television signal, more specifically to, for example, 5 V. This renders it possible to run the television receiver from a battery.
On the other hand, given signal transmission properties require currents which, with the object of power reduction, cannot be optionally reduced. It has been found that the circuit concepts which have been used so -ar for this case no longer satisfy the requirements to be imposed on the processing of television signals, particularly as regards linearity and stability.

Circuit arrangement for amplifying a television signal


A bidirectional interface for multimode optical fiber includes a receive/transmit optical fiber port operable to connect to a multimode optical fiber, a wavelength separating module in communication with the receive/transmit optical fiber port, an optical receiver module in communication with the wavelength separating module and configured to receive optical signals at a first wavelength via the wavelength separating module and the receive/transmit optical fiber port, and an optical transmit module in communication with the wavelength separating module and configured to transmit at a second wavelength via the wavelength separating module and the receive/transmit optical fiber port.

The demand for communications via optical fiber continues to increase. Higher reliability and data rates along with lower power utilization for fiber compared to conventional copper wire infrastructure are just a few reasons for this increased use. This demand will increase further still as fiber is deployed for storage and network applications, as well as data center infrastructures.
However, increased usage and data rates come at a price, particularly in the form of increased cabling and increased cooling costs. In fact, it is estimated that cooling costs can contribute up to more than 50% of a data center's operating costs. Not surprisingly, the denser the fiber optic cabling is for a given infrastructure as a result of increased reliance on optical fiber connectivity, the less efficient cooling can be for equipment racks.

Bidirectional multi-mode fiber interface


A communication device comprises a first structural module with a power source, as well as second, and third structural modules. The first structural module is between the second and third structural modules. The assembled communication device so formed has an elongated form, in which the second structural module is in a first end, the third structural module is in a second end and the first structural module is at least partly between the second and third structural modules.

Portable communication devices constitute a significant part of the material goods that are consumed around the world. Communication is a human basic need, so it is not too much to assume that sooner or later every person in the world will have some kind of an electronic communications device at his or her disposal. The technology advances fast, fashion trends change, and there is a large number of companies worldwide trying to maintain and increase their businesses related to manufacturing, selling and use of communication devices. From the ecological viewpoint it would be recommendable to bring forward certain considerations. The amount of waste that comes from used communication devices and their parts should be kept reasonable. If possible, the communication device should be so designed that even if some single part wears out, gets broken or becomes obsolete still does not force to change the whole device to a new one. Especially parts that include constituents or components that are rare, difficult to handle or environmentally hazardous should be easy to recycle appropriately or to otherwise forward to proper waste management.


A social networking mobile software application for particular mobile device which allow end users on their mobile devices to view profiles of themselves that contain images and/or videos while simultaneously hearing and audio description of their ad via wireless connection to the internet and/or cellular provider data network using streaming or intact multimedia file.

In approximately year 2000 companies started introducing the ability to send voice message as an attachment in an email. However, it was limited only to specific known email addresses, not in response to social network profiles, such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc., which offer some degree of anonymity where the user may only be known by an avatar or alias.
Online social networks allow voice and video uploads but they didn't have a seamless way of doing it from a handheld device over a cellular network such as a Smartphone. Additionally the video or audio files had to be recorded by another application, after which the user would have to log in to the social network using a browser and upload the file.
Other applications running on a handheld device that operate on Wi-Fi and cellular data networks allow uploading recorded audio and video to social networks but they didn't allow you to view profiles, record an audio or video response and upload it at the time the provisional application was filed.
Other social networking applications such as Twittelator and Twit Bird that run on mobile handheld devices exist today that allow you to record audio/video and respond to a profile but they don't allow you to select a color to display messages from a specific user in. And further they do not allow the color to be selected by mixing a combination of red, green and blue primary colors.
Other social networking applications that run on mobile handheld devices exist today that allow you to record audio/video and respond to a profile but they don't allow you to have multiple columns (or screens) displaying each account, different information from the same account or public information from the social network that are traversed by "swiping gestures" on a touch screen or by arrow keys (either mechanical or virtual).
U.S. Pat. No. 7,188,153, to Lunt, et al. issued Mar. 6, 2007 disclosed a system and method for managing connections in an online social network which indicates other individuals with whom they have a personal relationship with. The descriptive data and the relationship data are integrated and processed to reveal the series of social relationships connecting any two individuals within a social network. A maximum degree of separation setting is provided and set to at least two. The maximum degree of separation setting limits the amount of searching that is carried out when searching for a connection between two individuals in the social network.
An online social network collects descriptive data about various individuals and allows those individuals to indicate other individuals with whom they have a personal relationship. The descriptive data and the relationship data are integrated and processed to reveal the series of social relationships connecting any two individuals within a social network. A maximum degree of separation setting is provided and set to at least two. The maximum degree of separation setting limits the amount of searching that is carried out when searching for a connection between two individuals in the social network.


A method for ex vivo treating blood or plasma is provided. The method includes (a) ex vivo contacting a blood or plasma with an enzyme composition to react the enzyme composition with the blood or plasma, wherein the enzyme composition is capable of eliminating electronegative low-density lipoprotein from the blood or plasma by the activity of the enzyme composition, and the enzyme composition is selected from a group consisting of: a first enzyme for eliminating a glycan residue of an electronegative low-density lipoprotein (LDL); a second enzyme for eliminating ceramide carried by a electronegative low-density lipoprotein (LDL); and a combination thereof; and (b) terminating contact between the blood or plasma and the enzyme composition to terminate the reaction of the enzyme composition with the blood or plasma.

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is a kind of lipoprotein that is a product of lipoprotein lipase action. Lipoproteins play a role in lipid transportation. It has long been known that the level of cholesterol carried by low-density lipoprotein is associated with the occurrence and presence of cardiovascular diseases.
At present, in the medical field, plasma LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) is still used as an indicator for estimating cardiovascular diseases. However, the low-density lipoprotein level in the plasma of patients with acute myocardial infarction has no tendency to increase.
Due to external factors, such as excess oxidation pressure, etc., low-density lipoprotein will be post-translation modified, and presents higher electronegativity to become electronegative LDL or L5.
Electronegative LDL (L5) electronegative low-density lipoprotein is a major factor for causing cardiovascular disease. L5 is almost undetectable in a normal human body. In addition, it has been in vitro and in vivo verified that L5 will damages vascular endothelial cells and activate monocytes and platelets, and result in systemic inflammation, atherosclerosis and myocardial infraction.
Therefore, a novel material, device and/or method for eliminating an electronegative low-density lipoprotein is/are needed.

Method for ex vivo treating blood or plasma

INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE


A fluid control valve is disclosed. Preferably, a plastic body member of the cartridge is provided. A valve stem is provided that includes a pair of metal stop elements extending radially outward. A metal stop table is mounted around the stem to limit rotational movement of the valve stem through contact with the stop elements. The legs have radially-projecting extensions which are designed to fit in recesses within the valve housing to prevent rotation of the stop table. Excess rotational forces applied to the valve stem after the cartridge reaches a fully open or closed position are translated through the stop table and directly into the valve housing without stressing the plastic body member.

Cartridge valves for faucets or the like that have plastic and/or ceramic components are well known. See e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,831,621; and 4,821,765. Production of such valves with mostly metal valve components is time consuming and expensive. Thus, some of these valves incorporate valve components made of a plastic material. This has involved a trade-off, though, because plastic valve components are often more susceptible to breakage and wear.
One cartridge valve that incorporates both metal and plastic components is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,758. There, a metal stem has a radially extended integral arm, and a plastic valve housing has a pair of spaced abutments. Rotational movement of the valve stem is halted when the metal arm encounters the plastic abutments. This design has several drawbacks. For instance, frequent interaction of the metal component with the generally less rigid plastic component may wear the plastic piece and lead to inexact operation of the valve. Also, if the rotational forces applied to the plastic component become too great, the plastic component may break.
It can therefore be seen that a need exists for an improved cartridge valve that does not generally translate rotational forces between metal and plastic components.


A bottle-shaped container according to the present invention includes a mouth portion (1) for discharging contents, a shoulder portion (2), a main body portion (3), and a bottom portion (4), wherein these portions are integrally molded and successively arranged with each other. An annular projection (5) surrounds the main body portion (3) and protrudes from a surface thereof, along a boundary between the shoulder portion (2) and the main body portion (3). Further, narrow grooves (6a, 6b) are provided on both sides of the annular projection (5) to extend along the same, respectively.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a bottle-shaped container made of thermoplastic resin, and intends to advantageously avoid lowering of the mechanical strength due to a light-weighted or thin-walled nature of the container.
2. Related Art
Synthetic resin containers, such as PET bottles, have been widely used as containers, e.g., for filling therein foods, beverages, cosmetics or medicines since such containers are light in weight and can thus be easily handled, have transparency to exhibit a refined appearance comparable to glass containers, and can be produced at low cost.
Synthetic resin containers have a relatively low mechanical strength against external forces. Therefore, when the container is gripped at its main body portion for pouring the contents out of the container, the container inevitably undergoes deformation at its gripped part.
It is thus a typical countermeasure to appropriately control the container wall thickness and form longitudinal ribs, lateral ribs or waists (i.e., circumferential grooves surrounding the main body portion) so as to improve the resistances of the container to external forces, such as rigidity, buckling strength, etc.
However, there is an increasing demand for thin-walled (or light-weighted) containers so as to reduce the resin amount to be used per one container from a standpoint of effective utilization of resources and reduction in the amount of wastes, resulting in a situation where the strength of the container is inevitably further lowered to deal with such a demand.
Particularly, in connection with PET bottles having a filling volume of about 500 milliliters, various kinds of commercial products have been recently increasingly sold by vending machines. In this instance, when such a bottle is light-weighted, there tends to be caused troubles wherein recesses are formed on the bottle at its lateral side (particularly, at its shoulder portion) due to an impact caused by dropping of the bottles from the storage down to the outlets, via chutes of the vending machines.

Bottle-shaped container including an annular projection


A totally insulated switched mode power supply for producing a supply voltage for an electrical device, wherein the switched mode power supply includes a first and a second electrical conductor, of which one electrical conductor is for connection to a phase conductor and the other electrical conductor is for connection to a neutral conductor of a grounded AC or three-phase power supply system, and includes Y capacitors for asymmetrical interference suppression of the switched mode power supply such that measures are provided for reducing fault currents or leakage currents.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a totally insulated switched mode power supply.
2. Description of the Related Art
A totally insulated switched mode power supply that can be connected to a grounded AC or three-phase power supply system is generally known, where the switched mode power supply is provided for supplying a DC or AC voltage to a device or a load. This conventional switched mode power supply has Y capacitors, which are provided for asymmetrical interference suppression of the switched mode power supply or are acquired to meet the requirements in respect of the ENC response of the switched mode power supply. The two conductors in the switched mode power supply, where one conductor is connectable to the phase conductor and the connector is connectable to the neutral conductor via suitable connections, are wired symmetrically to a Y capacitor for this purpose to also avoid a relatively high voltage to the ground potential in cases in which the switched mode power supply is connected with incorrect polarity to the AC or three-phase power supply system. This means that a Y capacitor is connected between the phase conductor and the electrically conductive housing and a further Y capacitor is connected between the neutral conductor and this housing, where these capacitors have substantially the same capacitance.
Owing to the fact that the ground potential of the AC or three-phase power supply system, with the neutral conductor thereof being connected to this ground potential, is usually different than the potential of the housing, referred to below as frame potential, there is a voltage drop across the Y capacitor connected between the neutral conductor and the housing. In the case of a 220 V system voltage, in the most unfavorable case, a voltage of up to 110 V can drop across this Y capacitor, where a low current can flow from the frame to ground potential. In other words, the ground voltage allows a low fault current or leakage current to flow away via the always present leakage capacitance of a totally insulating or grounded device connected to the switched mode power supply or a "grounded" person.
This low fault current or leakage current, which is usually less than 5 mA, can cause unpleasant haptic stimuli in people and can also have a disruptive influence on sensitive electronic components of a device connected to the switched mode power supply or the peripheral interface thereof.

Totally insulated switched mode power supply